As the financial crisis continues to take its toll on the global economy, another serious challenge looms large: preventing the planet from warming more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Policymakers are now faced with the daunting task of stimulating growth without using carbon-intensive practices and stabilizing the climate without dampening economic recovery. If the financial crisis has shown that the future is unpredictable and that the nations and people of the world are interconnected in ways we do not always perceive, the climate challenge reinforces these lessons and suggests the need for timely, global coordination. View Larger

In advance of the 15th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen this December, world leaders will convene at a number of high-level forums in the hopes of building consensus around key elements of a post-2012 climate change agreement. These forums include the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh and an all-day dialogue with the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on September 22 in advance of the General Assembly meeting. World Bank President Robert Zoellick will bring together finance and development ministers in October emphasizing that climate change is not only an environmental issue, but also one that affects economic and financial stability. With the need to get policies right in short order, Brookings experts and colleagues from the public and private sectors offer a range of recommendations for policymakers to forge sustainable climate change solutions that revitalize the global economy and alleviate the adverse effects of a changing climate on the world’s poor.

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