Transcript
A (0:00)
This month, representatives from 192 countries will convene in Copenhagen to address global climate change. Hi, I'm Justin Guest. Welcome to the Government Department hot seat. With us today to discuss the prospects of this conference is Dr. Stephanie Ricard from the government department. Thank you for being here.
B (0:16)
Thank you.
A (0:17)
Alright, well, let's get started. In advance of Christmas, what do you think is on most environmentalists wish list for this conference? What do they want to see produced?
B (0:26)
Unfortunately, I think they know they're not going to get what's on their wish list. Their expectations have really been dialed back. They know there's not going to be a binding agreement agreed upon at Copenhagen. And so I think the most that they're looking for is some sort of political agreement, some sort of consensus that although it's not binding, it's an agreement to continue the discussion next year.
A (0:45)
Well, it seems like getting developing countries like China and India on board is of paramount importance. What tools do industrialized countries have to persuade their developing partners?
B (0:56)
Unfortunately, they don't have that many tools. I mean, they've already made concessions in terms of trade. They're already investing a lot of capital into these countries, so they don't have a lot of economic chips that they can use to try to extract concessions from them. We have seen some success. We've seen China and India put some agreements on the table and say this is what we're willing to do. Unfortunately, they're not particularly concrete and they don't go as far as we would like. And so it doesn't seem like the developed countries are actually able to get concessions from the developing countries. The EU has tried to do it through moral leadership by saying this is what we're committed to doing. Well, you made us at least halfway or part of the way, but so far that's been unsuccessful.
A (1:39)
Well, in recent years a market for climate friendly goods and emissions trading has really taken off and it seems to be incentivizing corporate and national states awareness of climate issues. Are these tools more powerful than diplomacy?
B (1:54)
It certainly is true that there's been a market developed for green products and this is particularly true in the eu. The EU is sort of banking on the power of markets. The EU is saying we're going to be at the cutting edge, we're going to promote these green policies, these regulations, and they're really hoping that when the rest of the countries sign on to this, they're going to be at the forefront. They're going to already have made these progress, progress, progressive moves. They're already going to have the green tech. And so the EU is really banking on these market pressures and saying we're going to have a competitive edge because we're doing it first. Unfortunately, that only works if other countries sign on. And right now, the EU is in a very precarious position already. Companies like Shell have said they're potentially going to withdraw a little bit of investment or not put as much energy or resources into the EU precisely because they're the really only country out there right now, or only block of countries that have gone as far in environment agreements and environmental emission reductions.