April 2009: The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released a paper titled “Developing Country Interests in Climate Change Action and the Implications for a Post-2012 Climate Change Regime,” authored by Aaron Cosbey, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

The paper focuses on the cross-cutting objective of advancing development goals throughout the Bali Action Plan in a sustainable way, making the case that there are strategic interests for developing countries in simultaneously addressing climate change and nationally-defined development priorities. The paper first frames the terms of discussion, arguing for international support for such efforts, then suggests a number of elements that might feature in an international approach to climate change that focuses on advancing development goals in a sustainable way, noting in each case the relationship to, and implications for, the Bali mandate. The paper finishes by speculating on how these elements might shape a post-2012 climate regime and the carbon market that might accompany it. [The paper]