A reading from the ‘Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change’ by economist Nicholas Stern for the Government of the United Kingdom which contains various dimensions of action that will be needed to reduce the risk of climate change for mitigation and adaptation.

 The reading is subdivided into three chapters, as follows:

1. Framework for understanding international collective action for climate change: This section draws from game theory and international relations to provide a framework on international collective action and review the existing international co-operation. [pp 450 – 467 (as per table of contents) or pp 494- 511 (as per scrolling)]
2. Creating a global price for carbon: This section looks at the challenge of creating a broadly comparable price for carbon around the world. It also considers what was effective from previous global conventions like the Kyoto Protocol and looks at the scope of expanding emissions trading schemes. [pp 468 – 489 (as per table of contents) or pp 512 – 533 (as per scrolling)]
3. Supporting the transition to a low carbon global economy: This section discusses how diffusion of technology and investment in low carbon infrastructure can accelerate the transition towards a low carbon economy. It also explores Clean Development Mechanism and how carbon finance can be expanded to respond to the current scale of climate change. [pp 490 – 515 (as per table of contents) or pp 534 – 558 (as per scrolling)]
4. Promoting effective international technology co-operation: This section analyses the impact of international co-operation in accelerating innovation in low-emission technologies for adaptation. [pp 516 – 536 (as per table of contents) or pp 559 – 579 (as per scrolling)]
5. Reversing emissions from land use change: This section looks at the opportunities available to reverse emissions from land use, specifically the challenge of providing economic incentives to reduce deforestation. [pp 537 – 553 (as per table of contents) or pp 580 – 596 (as per scrolling)]
6. International support for adaptation: This section examines how international arrangements for adaptation can support national efforts and contribute to an equitable international approach. [pp 554 – 569 (as per table of contents) or pp 597 – 612 (as per scrolling)]
7. Conclusions: This section concludes the finding of the Review and emphasises the importance of building and sustaining international collective action on climate change [pp 572 –621 (as per table of contents) or pp 613 – 662 (as per scrolling)]

Students will learn about the importance and challenges of international collective action through existing frameworks of international conventions like the Kyoto Protocol. They will also learn about the technologies that can be adapted to transition to a low carbon economy and how this will differ for developing and developed countries.