The Baker’s Dozen: Key Nations Can and Should Act Together to Prevent Further Dangerous Climate Change

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Sep 30, 2009
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24357/igjr.3.3.575

Main Article Content

Kirsten Oleson
Stanford University
Lauren Hartzell
University of Washington, Seattle
Michael Mastrandrea
Stanford University

Abstract

Most international responses to climate change assume we need a ‘global’ solution. Game theory and political science both support limiting the negotiating parties to enable a more rapid and aggressive response. Given that 90 percent of emissions come from 12 percent of nations, we argue if a ‘Baker’s Dozen’ of nations bands together, they can make great strides in combating climate change. With aggressive measures, their action would be sufficient to greatly reduce the likelihood of additional dangerous climate change, defined as widespread and irreversible change. We give three reasons why these nations should act: ability to act; responsibility to act; self-interest in acting.

Article Details

Issue
No. 3 (2009): Climate Change and Intergenerational Justice
Section
Articles

Articles in IGJR are being published under the Creative-Commons License "CC 4.0 BY". On the basis of this license, the article may be edited and changed, but the author always has to be credited for the original work. By sending your article to IGJR, you agree to the publication of your article under this license. Please contact us if you do not want to have your article be published under CC 4.0 BY.

Author Biographies

Kirsten Oleson, Stanford University

Kirsten Oleson is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

Lauren Hartzell, University of Washington, Seattle

Lauren Hartzell is a post-doctoral research associate in the Program on values in Society and the Program on Environment, University of Washington, Seattle.

Michael Mastrandrea, Stanford University

Michael Mastrandrea is a consulting assistant professor at the Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University.

References

Aldy, Joseph E. / Stavins, Robert N. (2007): Architectures for Agreement. Addressing Global Climate Change in the Post-Kyoto World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Barrett, Scott (2001): International Cooperation for Sale. In: European Economic Review. Vol. 45 (10/2001), 1835-1850.

Barrett, Scott (2006): Environment and Statecraft. The Strategy of Environmental Treaty-Making. In: Journal of International Relations and Development. No. 9, 103-6.

Den Elzen, Michel / Meinshausen, Malte (2006): Multi-Gas Emission Pathways for Meeting the EU 2 Degree C Climate Target. In: Schnellnhuber, Hans Joachim. / Cramer, Wolfgang P. / Nakicenovic, Nebojsa / Wigley, Tom / Yohe, Gary (eds.): Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Electric Power Research Institute (2007): The Power to Reduce CO2 Emissions. In: Palo Alto.

Hansen, James / Sato, Makiko / Kharecha, Pushker / Beerling, David / Berner, Robert / Masson-Delmotte, Valerie / Pagani, Mark / Raymo, Maureen / Royer, Dana / Zachos, James (2008): Target Atmospheric Co2. Where Should Humanity Aim? In: The Open Atmospheric Science Journal. No. 2, 217-31.

Hoel, Michael (1989): Global Environmental Problems: The Effects of Unilateral Actions Taken by One Country: Bedriftsøkonomisk Institutt.

Luers, Amy / Mastrandrea, Michael / Hayhoe, Katherine/ Frumhoff, Peter (2007): How to Avoid Dangerous Climate Change. A Target for US Emissions Reductions. San Francisco, CA: Union for Concerned Scientists.

Meinshausen, Malte / Hare, Bill / Wigley, Tom / Van Vuuren, Detlef / Den Elzen, Michael / Swart, Rob (2006): Multi-Gas Emissions Pathways to Meet Climate Targets. In: Climatic Change. Vol. 75 (1/2006), 151-94.

Metz, Bert / Davidson, Ogunlade R. / Coninck, Helen D. / Loos, Manuela / Meyer, Leo (eds.) (2005): IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. Cambridge, UK and New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Metz, Bert / Davidson, Ogunlade R. / Coninck, Helen D. / Loos, Manuela / Meyer, Leo (eds.) (2007): Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Metz, Bert / Van Vuuren, Detlef P. (2006): How, and at What Costs, Can Low-Level Stabilisation Be Achieved? An Overview. In: Schnellnhuber, Hans. Joachim. / Cramer, Wolfgang P. / Nakicenovic, Nebojsa / Wigley, Tom / Yohe, Gary (eds.): Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Pachauri, Rajenda K. / Reisinger, Andy (2007): Climate Change 2007. Synthesis Report: Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Geneva: IPCC.

Parry, Martin L. / Canziani, Osvaldo F. / Palutikof, Jean P. / Linden, Paul V D. / Hanson, Clair E. (eds.) (2007): Climate Change 2007. Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Posner, Eric A. / Sunstein, Cass R. (2007): Climate Change Justice. In: University of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 354 University of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 177.

Posner, Eric A. / Vermeule, Adrian (2003): Accommodating Emergencies. In: University of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper.

Rai, Varun / Victor, David / Thurber, Mark (2009): Carbon Capture and Storage at Scale. Lessons from the Growth of Analogous Energy Technologies. In: Program on Energy and Sustainable Development: Stanford University.

Raupach, Michael R. / Marland, Gregg / Ciais, Philippe / Le Quéré, Corinne / Canadell, Josep G. / Klepper, Gernot / Field, Christopher B. (2007): Global and Regional Drivers of Accelerating CO2 Emissions. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 104 (24/2007).

Rogelj, Joeri / Hare, Bill / Nabel, Julia / Macey, Kirsten / Schaeffer, Michiel / Markmann, Kathleen / Meinshausen, Malte (2009): Halfway to Copenhagen, No Way to 2 [Deg]C. In: Nature Reports (doi:10.1038/climate.2009.57).

Sands, Philippe (2003): Principles of International Environmental Law. Second Edition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Smith, Joel B. / Schneider, Stephen H. / Oppenheimer, Michael / Yohe, Gary W. / Hare, William / Mastrandrea, Michael D. / Patwardhan, Anand / Burton, Ian / Corfee-Morlot, Jan / Magadza, Chris H D. (2009): Assessing Dangerous Climate Change through an Update of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “Reasons for Concern”. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol: 106 (11/2009), 4133.

Solomon, Susan / Plattner, Gian-Kasper / Knutti, Reto / Friedlingstein, Pierre (2009): Irreversible Climate Change Due to Carbon Dioxide Emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 106 (6/2009), 1704-9.

Solomon, Susan / Qin, Dahe / Manning, Martin / Alley, Richard B. / Berntsen, Terje / Bindoff, Nathaniel L. / Chen, Zhenlin / Chithaisong, Amnat / Gregory, Jonathan M. / Hegerl, Gabriele C. (2007): Climate Change 2007. The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Stern, Nicholas (2007): The Economics of Climate Change. The Stern Review. Cambridge University Press.

Sunstein, Cass R. (2009): Minimalism at War. Supreme Court Review.

Victor, David G. (2006): Toward Effective International Cooperation on Climate Change. Numbers, Interests and Institutions. In: Global Environmental Politics. Vol. 6 (3/2006), 90-103.

World Bank (2009): World Development Indicators.World Bank.

World Resources Institute (2007): Earth Trends. World Resources Institute.