Climate Conundrum: Could a Transitional Agreement Offer a Way Out?

A research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute discussing the risks of the current climate negotiation process and proposing a two-stage transitional agreement to maintain momentum and ensure long-term stability.

• The author suggests that a 'business as usual' approach to COP negotiations risks weakening the climate regime through excessive concessions, potentially failing to provide the stable framework required for investments to reduce global reliance on fossil fuels.
• The author proposes a transitional approach consisting of a flexible system for the period 2013–20, supported by a 'hard shell' agreement to negotiate a long-term regime for 2020–35 with a 2050 perspective.
• The proposed transitional system would utilize a flexible structure with varied commitments for different countries, based on measurable, reportable, and verifiable quantified objectives, and would incorporate elements of the Bali Action Plan such as technology promotion, financial transfers, and adaptation support.
• A transitional agreement would allow long-term negotiations to be informed by the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (expected 2013–14) and align climate action with the global sustainable development goals of the 2012 Rio+20 Conference.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2011). Climate Conundrum: Could a Transitional Agreement Offer a Way Out? https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-conundrum-could-a-transitional-agreement-offer-a-way-out/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Climate Conundrum: Could a Transitional Agreement Offer a Way Out? 2011. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-conundrum-could-a-transitional-agreement-offer-a-way-out/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Climate Conundrum: Could a Transitional Agreement Offer a Way Out? |date=17 January 2011 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-conundrum-could-a-transitional-agreement-offer-a-way-out/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2011climate, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Climate Conundrum: Could a Transitional Agreement Offer a Way Out?}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-conundrum-could-a-transitional-agreement-offer-a-way-out/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }