Annex 4
References
1. GOVERNMENTS
1.1 Indian Environment Minister, Kamal Nath,
COP 1, April 1995
". . . equity should guide the route to
global ecological recovery. Policy Instruments such as `Tradable
Emissions Quotas', `Carbon Taxes' and `Joint Implementation' may
well serve to make matters worse unless they are properly referenced
to targets and time-tables for equitable emissions reductions
overall. This means devising and implementing a programme for
convergence at equitable and sustainable par values for consumption
on a per capita basis globally."
1.2 Chinese State Councillor Climate Change
& Population, Dr Song Jian, October 1997
"When we ask the opinions of people from
all circles, many people, in particular the scientists think that
the emissions control standard should be formulated on a per capita
basis. According to the UN Charter, everybody is born equal, and
has inalienable rights to enjoy modern technological civilization."
1.3 The Africa Group, August 1997
"As we negotiate the reduction of GHG,
the countries of Africa believe that there should be certain principles
that need to be clearly defined.
There must be limits on all GHGs if the danger
to our climate is to be averted. The IPCC scientific assessment
report provides us with the basis for global consensus on such
limits.
A globally agreed ceiling of GHG emissions can
only be achieved by adopting the principle of per capita emissions
rights that fully take into account the reality of population
growth and the principle of differentiation.
Achievement of a safe limit to global GHG emissions
can be achieved by reducing the emissions of Annex One while at
the same time ensuring that there is controlled growth of future
emissions from Non-Annex One countries, reflecting our legitimate
right to sustainable economic growth. We strongly believe that
this will take us along a path to responsible climate management
that allows us to reach our goal of defining a mutually agreed
point of convergence and sustainable development. Such a convergence
Mr Chairman must ensure that we maintain a global ceiling on emissions
to prevent dangerous interference with the climate system.
When we look at time frames, we believe that
insufficient commitment by Annex One countries will only result
in delaying our influence on the climate system. If this course
is maintained, then we will all suffer and the burden will be
even greater for humanity in general. The burden for any future
mitigation efforts on those of who have not been historically
and currently responsible for creating the problem will be greater.
Mr Chairman, we must focus our attention on
the most appropriate, reasonable and acceptable time frame for
action. There is an over-riding pre-requisite. The time frame
cannot be too far away into the future if we are to avoid at all
costs the dangers that global climate change poses. The current
scientific evidence indicates that Africa faces decline in water
resources, agricultural production and economic performance. It
is therefore for this reason that we wish to register the seriousness
with which we view the effective implementation of the Convention
and future agreements emanating from it."
1.4 The Africa Group, COP-3 Kyoto, 3 am 10
December 1997
www.gci.org.uk/temp/COP3_Transcript.pdf
". . . we do support the amendment that
is proposed by the distinguished delegation from India, and just
to emphasise the point of the issues that still need a lot of
clarification, would like to propose in that paragraph the inclusion,
after "entitlements" that is the proposal by the delegation
of India, the following wording; after "entitlements, the
global ceiling date and time for Contraction and Convergence of
global emissions. Because we do think that you cannot talk about
trading if there are not entitlements. Also there is a question
of Contraction and Convergence of global emissions that comes
into play when you talk about the issue of equity . . ."
1.5 Non-Aligned Movement, Heads of Government
Conference, (NAM), September 1998
In August and September the NAM held a heads
of Government conference in South Africa. Combining the logic
of "Contraction and Convergence" with the trade Article
17 of the Kyoto Protocol (KP), the NAM agreed the following statement:
"Emission trading for implementation of
(ghg reduction/limitation) commitments can only commence after
issues relating to the principles, modalities, etc of such trading,
including the initial allocations of emissions entitlements on
an equitable basis to all countries has been agreed upon by the
Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change."
1.6 Indian Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, October, COP-8, 2002
"First, our per capita Green House Gas
emissions are only a fraction of the world average, and an order
of magnitude below that of many developed countries. This situation
will not change for several decades to come. We do not believe
that the ethos of democracy can support any norm other than equal
per capita rights to global environmental resources."
