Energy Security and Climate Initiative
How will the election impact US engagement on climate change?
Webinar: Confronting climate change in the global COVID-19 recovery
Climate threats and climate justice: Action and adaptation for sustainable development
Todd Stern
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative
David G. Victor
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative
On December 8th, 2020, David G. Victor participated in a panel hosted by Boston Review and the Harvard Bookstore discussing climate policy and strategies to address the climate crisis.
[On the importance of Biden appointing a new SEC chair to advocate for climate risk disclosure] Guidance from the SEC and central banks about market risks will be significant.
[On the incoming Biden climate team] They know that electricity is central, and they know that you have to combine decarbonization with known technologies with a big investment in innovation
Renewable energy growth has been strong but won’t be enough to avoid more coal. India’s focus should be on cleaning up coal, instead of wishing it away.
It would be great if we could find some bipartisan things to do, and if [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell should see the light or if it should become politically expedient for him to do something on climate. But I don't see us being ready just yet. It's hard to imagine Mitch McConnell giving in and allowing climate legislation to go forward. That's why the makeup of the Senate is so important [for climate policy going forward].
We still got a way to go and the Saudis recognise that [good vaccine news today does not mean demand recovery tomorrow, next week or even next month]. The vaccine news is good but we’re seeing a resurgence in the [United] States and in Europe and that says to us that demand is not coming back quickly. Prices may bounce a little on vaccine news but they will go back down when people realise that it will not fix the problem immediately.