November 12, 2014

News Tip: Experts Available to Comment on U.S.-China Climate Agreement

Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a landmark climate change agreement in China on Wednesday. The deal includes a specific framework for reducing carbon emissions in the U.S. and for stopping emissions growth in China.

  • Bio:
    Jonathan Wiener is a professor of law, environmental policy and public policy at Duke University. He was lead author of the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change report’s chapter on “International Cooperation,” and was also involved in drafting the IPCC’s First and Second Assessment Reports, issued in 1990 and 1995, while he served in the U.S. government.

    Wiener advocated for and predicted the crucial role of a U.S.-China deal for global climate policy to succeed in his 2003 book, "Reconstructing Climate Policy" (with Richard Stewart) and in a 2008 article on "Climate Change Policy and Policy Change in China."
    https://law.duke.edu/fac/wiener/
     
  • Video sample:
    http://tinyurl.com/ockszkx (2:30 mark)
     
  • For additional comment, contact Wiener at:
    (919) 613-7054; Wiener@law.duke.edu

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Media Contact:
Forrest Norman
(919) 613-8566
norman@law.duke.edu

  • Bio:
    Tim Profeta is the director of the Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. He specializes in climate change and energy policy, the Clean Air Act, and adaptive use of current environmental laws to address evolving challenges related to the environment.
    http://tinyurl.com/p9znsvk
     
  • Video samples:
    http://tinyurl.com/n8hg2uq
    http://tinyurl.com/od4x25a
     
  • Comment:

“China’s commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions may have significant implications for domestic U.S. politics as well. Inaction by China has long been a key justification for resisting U.S. climate policy, and credible action by China may slay that political dragon.”

  • For additional comment, contact Profeta at:
    (919) 613-8711; tim.profeta@duke.edu
     
  • Bio:
    Brian Murray is the director of the Environmental Economics Program at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. He specializes in economics, market-based policy, climate change and elements to address cost-containment and inclusion of offsets from traditionally uncapped sectors such as agriculture and forestry.
     
  • Video samples:
    http://tinyurl.com/opggcja
    http://tinyurl.com/mfsswk9
     
  • Comment:

“Meaningful action to reduce the threat of climate change must now start with China and the U.S., who together account for 40 percent of global emissions. Each country comes to the issue with different economic, demographic and environmental circumstances at home and thus will require different paths to achieve long-term reductions.”

“China is in a situation where decisions must be made as it adds new energy and industrial infrastructure to the country's still rapidly growing economy. The U.S. will rely more on replacing existing infrastructure, such as fossil-fuel-burning power plants with lower carbon alternatives. This essentially forms the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s greenhouse gas policy with proposed rules to limit greenhouse gases from existing power plants.”

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Media Contact: Erin McKenzie
(919) 613-3652
erin.mckenzie@duke.edu

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