1.7 Kenyan Minister for Planning and National
Development, Anyang Nyong'o, April 2004
"It is now apparent that the world has
to urgently agree to a more equitable method of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions based on per capita emission rights allocations.
This brings me to the concept of Contraction and Convergence.
This concept embodies the principles of precaution (contraction
of greenhouse emissions) and of equity (convergence at to equal
share per head through a globally agreed date) in the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions between industrialized countries and
developing countries."
The world must go an extra mile to avoid climate
change, as it is cheaper than adapting to the damages. This in
no way under estimates what the Kyoto Protocol aims to achieve
from the flexible mechanisms. Kyoto should continue but due to
the increasing and unbearable negative impacts of climate change
on developing country economies, in particular Africa, the world
must begin to evaluate other globally equitable approaches.
The concept of Contraction and Convergence therefore
needs to be assessed and evaluated by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change particularly, its Subsidiary Body
for Scientific and Technical Advise or the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. I am certain that our Ministers for Environment
here present will see the need to bring this agenda very urgently
to the attention of the Climate Change Secretariat."
1.8 Kenya, Director General of the ruling
NARC, Alex K Muriithi, April 2004
"Avoiding dangerous rates of climate-change
from fossil fuel dependency must be strategically guaranteed with
appropriate structural adjustment of the international system."
"The Contraction and Convergence"
(C&C) scheme presented by the Africa Group at COP-3 in Kyoto,
is the basis of this."
"Combined with international currency arrangements,
C&C determined carbon shares create an inclusive global standard
for sustainable resource use."
"The full rent for the use of the environmental
and atmospheric space of Developing Countries, can be paid by
the Developed Countries helping the world move from uneconomic
growth to sustainable development for all,"
1.9 Indian Minister of Food Processing Industries,
Shri S K Sahay, October 2004
"We have to find an acceptable and equitable
way to reduce emissions that involves every society but recognizes
differentiated responsibilities. I suggest that the way forward
should be based on the fundamental principles of equity incorporated
in the proposals known as `Contraction and Convergence.'
In this increasingly interdependent world, there
is no reason to suggest that any individual in any country should
have a lesser right to see prosperity or comfort involving green
house gas emissions than any other. On what basis is it acceptable
that an American or European should have a greater right to consume
the World's precious resources than an Indian, an African or indeed
any other human being?
Thus, if the principle of `Contraction and Convergence'
is acceptable, then it may be possible to develop a system of
carbon trading that would allow those already over dependent on
the use of environmentally damaging energy to plan their emissions
reduction more slowly by transferring renewable energy technologies
to those countries presently less dependent on the carbon emissions."
1.10 USA, COP-3 Kyoto, 3 am 10 December 1997
www.gci.org.uk/temp/COP3—Transcript.pdf
". . . It does seem to us that the proposals
by for example India and perhaps by others who speak to Contraction
and Convergence are elements for the future, elements perhaps
for a next agreement that we may ultimately all seek to engage
in . . ."
1.11 European Parliament, 1998
". . . calls on the Commission & Member
States to take the lead in brokering an agreement on a set of
common principles & negotiating framework beyond BA based
on:
agreement to have a worldwide binding limit on
global emissions consistent with a maximum atmospheric concentration
of 550 ppmv CO2 equivalent;
initial distribution of emissions rights according
to the Kyoto targets;
progressive convergence towards an equitable
distribution of emissions rights on a per capita basis by an agreed
date in the next century;
across-the-board reductions in emissions rights
thereafter in order to achieve the reduction recommended by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC);
an agreement to have a quantitative ceiling on
the use of flexibility mechanisms that will ensure that the majority
of emission reductions are met domestically in accordance with
the spirit of articles 6, 12 and 17 of the Kyoto protocol; in
this context trading must be subject to proper monitoring, reporting
and enforcement; and
an adequately financed mechanism for promoting
technology transfer from Annex 1 to non-Annex 1 countries."
