Carbon as Public Policy - Contraction and Convergence ‘Contraction & Convergence’ the framework for the reduction of GHG emissions was proposed in 1990 by the Global Commons Institute and developed by Aubrey Meyer. He has since received support from several governments, NGOs and international organizations like the World Bank and the IPCC, which considers both essential basic principles to organize the fight against climate change. Eco Fiscalite Séverine Frère, Helga-Jane Scarwell
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uBXP3XfF7GQC&pg=PA164&dq=%22Contraction+and+Convergence%22&hl= en&sa=X&ei=Y7HyTtPwA8bL8QOUn_nWAQ&ved=0CD8Q6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=%22Contraction%20and%20 Convergence%22&f=false
Three levels or health co-benefits from addressing sustainability and climate change: • For populations: more physical activity, better diet, improved mental health, less road trauma, less air pollution, less obesity/heart disease cancer, greater social inclusion. •For patients and the health care system: more prevention, care closer to home, more empowered I self-care, better use of drugs, better use of information and IT. Better skill mix, better models of care. •For people in poorer and less resilient societies: the adoption of economic systems such as ‘Contraction & Convergence’ that distribute resources (such as carbon credits) equitably amongst the world’s populations. OXFORD HANDBOOK OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE THE ESSENTIAL PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR TRAINING AND PRACTICE http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SntpYymGuzUC&pg=PA552&dq=”Contraction+and+Convergence”+Danger&hl=e n&sa=X&ei=G7AxUdyTLsqa0QXUoYGQBw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Contraction%20and%20Convergence%22%20Danger&f=false
Consider the following choice between two international approaches to manage the risks posed by global climate change. The example is hypothetical but draws to a certain extent on recent debates concerning the appropriate successor to the Kyoto Protocol after it expires in 2012. The first approach, “Business as Usual,” sets voluntary targets on carbon emissions with the goal of reducing the carbon intensity but not the overall emissions, of participating states. ‘Contraction & Convergence’ by contrast, aims to secure each existing and future person’s fair share of the absorptive capacity of the atmosphere by establishing a global safe ceiling for greenhouse gas emissions and distributing the burdens of remaining below this level according to a fairly negotiated allocation procedure. The predictable consequence of choosing ‘Contraction & Convergence’ over its rival would be that, after a Century or so, the quality of life enjoyed by the average world citizen would be significantly higher. Would it not be wrong to adopt Business-as-Usual under these circumstances on grounds of intergenerational justice? An important environmental citizenship obligation would be to ensure that one’s ecological footprint is not excessive and ideally is no bigger than that which could be enjoyed by all other human inhabitants of the planet (the Kantian sources of this view are evident here) such that we take merely our own share of ecological resources and do not invade the shares of others. This obligation would provide a strong stimulus toward ‘Contraction & Convergence’ whereby citizens in the Developed World reduce their ecological impact to a level that could be enjoyed by all, and as a result, their footprint converges with those of people in less developed countries, whose share is allowed to expand to the same level. This view of citizenship inevitably draws on a cosmopolitan view of that concept: We have obligations of citizenship not only to those with whom we share a nationstate but to all people of the world. Encyclopedia of Political Theory http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gryvMfjg-zEC&pg=PA706&dq=%22Contraction+and+Convergence%22+Legisl ation&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_A0xUZrODaHW0QW7voCIAg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBDgo#v=onepage&q=%22Contraction%20 and%20Convergence%22%20&f=false