Reconstructing Climate Policy: How Best to Engage China and Other Developing Countries?

Duke University organized the International Conference on Reconstructing Climate Policy: Moving Beyond the Kyoto Impasse, May 2003. The organizer invited me to specifically address the following two issues at the conference: 1) Whether is the proposal for joint accession by the U.S. and China in the interest of China?, and 2) Even if participating a global cap-and-trade regime is so beneficial to China as many economic studies suggest, why has China consistently refused in international negotiations even to discuss its participation in it?. In this paper, we look at the first issue from the following perspectives: a) how does China value importance of maintaining unity of the Group of 77?; b) what lessons has China learned from bilateral negotiations with the U.S. to work out the terms for China to get accession to the WTO?; c) what is the legitimacy of the U.S. insistence that it re-joins the Kyoto Protocol only if major developing countries join?; d) what are implications of the U.S. strikingly reversed position on the commitments of developing countries in New Delhi for initiating discussions on joint accession by the U.S. and China?; and e) how would joint accession by the U.S. and China be perceived?. We then address the second issue from the following perspectives: a) from the point of view of fairness, how do developing countries including China and India perceive emissions caps in the first place?; b) why have China and India been sceptical to international emissions trading?; c) how is an inflow of CDM investment in China perceived politically in comparison with the exports of emissions permits to the U.S.?; d) what are the implications of “lock in” to emissions cap, in particular no rules and principles for setting emissions targets for the commitment periods subsequent to Kyoto?; e) how to address the complex undertaking of setting emissions caps for developing countries, which must be linked to future, unobserved levels in comparison with the historically observed levels for industrialized countries?. Finally, the paper touches on the likely path forward

Combinatoriality in the vocal systems of nonhuman animals

A key challenge in the field of human language evolution is the identification of the selective conditions that gave rise to language's generative nature. Comparative data on nonhuman animals provides a powerful tool to investigate similarities and differences among nonhuman and human communication systems and to reveal convergent evolutionary mechanisms. In this article, we provide an overview of the current evidence for combinatorial structures found in the vocal system of diverse species. We show that considerable structural diversity exits across and within species in the forms of combinatorial structures used. Based on this we suggest that a fine‐grained classification and differentiation of combinatoriality is a useful approach permitting systematic comparisons across animals. Specifically, this will help to identify factors that might promote the emergence of combinatoriality and, crucially, whether differences in combinatorial mechanisms might be driven by variations in social and ecological conditions or cognitive capacities

Production and perception of situationally variable alarm calls in wild tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella nigritus)

Many mammalian and avian species produce conspicuous vocalizations upon encountering a predator, but vary their calling based on risk urgency and/or predator type. Calls falling into the latter category are termed “functionally referential” if they also elicit predator-appropriate reactions in listeners. Functionally referential alarm calling has been well documented in a number of Old World monkeys and lemurs, but evidence among Neotropical primates is limited. This study investigates the alarm call system of tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella nigritus) by examining responses to predator and snake decoys encountered at various distances (reflecting differences in risk urgency). Observations in natural situations were conducted to determine if predator-associated calls were given in additional contexts. Results indicate the use of three call types. “Barks” are elicited exclusively by aerial threats, but the call most commonly given to terrestrial threats (the “hiccup”) is given in nonpredatory contexts. The rate in which this latter call is produced reflects risk urgency. Playbacks of these two call types indicate that each elicits appropriate antipredator behaviors. The third call type, the “peep,” seems to be specific to terrestrial threats, but it is unknown if the call elicits predator-specific responses. “Barks” are thus functionally referential aerial predator calls, while “hiccups” are better seen as generalized disturbance calls which reflect risk urgency. Further evidence is needed to draw conclusions regarding the “peep.” These results add to the evidence that functionally referential aerial predator alarm calls are ubiquitous in primates, but that noncatarrhine primates use generalized disturbance calls in response to terrestrial threats

Climate policy and ancillary benefits : a survey and integration into the modelling of international negotiations on climate change

Currently informal and formal international negotiations on climate change take place in an intensive way since the Kyoto Protocol expires already in 2012. A post-Kyoto regulation to combat global warming is not yet stipulated. Due to rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emission levels, industrialized countries urge major polluters from the developing world like China and India to participate in a future agreement. Whether these developing countries will do so, depends on the prevailing incentives to participate in international climate protection efforts. This paper identifies ancillary benefits of climate policy to provide important incentives to attend a new international protocol and to positively affect the likelihood of accomplishing a post-Kyoto agreement which includes commitments of developing countries