Climate Change and Global Warming : The Role of the International Community

The purpose of this background paper is to take stock of current knowledge about the risks climate change poses to sustainable development and discuss issues associated with managing that risk. In part because of the risks climate change poses to sustainable development, efforts to target greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions globally have been the focus of international discussions in an effort to achieve the broad participation necessary to manage the risk. The paper examines these international efforts and discusses why managing this risk is so challenging. It provides an assessment of the challenges and possible roles for the international community to address climate change and manage the significant risks that will increasingly affect the ability to attain sustainable development for current and future generations. The paper argues that a central driver of climate change risk is mainstream economic (development) models which aspire to carbon-intensive industrialization. Transformation to lowcarbon, climate resilient, sustainable development is an imperative to manage the risks associated with climate change, but deep-seated challenges related to risk management, political economy, and decision making under uncertainty continue to undermine these efforts. It notes that unresolved climate-change risk poses a moderate threat to current sustainable development and a severe threat to future sustainable development unless anthropogenic climate change and development models which drive GHG emissions are reconciled. The core message of the paper is that although regional solutions or “coalitions” of willing states may be appropriate for some forms of climate policy—particularly efforts to manage risks of climate variability like extreme weather events which may grow in magnitude and frequency with climate change—the underlying systemic risk of climate change can only effectively be addressed by global-scale reduction of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. 1 The author acknowledges the help of Sonke Kreft (UNU-EHS) on climate policy issues, and Kristina Yuzva (UNU-EHS) for preparation of the manuscript and literature reviews, Tom Willbanks, Karen O Brian, Michael Oppenheimer, Jorn Birkmann, Andrea Wendeler, Gary Yohe and other authors of the IPCC 5 th Assessment Report for critical thinking and reading that informs this background paper, and Rasmus Heltberg and Inci Otker-Robe for comments and suggestions. All views remain the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect World Bank positions or views.