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Although we can anticipate continued improvements in our understanding of future climate impacts, the central challenge of climate change is not scientific, but rather political and economic. In particular, international climate negotiations center on how to share the burden of uncertain mitigation and adaptation costs. Delman will explain the relative economic interests of different countries by assessing and comparing their vulnerability to climate impacts and the economic benefits they derive from the fossil fuel-based energy system. In most cases, the vulnerability-benefit ratios reflect the nature of energy-climate policies in each country, although certain nations assume a level of responsibility incongruous with their ratio. Delman suggests that the essential international cooperation needed to address climate change requires demonstrating the long-term interdependencies of countries, rather than their short-term economic interests. Erin Delman is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Irvine, Department of Earth System Science. She is investigating the implications of climate change for the national security of the US future. She graduated from Union College in June 2012 with a BS in geology, a BA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and a minor in Environmental Science and Policy. |
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