The Foreign Service Journal, September 2009

ment commitments. Even without the current economic downturn, the unprecedented addi- tional commitments required would be difficult, but they are still less costly than the alternative. There is also a chicken-and-egg aspect: Stern doubts that poorer nations will agree to bind- ing actions without firm early commit- ments from the richer countries, whereas some critics in developed countries say the developing world must step up at the same time in order to bring the major industrial nations on board. Here the moral issues and the prac- tical necessities of an agreement col- lide. The rich countries have up until now caused most of the problem and have the most means to cut back on their emissions. But developing na- tions (especially China and India) are rapidly catching up on CO 2 emissions and thus need to make major changes as early as possible. They are also likely to pay the largest cost for inaction. Technology sharing: Early sharing of advanced energy technologies is ad- vantageous to all parties and will act as an accelerator toward a low-carbon world. As the global community prepares for the next climate change confer- ence, which will be held in Copen- hagen in December, Stern’s path toward agreement and all its integral parts constitutes the most persuasive outline yet of a lasting “grand bargain.” This book should be in the hands of every delegate to that meeting and read by every U.S. decision-maker. ■ Harry C. Blaney III, a retired FSO, is currently a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. He spent six years on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff covering global issues, and also worked on international envi- ronmental policy as a special assistant to the chairman of the Council on En- vironmental Quality. 54 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 B O O K S Watch for the November FSJ ’s annual round-up of books by current and former members of the Foreign Service and their families.