Elliot Diringer

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

Posts by Elliot Diringer

Blog Post
Paris withdrawal and reentry—the basics
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Developing a foundation for science-based decision-making on climate intervention
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Toward international cooperation on solar climate intervention
Blog Post
Congress’ boldest climate plan ever
Publication
Getting to Zero: A U.S. Climate Agenda

This report outlines a comprehensive agenda for decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050, with an emphasis on priority actions needed over the coming decade. This agenda was developed in close consultation with leading companies in key sectors through the Center …

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Blog Post
How we helped on the road to Katowice
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Hard realities in Katowice
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Outlining Essential Elements of the Paris ‘Rulebook’
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The US in Bonn: Beyond Political Theater
Article
Let Trump claim a better deal on climate

The following was published in Nature magazine on June 14, 2017. (Download PDF) It was perhaps inevitable that Donald Trump would stand on the White House lawn to proclaim that the United States was quitting the Paris Agreement, our best …

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Blog Post
Can the Paris deal be renegotiated?
Blog Post
Paris Agreement: Better with the U.S. in
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An American in Marrakech
Article
Decision-makers heed the Paris call to action

The following appeared in the September 2016 edition of Climate 2020, A UNA-UK publication providing analysis and recommendations on fulfilling the Paris Agreement on climate change   Even before the landmark Paris Agreement has formally become international law, it’s clear …

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Blog Post
The enduring power of US-China climate leadership
Speech
Elliot Diringer’s remarks at the APPEA Conference
Blog Post
Moving forward with the Paris Agreement
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How we helped on the road to Paris
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Takeaways from the Paris climate talks
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Paris ‘landing zones’ become clearer
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Paris talks: From the visionary to the nitty-gritty
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Measuring success in Paris
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Will the Paris agreement be a legally binding treaty?
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Putting the UNFCCC to the test
Speech
Remarks by Elliot Diringer on Why Paris Matters at American University on October 5, 2015
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The Paris talks: Looking behind the scenes
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US climate target encourages others to put best foot forward
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The core issues in the Paris climate talks
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Why Lima was so tough
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Outlook for Lima: Setting the stage for Paris
Article
Alternative Models for the 2015 Climate Change Agreement

Fridtjof Nansen Institute Climate Policy Perspectives 13 October 2014 A primary goal of the Durban Platform negotiations should be to develop an agreement that will maximize reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over time. Achieving this objective will be a function …

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Blog Post
How Climate Summit can build momentum for a global agreement
Publication
Building Flexibility and Ambition into a 2015 Climate Agreement

This paper explores options for a hybrid approach in the 2015 agreement, focusing in particular on mitigation efforts, rather than the broader array of issues under consideration in the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform (ADP), such as …

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Publication
Evolution of the International Climate Effort

The international community is in the midst of shaping the next stage of the global climate effort—working both within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and through the broader “regime complex” that has grown alongside it. Within …

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Publication
Issues for a 2015 Climate Agreement

In 2011, parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened a new round of negotiations aimed at delivering a global climate agreement in late 2015 in Paris. The decision launching the Durban Platform talks spelled out some …

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Blog Post
The Warsaw outcome: A hint of what’s to come
Blog Post
U.N. climate talks could yield practical hybrid approach
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Warsaw talks: A mid-point for 2015 agreement
Article
Climate change: A patchwork of emissions cuts

Read Elliot Diringer’s article in Nature on the potential path forward for international climate talks. Below is a brief summary. With the failure in recent years of international attempts to deliver a binding treaty on emissions reductions, individual countries are …

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Blog Post
Obama will need to act on his climate plan with a sense of urgency
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UN climate talks: Fresh start or stuck in the past?
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Reflections from Doha: It’s never easy
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Shifting gears in Doha
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Climate Negotiators Open a New Round
Speech
Post-Durban and Pre-Election: The Climate Outlook
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Durban – How Big a Deal?
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The Question of Binding
Article
Letting Go of Kyoto

This commentary was originally published by Nature A preoccupation with binding commitments blocks progress in the global effort against climate change. It’s time to correct course, says Elliot Diringer. When governments gather for another round of United Nations (UN) climate …

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Speech
Congressional Testimony of Elliot Diringer on the Global Climate Talks and U.S. Action
Speech
From Cancún to Durban: Changing the Paradigm?
Blog Post
Why Cancun Delivered
Publication
The Evolution of Multilateral Regimes: Implications for Climate Change

The 2009 Copenhagen climate summit may in retrospect prove a critical turning point in the evolution of the international climate change effort. For a decade and a half, the principal aim under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) …