1.12 Danish Environment Minister, Svend Auken,
April 1999
"The approach of `Contraction and Convergence'
is precisely such an idea. It secures a regime that would allow
all nations to join efforts to protect our global commons from
being over-exploited, without the risk that any country would
be deprived of its fair long-term share of the common environmental
emission space. And it allows for consistent and efficient management
of the global emissions that would enable us to strive for constraining
global interference with the climate below fixed ceilings"
1.13 Swedish Minister of the Environment,
Kjell Larsson, September 2000
"On the issue of equity, Sweden strives
for a global convergence, meaning that the long term objective
of the international community should be a per capita emissions
target equal for all countries. The work towards sustainability
embraces the right for the poorest countries to continue their
development and requires that the developed world contribute to
this. In other words the industrialised countries must reduce
their emissions in order to enable the least developed countries
to develop."
1.14 Belgian Minister of the Environment,
Olivier Delouze, COP6 November 2000
"We are conscious that in the end, we will
have to inevitably evolve towards a more equitable partition between
the north and south, of the capacity of our common atmosphere
to support green house gases, by a gradual convergence of the
levels of emissions on a per capita basis."
1.15 French President, Jaques Chirac, COP6,
November 2000
"Since 1992, we have fallen too far behind
in the fight against global warming. We cannot afford any further
delay. That is why, I can confirm to you here, Europe is resolved
to act and has mobilized to fight the greenhouse effect. Europe
calls upon the other industrialized countries to join with it
in this fight. And Europe proposes to the developing countries
to join it in a partnership for sustainable development.
Let us start thinking about the post-Kyoto period
without further ado. Tomorrow, it will be up to us to set forth
the rights and duties of each, and for a long time to come. In
order to move forward while respecting individual differences
and special circumstances, France proposes that we set as our
ultimate objective the convergence of per capita emissions. This
principle would durably ensure the effectiveness, equity and solidarity
of our efforts."
1.16 Netherlands Environment Minister, Jan
Pronk, Chairman of COP-6, July 2000
www.earthtimes.org/jul/environmentthekyotoprotocoljul25_00.htm
". . . Suggestions have been made for commitments
for those developing countries in the period after 2012 in terms
of increased energy or greenhouse gas efficiency. In other words:
not an absolute cap, but a relative efficiency improvement in
the production structure of developing countries. This strategy
would imply that developing countries gradually start participating,
as they achieve a certain level of economic development. That
is a reasonable and realistic option. However, it can be argued
that such gradual participation would only lead to a slow decline
of global emissions, even if current industrialized countries
would drastically decrease their emissions. As a result global
average temperature increase would significantly exceed the 2
degrees centigrade limit that could be seen as the maximum tolerable
for our planet.
There are alternatives for this scenario. Some
developing countries have argued for an allowance of equal emissions
per capita. This would be the most equitable way to determine
the contribution of countries to the global effort. If we agree
to equal per capita emissions allowances for all countries by
2030 in such a way that global emissions allow us to stay below
the 2 degrees global temperature increase (equivalent to about
450 ppmv CO2), then the assigned amounts for Annex B countries
would be drastically reduced. However, due to the fact that all
countries would have assigned amounts, maximum use of global emissions
trading would strongly reduce the cost of compliance. So, in such
a scenario, industrialized countries would have to do more, but
it would be cheaper and easier . . ."
1.17 Sweden's 3rd national communication on
Climate Change, 2001
"Emissions should ultimately converge towards
a common international target, expressed as emissions per inhabitant.11"
11 Gov. Bill 1996/97:84, p 74.
2. PUBLICATIONS
2.1 Corner House, Briefing No 3—Climate
and Equity, December 1997
www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/briefing/03climate.html
"Trading emissions only have a place if
they are set in the discipline of contraction and convergence."
2.2 Financial Times, 30 November 2001
"Many politicians—and businesses
making long-term investment plans—would prefer to agree
on some overarching principles that would determine future emissions
targets. For some policymakers, the answer is `contraction and
convergence'."
