Energy Politics

Chapter 6. Climate Change

Chapter 6 Climate Change Energy and environmental policies are interconnected: how a state uses energy is one of the most significant factors affecting its environment. At the same time, environmental policies affect energy consumption patterns and prices. The interconnection between energy and environment is most acute in the sphere of climate change: addressing the issue of climate change implies dramatic shifts in energy consumption patterns on a global scale. In addition, climate change policies affect the preferences for which fuels are consumed and thus affect the prices for different energy sources. A number of the consequences of massive use of fossil fuels—air pollution , dependence on Middle East oil, funding to nondemocratic regimes—have raised questions about the wisdom of the world’s continuing dependence on fossil fuels. Until now, due to their relatively low costs and the easy portability of oil and coal, and the diversity of uses of these fuel sources, no major action has been taken to wean the industrialized world from dependence on fossil fuels. However, the threat of climate change and the anticipated costs of adjustment may be significant enough to serve as a catalyst for reducing the use of such fuels in the long term. Until recently, climate change was seen as an expendable item on the international agenda, confined primarily to the realm of environmental policy. Now, however, climate change is a major concern of leading international and regional political and economic groupings. Climate change is no longer considered an issue relating only to quality of life and the environment, but also one directly affecting human and global security. For example, climate change has been recognized as an international security threat, with the initiation in 2007 of UN Security Council discussions on the topic. Consequently, due to their link to climate change, energy consumption patterns and policies have become an international security issue. As stated by UN secretary general Ban Ki- 106 Chapter Six moon, ‘‘Projected changes in the earth’s climate are thus not only an environmental concern . . . issues of energy and climate change can have implications for peace and security.’’1 While global public awareness has grown on the need to address climate change, the full international community has yet to agree on a policy mechanism to address the challenge. The lack of coordinated international policy, despite the wide recognition of the dangers of climate change, illustrates the difficulties in the international system of collective action on an issue of such magnitude.2 Climate change is also a particularly difficult global challenge since it requires current generations to make material sacrifices in order to avert danger to future generations . Moreover, climate change creates a special challenge, since each state is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but the solution can only be reached globally. The political debates over how to address the threat of climate changes reflect a number of the larger debates in the international system , such as the responsibility of industrialized countries toward developing countries, the obligations of current populations toward the security and livelihood of future generations, and questions of how to accommodate changes in power relations in the international system, such as the rise of China. While all states are affected by the consequences of climate change, some states will be affected more than others , especially in early changes of the shift. Also, there is no connection between the damage that will be incurred by a state and its level of emissions . Thus, some states will have to disproportionately bear the consequences of the actions of other states. Moreover, the states most immediately threatened by climate change, such as island nations, are among the smallest contributors to the problem. Climate Change: Background A wide range of scientists believe that climate change is facilitated by excessive accumulation of ‘‘greenhouse gases,’’ particularly carbon dioxide , in the earth’s atmosphere. The accumulation of these gases, believed to trap a growing proportion of the energy from the sun’s rays, is in turn viewed as intricately linked to consumption of fossil fuels, which release significant amounts of carbon dioxide. Climate change is a more appropriate term to refer to the consequences of additional ‘‘greenhouse gases’’ in the earth’s atmosphere than ‘‘global warming.’’ This is because climate change means a broader set of consequences beyond rising temperatures in certain areas. These are expected to include lower temperatures in other areas, as well as major changes in precipitation and other weather patterns, causing...