Action for a Global Climate Community is working to build support for an imaginative, long term global strategy that will bring together countries from both north and south willing to cut back their carbon emissions faster and more effectively. A group of countries with the necessary leadership, foresight, sense of responsibility and the support of public opinion should form a Global Climate Community, based on the principles of equity, justice, efficiency and science, able to advance the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Action for a Global Climate Community propose that a pioneering group of countries - north and south - should negotiate an agreement within the UNFCCC that commits them to:
• contract their emissions to a level that stabilises concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a scientifically agreed safe level;
• redistribute their greenhouse gas emission entitlements to an equal per person within a fixed time frame;
• establish a global market in tradable emission entitlements, which would promote efficiency;
• transfer resources to poor countries whose emissions quotas exceed their needs;
• create sustainable livelihoods through international co-operation, capacity building and transferring low carbon technologies.
At present, residents in developed countries use a far greater share of the world's energy resources than those in developing countries, which are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Either the principle of equity will have to be accepted or stalemate will bring mutual devastation. The carbon emissions trading schemes will make it easier for countries to adapt at appropriate rates.
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The Climate Community will require institutions that:
• ensure effective decisions on policies and measures;
• respect a democratic accountability and the rule of law;
• manage the emissions market, including securing a stable currency and payments system for the emissions trade;
• monitor and ensure compliance with the rules;
• take responsibility for negotiations with other countries, including association agreements as paths to full membership.
Meeting this immense challenge will require a matching advance in effective global governance, beginning with a pioneering global climate community. It will also ensure a new level of engagement on the part of the developed world in ensuring global sustainable development and provide a dynamic spur to the development of renewable energy resources. This proposal has been discussed at high-level meetings and has received considerable interest. The Chanctonbury Initiative is the main policy document setting out the aim and the objectives of this proposal. For more information on our activities, please visit our Action section. |
