Climate change is a global issue that cannot be addressed by the United States alone. A smart climate policy should engage developing countries and provide incentives for them to reduce their GHG emissions.

Just how important is international participation?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analyzed three Senate bills on CO₂ reductions and concluded that the impact of each of the bills on global CO₂ concentrations was negligible without the participation of the international community.¹  In EPA’s reference case, global CO₂ concentrations rose from 354 parts per million (ppm) in 1990 to 718 ppm in 2095. However, the bills’ strict emissions caps only reduced global CO₂ concentrations levels by 23 ppm to 25 ppm by 2095.

Looking ahead, the International Energy Agency predicts that global energy-related CO₂ emissions will increase 45 percent between 2006 and 2030.² The CO₂ emissions from China, India, and the Middle East will account for more than 75 percent of this projected increase. In 2008, China surpassed the United States as the world's biggest emitter of CO₂ from power generation, according to the Center for Global Development.

Encouraging International Participation

The U.S. government is engaged in a number of international agreements that address climate change issues through research and technology transfer. Congress should continue to support these efforts as part of a smart climate policy for the United States.

And, by developing new technologies to help U.S. companies reduce GHG emissions, we will be able to export these technologies around the world to help other countries reduce their GHG emissions as well.

Another approach to obtaining international participation is through trade and related policies. For example, a proposal from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and American Electric Power appears in part in the comprehensive energy/climate bill that passed the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009. In the absence of an international agreement meeting certain objectives, the bill would require the President to establish an international reserve allowance program by January 1, 2020, that would impose a tariff—in the form of allowances required for product imports—on covered goods from countries with which a GHG-reduction agreement has not been negotiated with the United States.

Encouraging developing countries to reduce GHG emissions not only will ensure an appropriate environmental response by the global community, it also will help U.S. industry remain competitive in the global marketplace. The U.S. economy could be negatively impacted if Congress places a limit on GHG emissions, but our global economic competitors do not.

¹ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Atmospheric Programs, “EPA Analysis of Bingaman-Specter Request on Global CO2 Concentrations,” October 1, 2007. The three bills analyzed were S. 280, Lieberman-McCain’s Climate Stewardship and Innovate Act; S. 485, Kerry-Snowe’s Global Warming Reduction Act; and S. 1766, Bingaman-Specter’s Low Carbon Economy Act.

² International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2008, November 2008.

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