CAMBRIDGE MA. – Andrei Marcu, founder and executive director of the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition, provided his insights on the UN Climate Change conference taking place in Madrid this week in the newest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program,” a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. Listen to the interview here. A full transcript is available here.
Hosted by Robert N. Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School and director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, Environmental Insights is intended to promote public discourse on important issues at the intersection of economics and environmental policy.
Marcu attended the first week of negotiations at COP25, during which time lower-level discussions were held among representatives of many of the more than 200 countries which signed the Paris Climate Agreement of 2016. Marcu characterized the Agreement as a “decentralized pledge and review type of approach” to the global emissions problem, one that brings countries to the table, but also one that “creates headaches” in the market.
What happens in Madrid during the coming week, Marcu said, will be very important in specifying the ways in which the Paris Agreement will be “operationalized” going forward.
“Presumably you will see three decisions – one for Article 6.2, one for 6.4 and one for 6.8,” he explained, naming the specific sections of the Paris Agreement that are being negotiated at COP24. Yet Marcu also remarked that some of the most difficult decisions may be “punted” to future talks. “Sometimes you don’t jump. You go in small steps. This seems to be the case here,” he said.
In general, Marcu said he is “optimistic that we are moving in the right direction,” on addressing climate change, while also expressing concern about the pace of change.
“To be fair, it is not an easy change. It’s quite a radical change as people are just coming to terms with what carbon neutrality means.” he stated. “It is not an incremental change. It is a radical change.”
Marcu has long been engaged in multilateral negotiating processes and subsequent implementation action, both at the global and sectorial level with a focus on sustainable development, climate change and energy. In various capacities, he has acted as negotiator for developing countries, coordinator for the G-77 and China, and as representative of the international business community. He previously served as Manager of Private Sector Cooperation in the United Nations Development Programme; and founder, president and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), a business association with offices in Geneva, Brussels, Washington and Toronto.
Marcu’s interview is the third episode in the Environmental Insights series, with future episodes scheduled to drop each month.
“Environmental Insights is intended to inform and educate listeners about important issues relating to an economic perspective on developments in environmental policy, including the design and implementation of market-based approaches to environmental protection,” said Stavins. “We will speak with very accomplished Harvard colleagues, other academics, and practitioners who are working on solving some of the most challenging public problems we face.”
Environmental Insights is hosted on SoundCloud, and is also available on iTunes, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
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