The U.S. Can Escape the Climate Change ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’
Prisoner’s dilemma is an aspect of game theory that plays a major role in everything from politics to psychology to environmental issues. The classic example of prisoner’s dilemma is Albert W. Tuckers game depicting the case of two men arrested for a crime in which the police do not have enough evidence to actually follow through with the arrest. The two men are separated and given a similar deal. If one testifies against his partner and the other stays quiet, the man who testified will be set free and the man who stayed will quiet will receive a one-year prison sentence. However, if both remain silent, both will be sentenced to only one month in jail. On the other hand, if both men divulge incriminating information about each other, each receives a three-month sentence.
The prisoner’s dilemma can be used to explain the United States and China’s current predicament. The U.S. and China are both leading emitters of greenhouse gases and recognize the significant impact their actions have on the environment. Yet, even facing pressure from other world powers and organizations, both countries can’t seem to agree on reducing their ecological footprint (i.e. CO2 emissions). It’s clear that both cooperating in an effort to marginally reduce their environmental footprint would not only benefit themselves but also the rest of the world Why would countries such as the U.S. and China deliberately maintain their position to drastically negatively effect the environment and subsequently millions of people? Is it the lack of trust between China and the U.S.? The trust, or lack thereof, definitely plays a part in why the countries don’t substantially curb environmental destruction; however, it is more so a case of prisoner’s dilemma: that that the short-term benefits to the country who maintains current behavior is greater than the long term benefit to all countries if behavior (by countries emitting the most greenhouse gases) was changed. If the U.S. decides to curb co2 emissions and China doesn’t, then China will advance further economically and vice versa. In an ideal world, both countries would cooperate are suffer a short loss (economy would stagger initially) but see long-term gains in a variety of avenues.
http://www.cansouthasia.net/latest-news/the-u-s-can-escape-the-climate-change-prisoners-dilemma