The Foreign Service Journal, September 2009

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 53 worked on the similarly complex and difficult issues posed by the Law of the Sea Treaty, I concur in the three prin- ciples Stern identifies as crucial to his titular “global deal”: effectiveness, ef- ficiency and equity. Targets and trade: There must be at least a 50-percent cut in global CO 2 emissions by 2050 from 1990 levels, with developed countries taking on a larger share of the burden. The devel- oping world would participate in the necessary reductions at a somewhat slower pace as part of a cap-and-trade system, which Stern advocates as a way to finance and induce their early par- ticipation. Integral to Stern’s trading system are strong initiatives with public fund- ing to halt deforestation — an early, low-cost, carbon-saving mechanism. By spending $15 billion a year, we could halve deforestation worldwide. Many observers may doubt that devel- oped countries will accept this burden, but Stern believes that they will. In his view, global targets, country-specific ceilings and trading regimens are all in- timately linked and necessary. Funding: Resources would come from cap-and-trade and added devel- opment assistance, while private/pub- lic investments would finance research and development of new technologies. Governments would provide initial “deployment support” to speed the flow of technologies to the developing world, at a cost Stern estimates at about $60 billion per year for 20 years; consumers would ultimately cover most of this. (By comparison, the pro- jection for annual new investment in the traditional energy sector is roughly $1 trillion.) Stern also calls on rich countries to deliver on their develop- B O O K S Stern identifies three principles as crucial to his titular “global deal”: effectiveness, efficiency and equity.