Cities in a 'No-Regrets' Climate Strategy: Lessons from Transition Economies

摘要

No-regrets measures currently hold an important place in the debate surrounding211u001eeffective, near-term climate change mitigation tools. Indeed, global no-regrets 211u001einitiatives would seem to have several strong selling points. No-regrets measures 211u001eminimize the economic impact of mitigation; in fact, they are designed to 211u001egenerate economic and/or social benefits that in turn make them attractive to 211u001ehost governments. Transition economies present one of the most promising arenas 211u001efor these initiatives because the potential for near-term, cost-effective 211u001emitigation is so great: mitigation options in the region covered by these case 211u001estudies--Eastern Europe and the New Independent States--are estimated to be 211u001enearly $1.5 billion per year cheaper than similar reductions in western nations 211u001ebetween 2005 and 2020. However, many of these economically and socially 211u001ebeneficial projects go unrealized. This case study project was designed to 211u001eidentify successful no-regrets programs and policies in transition economies. 211u001eFour countries were chosen: the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. 211u001eEligible cases were limited to programs or policies with an indirect effect on 211u001egreenhouse gas emissions. Projects directed at greenhouse gas mitigation, such as 211u001ejoint implementation, are treated elsewhere in the literature.