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How global emissions reduction targets can be achieved equitably is a key issue in climate change discussions. This paper presents an analytical framework to encompass contributions to the literature on equity in climate change, and highlights the consequences - in terms of future emissions allocations - of different approaches to equity. Progressive cuts relative to historic levels - for example, 80 percent by industrial countries and 20 percent by developing countries - in effect accord primacy to adjustment costs and favor large current emitters such as the United States, Canada, Australia, oil exporters, and China. In contrast, principles of equal per capita emissions, historic responsibility, and ability to pay favor some large and poor developing countries such as India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, but hurt industrial countries as well as many other developing countries. The principle of preserving future development opportunities has the appeal that it does not constrain developing countries in the future by a problem that they did not largely cause in the past, but it shifts the burden of meeting climate change goals entirely to industrial countries. Given the strong conflicts of interest in defining equity in emission allocations, it may be desirable to shift the emphasis of international cooperation toward generating a low-carbon technology revolution. Equity considerations would then play a role not in allocating a shrinking emissions pie but in informing the relative contributions of countries to generating such a pie-enlarging revolution.

Aggregate carbon --- Air Quality & Clean Air --- Atmosphere --- Carbon budget --- Climate --- Climate change --- Climate Change Economics --- Climate change mitigation --- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases --- Climate change negotiations --- Co2 --- Distribution of emissions --- Emission --- Emissions allocations --- Emissions reductions --- Environment --- Environment and Energy Efficiency --- Environmental Economics & Policies --- Global emissions --- Global emissions reduction --- Greenhouse --- Greenhouse gases --- Household energy --- Levels of emissions --- Low-carbon --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Quantitative analysis

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This paper explores two different conceptions of how an emerging climate regime might evolve to strengthen incentives for more vigorous cooperation in mitigating global climate change. One is the paradigm that has figured most prominently in negotiations to this point: the establishment of targets and timetables for countries to limit their aggregate greenhouse gas emissions. The other approach consists of a variety of loosely coordinated smaller scale agreements, each one of which addresses a different aspect of the challenge, and is enforced in its own way. The primary conclusion is that an agreement of the first type may be more cost-effective, but that a system of agreements of the second type would likely sustain more abatement overall.

Atmosphere --- Climate --- Climate Change Economics --- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases --- Climate system --- Co2 --- Deforestation --- Ecosystem --- Emission --- Emission targets --- Environment --- Environmental Economics & Policies --- Fossil fuels --- Framework convention on climate change --- GHGS --- Global climate change --- Global emissions --- Greenhouse --- Greenhouse gas --- Greenhouse gas emissions --- Greenhouse gases --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Methane --- Montreal Protocol --- National emission --- Rainfall --- Transport --- Transport Economics Policy & Planning

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Interests in obtaining carbon offsets in host countries for Clean Development Mechanism projects may serve as an obstacle to implementing more stringent general environmental policies in the same countries. A relatively lax environmental policy, whereby carbon emissions remain high, can be advantageous for such countries as it leaves them with a higher than otherwise scope for future emissions reductions through Clean Development Mechanism and other offset projects. In this note, the potential to affect the availability of future Clean Development Mechanism projects is shown to distort environmental and energy policies of Clean Development Mechanism host countries in two ways. Measures to reduce use of fossil energy are weakened. Because this weakens private sector incentives to switch to lower-carbon technology through Clean Development Mechanism projects, host governments then also find it attractive to subsidize this switch, in order to maximize the country's advantage from the Clean Development Mechanism.

Carbon --- Carbon capture --- Carbon content --- Carbon emissions --- Carbon emissions from fossil --- Carbon Offsets --- Climate --- Climate change --- Climate Change Economics --- Climate change mitigation --- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases --- Emissions reductions --- Energy --- Energy Production and Transportation --- Environment --- Environment and Energy Efficiency --- Environmental Economics & Policies --- Fossil fuel --- Fossil fuels --- Fuel consumption --- GHGs --- Global carbon emissions --- Global emissions --- Greenhouse --- Greenhouse gas --- Greenhouse gas emissions --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Renewable energy