New Principles for U.S. Climate Change Foreign Policy
New Principles for U.S. Climate Change Foreign Policy
Thursday, March 19, 2009
 |
Abandoning unrealistic emissions targets will be essential to creating a binding emissions goal the U.S. can adopt, according to former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Frank Loy, speaking at Resources for the Future. New Principles for U.S. Climate Change Foreign Policy brought Loy and a panel of climate policy experts together to discuss the challenges the U.S. faces as it works with international leaders to frame its climate change foreign policy. RFF Visiting Scholar Nigel Purvis underscored the importance of attainable emissions reductions, saying the U.S. must be prepared to say no to an international agreement if it calls for standards that are unrealistic domestically. |
Purvis also suggested the U.S. may wish to consider options outside the standard treaty framework, and presented his proposal for a congressional-executive agreement that reduce the prospects of an international agreement dying before legislators.
Looking beyond its own shores, the U.S. must work with other developed nations to bind high-emitting developing nations like China and India to reductions targets, according to former Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Diplomacy C. Boyden Gray, who also served in the first Bush Administration as White House Counsel.
Gray expressed his concern with the Obama administration’s proposed revenue-building cap-and-trade system, saying incorporating the plan into the federal budget risks over-politicizing the issue.
Moderator:
Ray Kopp, Senior Fellow and Director, Climate Policy Program, Resources for the Future
Panelists included:
C. Boyden Gray, former Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Diplomacy (2008-2009) and former Special Envoy for European Union Affairs (2008-2009)
Frank Loy, former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs (1998-2001) and member, Resources for the Future Board of Directors
Nigel Purvis, Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future; and President, Climate Advisers
Video and Audio
