Developments over the past few years have shown that reforms to address climate change are no less difficult to implement than reforms in other areas, even if the objective of limiting global warming is broadly accepted. In the case of global public goods such as the climate, the political challenge is further complicated by the need to convince voters that domestic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is worth taking, notwithstanding the cost and uncertainties regarding other countries’ commitments. This paper seeks to draw a number of political-economy lessons from reform experience in other economic areas, and considers how these lessons can be applied to the particular case of climate change mitigation policy. It examines the main ingredients for building a constituency for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction policies at home, stressing the need to establish the credibility of the overall objective and intermediate targets.
In March, 2011, China officially adopted its 12th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint for China’s development from 2011 to 2015. Its green targets will shape the country’s action on the environment over the next five years. But what are they? How were they decided? And what do they tell us about China's future path? In this book, chinadialogue brings together expert views from China, the United States and Europe on the significance of the Five-Year Plan, for China - and the wider world.
This working paper summarises output from Project Catalyst, an initiative of the ClimateWorks Foundation, aimed at providing analytical support for the UNFCCC negotiations on a post-Kyoto international climate agreement. It seeks to show how to spread best practice around the world effectively by learning from and building upon the experiences of first-generation low carbon growth plans (LCGPs). Key to each country’s LCGP is the balance between maximising mitigation and adaptation efforts whilst maintaining economic growth necessary to ensure that decades of developmental gains are not rolled back. A data-driven and country-specific LCGP is essential to guaranteeing success in finding this balance. The paper covers how the plans are developed and analysed, citing numerous examples of LCGPs from countries such as Mexico and South Africa.
The paper identifies some commonly shared factors determinant to success:
The report highlights occupational safety and health (OSH) as an integral part of the promotion of green jobs and a greener economy to achieve an economic and social development that is also environmentally sustainable. The report looks at different “green industries” from an OSH perspective, and shows that while green jobs improve the environment, revitalize the economy and create new employment opportunities, they may also present a number of known and unknown risks for workers. The greening of traditional sectors which will continue to provide the bulk of all employment and harbour most occupational safety and health risks can provide a major opportunity to make them safer and healthier, as well as energy efficient and environmentally sustainable, provided the right measures are taken.
