Designing the new climate regime

The new climate regime will lead to commitments only for developing countries.

The reason for this is that the United States, which did not ratify the legally binding commitments contained in the Kyoto Protocol, continues to insist on a system in which nationally determined goals for reducing emissions will be monitored globally.

Neither in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in 1992, nor in the Kyoto Protocol, in 1997, have countries stated the precise meaning of equity and its related obligations. They have, though, agreed on general principles meant to guide the allocation of obligations among countries. This is primarily to be done by putting countries into categories in accordance with their per capita incomes. The notion of equitable access to sustainable development was introduced in the Cancun Agreements, in 2009, which recognized that developing countries will be given more time to ensure that their emissions of greenhouses gases reach a peak and that their priorities should be on ensuring social and economic development and eradicating poverty.