This article discusses the role of China, Russia, India and Brazil in the climate regime. It describes the trajectory of their emissions, of their domestic policies and of their international commitments, and argues that, despite their responsibility in causing the problem, they have been conservative forces in the climate regime.Keywords: BRIC countries, decabornization, climate change, international politics, international system. Introduction C limate change is the greatest challenge of current inter national affairs. The rising concentration of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) -especially carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) -in the atmosphere is causing irreversible changes in climate patterns: extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and average global temperature is expected to increase between 3.5 and 4 o C by 2100 if current trajectories of emissions continue. Climate change implies severe impacts on living conditions. Global decarbonization -decreasing GHG emissions so that their concentration in the atmosphere can be stabilized, ideally reduced -is of utmost need to mitigate it. At the Paris Conference (2015), countries presented commitments that, if fully implemented, will limit average temperature increase around 2.7 o C in the long run. Achieving global decarbonization requires a lot more. • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original author and source are credited. Acknowledgements Eduardo Viola• Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto e distribuído sob os termos da China, India, Russia and Brazil, the BRIC countries object of this article, are among the greatest global GHG emitters. They are, together with the United States, the European Union, Japan and Korea, key climate powers -countries that answer for a relevant share of GHG emissions in total global amount, and have human and technological capacity to implement decarbonization. Since 1992, when the climate regime was inaugurated, the BRIC countries' emissions have been increasing consistently, contributing to the accumulated amount of GHG in the atmosphere. Yet, it is not clear whether climate change has occupied a central locus in these countries' policy making.It is the objective of this paper to contribute to this debate by offering an analysis of the decarbonization in the BRIC countries. The article is divided in three parts. First, the profile of the countries' emissions is drawn, in order to identify which are their main emitting sectors. Second, due to the weight of energy supply in global GHG emissions, the existence of energy related climate change mitigation policy is checked, as well as its directions concerning low carbon energy sources and energy efficiency. Third, the trajectories of the BRIC countries in the climate regime, to date, are outlined. The analysis will show the reason for which these countries are classified as conservative powers in the climate regime a...
Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto e distribuído sob os termos da Licença de Atribuição Creative Commons, que permite uso irrestrito, distribuição e reprodução em qualquer meio, desde que o autor e a fonte originais sejam creditados. AbstractWe present the challenge of deep decarbonization, the state of play of major economies regarding it, Brazilian outcomes compared to its peers and political struggles that help explain these outcomes. By identifying key actors, their interests and how they interact in domestic politics in issues that are key to deep decarbonization, we explain why Brazil, despite the potential to be ahead of its peers, has been moving backwards, and how Brazilian stances in the climate regime are influenced by it. The research is based on a qualitative analysis of extensive empirical data (primary and secondary sources). Article Brazilian energy-related climate (in)action and the challenge of deep decarbonization Rev. Bras. Polít. Int., 62(2): e002, 2019 Basso Brazilian energy-related climate (in)action and the challenge of deep decarbonization Rev. Bras. Polít. Int., 62(2): e002, 2019 Basso 3The challenge of deep decarbonization: meaning and state of play Deep decarbonization is the structural transformation of current economic development models and lifestyles to drastically reduce carbon emissions and limit long-term global average temperature rise. It can be measured by the carbon intensity of GDP, decoupled in energy intensity of GDP and carbon intensity of TPES. Both measures are influenced by (i) energy efficiency and conservation, (ii) decarbonization of electricity and fuel production and (iii) switching to low carbon energy sources in energy end-uses (Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations 2015).Energy efficiency and conservation imply decreasing energy demand by technically improving products and processes (e.g.: improving vehicle and appliance technologies; reducing the need of artificial lighting and cooling/heating systems; optimizing logistical chains; reusing and recycling materials (Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations 2015, 08). Decarbonization of electricity and fuel production and switching to low carbon energy sources in energy end-uses are most successful when fossil fuels are replaced with low carbon primary energy sources -renewables and nuclear.When an economy decarbonizes, either or both changes are in place. Yet, energy intensity of GDP is also influenced by the economic structure. If less energy-intensive activities, e.g., services and light manufacturing energy-intensive activities, replace more intensive ones, e.g., mining, heavy industry, in total economic output, energy intensity of GDP also decreases (Fankhauser and Jotzo 2018). Thus, when reducing energy intensity of GDP is the strongest driver of decarbonization, it is key to try to understand if energy efficiency and conservation really did play a role....
IntroduçãoUma grande mudança teve início com a Revolução Industrial, ganhou fôlego ao longo da aceleração demográfica, econômica e tecnológica ocorrida entre 1940 e 2000 e consolidou-se nas úl-timas décadas, fins do século XX e início do século XXI: a transição do Holoceno para o Antropoceno. O Holoceno foi o período de estabilidade ambiental experimentado desde a última glaciação -terminada há aproximadamente 11 mil anos -até o terceiro quarto do século XX, durante o qual a humanidade desenvolveu-se. O Antropoceno é a nova e atual época geológica em que essa estabilidade está sendo progressivamente perdida por conta da atuação da humanidade, que se tornou o principal vetor de mudanças no sistema planetário. As consequências dessa transformação têm magnitude nunca antes experimentada pela humanidade; foram compreendidas e internalizadas rapidamente pelas ciências naturais, mas ainda escapam, em grande medida, às ciências sociais e humanas.O fim da estabilidade ambiental significa que conceitos de ameaça e segurança precisam ser atualizados. A maior ameaça à segurança sistêmica tende a ser, cada vez mais, a ultrapassagem dos limites planetários, não as guerras no centro do sistema como foi até o século XX, dada a improbabilidade de uma guerra sistêmica neste início do século XXI. Ultrapassar os limites planetários significa colocar em risco a sobrevivência humana como espécie. E a ultrapassagem resulta de modelos de desenvolvimento adotados, especialmente padrões de produção e consumo e uso de combustíveis fósseis como principal fonte de energia. Por isso, também o conceito de interesse nacional precisa ser atualizado: dado que para mitigar mudanças tão significativas
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