A WAY TO MAKE THE PARIS DEAL WORK BETTER

The sense in Republican climate-change nonsense

Stephen Stromberg, August 25, 2015 (Washington Post)

"Conservatives often insist that it’s pointless to cut climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions: It would amount to unilateral economic disarmament; China and the rest of the world wouldn’t reduce pollution…This is a poor argument, mostly…It doesn’t consider the risks of not trying to fight climate change…But there’s still a nugget of wisdom buried in all the nonsense: As world negotiators meet in Paris later this year to construct a global emissions-cutting pact, they must recognize that countries will have incentives to lie and cheat the system, and they must agree on mechanisms to expose emissions-cutting fraud and other types of climate deceit…[ Perverse Effects of Carbon Markets… underscores this crucial point. Swedish researchers found that people in Russia and Ukraine took wanton advantage of a poorly implemented European emissions program…[T]he underlying lesson is a global one: You can’t just assume that various national and subnational officials will comply with their commitments in good faith…This will not be easy. The United States and Europeans will probably push hard for some kind of international emissions monitoring, review and verification at the Paris climate talks…Accountability can’t be a side issue in Paris…” click here for more

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