Romania needs to become a more active, informed and committed participant in measures to combat climate change, and the next political and diplomatic goal of the Bucharest authorities should be to join a climate club, in order to strengthen developed and relevant state position in international affairs, says Mihnea Cătuți, Head of Research of Energy Policy Group (EPG).
“The end of January was marked by an event whose importance should not be underestimated: the start of official negotiations for Romania’s accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Membership in this small group of 38 countries with a high level of development, which generates over 60% of the global economic production, would certainly represent a diplomatic success of the Romanian state (…) In order to be able to truly participate in the global dialogue between the states with a high level of development, Romania needs to become a more active, informed and committed participant in measures to combat climate change. The OECD has already launched a dedicated platform for monitoring, assessing, improving and coordinating Member States’ climate action (IPAC) in 2021. Romania’s next political and diplomatic goal should be to join a climate club, in order to consolidate its position as a developed and relevant state in international affairs,” says the EPG analyst.
According to the quoted source, the concept of climate club, launched and popularized by economist William Nordhaus in 2015 is a framework through which developed countries with high climate ambitions can adopt measures to decarbonize the economy without suffering a decline in competitiveness in global markets, as compared to states that do not implement similar measures and have a lower level of ambition.
Thus, countries committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions so as not to exceed an increase in global average temperature by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial period can join forces to increase their climate impact.
The latest IPCC report, quoted by the EPG analyst, points out that a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius would double the frequency of extreme weather events and lead to irreversible changes in the carbon cycle in nature, with devastating impact on humanity, especially the poorest areas and people already affected by material deprivation. At the same time, the incidence of floods, cyclones, forest fires, heat waves, droughts, epidemics, as well as the migration of populations from the most severely affected areas will increase.
“Despite recent global efforts to reduce this phenomenon, the actions promised by the states at the COP26 conference in 2021 are not enough, putting us on a path that leads to an average warming of 2.4 degrees Celsius. We are thus in a real climate emergency, for which the formation of climate clubs can be an immediate solution. Climate club members can step up their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The most effective method is to adopt a price of carbon dioxide, which would penalize intensely-polluting actions. By trading carbon certificates within such a club, the price of carbon would be similar between Member States, which would not lose their competitive advantage and face the risk of relocation of industrial activity to another member state. At the same time, it would created a huge market for low-carbon products.”
According to the EPG expert, it is likely that such a first club will be developed within the G7 group (UK, USA, France, Canada, Japan, Germany + EU) and is a priority for the German presidency of the Group for the year ahead.