Examples for IB Economics HL and SL candidates

The Lima Accord

When discussing negative production externalities, the use of fossil fuels and the idea of sustainability, the syllabus explicitly states that 'effective responses require international cooperation'.

All well prepared candidates are aware of the Rio 1992 Summit, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2014 Rio +20 Summit.  The Lima Accord is the new kid on the block.  This December 14 article from the New York Times A climate accord based on peer pressure is an excellent (as usual) presentation of the basics on this interesting and important development.  Quoting some bits from the article:



The deal represents a breakthrough in the two decade effort to forge a significant global pact to fight climate change. The Lima Accord, as it is known, is the first time that all nations — rich and poor — have agreed to cut back on the burning oil, gas and coal.

The driving force behind the new deal was not the threat of sanctions or other legal consequences. It was global peer pressure.

The structure of the deal is what political scientists often call a “name and shame” plan. Under the Lima Accord all countries must submit plans that would be posted on a United Nations website and made available to the public. A requirement that all countries submit plans using identical metrics, for easy comparison, was deleted from the accord because of the objection of developing nations. 

But already, a number of research groups and universities expect to crunch the numbers of the plans, producing apples to apples assessments. The hope, negotiators said, is that as the numbers and commitments of each country are publicized, compared and discussed, countries will be shamed by the spotlight into proposing and enacting stronger plans.

It remains to be seen whether this development will translate into meaningful national policies.