The Contraction & Convergence Model
‘Contraction’ refers to the need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a stable atmospheric concentration. Effectively this would create a global ‘budget’ of greenhouse gas emissions.
‘Convergence’ allocates shares in that budget to the emitting nations on the basis of equity. This has three components. First, the budget is global; every country has shares in the atmosphere. Second, the current situation whereby allocations are generally proportional to wealth would cease. Third, allocations should converge over time to a position where allocation are proportional to population. After convergence, all countries would contract their CO2 emissions equally until the necessary limit is reached. In addition, no inflation of national budgets in response to rising populations would be permitted after an agreed set date.
The fundamental advantage of this approach is that its per capita basis provides an organising principle for the negotiations which all the parties recognise as fair and equitable. This is equity for survival, which would be implemented during the next 200 years.
Critices of the model have pointed out that it will be impossible to police and administer, and that it is difficult to see this type of global agreement and collaboration develop in just a few 100 years.
What is the C&C Model?
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- The C&C Model
The Contraction & Convergence model was developed in the late 1990 by Mr. Aubrey Meyer, who is a director and founder of the Global Commons Institute. The C&C model has won support from govenrments and environmental organisation alike, because it promotes a framework on which future collaboration can be based.
