Sharing the burden of climate change

Abstract

I have been asked to talk about ‘sharing the burden of climate change’.1 Of course, that means all of us playing our part. It is unfortunate that the language of this topic is in itself loaded to the negative. ‘Playing our part’ sounds far more desirable than ‘sharing the burden’! Right now, the primary global response hinges on the Kyoto Protocol. The first commitment period of the protocol ends in 2012, so our next challenge will be looking at the options for tackling climate change after this date. Here I would like to explore some of the key issues countries will need to consider post-2012 to effectively tackle climate change.