Ditchley Conference Report: The Politics of Climate Change, 12-13 November 2021

Summary:

The thesis debated at the conference was that getting to net zero was a political problem as much – and possibly more than – an economic or technological one. Renewables and battery technologies are improving. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has set out a narrow path to net zero using massive deployment of new technology – although there are big questions about the role of hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and how much energy efficiency could be achieved. We know that pricing carbon emissions effectively would hasten reductions in demand for fossil fuels and the deployment of alternatives. But we also know that the imposition of carbon pricing is politically very difficult, and that climate action is a global collective action problem. Climate action may also reduce growth and have regressive effects – a particular problem for those countries struggling with populist and authoritarian movements that are often sceptical or denialist about climate change. In the US, the Republican Party is largely actively hostile to climate action, but global warming cannot be stopped without the US on board. The politics of climate change will be the most important subject for policy-makers in the 21st century.

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• Alternative Source

ESO Records

Cardiff EDC: 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) https://www.europeansources.info/record/26th-conference-of-the-parties-to-the-un-framework-convention-on-climate-change-cop26/

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