From poverty to power - Oxfam-Québec

5 THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM CLIMATE CHANGEobligations to make – or pay for – carbon cuts are based on pastresponsibility for emissions and current capacity to pay, while guaranteeingthe right to development of poor countries. In contrast withother approaches, it takes intra-national inequality (of income andemissions) into account by exempting the income and emissions ofpeople who fall below a minimal ‘global middle class’ thresholdof about $9,000 per capita. It argues that rich countries bear responsibilityfor current climate change and so should pay for the lion’s shareof global adaptation and mitigation efforts, allowing developingcountries to focus on poverty reduction and development. 226However the burden is shared, reversing centuries of rising carbonemissions will not be an easy task. How can governments, companies,and individuals ensure that emissions peak, and then fall, within thenext ten years? This question lies at the heart of the increasingly urgentdebates on how to respond to climate change. The three main optionsuse traditional tools of government policy:Standards: Governments could reach global and/or national agreementssetting emission standards for different industries, and agree aregime to enforce these rules. Examples include quality standards onvehicle emissions or legal requirements that new housing be carbonneutral.Subsidies: Rich-country governments could subsidise carbon reductionefforts – for example research into new technologies in fields such asrenewable energy or carbon capture – or they could support companiesor individuals producing or adopting existing low-carbon equipment.All countries should also end perverse subsidies that actually encouragefossil fuel use. Rich countries collectively subsidise domestic fossil fuelproduction and consumption in the range of $10bn–$57bn each yearin tax breaks and direct support. If redirected, this could financedeveloping-country adaptation. 227Taxes: By ensuring that the true cost of carbon emissions is reflectedin the prices paid by consumers, governments can create a systemwideincentive for low-carbon solutions and encourage innovation tomeet this new demand. A tax on carbon emissions could curb greenhousegases and at the same time raise funds for adaptation or other purposes.Taxes on air travel are increasingly justified as carbon taxes.However, although simpler to implement, taxes will not necessarily413