In Bali the world’s governments have been asked to draw up a long-term plan to stabilise the global climate. Should the incremental approach of the Kyoto Protocol be extended, or ditched for something more ambitious? Deciding which climate framework to plump for might be the most important decision of these politicians’ lives – and ours. Yet most of us have had little or no opportunity to participate in the debate. The rhetoric boils down to four options, which I rate here on the key criteria of scientific rigour, political realism, fairness and simplicity. Tell us your choice.
The frameworks
Kyoto Protocol
Contraction and Convergence
Kyoto2
Greenhouse Development Rights
Cap and Share, a variant combining C&C and Kyoto2 approaches