1. Historic responsibility of developed nations versus the developing nations
2. Equity on per capita carbon emissions.
The Copenhagen summit is going to start the process of unraveling the complex issues related to climate change responsibility and in my opinion is a start of something good and concrete.
While I agree with the historic responsibility angle I am not content with the per capita carbon equity stand as I dont think it is correct. It gives an unfair advantage to over populated nations like China and India. I think instead of a per capita approach, we need to have a land mass based approach which includes a component for green cover. There are a number of reasons why I think this is a better approach :
a. This approach penalizes countries who have allowed population to grow beyond control.
b. If a country manages its greens well, then there is more room to spend carbon
c. Land represents the quantum of natural resources available to the citizens of the country and gives a better picture of the capacity of the country to support the emissions.
While on the topic of emissions, I have for long felt the ineffective way airconditioning systems are implemented in residences. A/Cs are switched on mainly during the nights when there is absolutely no movement apart from the occasional turning and tossing! Then why the need to cool up the entire room ? Like our cars and airplanes, we need to have personal climate control at homes as well...