2.3 ENDS, Blair leadership claim on climate
change March 2003
". . . the RCEP said, future global climate
agreements should be based on the so-called `contraction and convergence'
approach, under which national emission allocations converge towards
a uniform per capita figure. The Government has accepted the RCEP's
60% figure—but not the underlying logic."
2.4 New Scientist, December 2003
"For the past two weeks, representatives
from around the world have been in Milan, Italy, for COP9, the
ninth annual meeting of signatories to the 1992 Framework Convention
on Climate Change. Many of them now privately admit that C&C
is what we have been waiting for."
2.5 ICE, Proceedings of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, Paper 13982, December 2004
"Contraction and convergence" is an
ambitious yet widely supported plan to harmonise global greenhouse
gas emissions to a safe and sustainable level."
2.6 Reason Online, Ronald Bailey, 3 November
2004
"While the climate talks in Buenos Aires
will deal with the minutiae of implementing the Kyoto Protocol,
they will also turn to considering what the next steps might be.
And there will have to be next steps, because even when fully
implemented the Kyoto Protocol will have next to no effect on
any actual global warming trends. My bet is that negotiations
will start to consider contraction and convergence".
3. INDIVIDUALS
3.1 Raul Estrada, Chair Kyoto Negotiations,
February 2000
"Long before the end of the Framework Convention
negotiation, the Global Commons Institute has presented a proposal
on "Contraction and Convergence", aimed to reach equality
in emissions per capita. We all in this room know the GCI model
where contraction is achieved after all governments, for precautionary
reasons, collectively agree to be bound by a target of global
GHG emissions, making it possible to calculate the diminishing
amount of greenhouse gases that the world can release each year
in the coming century, subject to annual scientific and political
review. The convergence part of the proposal means that each year's
global emissions budget gets shared out among the nations of the
world so that every country converges on the same allocation per
inhabitant by an agreed date."
3.2 Sir John Houghton, Former Chair IPCC Working
Group One, 26 April 2003
"Admiration is frequently expressed, regarding
the elegance and simple logic of Contraction and Convergence and
it has been widely supported by policy makers as a basis that
should underlie the next stage of policy formulation."
3.3 Lord Bishop of Leicester, November 2003
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds04/text/40209-10.htm#40209-10_head0
"Contraction and convergence, therefore,
is a simple yet radical solution, and one that I suggest we should
be brave enough to support."
3.4 Lord Bishop of Hereford, 9 February 2004
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds03/text/31127-05.htm
"Contraction and Convergence meets every
single objection raised by the United States to Kyoto."
3.5 Michael Meacher MP, Former Minister for
the Environment, December 2003
"The best proposal so far is the "Contraction
and Convergence" from the Global Commons Institute and Globe
Parliamentarians."
3.6 George Monbiot, Manifesto for a New World
Order, ISBN: 1565849086, 2003
"Contraction & Convergence . . . "the
only just and sustainable means of tackling climate change"
3.7 Myron Ebell, CEI reports on COP-9, 12
December 2003
www.globalwarming.org/cop9/cop9e.htm
"This so-called `Contraction and Convergence'
approach appeals to both unreconstructed communists and to human
rights absolutists. It has a certain moral force for those lost
souls who have completely lost their bearings in the world. So
it ought to be the winner in these darkening times."
3.8 Dick Lindzen, After a good meal at "A
New Global Vision" Conference, Pisa, July 2004
"If you really have to stabilise concentrations,
a 60% contraction of emissions would be necessary. As for the
convergence requirement that follows from this, well I have no
faith in the ability of humanity to organise anything like this."
4. ORGANISATIONS
4.1 Africa Group, Mrs Rungano Karimanzira,
Chair, February 1998
"The approach of contraction and convergence
presents a new economic development paradigm for the 20 first
century and beyond."
4.2 European Parliament Resolution, October
1998
". . . a set of common principles will
have to be based on agreement to have a worldwide binding limit
on global emissions consistent with a maximum atmospheric concentration
with progressive convergence towards an equitable distribution
of emissions rights on a per capita basis by an agreed date with
across-the-board reductions in emissions rights thereafter."
