Key Message
An international regime for governing climate after 2012 will need to foster substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while also balancing the need for continued economic development by all countries, significant energy development in developing countries and adaptation to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
After Kyoto
What will happen after 2012?
Archived
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In 2012 the commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will end. The international climate community has proposed various options to replace the Kyoto commitments—a new regime that will determine the future basis upon which global cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts will take place. Formal negotiations have occurred under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, and numerous parallel initiatives led by national governments and research institutes have shaped the nature of this discussion.
Through a series of initiatives, IISD worked to inform and facilitate the emergence of a post-2012 climate regime and the integration of climate change considerations across policy spheres. We undertook these efforts in collaboration with international partners, the Government of Canada, Canadian provincial governments, individual companies, and other national and international research institutes.
The main themes of IISD's work related to the future of the international climate regime after 2012 included:
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Canadian Options for Post-2012
IISD, in collaboration with the federal government, provinces and individual companies, provided assistance in informing and facilitating the emergence of a Canadian approach to a post-2012 climate regime. -
International Options for a Post-2012 Climate Regime
IISD explored options for encouraging developing countries to be more actively engaged in the development and implementation of an effective and sustainable post-2012 international climate regime. -
Climate Change and Foreign Policy
Our work in this area initiated an examination of how climate change concerns could be more fully integrated into diplomacy and international relations, energy security, peace and security, trade and investment, and development cooperation.
Key Publication
Rising Temperatures, Rising Tensions: Climate change and the risk of violent conflict in the Middle East
» Oli Brown, Alec Crawford, IISD, 2009.In a region already considered the world's most water scarce and where, in many places, demand for water already outstrips supply, climate models are predicting a hotter, drier and less predictable climate in the Middle East. Climate change threatens to reduce the availability of scarce water resources, increase food insecurity, hinder economic growth and lead to large scale population movements. This could hold serious implications for peace in the region.
This report examines whether the legacy of conflict in the Levant undermines the ability of the region to adapt to climate change, outlines the threats that climate change could pose to regional security, and suggests strategies that can be pursued for peace and sustainable development despite a changing climate.
Our Knowledge
» Themes
- Adaptation and Risk Reduction
- Climate Change and Energy
- Economics and SD
- Foreign Investment for SD
- Governance for Sustainable Development
- Information Society
- International Trade
- Measurement and Assessment
- Natural Resources
- Networks & Partnerships
- Security
- Sustainable Markets
- Tomorrow's SD Leaders
» Initiatives
- Water Innovation Centre (WIC)
- The Sustainable Commodity Initiative (SCI)
- Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI)
