Karsten Neuhoff is Director of the Berlin office of Climate Policy Initiative, a global research organization whose mission is to assess, diagnose and support the efforts of nations to achieve low-carbon growth. He is also Research Director for Climate Policy Impact and Industry Response at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). He was previously an economist at the University of Cambridge, leading climate policy and energy research projects, and worked with Climate Strategies on projects related to the European Emissions Trading Scheme.
Karsten Neuhoff makes an interesting case in showing that the failure to adopt a comprehensive climate agreement in Copenhagen may have been the result of some fundamental underlying changes. The Copenhagen Accord could therefore mark the beginning of a bottom-up approach in which domestic policy design based on carbon pricing as well as specific regulations can be supported through international co-operation. If his analysis proves right, the EU is in principle well equipped to such a change, but may have to rethink some elements of its international negotiation strategy accordingly. - Jos Delbeke, Director-General for Climate Action, European Commission