One important guiding principle for distributing global obligations in carbon

emission reductions is "Common but differentiated responsibilities." What is

it? Do you agree with this?

Introduction:

Increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, and

fluorocarbons are referred to as "climate change," and it is this increase in Earth's average

surface temperature that is to be blamed for this (global warming). According to the IPCC report,

since the turn of the twentieth century, global temperatures have increased, on average, about 0.6

0.2 degrees Centigrade. There is a direct correlation between human-caused activities such as

deforestation and an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Every day, the heat emitted

by humans is equivalent to detonating 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. Rising temperatures,

melting ice, and rising sea levels may be traced back to increased carbon dioxide levels. The

obligation shall have fulfilled its commitment by utilizing wise and deliberate action and using

all reasonable measures to achieve its goal. To attain the agreed-upon outcome, regardless of

whether it is achieved. Even though the term "one-time reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions" is occasionally used in this context, VERs are distinct since they are generated before

the regulations for emission trading have been established.

Common but differentiated responsibilities

According to international environmental law, all nations have some responsibility for global

environmental deterioration, although not all at the same time. The concept is reconciled with the

concept that all governments share environmental responsibilities and the requirement to

recognize significant economic gaps among them. There is a correlation between these inequities

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and the states' involvement in and capacity to address these concerns. Two competing views on

environmental governance are brought together in CBDR (Cullet, 2010). However, the term

"common heritage of humanity" and the notion of "shared obligation" were first used in a United

Nations resolution in 1967 in reaction to the depletion of natural resources which belong to

everybody. UNCED's 1992 Conference of Environment and Development necessitated a

worldwide response to climate change, destruction, desertification, and biodiversity loss. When

two or more governments work together to safeguard a common resource, it is referred to as a

CBDR (Stone, 2004). There has been a long-standing recognition that different countries have

varied capabilities and degrees of commitment when dealing with environmental issues, which

necessitates the development of different levels of cooperation. The 1992 meeting resulted in

CBDR as a compromise environmental protection strategy among industrialized and developing

nations. Its goal is to:

 International law's broad ideas of equity are articulated in this way. Higher levels of

development have historically contributed more to the deterioration of global natural

resources such as water and air, although responsibility sharing in that respect is

acknowledged.

 It shows that industrialized nations, which have been able to grow for extended periods

despite environmental restraints, must now bear a higher share of the burden.

"Principle 7" has been adopted into various international legal documents, like the Rio

Declaration and UN Legal Structure on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Chemicals that destroy the

ozone layer were retrospectively included in the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol

(Ferreira, 2016). This implies that developing nations will not be able to meet the aims of these

environmental agreements until they have more time to do so. Contracting unequal treatment has

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three main goals: to ensure substantive equality in a context of justice, promote collaboration

among states, and offer incentives for states to carry out their responsibilities in this regard. The

CBDR concept was developed at the Earth Summit to show that pollution crosses political

borders and that international cooperation can only accomplish environmental conservation. The

Parties shall ensure that the climate system is protected for current and future generations of

people, on a foundation of equality, and in line with their shared but differentiated duties and

capacities." This is why developed countries must take the lead in tackling climate change and its

detrimental repercussions. This implies that the state will work together to maintain, defend, and

restore Earth's ecosystem's health and integrity in the spirit of global cooperation (Pauw et al.,

2014). By distributing but not absolving each other of the various responsibilities contributing to

environmental deterioration. Because of the stresses, their societies exert on the global

environment and the financial and technical resources they control, developed countries are

aware of their role in the global endeavor to achieve sustainable development. Because of this

understanding, a notion is known as "Common but Differentiated Responsibility" was born.

Common responsibility is used when a common environmental resource exists across countries.

According to the idea, pollutant data from previous years is also considered for determining

liability. Developed nations have contributed more to air pollution than emerging ones. – The

World Health Organization. The goal of differential responsibility is to create substantive

equality between rich and developing countries. Even if legal equality is achieved, emerging or

impoverished nations may be harmed (Bortscheller, 2009).

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Conclusion

The fundamental issue with the CBDR method is that it uses past greenhouse gas emissions to

differentiate between developed and developing nations. No attention is paid to the present

situation. The UNFCCC and CBDR need to rethink what constitutes a developed and developing

country. Developing countries release much fewer greenhouse gases than developed countries,

but that is no longer the case. Carbon emissions will be accounted for in a new type for India,

China, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico. High greenhouse gas emission countries are being

pressured to sign up for a binding agreement by the United Nations. First, the United Nations

might point to the deterioration of the health of the locals and a rise in the death rate as a cause

for such a move.

We're dealing with a multifaceted issue when it comes to global warming. Local or regional

issues don't apply to this situation. To find a lasting solution, worldwide collaboration is

required. The issue of air pollution came to light in the past several decades due to scientific

findings. Countries throughout the globe eventually agreed that greenhouse gas is a menace to all

nations after years of debate. As of the present, there is no conclusive answer to climate change.

While it is fair, the Common but Differentiated Responsibility concept is unsuccessful. Due to

the ambiguous and static definitions, there is much confusion and unhappiness among the

participating nations. It's still possible to remain optimistic in this scenario. For nations that

contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, there are several ways in which they might

be encouraged to reach the binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions. If nothing else, the

CBDR-based climate change campaign is off to a promising start.

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References:

Bortscheller, M.J., 2009. Equitable but ineffective: How the principle of common but

differentiated responsibilities hobbles the global fight against climate change. Sustain.

Dev Pol 10, 49.

