New study suggests rationalised approach to countering climate change

The climate change fight appears to be getting more nuanced with a new study suggesting evolving targets for emission cuts based on considerations of living standards of individuals across nations rather than the rich vs poor nations divide. Analysts say the approach makes eminent sense since the bulk of climate-warming emissions originate from less than a billion people across the world.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, rich countries are required to take up the larger share of the burden for cutting emissions that cause global warming while developing nations including the fast growth economies like China and India are not required to take curb emissions.

The study proposes evolving a cap that would be uniform across countries. This would be based on how much carbon dioxide each person could emit to limit global emissions. Since the life-styles of the rich are more energy intensive, they are the ones likely to exceed the limits whether they live in a rich country or a poor one.

Rich people are bigger consumers of fossil-fuels as they travel frequently by air and vehicles that burn gas and live in big houses that require more fuel to heat and cool. With the shift in focus on rich people everywhere rather than on countries rich and poor, the system of setting carbon-targets on the basis of the number of wealthy individuals, would help poor nations align better to any new climate change framework according to experts.

The wealthier nations, especially the US have argued that Kyoto leaves the developed countries at a huge disadvantage vis-à-vis developing countries. They say the poorer nations gain tremendous economic advantage under Kyoto which requires countries like the US to regress rather than progress, technologically and economically. Americans are opposed to such concepts that would bind them to a framework that promotes stagnation.

The study argues that by tracking 'rich' people or 'high emitters' the carbon limits could be better targeted across countries.