Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Humanity’s greatest challenge is to improve the living standards of billions of people \nacross the world without surpassing the planetary boundaries, and especially within the \ncarbon space compatible with a 2°C future. Mitigation actions are thus required to \ncreate synergies and address climate and development goals simultaneously. It has \nbeen recognised that technology-led mitigation measures can accomplish this task, as \nlong as they are also complemented with demand-side measures. Several bodies of \nliterature have emphasised, for example, the urgent need to reduce consumption \nlevels, particularly in industrialised economies. However, in the context of an ever more \nglobalised world, the climate benefits delivered by demand-side mitigation policies can \nbe offset by the existence of potential negative consequences in developing nations via \ninternational trade. This thesis assesses the compatibility between climate change \nmitigation actions taken in industrialised nations and improving development prospects \nin the developing world from a demand-side approach. The study contributes to the \nexisting knowledge base by providing answers to four separate but related research \nquestions that were proposed to examine relevant aspects associated with this issue. \nThe results reveal that CO2 emissions have increased monotonically with income \nwithout showing signs of having decoupled over time. The findings also show that while \ncurbing final demand for imports in developed countries can contribute to reduce their \nconsumption-based emissions and free carbon space, they can also curtail the \ndevelopment opportunities available to the global South. Moreover, specific policy \ninstruments, like border carbon adjustments, can potentially distort trade flows and \njeopardise development in developing nations. Finally, the analysis unveils that the \navailable carbon space compatible with a 2°C target is insufficient to deliver significant \nimprovements in living standards in less developed countries given the continuity of the \nstatus quo. The sharing of the development and carbon spaces should be done in an \nequitable manner. The longer it takes developed countries to significantly cut their \nemissions, the smaller is the carbon space available particularly to the poorest nations \nwho need it the most. The conclusions from this work evidence the necessity to \nformulate alternative development pathways capable of facilitating a transition towards \nan equitable, low-carbon, high-developed, and sustainable global economy.
Authors: Sakai Diaz, Marco Antonio Hiroo
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2616473827