Cullet, P., 2010. Common but differentiated responsibilities, in: Research Handbook on

International Environmental Law. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Ferreira, P.G., 2016. 'Common but differentiated responsibilities' in the National Courts: Lessons

from Urgenda v. The Netherlands. Transnatl. Environ. Law 5, 329–351.

Pauw, P., Brandi, C., Richerzhagen, C., Bauer, S., Schmole, H., 2014. Different perspectives on

differentiated responsibilities: a state-of-the-art review of the notion of common but

differentiated responsibilities in international negotiations. Discussion Paper.

Stone, C.D., 2004. Common but differentiated responsibilities in international law. Am. J. Int.

Law 98, 276–301.

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In the 2015 Climate Summit held in Paris, this principle appeared to have

been side-lined. Instead, countries were free to propose their carbon

reduction plans, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions.

Was this a move forward or backward? Why?

Introduction

To attain these long-term targets, the Paris Agreement relies heavily on NDCs, defined by the

countries who signed it. Each country's NDCs represent its efforts to cut emissions and adapt to

climate change. According to the Paris Agreement, every Party's responsibility is to prepare,

communicate, and maintain a series of NDCs (nationally determined contributions) outlining the

goals it intends to meet. To achieve the goals of their contributions, parties will seek domestic

mitigating measures. As part of the Paris Agreement, each nation must identify and publicize its

post-2020 climate initiatives, known as NDCs.

Paris Accord

According to the best available science, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be

stabilized and then rapidly reduced to achieve a sustainable balance between anthropogenic

emissions and GHG sink removal in the second half of this century. Such climate actions

determine whether the world achieves the long-term goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

Development country Parties are expected to take longer than developed country Parties to reach

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their peak emissions, and emission reductions are being implemented on an equitable basis and

in the framework of sustainable development, including efforts to eliminate poverty.

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions

The Paris Agreement provides a global framework for group action toward a zero-carbon,

climate-resilient future via INDCs, which combine national policy formulation with national

goals, circumstances, and capacities. As a result of the INDCs, a positive feedback loop is

created among national and international climate change decision-making (Conte Grand, 2016).

Governments rely heavily on INDCs to convey their plans for combating climate change in their

nations to the rest of the world. With this in mind, each nation has developed its INDC to express

its desire to reduce emissions while considering its unique circumstances and capacities.

Additionally, some nations discuss how they'll deal with the effects of climate change and what

help they need from, but will offer, other countries to embrace low-carbon pathways and create

climate resilience. The term "intended" was employed because governments expressed their

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planned climate initiatives before the finalization of the Paris Agreement. The Nationally

Determined Contribution (NDC) replaces an INDC when a country officially signs the Paris

Agreement and looks forward to the execution of these climate initiatives (NDC) (García et al.,

2016). When a nation joins the Paris Agreement by submitting its ratification, accession, and

approval document, it undergoes this transformation. To stay on track with their greatest

aspirations, nations must submit a revised NDC every five years as part of the Paris Agreement's

requirements. Good INDCs communicate to the globe that the nation is doing its share to

mitigate climate change and reduce future climate risk.

Developing nations should have adopted a transparent procedure while putting up their INDCs to

establish confidence and hold themselves accountable to local and global stakeholders. INDC

must be ambitious, contributing to the transformation of carbon-intensive sectors, including

industry; transparent, stakeholders can monitor progress and ensure governments reach their

stated targets; and equitable, so each state does its fair lot to deal with climate change (Boyd et

al., 2015). INDCs must be properly articulated so that domestic & global stakeholders may

anticipate how these efforts will reduce global emissions, including climate-resilient. To

encourage the private sector to fight against climate change and other national goals, an INDC

should explain how the government plans to do so. INDCs are the primary means through which

nations communicate to the rest of the world how they intend to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions beyond 2020. Countries may show their commitment to combating climate change by

their participation. Climate change is a worldwide issue, but every nation has its own set of

challenges, unique sets of emissions, and potential for emissions reduction. National priorities,

capabilities, and responsibilities may be considered when developing an INDC. As a starting

point for collective action, these individual initiatives may set the stage for a climate-resilient,

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low-carbon future. The preparation and execution of INDCs may provide considerable non-

climate domestic benefits in addition to the global good (Merrill, 2015).

Conclusion

A new climate economy may be built by demonstrating political pledges to combat climate

change. Emissions reductions, sustainable economic development, and poverty reduction benefit

from this approach. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions may be seen as a means or an

aim in the context of INDCs. Policy or mitigation steps such as extending a feed-in tariff for

renewable energy technology, eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, or transitioning to a no-tillage

agriculture system might be agreed upon by countries. It's also possible to commit to a goal, like

lowering emissions or producing a particular proportion of renewable energy, or enhancing the

country's energy consumption efficiency. The great range of domestic circumstances in which

each nation must reduce emissions will lead to a wide range of INDCs, extending from emission

to energy goals to measures in specific sectors. In addition, the Lima resolution at COP 20 urged

Parties to consider an adaptation component in their INDCs. Many developing nations have

shown an interest in including adaptation into their INDCs. Several ways developing nations

may help execute the INDC, including highlighting their requirements and priorities for

financing, technology, and capacity development and articulating the increased ambition that

might be fulfilled if they received more assistance.

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References:
Boyd, R., Turner, J., Ward, B., 2015. Intended nationally determined contributions: what are the

implications for greenhouse gas emissions in 2030?

Conte Grand, M., 2016. Different types of nationally determined contributions to address climate

change. Serie Documentos de Trabajo.

García, M., Medina, D., Witkowski, K., 2016. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions in

the Caribbean: Where does agriculture fit?

Merrill, L., 2015. Tackling fossil fuel subsidies and climate change: Levelling the energy playing

field. Nordic Council of Ministers.

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