The Baker’s Dozen: Key Nations Can and Should Act Together to Prevent Further Dangerous Climate Change

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Kirsten Oleson
Lauren Hartzell
Michael Mastrandrea

Abstract

Most international responses to climate change assume we need a ‘global’ solution. Game theory and political science both support limiting the negotiating parties to enable a more rapid and aggressive response. Given that 90 percent of emissions come from 12 percent of nations, we argue if a ‘Baker’s Dozen’ of nations bands together, they can make great strides in combating climate change. With aggressive measures, their action would be sufficient to greatly reduce the likelihood of additional dangerous climate change, defined as widespread and irreversible change. We give three reasons why these nations should act: ability to act; responsibility to act; self-interest in acting.

Article Details

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Author Biographies

Kirsten Oleson, Stanford University

Kirsten Oleson is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

Lauren Hartzell, University of Washington, Seattle

Lauren Hartzell is a post-doctoral research associate in the Program on values in Society and the Program on Environment, University of Washington, Seattle.

Michael Mastrandrea, Stanford University

Michael Mastrandrea is a consulting assistant professor at the Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University.

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