Description
Executive summary
This proposal seeks to apportion emissions levels based on sustainable population (determined by) global hectares in the national boundary rather than existing population. World emissions levels will be defined by science to cap temperature rise at 2 degrees C. A countries emissions would then be World emissions level * (country global hectares/Total global hectares. This method provides a driver to tackle the two problems of over consumption and overpopulation.
Team
Brief description of the role and contributions of individuals and/or organizations that played a key role in developing this proposal.
What: Actions and impacts
It is expected that overpopulated contries will have an impetus to reduce population growth to more sustainable levels for their country and contries that overconsume to reduce their consumption to sustainable levels. This framework can work along side existing mechanisms such as the CDMs technology transfer, Emission trading scheme it provides a framework to divide emissions in the most equal manner. Punishing countries for overpopulation, or over consumption and rewarding countries that have the overall lowest impact on their environment.
Developed countries will most likely help with family planning (female education) and energy technology transfer to the developing world. Developing countries with an overall low impact on the environment can sell emissions credits for revenue to the developed world.
Why: Rationale for the proposal
This proposal is an attempt to work out the fairest way of apportioning responsiblity for tacking climate change which is a result of either too many people or too much consumption or both.
How: Feasibility of proposal
The world emissions limit, set by science, can be apportioned equally based on a countries maximum sustainable population. The world limit acts as a cap, with excess emissions being able to be traded. As a countries sustainable population can be determined in a reasonably objective manner it is not easy for countries to wriggle out of their responsibilities.
Given this is essentially a market based approach no explicit energy mix is proposed. The UN will need to explain this science based approach to the community of nations and be the independant body performing the assessment of, a given country's sustainable population, current emissions and the world "safe" emissions limit.
Vision of the future under this proposal
Under this plan emissions allocations will be based on science not politics, over populated countries will have incentives to get their population under control, high emitting countries will have incentives to get their emissions under control and countries with sustainable populations and low emissions will be able to be rewarded by selling any surplus emissions permits on an international market. Industrialised countries will attone for larger past emissions by transfering technolgy and funds (both things gained through historical emissions) to countries that have historically had low emissions to allow them to leapfrog a high emissions growth pathway. The world emissions cap will ratchet down world emissions over the next 40 years until emissions stablise at a level that will not cause the globe to warm by more than 2 degrees.
By:
