Comment from Professor Lord Nicholas Stern on outcomes of COP23
Welcoming the final decisions from the United Nations climate change summit in Bonn, Germany, Nicholas Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said:
“Countries have made important progress towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement and set the stage for next year’s crucial negotiations. They have not only recognised the immense risks from unmanaged climate change, but also the attractiveness of the low-carbon transition as the only sustainable path to poverty reduction and strong, resilient and inclusive growth.
“In particular, countries agreed the outline of the so-called Talanoa dialogue, due to begin in January, through which they will together assess the significant gap between the collective action to reduce emissions and the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2 Celsius degrees above pre-industrial temperature. However, it is vital that this dialogue pushes all countries to increase the ambition of their emissions cuts so that they can submit stronger national commitments in 2020.
“Alongside the negotiations, there have been many important announcements of action on climate change, including the launch this week of an alliance of more than 20 countries, led by the UK and Canada, to phase out coal-fired power stations, one of the most intensive sources of carbon dioxide emissions.
“This summit has also been significant because it showed that the rest of the world is steadfast in its support for the Paris Agreement despite the backwards steps being taken by the Federal Government in the United States. In particular, there has been an impressive show of strength by States, cities and companies that are all pledging to carry on with the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It is becoming increasingly clear among countries, cities, companies and communities around the world that the low-carbon transition offers the only serious prospect for sustainable economic growth and development.”
For more information about this media release please contact Bob Ward on +44 (0) 7811 320346 or r.e.ward@lse.ac.uk
NOTES FOR EDITORS
- The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (https://www.lse.ac.uk/grantham) was launched at the London School of Economics and Political Science in October 2008. It is funded by The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment (https://www.granthamfoundation.org/).
- The ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (https://www.cccep.ac.uk/) is hosted by the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics and Political Science. It is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (https://www.esrc.ac.uk/). The Centre’s mission is to advance public and private action on climate change through rigorous, innovative research.