"It is never likely that everyone in the world will use identical amounts of fossil fuels. However, it is highly likely that any deal to manage the global commons of the atmosphere will have to be based on the principle that, in a carbon-constrained world, everyone should have equal entitlements to their share of the atmosphere’s ability to safely absorb pollution. Under that agreement, those people and nations that take the economic benefits by polluting more than their fair share will have to somehow pay compensation to the ‘under-polluters’ by purchasing their spare entitlements. Otherwise they run up a huge ecological debt.
"The necessary process is to cap total emissions, progressively reduce them, and share entitlements to emit using a formula so that in an agreed timeframe they converge to being equal per person. This largely unavoidable procedure – if chaos is to be avoided - was given the term ‘Contraction and Convergence’ by the London-based Global Commons Institute.
"In essence it says that the world has a carbon cake strictly limited in size (beyond certain dimensions it becomes rapidly poisonous for everyone) and that the only way to begin negotiations on how to cut the cake is to start with the principle that we all have equal access rights. What we do with them is another matter. This has enormous, and from a development perspective, very positive consequences." http://www.gci.org.uk/articles/RWEO.pdf
For the last 15 years, GCI has campaigned for C&C as the structural basis for developing sustainable systems, based on resource conservation and global rights. C&C is the gold standard of climate security and acceptance of this ‘framework for the future’ is growing relentlessly.
Aubrey Meyer
Aubrey Meyer is the author of the seminal book, “Contraction and Convergence; The Global Solution to Climate Change”. In 1998 he won the Andrew Lees Memorial Award, with the following citation: "Aubrey Meyer, almost single-handedly and with minimal resources, has made an extraordinay impact on the negotiations on the Climate Change Treaty, one of the most important of our time, through his campaign for a goal of equal per capita emissions, which is now the official negotiating position of many governments and is gaining acceptance in developed and developing countries alike."
Contraction & Convergence can be seen at: http://www.gci.org.uk/contconv/cc.html
and http://www.greenbooks.co.uk/
Please also see the website of the Global Commons Institute, in our Links section and at: http://www.gci.org.uk
and the website of Jubilee Research: http://www.jubilileeresearch.org
plus
"The myth of localism": It is unrealistic and misguided to believe that poor countries should be totally self-reliant, by George Monbiot, Tuesday September 9, 2003,
The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1038164,00.html
"The necessary process is to cap total emissions, progressively reduce them, and share entitlements to emit using a formula so that in an agreed timeframe they converge to being equal per person. This largely unavoidable procedure – if chaos is to be avoided - was given the term ‘Contraction and Convergence’ by the London-based Global Commons Institute.
"In essence it says that the world has a carbon cake strictly limited in size (beyond certain dimensions it becomes rapidly poisonous for everyone) and that the only way to begin negotiations on how to cut the cake is to start with the principle that we all have equal access rights. What we do with them is another matter. This has enormous, and from a development perspective, very positive consequences." http://www.gci.org.uk/articles/RWEO.pdf
For the last 15 years, GCI has campaigned for C&C as the structural basis for developing sustainable systems, based on resource conservation and global rights. C&C is the gold standard of climate security and acceptance of this ‘framework for the future’ is growing relentlessly.
Aubrey Meyer
Aubrey Meyer is the author of the seminal book, “Contraction and Convergence; The Global Solution to Climate Change”. In 1998 he won the Andrew Lees Memorial Award, with the following citation: "Aubrey Meyer, almost single-handedly and with minimal resources, has made an extraordinay impact on the negotiations on the Climate Change Treaty, one of the most important of our time, through his campaign for a goal of equal per capita emissions, which is now the official negotiating position of many governments and is gaining acceptance in developed and developing countries alike."
Contraction & Convergence can be seen at: http://www.gci.org.uk/contconv/cc.html
and http://www.greenbooks.co.uk/
Please also see the website of the Global Commons Institute, in our Links section and at: http://www.gci.org.uk
and the website of Jubilee Research: http://www.jubilileeresearch.org
plus
"The myth of localism": It is unrealistic and misguided to believe that poor countries should be totally self-reliant, by George Monbiot, Tuesday September 9, 2003,
The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1038164,00.html