Global Cooperation and Understanding to Accelerate Climate Action

International climate change negotiations continue to be slow and problematic, with long-standing differences between rich and developing countries difficult to overcome. Emission reduction pledges put forward at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 provided a strong foundation for progress, but a major gap remains between what is planned and emissions reductions consistent with a 2°C path. Despite some advance since COP 15 in Copenhagen, progress remains too slow if the world is to achieve a strong global deal by 2015; all countries need to do more. This chapter reviews recent progress in international climate change negotiations, explores prospects for global emissions to 2030 given current commitments, and discusses how to accelerate action, which will need to be on the scale of a new industrial revolution. There is already much action in the developed and developing world, but stronger policy is needed if we are to act on the scale required. This will involve both bottom-up (national policies) and top-down (collective international action) approaches, which support and encourage each other.