What’s a “Fair Share” Of Emissions Reductions Under the Paris Climate Process?

Nov 7, 2023

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Brazilian economist and IPCC lead author Roberto Schaeffer examines what constitutes a “fair share” of emissions reductions under the Paris climate process, and how fairness is defined.

This December, at COP 28 in Dubai, countries will consider the results of the first “global stocktake,” which is a global report card that compares real climate commitments and actions with the level that’s in fact needed to achieve global net zero and avoid the worst of climate outcomes. Following COP, countries will be expected to intensify their efforts to reduce their climate impacts and keep the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement in sight.

As they consider their future commitments, countries will grapple with their capacity to reduce emissions, whether that level is in fact “fair” in a global sense, and what the climate implications of their efforts may be.

Roberto Schaeffer, a professor of energy economics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, explores paths to deliver the dual imperatives of fairness, and maximum carbon reductions, in the global climate context. Schaeffer is a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports, and a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize. His work focuses on frameworks to maximize individual country contributions to the global climate effort.

Roberto Schaeffer is a professor of energy economics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.