Encouraging Developing Country Participation in a Future Climate Change Regime

The report argues that preventing dangerous climate change requires the active participation of major developing economies (MDEs), as developed countries' actions alone are insufficient. It analyzes the current GHG emission trends in MDEs, the impact of the 2008 global economic crisis on climate finance, and the positions of key actors like the U.S., EU, and China. The authors propose a 'Phased Approach to a Safe Climate' that differentiates countries into Developed, Advanced Developing, and Other Developing categories, transitioning MDEs from voluntary nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) to binding targets by 2020, provided developed countries demonstrate leadership and provide adequate financing and technology transfer.

• Preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system is impossible without the participation of major developing economies (MDEs)—specifically Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea, and Mexico—because developed countries' actions alone are insufficient.
• By 2009, economic activities in non-OECD countries accounted for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, with a significant portion of future growth projected to come from China, India, Brazil, and Mexico.
• The 2008 global financial crisis created challenges for climate action by restricting capital for wind and solar projects and reducing new investment in low-carbon energy by 4% in 2008.
• The report proposes a 'Phased Approach to a Safe Climate' where 'Advanced Developing Countries' (including Brazil, China, and South Africa) would set sectoral 'no-lose' targets in Phase I (up to 2020) and move to binding national commitments in Phase II (post-2020), contingent on developed countries meeting their 2017 goals.
• Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) are identified as a key tool for engaging developing countries, allowing them to integrate climate considerations with national sustainable development policies through voluntary, non-binding plans.
• To avoid the risk of flooding the carbon market with low-cost offsets from developing countries, the report suggests a 'Carbon Bank' to create a price firewall between developed and developing economy markets.
• Major developing economies are generally reluctant to accept economy-wide GHG emission limits for the 2012 period and view the loss of access to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a significant deterrent to taking on targets.
• The European Commission proposed that developing countries (excluding the poorest) limit their collective GHG emission growth to 15-30% below business-as-usual levels by 2020.

APA

Murphy, D., Tirpak, D., Drexhage, J., & Gagnon-Lebrun, F. (2009). Encouraging Developing Country Participation in a Future Climate Change Regime. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_country_participation_in_climate.pdf

Chicago

Murphy, Deborah, Dennis Tirpak, John Drexhage, and Frédéric Gagnon-Lebrun. Encouraging Developing Country Participation in a Future Climate Change Regime. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2009. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_country_participation_in_climate.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Murphy |first1=Deborah |last2=Tirpak |first2=Dennis |last3=Drexhage |first3=John |last4=Gagnon-Lebrun |first4=Frédéric |title=Encouraging Developing Country Participation in a Future Climate Change Regime |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2009 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_country_participation_in_climate.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{murphy2009encouraging, author = {Murphy, Deborah and Tirpak, Dennis and Drexhage, John and Gagnon-Lebrun, Frédéric}, title = {{Encouraging Developing Country Participation in a Future Climate Change Regime}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2009}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_country_participation_in_climate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }