February 22nd, 2008
Climate urgency is in the air.
Garnault Interim Report [Feb 2008] really gets behind C&C
Seems the UK HoC Environmental Audit Committee visit to Australia in
February this year was a happy meeting with the Ross Garnault Review
http://www.gci.org.uk/briefings/Interim_Report_Feb_2008.pdf
. . . . but now the Australian Government is reeling.
http://greensblog.org/2008/02/21/garnaut-leaving-the-government-behind/
~~~~~~~~~~~
Garnaut Climate Change Review
Interim Report February 2008 31
Contraction and Convergence
It is clear already that per capita allocation will have to play a
strong role in principles for national budgets. Indeed, it appears
inevitable that if global per capita emissions fall to the level
required by stabilisation scenarios, then the current stark divergences
in national per capita emissions rights will inevitably diminish though
variation in national emissions levels will be possible through the
trading of emissions rights.
Some argue that a population-based allocation encourages environmentally
damaging global population growth. This is unlikely, as population
growth is decided by far more fundamental economic and social
determinants. This argument is not at all relevant to countries mostly
developed countries and first of all Australia and Canada where
population is growing through immigration. As discussed later, a focus
on per capita allocations is essential for equitable treatment across
developed countries with and without high levels of immigration.
The more important point is that any allocative formula that does not
emphasise population over current or past emissions levels as the basis
for long-term emissions rights has no chance at all of being accepted by
most developing countries.
One approach worth considering, consistent with giving weight to
population and with the need to allow time for adjustment, would be the
contraction and convergence approach that was developed by the Global
Commons Institute in the early 1990s, and has been discussed favourably
in Germany and the United Kingdom in recent times (WGBU, 2003; RCEP,
2000).
Greens see Australian Government being left behind
http://greensblog.org/2008/02/21/garnaut-leaving-the-government-behind/
February 16th, 2008
C&C joins
Dr Muhammad Yunus
as guests of the Forum for Stable Currencies
at St James Piccadilly
Today at 2.30
http://www.gci.org.uk/events/Yunus_St_James.pdf
http://www.gci.org.uk/events/C&C_Yunus_St_James.pdf
Imagine Everyone Was Equal, in Emissions
By Andrew C. Revkin New York Times
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/imagine-everyone-was-equal-in-emissions/index.html?hp
Business Green outline C&C
http://www.whatpc.co.uk/business-green/analysis/2209752/cheat-sheet-contraction
GCI Debates with Nick Butler ex Cabinet Office
March 13 Price Waterhouse Cooper
details later
RIBA Ceremony Honours C&C
http://www.architecture.com/Awards/RIBAHonoraryFellowships/HonoraryFellowships2008.aspx
RSA debates C&C People left behind by progress
http://www.rsacarbonlimited.org/article.aspa?pageid=883
This month, Caroline Lucas, MEP and Ian Roderick discuss the problem of
how to support those least able to cope with a changing climate.
Caroline is the Green Party MEP representing the South-East of England
and sits on the European Parliaments Trade, Environment and Climate
Change Committees, as well as being Vice President of the Parliaments
Animal Welfare Intergroup. Her work both within the Parliament and in
her constituency includes peace and human rights, international trade
and development, transport and planning, health issues and animal
welfare. In 2007 Caroline was voted Politician of the Year in the
Observer newspapers Ethical Awards.
Ian is a co-founder of The Converging World (TCW), a new charity that is
implementing the concept of contraction and convergence, which is a
framework for reducing carbon emissions in the industrialised nations
while encouraging sustainable economic development in all countries.
In the first Carbon [Un]limited debate we examined how language and
branding can be used to encourage citizens to participate in personal
carbon trading (PCT). PCT has been conceived as a UK-wide system.
Arguably it shares the same principles as set out in the Global Commons
Institute’s Contraction and Convergence model (C&C). However before
using PCT to transform the UK into a low-carbon economy, or C&C into a
global solution, policy-makers must consider how citizens will be
affected. What can be done to minimise the number of what environmental
activist Stephen Plowden has called people left behind by progress?
And who will they be?
http://www.rsacarbonlimited.org/article.aspa?pageid=883
