Friday 30 January 2009

All star team talk Copenhagen

Great panel discussion on what steps are needed to reach a global agreement in Copenhagen, though a representative from India, China or Brazil was sorely needed. To me, we are about to witness the single biggest economic transformation in the history of the entire world, and this will be decided in Copenhagen. We have the right man in Obama, the Europeans are on board, Australia is now more or less committed, Japan is prepared to pay to be a responsible global citizen, and all that awaits is whether the carrots will be there for developing countries to join the club. That is a gross simplication to what is an extremely complicated problem that overlaps with international trade, population growth, poverty, and differing cultural attitudes.

However, the greater picture is what will determine Copenhagen's success. To that end, I agree with the panelists that Copenhagen must produce agreement on long term binding targets with a price on carbon for all countries, creating a level playing field for all. That sums up what is needed.

A binding target so it gives the private sector certainty in investment decisions, and a global CO2 price to prevent carbon leakage, which looms as the biggest potential threat to solving the climate crisis.
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