Towards a Climate Safe Common Future

The briefing outlines three strategic pillars for leaders to address the dual challenges of climate change and poverty: utilizing sound scientific evidence to drive political action, establishing a comprehensive global climate agreement, and correcting market failures through emissions pricing and redistribution from developed to developing nations.

• Political leaders should base their actions on scientific evidence and translate that knowledge into political commitment, noting that mitigation is the most effective adaptation strategy.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that without action, global warming could reach 5-6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century; to stay below a 2-degree rise, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to a fraction of current levels by 2050.
• Effective climate action requires a global agreement that includes most countries, covers all major greenhouse gas emission sources, and adheres to IPCC long-term goals.
• Climate change is described as a market failure because individual emitters face no cost while the rest of humanity pays the price; the solution is to put a price on emissions to make pollution 'bad business'.
• Developed countries must first prove that low-carbon growth is technically and economically viable before they can expect developing countries to adopt sustainable paths, especially as poverty and development often take precedence over climate concerns.

APA

Brundtland, G. H. (2010). Towards a Climate Safe Common Future. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-3.pdf

Chicago

Brundtland, Gro Harlem. Towards a Climate Safe Common Future. World Resources Institute, 2010. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brundtland |first1=Gro Harlem |title=Towards a Climate Safe Common Future |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2010 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brundtland2010towards, author = {Brundtland, Gro Harlem}, title = {{Towards a Climate Safe Common Future}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-7-response-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }