THE NEW CLIMATE CHANGE BATTLEFRONT

Climate Change Is Now in the Developing World’s Hands; Can their economic self-interest help us all?

Jeffrey Ball, November 29, 2013 (Slate)

"…[At the just completed Warsaw international climate change conference, almost exactly as has happened in prior [summits]…intonations about a global warming threat were offered, hope for selfless environmental cooperation was expressed…battles over who should foot the bill were fought…[and] little of substance [got] done…[W]hat happened in Warsaw shows that the action has shifted in two ways that diplomats didn’t envision two decades ago, when they began negotiations…First, the important moves are happening in developing countries such as China, not in developed ones such as the United States. Second, they’re happening for economic reasons that aren’t about global warming but that sometimes coincide with it…These two shifts are likely to define the world’s response to climate change for years to come. Together, they mean the world is likely to address climate change only to the extent that developing countries believe doing so will serve goals they see as more immediate and important: providing new jobs, for instance, or cleaning up sooty air…” click here for more

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