We no longer need to be persuaded that climate change poses a severe threat to humankind. The imperative of climate change cannot be properly addressed without an integrated and inclusive approach that links it to development challenges.
Fully understanding the nature and the different dimensions of the climate change challenge becomes essential to opening the way for an effective pro-development climate change policy. Climate change results from the stock of emissions accumulated in the common global atmosphere, the flow of emissions discharged, which is closely correlated with current production and consumption patterns, and a variety of emission sources ranging from energy production and use, transport, industrial processes, to agriculture, deforestation, land use change, etc.
Although developing countries have hardly contributed to the present concentration (stock) of emissions in the atmosphere, the flow of emissions of some of them has increased rapidly since their industrialization. It has to be noted, however, that this industrialization started in general terms in the last 50 years or so, whilst developed economies have a much longer “appropriation” of the global common atmosphere going, in certain economies, back over two centuries. Importantly, the flow of greenhouse gas emissions enables the conduct of economic activities that are essential to meet the pressing development needs in developing economies. Such emissions are by-products of the generation of energy, income and jobs to alleviate poverty, construe more stable social networks and achieve human development goals.
The course will first provide an introduction to the economics of climate change and then analyze the implications of the emerging climate change regime for developing countries.
Delivered by: Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, Division on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities
Presentations
