Todd Stern: what the US wants from China on climate

by | Jun 15, 2009


US climate envoy, Todd Stern has tried to clarify exactly what the Obama administration wants from China on climate at Copenhagen (see post from Leo and me on the confusing signals the US has been sending out).

So here it is:

  • “Very considerable” reductions on China’s business as usual emissions.
  • These reductions to be binding, transparently measured and verifiable.
  • No absolute emissions reductions but (preferably at least) a designated year when China’s emissions should peak.
  • China’s commitment to be consistent with the world stabilising its emissions at around 450 ppm (“we don’t know whether it’s 445 or 460 or… but in that general range”).
  • The package to be backed up by carbon offsets from the US to China – but these offsets should have “real environmental integrity” – and technology cooperation.

Obvious questions to ask Stern –

  1. Do you believe that President Obama’s domestic commitments on climate are consistent with a 450ppm stabilization target?
  2. Will the United States be pushing for a 450ppm target to be enshrined in the Copenhagen agreement?
  3. When does the United States think Chinese emissions should peak to meet 450ppm?
  4. When does the United States expect global emissions to peak?

Author

  • David Steven is a senior fellow at the UN Foundation and at New York University, where he founded the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children and the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a multi-stakeholder partnership to deliver the SDG targets for preventing all forms of violence, strengthening governance, and promoting justice and inclusion. He was lead author for the ministerial Task Force on Justice for All and senior external adviser for the UN-World Bank flagship study on prevention, Pathways for Peace. He is a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of The Risk Pivot: Great Powers, International Security, and the Energy Revolution (Brookings Institution Press, 2014). In 2001, he helped develop and launch the UK’s network of climate diplomats. David lives in and works from Pisa, Italy.

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