Online Debate: COP21 – results and perspectives

15 December 2015

Moderator: Xavier Labandeira, Director, FSR Climate

Watch the recording of the debate:

The debate discussed the outcomes of the Paris 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference on 30 November-11 December, aimed to reach an international agreement that can limit the increase of temperature to 2° by 2050.

Speakers

Joseph E. Aldy (Harvard Kennedy School), USA

Joseph Aldy is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a Visiting Fellow at Resources for the Future, a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Faculty Chair of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government Regulatory Policy Program. In 2009-2010, Aldy served as the Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Environment, at the White House. He also served as the Co-Director of the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements, Co-Director of the International Energy Workshop, and Treasurer for the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists before joining the Obama Administration. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University, a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Nicholas School of the Environment, and a BA from Duke University.

Carlo Carraro (Ca’ Foscari University), Italy

Carlo Carraro is a Professor of Environmental Economics and Econometrics at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He was President of the University of Venice from 2009 to 2014 and Director of the Department of Economics from 2005 to 2008. In 2008, he was elected Vice-Chair of the Working Group III and Member of the Bureau of the Nobel Laureate Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He is the Director of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Programme of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Executive Board Member of the Euro Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (CMCC), and Director of the International Centre for Climate Governance. He is also Co-Chair of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform Advisory Committee and the Editor of the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, the most important international journal in its field.

Xiliang Zhang (Tsinghua University), China

Xiliang Zhang holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Tsinghua University. He is currently a professor of Management Science and director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University. He has conducted research on sustainable energy technology innovation and diffusion, markets, policies, and futures for China. He served as the co-leader of the expert group for drafting China Renewable Energy Law during 2004 -2005, and the energy expert of the expert group for drafting China Circular Economy Law in 2007. He has been a lead author of the 4th and 5th IPCC Climate Change Assessment Report. He is currently leading a national carbon market research project which aims at assisting National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in designing China’s national carbon emission cap and trade scheme.