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Speech
Congressional Testimony of Elliot Diringer: Climate Change Finance and Providing Assistance for Vulnerable Countries
Article
Designing a Deal

This article originally appeared in Carbon Finance.   The aftermath of December’s Copenhagen talks shows that a new approach to international climate policy is needed to reach a post-2012 climate deal, says Elliot Diringer. The popular view around the world …

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Blog Post
One Less Excuse to Avoid Acting
Speech
Congressional Testimony of Eileen Claussen – Climate Change Legislation: International Trade Considerations
Speech
Congressional Testimony of Elliot Diringer – International Aspects of the American Clean Energy and Security Act
Speech
Congressional Testimony of Elliot Diringer – Toward a Post-2012 Climate Treaty
Article
Op-Ed: The Road To Copenhagen

This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post.   Many thanks to the Huffington Post and Betsy Taylor for helping to advance an absolutely critical debate on the urgent need for a strong, effective international climate change agreement.  In that …

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Article
U.S. Election and Prospects for a New Climate Agreement

This article was first published by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Transatlantic Climate Policy Group. After years of stalemate in the international climate negotiations, the inauguration of a new U.S. president presents an opportunity for a genuine breakthrough.  Both John McCain …

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Article
Towards a New International Climate Change Agreement

This article is draft version of a chapter in the forthcoming book, Development in the Balance: How Will the World’s Poor Cope with Climate Change?, to be published by the Brookings Institution Press.   A successful post-2012 climate agreement must …

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Speech
Congressional Testimony of Elliot Diringer – International Climate Change Negotiations
Publication
Towards an Integrated Multi-Track Climate Framework

With the approach of 2012, and the expiration of the initial greenhouse gas targets under the KyotoProtocol, governments are grappling with how best to advance the international climate effort in the years beyond. The central challenge is as clear as …

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Article
U.S. Exceptionalism and Climate Change (Part II)

This article originally appeared in The Globalist, July 2007.   American exceptionalism is becoming an increasingly potent force in U.S. environmental policymaking. As Eileen Claussen and Elliot Diringer argue, the United States must encourage and tap those elements of U.S. …

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Article
U.S. Exceptionalism and Climate Change (Part I)

This article originally appeared in The Globalist, July 2007.   U.S. policymaking has long been influenced by a sense of exceptionalism, or divinely blessed uniqueness. As Eileen Claussen and Elliot Diringer argue, the United States is indeed exceptional when it …

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Speech
Congressional Testimony of Elliot Diringer – Regarding the Kyoto Protocol and U.S. Climate Action
Paper
Policy-Based Commitments in a Post-2012 Climate Framework

This paper elaborates on the concept of policy-based commitments as one component of a post-2012 climate framework. As conceived here, the policy-based approach would be an avenue for developing countries in particular to put forward national policies of their choosing …

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Article
A New Climate Treaty: US Leadership After Kyoto

This article originally appeared in Harvard International Review, July 2007.   For years, despite a steady accumulation of science showing the clear and present dangers of global climate change, efforts toward an effective international response have been at a virtual …

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Publication
Adaptation to Climate Change: International Policy Options

  This report examines options for future international efforts to help vulnerable countries adapt to the impacts of climate change both within and outside the climate framework. Options outlined in the report include stronger funding and action under the UN …

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Article
Reaching Too Far?

This article appeared in The World Today, June 2006.

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Speech
Testimony of Elliot Diringer – Canadian House of Commons – May 31, 2005
Article
Taking The Long View

This article appeared in Environmental Finance, Dec/Jan 2004 Issue.

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Speech
Looking Beyond Kyoto: A U.S. Perspective
Publication
Beyond Kyoto: Advancing the International Effort Against Climate Change

The report is a compilation of six “think pieces” on core issues in developing an effective international response to global climate change. Working drafts of the papers were the focus of workshops in China, Germany, and Mexico. More than 100 …

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Speech
Setting the Stage: Beyond Kyoto
Speech
Beyond Kyoto: Core Challenges
Speech
Climate Change: Ten Years After Rio
Speech
Fundamentals of Climate Change
Article
Op-Ed: The Climate Challenge Begins at Home

Opinion Editorial The Climate Challenge Begins at Home The Washington Post   Now that the rest of the world has resolved to move ahead with the Kyoto global warming treaty, pressure is mounting on the Bush administration to get back …

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Article
Op-Ed: Foes of Global Warming Could Thank George Bush

Opinion Editorial Foes of Global Warming Could Thank George Bush San Francisco Chronicle Suddenly, things are looking up in the fight against global warming. While the United States may want nothing to do with the Kyoto Protocol, the rest of …

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