Special Session WEC Architectures for Agreement: Climate Change Policy Post 2012
Fulvio Conti, CEO, Enel, Italy Fatah Birol, Chief Economist, IEA Halldor Thorgeirsson, Director of Sustainable Development Mechanism Program, UNFCCC Carlo Carraro, Chairman Department of Economics Venice, Director, Euro Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change Robert Stavins, Director Harvard University Environmental Economics Program, Harvard University
Post-Kyoto International Policy Architecture to Address Global Climate Change Panel I
Robert Stavins, Kennedy School of Government, Director HEEP Joseph Aldy, Resources for the Future Scott Barrett, Johns Hopkins University Jeffrey Frankel, Kennedy School of Government
Organized by Michael W. Toffel, this conference convenes scholars researching institutional mechanisms for solving industry-wide problems. These "institutions for self-regulation" operate in a wide array of domains including collaborative research and development, environmental protection, fiduciary responsibility, consumer protection, and worker or product safety. Examples include open source communities, professional codes of conduct, ratings organizations, standard-setting bodies, and a variety of private-sector alternatives to government regulation.
Economists and other scholars — particularly from the United States — have been critical of the Kyoto Protocol, noting that because of its specific deficiencies it will be ineffective for the problem, and relatively costly for the little it accomplishes. Some others have been more supportive of the Protocol, noting that it is essentially the "only game in town." Both sides agree, however, that whether this first step is good or bad, a second step is required. Given the global commons nature of the climate change problem, a central element of that second step will...
