Understanding climate change science and policy: Policy Prof Douglas Crawford-Brown Director Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research

Remember the components that might be the focus of policy…

Copenhagen and Cancun expanded climate policy

The policy challenge… Find a policy such that it will produce (i) an acceptable level of risk from climate change, (ii) in an acceptable fraction of the world’s population, and (iii) do so with the desired level of confidence… …and demonstrate that it is amongst the more cost-effective solutions to risk reduction

In the UK, we lead the world in setting targets… …but we are rubbish at hitting them (Why??).

Who is most vulnerable?

Mitigate or adapt?

Energy, economics and health

Coupled economic sectors, coupled regions

From polices to action plans and instruments Policies – broad statements of the intent of action (e.g. to reduce the risk of climate change by remaining below 2 degrees C mean global temperature increase) Strategies – more concrete statements of how a policy will be implemented (e.g. through the policy instrument of a carbon tax applied globally) Action Plans – the specific steps that will be taken to implement a strategy (e.g. introduce carbon taxes starting at £20 per ton of carbon in 2020)