Gov Module 21
What is a Nationally Determined Contribution?
Nationally determined contribution: voluntary target that a country sets for itself in terms of lowering CO2 emissions
Describe how President Obama's use of executive orders to commit to the Paris climate accord made the U.S. commitment to the agreement vulnerable. Describe how President Trump undermined the Paris climate accord when he came into office and then withdrew the U.S. from the agreement.
Because Obama utilized executive orders to commit to the PCA, it can be easily reversed or denied by a new president that doesn't agree with the deal. Trump disagreed with the PCA for economic reasons and officially announced his plans to withdraw in 2017.
How might a future President Biden reverse President Trump's decisions on the Paris climate accord? Why would other countries potentially question the stability of the U.S. commitment to the agreement of a Democratic president reenters the Paris accord?
Because there is no penalty for leaving, President Biden can rejoin the PCA at no cost. This makes the US look unstable and unreliable because its membership within the PCA has the potential to change with every new presidential election.
What is the basic scientific claim about the causes and extent of climate change? What are the main environmental consequences that scientists fear will result from climate change?
Climate change is caused by CO2, a heat trapping gas. The atmosphere today has the highest levels of CO2 than it has in the last 800,000 years (maybe even 20 million years). The expected effects are that average global temperatures +5.5 degrees F. from 1800 to 2050 at the current rate of CO2 emissions.
What is the collective action problem? How might it be applied to the challenges of global warming? What are some of the political solutions to the collective action problem in the case of carbon dioxide emissions?
Collective Action Problem: failure to cooperate because of competing/conflicting interests even though cooperation would leave everyone better off This applies to global warming because states do not want to implement environmental protection policies that will curb economic growth even though the world is in danger. Potential solutions: - large actors provide public good on their own by cutting their carbon emissions - international agreements punish noncompliance
Which group of countries will be the recipients of foreign aid under the Paris Climate Accord? How did this aid help facilitate the construction of this international agreement? And how might this aid help countries fulfill their emission targets?
Developing countries will receive foreign aid under the Paris Climate Accord. This aid serves as compensation for larger countries being more prepared to tackle lowering CO2 emissions. This aid allows these countries to lower their emissions while having the money to sustain their economies.
What are the three different distributional struggles related to the problem of climate change?
Distributional struggles: - within countries: finding alternate sources of energy redistributes wealth - among countries: transformation to new source is costly/hurts the growth of developing countries. larger countries do not want to compensate - costs of climate change will be burdened on coming generations
According to the Baker reading, what are the economic and national security benefits of ambitious U.S. leadership in combatting climate change? What are the four pillars of the Baker-Schultz plan to reduce carbon emissions?
Economic Benefits: - clean air is less costly - new technological advancements - reduced costs of tending to natural disasters National Security Benefits: - lessen threats of natural disasters to major cities - US will emerge as hegemon and determine the rules of the new economy 4 Pillar Plan: - carbon fee - revenue redistributed to US citizens - replaces environmental regulations - carbon tariffs
What is an externality?
Externality: consequences (social costs) that third party not originally involved endures
What are the main components of the Paris Climate Accord?
Main components: - nationally determined contributions that are voluntary and not legally binding - fund to transfer $100 billion dollars from developed to developing countries
What is the Paris climate accord? How might it operate to reduce carbon emissions and limit the increase of average temperatures? How did it navigate the tension between developed and developing countries?
Paris Climate Accord: international agreement to reduce CO2 emissions and prevent effects of climate change It allows countries to voluntarily contribute to funding and set their own goals in terms of decreasing CO2 levels. The agreement makes developed countries fund developing countries and help them pay their costs as they transition.
What are the pros and cons of the Paris climate accord?
Pros: - broad collective agreement, many countries agreed, includes both developed and developing countries - voluntary contributions more realistic - addresses the needs of developing countries Cons: - challenges of countries actually executing the deal - theoretically, even if every country met their set goals, it would not be enough to meet goal of global temperature <2 - in reality, most countries are not even meeting their goals
What is the tragedy of the commons? Why is it rational for individuals to overuse public goods? How does this phenomenon help to explain the difficulty of managing the sustainable use of commonly held public property? Know some examples.
Tragedy of the Commons: overuse/misuse of common (public) resources It is rational for individuals to overuse public goods as the social costs to society are insufficient enough to restrict usage. This explains why the usage/depletion of public resources is not prevented. Because it is public, no one has rights to these resources. The long term damage it causes, does not outweigh the current (usually economic) benefits. - oil fields - common grazing lands - overpopulation - factory and river