Coleman quoted in New Yorker article about Norway/Liberia deal
Heather Coleman was recently quoted a The New Yorker article about climate trades.
... One of the biggest challenges when it comes to curbing greenhouse-gas emissions is that developing countries are becoming more prosperous. And, the faster they grow, the faster their emissions grow, too. Graciela Chichilnisky, an economist at Columbia and the creator of the carbon market in the Kyoto Protocol, told me, “In historical terms, developing countries have been the victims of climate change. But in the future they could be a big part of the problem.” We want developing countries to prosper, as China has, because that’s the best way to fight global poverty. But, as Heather Coleman, the manager of climate-change policy at Oxfam America, told me, “The planet can’t stand another five or six more Chinas.”
... Still, it’s unrealistic to expect developing countries to forgo growth. Instead, the developed world should follow Norway’s example and help them pay for the transition to a less carbon-intensive economy. “Developing countries are going to have to leapfrog to new technologies if we want them to reduce emissions,” Coleman said. “If you want, say, Asian countries to build the smart grids they need to make solar power really effective, we’re going to have to pony up real money for that.”
... As Coleman put it, “You combine foreign aid and climate change, and you end up with a pretty unpopular political issue.” The economic and moral logic of paying countries to emit less is good. The politics of it are terrible.