Global Agreements National Policies

A number of factors in combination make the issues of global climate uniquely challenging:

• residual uncertainty over fundamentals, and limited public and political consensus
•  the central and pervasive importance of energy to modern economies
• the cumulative and largely irreversible nature of CO₂ emissions in particular
• long time lags between cause and consequences
• intrinsic dependence on global action to tackle a global externality
• strong vested interests, and conflict with other short or medium term policy objectives
• the limitations of existing political institutions, national and international, in achieving effective concerted action

A BIEE  seminar  held on April 24th 2013 focused  on the negotiating and diplomatic perspective on energy and climate related issues.