Greenprint: A New Approach to Cooperation on Climate Change

International cooperation on climate change has floundered. With mutual recrimination between rich and poor countries, the zero-sum arithmetic of a shrinking global carbon budget, and shifting economic and bargaining power from old CO2 emitters to new - what Center for Global Development authors Aaditya Mattoo and Arvind Subramanian call the “narrative,” “adding up,” and “new world” problems - the wonder is not the current impasse but belief that progress might be possible at all.

Each of these problems must be addressed in a radically different way. First, the old narrative of recrimination must give way to a narrative based on recognition of common interests. Second, leaders must shift the focus away from cutting emissions to generating technology. Third, the old “cash-for-cuts” approach must be abandoned for one that requires contributions from each country calibrated in magnitude and form to its current level of development and future prospects.

This Center for Global Development event will feature a presentation by the authors:

• Aaditya Mattoo, Research Manager for Trade and Integration, World Bank

• Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

With remarks by:

• Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute

• Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

Hosted by:

• Nancy Birdsall, President, Center for Global Development

The threat of climate change can only be averted with genuine cooperation between traditional and emerging powers. However, the profound changes in the economic and fiscal situations of the high-income countries, on one hand, and the rapidly-growing emerging powers such as India and China, on the other, have great implications for the potential for climate cooperation. In their new book, Greenprint: A New Approach to Cooperation on Climate Change, Aaditya Mattoo and Arvind Subramanian offer a new perspective on the climate change discourse. They outline the framework for the collaborative international effort needed to meet this challenge, calling for the big emerging market countries such as China, Brazil, and India to lead the charge for climate change action, as well as a renewed focus on innovation.