4.3 Royal Society on Environmental Pollution,
Sir Tom Blundell; Chairman, June 2000
www.rcep.org.uk/newenergy.htm
"The government should press for a future
global climate agreement based on the `Contraction and Convergence'
approach, combined with international trading in emission permits.
These offer the best long-term prospect of securing equity, economy
and international consensus."
4.4 UK Chartered Insurance Institute, Report
on Global Climate Change, March 2001
"The most realistic way to bring about
the required reduction in ghg emissions (which will have the combined
effect of reducing the damage imposed on the insurance industry
and encouraging the transition to renewable energy) is that proposed
in the concept of Contraction and Convergence."
4.5 IPCC WG3, Third Policy Assessment, Chapter
1, Section 3.2, 2001
"A formulation that carries the rights-based
approach to its logical conclusion is that of contraction and
convergence."
4.6 Green Party, October 2001
"The Green party of England and Wales strongly
endorses the GCI/GLOBE campaign for Contraction and Convergence
as the key ingredient in a global political solution to the problem
of Climate Change."
4.7 New Economics Foundation, Ed Mayo, Director,
October 2002
"We regard Contraction and Convergence
as no less than the logical starting point for any sustainable
future."
4.8 Performance and Innovation Unit, The Energy
Review, February 2002
www.number-10.gov.uk/su/energy/TheEnergyReview.PDF
"The RCEP suggested that a 60% reduction
for the UK by 2050 would be needed within a contraction and convergence
agreement"
4.9 UNEP Finance Initiatives, 7 October 2002
www.unepfi.net/cc/ceobriefing_ccwg_unepfi.pdf
"For the long-term, policy makers should
reach consensus on a global framework for climate stability based
on the principles of precaution and equity such as Contraction
and Convergence which would aim to achieve equal per capita emissions
for all nations by an agreed date."
4.10 UNFCCC, Secretariat, COP-9, 4 December
2003
www.gci.org.uk/slideshow/C&C_UNFCCC.pdf
"Stabilization inevitably requires `contraction
and convergence'."
4.11 World Council of Churches, David Hallman,
Programme Coordinator, October 2003
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/moscow2003.html
"A fair distribution, establishing the
concept of per capita emission rights for all countries, as proposed
in the `Contraction and Convergence' scheme."
4.12 Climate Network Africa, Grace Akumu,
Director, 28 April 2003
"Many governments around the world have
accepted the concept of Contraction and Convergence as the only
equitable response mechanism to the threat of climate change."
4.13 UK Environment Agency, Sir John Harman;
Chairman, 9 December 2003
www.gci.org.uk/correspondence/EnvAgency.pdf
"I support the concept of `Contraction
and Convergence', as does the Environment Agency."
4.14 World Nuclear Association, John Ritch,
President, December 2003
http://world-nuclear.org/dgspeeches/wiltonpark2003.htm
"I not only support the C&C concept,
I find it inconceivable that we will avert climate catastrophe
without a regime built on some variation of this approach. In
the debate about climate change, an impression has been created
that the problem is too daunting and complex to prevent. Contraction
and Convergence provides a way forward that is both fair and feasible."
4.15 FEASTA, Richard Douthwaite
". . . to say—as a growing number
of people now do—that the right to emit carbon dioxide should
be considered a human right and that emissions permits should
therefore be issued to all humankind on an equal basis. `Contraction
and Convergence', a surprisingly flexible plan is based on this
idea."
4.16 WBGU, German Advisory Council on Global
Change, Dr John Schelnhuber; Climate Protection Strategies for
the 21 Century: Kyoto and beyond, November 2003
www.wbgu.de/wbgu_sn2003_engl.pdf
". . . WBGU recommends emission rights
be allocated according to the `Contraction and Convergence' approach."
4.17 IPPR, Tony Grayling, Associate Director
and Head of Sustainability, September 2003
"The Prime Minister has already expressed
his desire to create a global deal or `climate covenant' between
North and South on the issue of climate change. IPPR's belief
is that the Contraction and Convergence framework for global climate
policy is the practical application of this aspiration."
