Harvard Project on Climate Agreements at COP-27

Follow the activities of Professor Robert Stavins and the HPCA team at the UN Conference of the Parties (COP-27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt Nov. 14-18, 2022. 

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COP27 in Context

RFF University Fellow Robert N. Stavins spoke with RFF Senior Fellow Raymond J. Kopp about international climate policy and prominent issues at the most recent United Nations conference on climate change.

With climate negotiators from around the world gathered in Sharm El-Sheikh for COP27, attention focused on a few critical issues impacting the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Hear more in this episode of the ‘Environmental Insights’ podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. 

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Assessing the Outcomes from COP27: A Conversation with Billy Pizer

Agreement by negotiators at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP-27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt earlier this month on an interna

Billy Pizer, the Vice President for Research and Policy Engagement at Resources for the Future, analyzes the outcomes of COP27 in a conversation with HPCA Director Robert Stavins, in the newest episode of Environmental Insights. 

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What Really Happened at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh? - An Economic View of the Environment

The Twenty-Seventh Conference of the Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held November 7-20 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, turned out to be important in several ways, but disappointing in others. The Most Important Development During COP27 for Long-Term Climate Policy Ever since Donald Trump was elected U.S. President in … Continue reading "What Really Happened at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh?"

Read Professor Stavins’ analysis of the outcomes of COP27 in his newest blog.

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Glimmers of movement, hope at COP27

The most significant climate change action during COP27 this month occurred thousands of miles away, in Bali, Indonesia, when the U.S. and China agreed to restart what had been a successful partnership to cut globe warming emissions before the two nations’ relations soured in recent years.

“The most dramatic and contentious decision within the halls of COP27 … was the establishment of a fund for so-called loss and damage. This is an issue that’s been kicked down the road for a long time,” said HEEP Director Robert Stavins.

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HPCA Co-Hosts Important COP-27 Side Event on Measuring Methane Emissions to Advance Global Climate Policy

Significant technological advances in satellite technology and atmospheric measurements have greatly enhanced the understanding of methane concentrations and emissions. The dynamic ways in which those advancements are allowing researchers to monitor methane emissions down to the source level was the focus of discussion Thursday (November 17) at a COP-27 side event co-hosted by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, the Enel Foundation, and the government of Mexico.

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HPCA Hosts COP-27 Side Event on ‘Frontiers in Carbon Pricing’

The myriad challenges incumbent in expanding the world carbon market were the foci of discussion Wednesday (November 16) at a COP-27 side event hosted by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements (HPCA). HPCA Director Robert Stavins moderated the panel, “Frontiers in Carbon Pricing,” on day 8 of the international climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

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HPCA Director Robert Stavins Shares Thoughts on Carbon Pricing Regimes in COP-27 Side Event

China and the United States are back on a productive track to adopt more cooperative approaches on global climate change. Those were the sentiments expressed by Harvard Project Director Robert Stavins on Wednesday (November 16) during a side event focusing on the China National Climate Change Assessment Report at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

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Harvard Professor Daniel Jacob shares his perspectives at the COP27 panel, “Measuring up to the Methane Challenge,” on Nov. 17, 2022. The event, sponsored by IPIECA and held in the IETA Pavilion, focused on the ways in which the energy industry can advance efforts to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

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Satellite technology is making possible detailed measurements of methane emissions down to the source level all over the world! That was the focus of discussion today (November 17) at a #COP27 side event co-sponsored by the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements. 

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Scenes from Day 9 of #COP27, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, November 17, 2022.

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More than 80 people attended the Harvard Project on Climate Agreement’s COP27 side event, “Frontiers in Carbon Pricing,” featuring panelists Daniele Agostini, Lisa DeMarco, Dirk Forrester, and Andrei Marcu, hosted by HPCA Director Robert Stavins, November 16, 2022. 

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HPCA Director Robert Stavins shares his perspectives on the differences between carbon taxes and cap-and-trade policies during COP 27 side event, “Discussion of the China National Climate Change Assessment Report,” in the China Pavilion, November 16, 2022. 

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International Cooperation to Reduce Methane Emissions

In recognition of the urgency of reducing methane emissions, several voluntary international multiparty agreements and initiatives have recently been concluded to accelerate collective action and establish formal mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of methane-related commitments. While these initiatives reflect ambition on the part of public, private, and civil society actors with regard to methane, the implementation of these initiatives presents challenges for governments, emitting sectors, and other parties.

New research co-authored by HPCA Co-Directors Robert Stavins and Robert Stowe and Harvard Kennedy School student Adriana Melchor examines international efforts to reduce methane and the challenges incumbent in implementing cooperative initiatives. 

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Assorted images from Day 8 activities at COP27, November 16, 2022.

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“The choice between [carbon taxes and cap-and-trade] is less important than the actual design of the one that we choose to use.”

Robert Stavins, speaking in the China Pavilion, Day 8, COP27, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

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Professor Stavins meeting with Lisa Friedman, climate change reporter at the New York Times, at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, November 16, 2022. 

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EU tells COP27 it will increase climate ambition

The European Union plans to update its emissions-cutting target under the Paris climate accord, the EU climate policy chief told the COP27 summit on Tuesday, with the upgrade expected before next year's United Nations summit.

Potentially positive developments on increased ambition are emerging from the COP27 climate change conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.