Climate Change: Why Germany is pushing for a 'climate club' | EXPLAINER
Germany is hosting this year’s meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven leading economies in the Bavarian resort of Elmau. Before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia triggered a cascade of crises over food, energy and international security, the main focus of the meeting was meant to be on climate change.
The German government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz still plans to get the G-7 to commit to collective progress on curbing global warming, and one of the ideas being discussed is the creation of a ‘climate club' for countries that want to speed ahead when it comes to tackling the issue.
WHAT IS A CLIMATE CLUB?
The idea was first floated by Yale economist and Nobel Prize winner William Nordhaus, who said the voluntary nature of existing climate agreements hasn't resulted in sufficient progress.
He proposed that countries which were serious about reducing their emissions could come together and form a club which would jointly set ambitious targets and exempt each other from climate-related trade tariffs that non-members would be subject to.
"This would basically act as a stick as well as a carrot," said Domien Vangenechten, a policy adviser at the Brussels-based environmental think tank E3G.
WHO MIGHT JOIN?
Germany's Scholz hopes to get the whole G-7 behind the idea. France and Italy are virtually given, since both countries are also members of the European Union that is itself a club with strong climate targets. Canada is keen to finalize a long-discussed trade agreement with the EU and membership of the climate club could help.
Britain left the EU in 2020 and is skeptical about joining any arrangement with the bloc. But a club that includes members beyond the EU would likely be acceptable to London, especially if the United
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com