4.18 Zululand Environmental Alliance (ZEAL),
Prof James M Phelps, Chairman, 30 April 2003
"Without equity considerations as devised
in Contraction and Convergence, the Climate Change Convention
and the Kyoto Protocol will remain un-implementable and leave
all people on earth facing the devastating effects of climate
change."
4.19 The Australia Institute, Dr Clive Hamilton,
29 April 2003
"The idea of "Contraction and Convergence"
is destined to be one of the most important principles governing
international relations in the 21st century. It is a powerful
ethic that incorporates global justice and sustainability and
thereby bridges the dominant concerns of the last century and
this one. It is the only way to accommodate the interests, ethical
and economic, of developing countries and rich countries in the
struggle to find a solution to the most important environmental
problem facing the world."
4.20 DEFRA, The Scientific Case for Setting
a Long-Term Emission Reduction Target, 2003
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/ewpscience/ewp—targetscience.pdf
"Methodology: The framework of this study
builds on the RCEP work which uses a convergence and contraction
methodology. Whilst prescribed per capita emissions are retained,
the flexibility is such that these are only a tool to constrain
total emissions and this should not be considered a typical contraction
and convergence (C&C)* approach (although any mechanism which
brings all emissions to a level lower than today's will have an
element of C&C)."
"Contraction and convergence is an international
policy framework for dealing with global climate change developed
by the London-based Global Commons Institute."
4.21 WWF, Living Planet Report, November 2004
www.panda.org/downloads/general/lpr2004.pdf
"Contraction & Convergence (C&C)
as proposed by Aubrey Meyer from the Global Commons Institute
(Meyer 2001) provides a simple framework for globally allocating
the right to emit carbon in a way that is consistent with the
physical constraints of the biosphere."
4.22 GLA, Green light to clean power—The
Mayor's Energy Strategy, February 2004
www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/energy/docs/energy_strategy04.pdf
"The recommendations of the Royal Commission
on Environmental Pollution are based on a contraction and convergence
scenario in which global emissions converge in 2050, and atmospheric
CO2 concentration is stabilised at 550ppm by 2100. The Mayor believes
that all national and regional emissions reduction targets, including
those proposed in this strategy, must be seen as part of this
long-term process. The Government's support for the commission's
recommendations for a 60% reduction in emissions by 2050 implies
an acceptance of the contraction and convergence scenario that
produced the recommendation. The Mayor encourages the Government
to acknowledge this.
Policy 2 The Mayor supports the principle of
contraction and convergence as a long-term international policy
objective.
The contraction and convergence proposal was
developed by the Global Commons Institute, London. Details of
its origins, methodology, and support are available online at
http://www.gci.org.uk."
4.23 Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams,
5 July 2004
www.gci.org.uk/speeches/Williams.pdf
"This kind of thinking [C&C] appears
utopian only if we refuse to contemplate the alternatives honestly"
"The Prime Minister has already declared
that his international priorities as chair of the G-8 in 2005
will include climate change and the future of Africa; Contraction
and Convergence addresses both of these."
4.24 Scottish Environment Protection Agency,
Report No SEPA 69/04, 12 October 2004
www.sepa.org.uk/pdf/board/agency/2004/papers/1210/6904.pdf
"It is essential that the EU facilitates
the exporting and uptake of energy efficient technologies to developing
nations, to ensure that the growth of emissions from these countries
is minimised and consistent with the principles of Contraction
and Convergence."
4.25 Liberal Democrats, Charles Kennedy, 16
November 2004
www.gci.org.uk/speeches/Kennedy_C&C_Speech.pdf
"If Tony Blair is really serious in making
his mark in these areas, the greatest single achievement for the
UK's G8 presidency in combating climate change would be securing
agreement among G8 nations, including the United States, that
the way forward will be based on this principle of contraction
and convergence."
Note: All references without a web-link can
be found in the GCI Archive Document under their respective dates.
www.gci.org.uk/Archive/MegaDoc_19.pdf
30 November 2004
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