Hi all, welcome back! I hope the last 2 posts have provided you with some critical insights on unequal ecological exchange. In this post, I will be looking at Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR) for climate action, as it is one of the most commonly talked about solutions targeted at the unequal ecological exchange.
CBDR is a principle that is a part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The convention mentions that “… the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions.” (Climate Nexus, n.d.)
This means that the CBDR principle acknowledges that every country has a stake in climate change, and also recognizes that some countries (i.e. the developed countries) will have to do more than other countries (i.e. developing countries) since they are in a better socio-economic position to do so (Yeo & Evans, 2015). This principle touches on the concept of climate equity, which focuses on ensuring fairness to all countries by taking their circumstance and history into account instead of imposing equal requirements on everyone (Climate Nexus, n.d.).
This infographic below is a good depiction of what equity looks like:;
Picture Source: https://www.leadmn.org/EDI-series1
The CBDR principle divides countries into Annex I (mostly developed countries) and Annex II (mostly developing countries) countries (Climate Nexus, n.d.). This division is not just in terms of financial capabilities, but also taking in equity considerations since Annex I countries were mostly historically responsible for the bulk of carbon emissions (Yeo & Evans, 2015). Hence, CBDR requires richer countries who were mostly responsible for emissions in the past to do more to offset their emissions. Moreover, CBDR allows Annex II countries that were most disadvantaged by the historical past of exploitative colonialism to emit more carbon emissions so that they are given a chance to reach a certain level of development. It is indeed interesting to see that international policies recognize the inequity issue rooted in unequal ecological exchange through their CBDR principle. Hope this post brought about some insights for you!
See you soon!
Komal
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References:
Climate Nexus. (n.d.). Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://climatenexus.org/climate-change-news/common-but-differentiated-responsibilities-and-respective-capabilities-cbdr-rc/
Yeo, S., & Evans, S. (2015, December 7). Explainer: Why ‘differentiation’ is key to unlocking paris climate deal. Carbon Brief. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-why-differentiation-is-key-to-unlocking-paris-climate-deal