The Role of International Negotiations in Addressing the Climate
Todd Stern, US Special Envoy for Climate Change
About the Speaker
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TODD STERN United States Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern plays a central role in developing the U.S. international policy on climate and is the President's chief climate negotiator, representing the United States internationally at the ministerial level in all bilateral and multilateral negotiations regarding climate change. Stern also participates in the development of domestic climate and clean energy policy. Stern brings extensive experience in the private sector and government. Before joining the Obama Administration he was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on climate change and environmental issues, and a partner at the law firm WilmerHale, where he served as Vice Chair of the Public Policy and Strategy Group. Stern served in the White House from 1993 to 1999. As Staff Secretary, he played a central role in preparing the key issues of domestic, economic and national security policy for the President's decision, as well as handling a number of special assignments. From 1997 to 1999, he coordinated the Administration's initiative on global climate change, acting as the senior White House negotiator at the Kyoto and Buenos Aires negotiations. At Treasury, from 1999 to 2001, Stern advised the Secretary on the policy and politics of a broad range of economic and financial issues, and supervised Treasury's anti-money laundering strategy. Previously, from 1990-93, Stern served as Senior Counsel to Senator Patrick Leahy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he advised Senator Leahy on intellectual property, telecommunications and constitutional issues. After leaving the government, Stern was an Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Stern is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. |
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About the Lecture
With frightening evidence for climate change mounting around the globe, from droughts and massive forest fires to melting glaciers and rising sea levels, you might think nations would wish to work together to meet such a grave threat. Instead, as U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern reports, there has been only modest progress internationally in facing up to the challenge of climate change.
Stern starts by describing the kinds of devastation beginning to ravage the planet and the perils we face as a result. He also acknowledges the shameful drift from fact to opinion among American political leaders when it comes to dealing with the science of climate change, and the companion drop in poll numbers of Americans deeply concerned by the problem. Nevertheless, Stern notes that the Obama administration has remained true to its policy of tackling the problem, focusing on clean energy R&D to transform the economy and cut emissions. He recounts proudly that investments made by the U.S. government are leading to advanced vehicle batteries, electric charging structures over the nation, and a vast increase in energy production from wind, solar and geothermal sources.
But progress internationally is much harder to come by. There are deep divisions among nations who gather to discuss the way forward under the umbrella of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). The main cause of acrimony involves a "firewall" between developed and developing nations, which sprang up in 1992 when the UN began work on an international treaty to reduce global warming. According to Stern, developing nations have approached these climate conventions insisting that legally binding commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions fall primarily on developed nations, which are responsible historically for the lion's share of CO2 output.
The problem with this argument today, says Stern, is that many of these developing nations have evolved such strong economies in the past decade that they are closing in on developed nations in emissions. Stern believes the U.S. cannot agree to a treaty that doesn't take into account this reality; and that the U.S. must insist instead that certain countries "graduate" from the category of lower to higher emitter when they meet the right criteria, and then assume an appropriate set of obligations.
Stern has been involved in international negotiations for a long time, watching the ebb and flow of effort and politics around the climate issue. His hope is that the next UNFCC convention prove "a cooperative and mutually beneficial platform for combating climate change," rather than "a platform focused mostly on rhetorical thrust and parry."
Testimony to Policymakers
Providing expert testimony to policymakers is a notable event and important mode of communication for the Program. A key aspect of our mission is to provide objective information to the policy-making community that is helpful to their deliberations on global change issues. Responding to requests for testimony enables Program participants to directly communicate insights from their area of expertise and help contribute to improved understanding.
U.S. Congressional Testimony and Correspondence
The True Costs of Alternative Energy Sources: Are We Unfairly Penalizing Natural Gas?
U.S. Joint Economic Committee
April 26, 2012
Michael Greenstone, Director of The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution and the 3M Professor of Environmental Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, participated in a Joint Economic Committee hearing examining the potential impact on the American Consumer due to loss of refining capacity. Greenstone focused on the true cost of alternative forms of energy, taking into account their social (i.e. health) costs. His testimony was based on his recent report, which was reported by the Washington Post. The testimony is available here.
