The world's response to climate change is deeply flawed. The conventional wisdom on how to deal with climate change has failed and it's time to change course. To date, climate policies have been guided by targets and timetables for emissions reduction derived from various academic exercises. Such methods are both oblivious to and in violation of on-the-ground political and technological realities that serve as practical 'boundary conditions' for effective policy making. Until climate policies are designed with respect for these boundary conditions, failure is certain.
Emissions trading policies initially relied on 'squatter's rights' principles granting emissions allowances to existing polluters for free. Recently, however, policy designers have largely abandoned this approach, requiring polluters to buy allowances from the public through auctions. Given the high financial stakes, this is a momentous shift. Given how skeptical experts and decision makers have been of the political viability of allowance auctions, and the opposition of powerful economic interests, it is also a remarkable political development.
U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel is a Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is Chairman of the Atlantic Council and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Defense Policy Board.
Dallas BurtrawDallas Burtraw is Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that conducts independent research - rooted primarily in economics and other social sciences - on environmental, energy, and natural resource issues.
Naomi OreskesProfessor of History and Science Studies at the University of California, San Diego Co-Sponsored by the University of Michigan Science, Technology & Society Program and School of Natural Resources and Environment 4:00-5:30pm in the Betty Ford Classroom (1110 Weill Hall) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
A one day conference with beginning and ending keynotes, and two intermediate panel discussions. On-line registration will commence in early September. Go to the Erb Institute web page for more information. Co-sponsors: The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, The Association of Religious Counselors, The Program in the Environment, Center for Faith & Scholarship, Lord of Light - Lutheran Campus Ministries, and Religious Trust Fund.
