Selin in The Conversation: The Paris Climate Talks
Henrik Selin, Associate Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, is your best source for all you need to know on the upcoming U. N. climate change summit in Paris.
Selin wrote a comprehensive explainer on the topic for the news outlet The Conversation on August 13, entitled “Your Brief to the Paris UN Climate Talks: How We Got Here And What To Watch For.”
From the text of the article:
The hastily scrambled together Copenhagen Accord ended up a political document, merely encouraging countries to submit voluntary, and widely varying, greenhouse gas targets for 2020. Since then, the leaders of China, the United States and other countries have voiced support for more concerted action, but many still prefer to keep any national targets voluntary. In typically awkward UN-speak, these are called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).
Consequently, countries in Paris will seek to develop a new hybrid approach. The intent is to establish a universal legal agreement that lays out basic provisions, but each countries’ INDCs are submitted separately, and implementation issues are intended to be addressed in political decisions adopted separately at the Paris meeting.
You can read the entire article here. The piece was also reprinted in TIME Magazine.
Selin conducts research and teaches classes on global and regional politics and policy making on environment and sustainable development. Learn more about him here.