E3G

The Stern Report makes waves in Paris

By Marina Brutinel

Europe as a leader

It is Europe’s role to develop the right relationship of trust with India and China, Nick Stern explained. Europe has to lead the fight of ideas and solutions. It must lead by example through meeting its own targets in a cost-effective way and supporting the deployment of clean energy technologies elsewhere. These steps, he reckoned, are key to developing a strong international cooperative bloc for the fight against climate change. Europe’s mission to put the necessary political choices on the global stage seems indisputable in an economically globalised world where no corresponding globalisation of politics yet exists.

There was a consensus across the panel around the idea that energy and climate issues have the potential to be the new cement in the ongoing construction of Europe. Action on these issues would prove more efficient in strengthening the European project and engaging citizens than relaunching a debate on a Constitutional treaty,

Threats upon our values

While Europe has much to win from taking the global leadership on climate change, at the same time, not taking this opportunity would leave it at a serious risk to undermining its values. Indeed, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet commented on the democratic test embodied by the climatic challenge: a world forced to function under a strong carbon constraint would inevitably fall into authoritarianism.

Similarly, the pressures Europe is likely to endure as global climate deteriorates are likely to go against its most essential soft-power principles. As Claude Henry put it, as the geographical impact from climate change forces greater movements of population, Dutch migrants escaping floods will be quite easily sheltered across Europe; but how would Europe welcome millions of North African migrants fleeing a sterile land, if not with guns?

Paris, capital of climate?

Nick Stern’s visit closed a series of major events held in the French capital over the last week. These started with the meeting and publication of the first part of the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, and was followed by the International Conference for Global Environmental Governance, hosted by President Chirac.

In the run up to the presidential elections where environmental issues are getting more visibility than ever, there is hope that the way forward in French politics may be greener.

Elsewhere: A review of the public debate at Sciences Po has also been published by Le Monde.