Environment Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Beyond Kyoto

by John Feffer, Ruth Greenspan Bell | Oct 10, 2006

Hoff Stauffer should not be so apologetic and tenuous in his proposal for performance standards. If and when the world decides to become serious and really do something about global warming (and the considerable lag times normally encountered between decision and action suggest we are fast running out of time), I doubt the Kyoto Protocol will have anything to do with what emerges. Kyoto and its flexible mechanisms may represent an idealized vision of how pollution might be controlled in a perfect world, but the real world is far from meeting those conditions. The question we should be asking is: why would the world want to experiment with untried theory for this critical and time-sensitive problem?

Global Warming: A Viable Strategy

by John Feffer, Hoff Stauffer | Oct 4, 2006

The debate in the United States on global climate change is shifting from whether to do something about the problem to what to do. The conventional wisdom focuses on “cap and trade,” also known as tradable emissions permits. The Kyoto protocol, for instance, has instituted a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases (GHGs).

A New Standard for Preventing Global Warming

by John Feffer, Hoff Stauffer | Oct 2, 2006

The debate in the United States on global climate change is shifting from whether to do something about the problem to what to do.1 Prudent people do not want to risk unacceptable adverse economic impacts, even if they are extremely concerned about global climate change. On the other side, equally prudent people do not want to risk accomplishing too little. The debate is stymied, even though several bills on global warming have been introduced into Congress. ÂThere will be no climate change legislation coming out of my committee this year,Â Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) recently announced. ÂFrankly, I don’t know how to write it, and I don’t think anybody does.Â2

Treaty on Pesticides

by John Feffer, Kristin S. Schafer | Sep 7, 2006

The United States is once again missing a chance to save the earth by failing to adopt two key environmental treaties. The Stockholm Convention eliminates chemicals that the international community has agreed are extremely dangerous to human health and the environment. The Rotterdam Convention controls the international trade of highly toxic chemicals.

One More Failed U.S. Environmental Policy

by John Feffer, Kristin S. Schafer | Sep 1, 2006

Key Points

Chad Proves Oil and Poverty Alleviation Don’t Mix

by Emily Schwartz Greco, Daphne Wysham | May 22, 2006

The African nation of Chad has forced the World Bank to back down in a dispute that illustrates the problems with lending to poor nations for oil and gas production.

After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming

by John Gershman, William D. Nordhaus | Mar 26, 2006

Abstract: This paper reviews different approaches to the political and economic control of global public goods like global warming. It compares quantity-oriented control mechanisms like the Kyoto Protocol with price-type control mechanisms such as internationally harmonized carbon taxes. The pros and cons of the two approaches are compared, focusing on such issues as performance under conditions of uncertainty, volatility of the induced carbon prices, the excess burden of taxation and regulation, accounting finagling, corruption, and implementation. Although virtually all policies involving economic global public goods rely upon quantitative approaches, price-type approaches are likely to be more effective and more efficient.

Another False Start for Fighting Global Warming

by Daphne Wysham | Feb 27, 2006

In the aftermath of the third- and fourth-most devastating hurricanes in Atlantic basin history, people are beginning to talk about the connections between extreme weather events and global warming. But connecting the dots between flooded New Orleans, Beaumont and the World Bank Group’s eadquarters in Washington DC seems too big a leap for most people to make. It shouldn’t be. Here’s why.

Breaking the U.S. Oil Addiction

by Nadia Martinez, Emily Schwartz Greco, Daphne Wysham | Feb 3, 2006

In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush admitted to the American people that America has a problem: Oil addiction. The first step in overcoming an addiction is acknowledging the problem. The logical second step should be addressing the root causes of that addiction and correcting the imbalances that enable it. But the Bush proposal does little to meet this challenge.

Climate Politics after Montreal: Time for a Change

by John Gershman, Larry Lohmann | Jan 9, 2006

There’s no escaping it. Changing monsoons, agriculture in crisis, environmental refugees—climate change is looming ever larger on the horizon of governments everywhere.