An Open Letter to Congress from U.S. Scientists on Climate Change and Recently Stolen Emails
December 4, 2009
Prof. Ronald Prinn and 24 leading U.S. scientists with substantial expertise on climate change and its impacts on natural ecosystems, our built environment and human well-being, assure policy makers and the public of the integrity of the underlying scientific research and the need for urgent action to reduce heat-trapping emissions. In response to the recent controversy dubbed 'Climategate', the scientists seek to set the record straight: The body of evidence that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming is overwhelming. The content of the stolen emails has no impact whatsoever on our overall understanding that human activity is driving dangerous levels of global warming. The letter is available here.
Allocation Issues in Greenhouse Gas Cap and Trade Systems
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
October 21, 2009
Prof. Gilbert Metcalf participated in a Hearing on the costs and benefits for energy consumers and energy prices associated with the allocation of greenhouse gas emission allowances. Prof. Metcalf's written testimony is available here. The archived webcast of the hearing and other testimonies presented are available here.
Some Fundamentals of Allowance Allocation
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
October 21, 2009
Dr. Denny Ellerman participated in a Hearing on the costs and benefits for energy consumers and energy prices associated with the allocation of greenhouse gas emission allowances. Dr. Ellerman's written testimony is available here. The archived webcast of the hearing and other testimonies presented are available here.
The Future of Fossil Fuels: Geological and Terrestrial Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources
May 1, 2007
Dr. Howard Herzog participated in a Hearing on carbon capture and sequestration and the future of fossil fuels. Dr. Herzog's written testimony is available here. Other transcripts from the hearing are available here.
The European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
March 26, 2007
Dr. Denny Ellerman participated in a Roundtable Hearing to discuss the progress of the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme and to receive information on lessons learned for policymakers who want to better understand how a market-based trading program could operate efficiently and effectively in the United States. A transcript of the hearing is available here.
Climate Change: A Growing Scientific Impetus for Policy
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means
February 28, 2007
Prof. Ronald Prinn participated in a Hearing on energy and tax policy, the first in a series that focused on climate change. Prof. Prinn's written testimony is available here. Other transcripts from the hearing are available here.
Interpreting the Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
February 13, 2007
Prof. Henry Jacoby participated in a Hearing on the Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change, examining the economic impacts of climate change and stabilizing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Prof. Jacoby's written testimony is available here. A transcript of the full hearing is available here.
Other examples of testimony to policymakers and advice provided upon request include presentations to:
- official E.U. bodies, such as the Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change to President Barrosso of the European Commission, on emissions trading;
- non-U.S. governmental bodies, such as the Commission des affaires européennes of the French Assemblée Nationale, on the E.U. ETS;
- the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, on insights into proposed cap-and-trade systems;
- the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, on the economic analysis capabilities and methodology applied in the Joint Program's work;
- the Executive Office of the President of the USA, on scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric concentrations;
- regional groups, such as those working on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative of the Northeastern U.S. (RGGI), on the issue of a safety valve; and
- state-level associations, such as the California Air Resources Board, on emissions trading and air quality issues, and the Florida legislature, on issues of cellulosic biofuels and climate change mitigation.
Program participants also contribute their expertise in various advisory roles, in response to requests for briefings, and through involvement in steering committees, panels, and professional organizations. Outlets for this type of communication include involvement in national and international bodies such as the U.S. National Academies, the International Panel on Climate Change, and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program; participation in Synthesis and Assessment activities of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program; as well as myriad informal contacts with government and international agencies, sponsor organizations, NGOs, and fellow researchers.
Geoengineering: Science & Governance
An MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and Harvard University Center for the Environment initiative.
About the Seminar Series
Solar geoengineering is the concept of deliberately cooling the Earth by reflecting a small amount of inbound sunlight back into space. It is the only currently known method for reducing temperatures in the short term (years to decades), and therefore has the potential to reduce many of the worst impacts of global warming. But what would be the side effects, both physical and socio-political? How would it work and who gets to decide if it is deployed? Does humanity have the wisdom and the institutions to govern the development of such a powerful technology in this messy, multi-polar world?
This seminar series, held jointly by the Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) and MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, will explore the science, technology, governance and ethics of solar geoengineering. In bringing together international experts, participants will learn some of the greatest challenges and hear opinions on how this technology could and should be managed.
To find out about the next event, please visit: http://environment.harvard.edu/geoengineering. Or follow us on Twitter at #HarvMITGeoeng.
