The outcome of the December 2011 United Nations climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, provides an important new opportunity to move toward an international climate policy architecture that is capable of delivering broad international participation and significant global CO2 emissions reductions at reasonable cost.
Virtually every aspect of economic activity results in greenhouse gas emissions, so meaningful climate policies will need to alter the fossil fuel foundation of economies over the long term. Climate change policy will likely cost more, benefit more, and require more changes in behavior by firms and individuals than any other environmental policy. The magnitude of this challenge has drawn attention to the potential use of market-based or economic-incentive instruments
