Managing the Transition to a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Future

World Resources Institute Working at the intersection of environment & human needs

WRI's goal is to protect the global climate system from further harm due to emissions of greenhouse gases and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change.

WRI's Governance goal is to guarantee public access to information and decisions regarding natural resources and the environment.

WRI's Markets & Enterprise goal is to harness markets and enterprise to expand economic opportunity and protect the environment.

WRI's People and Ecosystems goal is to reverse rapid degradation of ecosystems and assure their capacity to provide humans with needed goods and services.

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PUBLICATIONS

PUBLICATION

February 4, 2008

Managing the Transition to a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Future

Summary:

In the years to come, the world must meet the energy needs of a growing and developing world population while mitigating the impacts of global climate change. This policy brief seeks to establish a framework for considering the complex and evolving links between energy security and climate change, and identifi es three challenges:

the evolving and interconnected nature of energy security and climate change definitions and goals,
the variables that contribute to an uncertain future, and
the trade-offs and unintended consequences involved in addressing both issues.

A workable strategy must be concerned not just with how to design a future in which climate change and energy security concerns are met, but also with the pathway to get there. To guide this transition, this brief offers several guiding principles for devising energy and climate policies that are both effective and politically viable.

Authors:

Kathryn Zyla, Britt Childs, Sarah Ladislaw