In the past few years, the scientific community has achieveda near-consensus that our energy profligate lifestyles are contributingto a process that threatens future life on earth. As Robin Stottdescribes,the Global Commons Institute has put forward theonly realistic framework to prevent this. Based on principlesof precaution and equity, the policy of contraction and convergenceis already commanding impressive national and internationalsupport.2
Given that scientists have calculated that the capacity of theplanet to absorb greenhouse gases without serious destabilisationof the climate is finite, could anyone reasonably support theproposition that the contraction should converge towards anunequal distribution? If that capacity is therefore dividedby the world's population, each person's fair annual allocationof carbon dioxide emissions cannot be greater than about 1 tonne.At present, the UK's average emissions are about 10 tonnes,two and a half times the current world average.
