My Brainstorm of this week: low-carbon consumption.
Climate change is probably the most significant challenge of the 21 Century. Caused by unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, it is the result of accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere for the last 150 years, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels.
The environmental impacts of climate change – which we are already suffering – affect us all, but especially the poorest and most vulnerable. For developing countries, which have contributed very little to the problem, climate change will take a heavy toll on their efforts in pursuit of sustainable development.
The convention’s Kyoto Protocol set quantified emission limitation or reduction obligations for industrialized countries, based on the principle of countries’ common but differentiated responsibilities in relation to the problem’s cause.
The Convention itself recognizes that the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and economic needs. In many of these countries, emissions may grow as a result of policies devoted to fighting poverty, such as, for instance, expanding electricity to rural or remote areas. On the other hand, the situation in developed countries that have already provided for the basic needs of their populations is different: in many of them, a major source of emissions is due to superfluous and unsustainable consumption.
It must be stressed, however, that the Kyoto does not give for all emergent countries a license to pollute. Since climate change is a global problem, efforts to combat it should also be global. What changes in different countries is the nature of the obligations. The common objective, however, is a future in which development is based on low-carbon consumption.
The convention’s Kyoto Protocol set quantified emission limitation or reduction obligations for industrialized countries, based on the principle of countries’ common but differentiated responsibilities in relation to the problem’s cause.
The Convention itself recognizes that the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and economic needs. In many of these countries, emissions may grow as a result of policies devoted to fighting poverty, such as, for instance, expanding electricity to rural or remote areas. On the other hand, the situation in developed countries that have already provided for the basic needs of their populations is different: in many of them, a major source of emissions is due to superfluous and unsustainable consumption.
It must be stressed, however, that the Kyoto does not give for all emergent countries a license to pollute. Since climate change is a global problem, efforts to combat it should also be global. What changes in different countries is the nature of the obligations. The common objective, however, is a future in which development is based on low-carbon consumption.
