More than 100 governments are expected to take part in a signing ceremony for the Paris climate agreement on Earth Day (April 22). Two Duke experts are available for comment. Brian Murray • Quote: “The signing of the Paris Agreement is a necessary step for moving forward, but is not alone sufficient to guarantee success in combating global climate change,” says Brian Murray, director of the Environmental Economics Program at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. “The hard work associated with this agreement begins when each country takes the action to reduce emissions they are now committed to and the international community provides the necessary money to finance the action. I expect that the timing and intensity of action to reduce emissions will vary by country and that adjustments will be necessary to keep the 2 degree or less goal in sight when the countries have their first full review of progress toward their emissions-reduction goals in 2019.” • Bio:Brian Murray, director of the Environmental Economics Program at Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and interim director of Duke’s Energy Initiative. He attended and spoke at side events during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. At Duke, Murray’s work focuses on the economics of climate change policy, including the design of cap-and-trade policy elements to address cost containment. He has advised the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the state of California and the province of Ontario on the design of their cap-and-trade programs. • Archive video on what to expect from the Paris Agreement:https://youtu.be/H9oH_UtAHD0?t=995 • For additional comment, contact Brian Murray at:brian.murray@duke.edu Tim Profeta• Quote: “The signing of the Paris Agreement brings into effect the approach and policy infrastructure needed to tackle the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s ambitious goal to minimize human-caused climate change,” says Tim Profeta, director of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. “The agreement does not solve the problem on its own -- not even close -- but it is a structured revisitation of the science and national commitments that provide the adaptive approach necessary to reach a solution. It is now on researchers and entrepreneurs to invent solutions; for governments, development banks and the private sector to deploy them; and for nations to hold each other accountable as this agreement goes into effect.” • Bio:Tim Profeta, director of Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, has worked for nearly two decades on climate policy, with a particular focus on the use of market forces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. His recent work has focused on using flexibility mechanisms to create climate regulations in the U.S. under the Clean Air Act and how the model of carbon regulation being developed in the U.S. could translate to other countries. This work builds on years of carbon market design work in the U.S. Congress and with U.S. states. • Archive video of Profeta discussing the Paris Agreement: https://youtu.be/H9oH_UtAHD0?t=142 • For additional comment, contact Tim Profeta at:tim.profeta@duke.edu
