Report on climate change agreement released by C2ES

A new report by Professor Daniel Bodansky of the College of Law, which outlines major issues and options before the world's governments as they attempt to craft a comprehensive new climate change agreement, has been released by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES).

The report, "The Durban Platform: Issues and Options for a 2015 Agreement," will be a primary topic of discussion during the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha, Qatar. Bodansky discussed the report during a presentation, Dec. 1.

His report analyzes issues under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, in which parties to the UNFCCC set a 2015 deadline for negotiating a new agreement to start in 2020. It also reviews past efforts to assess options for a new agreement.

The paper contrasts the more top-down approach taken in the legally binding Kyoto Protocol with the parallel voluntary framework established under the 2010 Cancun Agreements. It identifies three broad options under the Durban Platform: an expanded Kyoto-like approach, legalization of the Cancun architecture and a multi-track approach in which countries may choose among different tracks.

"In designing a new agreement, parties can draw both on their concrete experiences in the UNFCCC and approaches taken in other multilateral arenas," Bodansky said. "The trick is arriving at an approach that enables both strong commitments and broad participation."

Bodansky has authored or co-authored previous C2ES reports, including "Multilateral Climate Efforts Beyond the UNFCCC," "The Evolution of Multilateral Regimes: Implications for Climate Change," and "Towards an Integrated Multi-Track Climate Framework."