Entry points for assessing ‘fair shares’ in national mitigation efforts

Pelz, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3528-8679, Ganti, G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6638-4076, Pachauri, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8138-3178, Rogelj, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2056-9061, & Riahi, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7193-3498 (2024). Entry points for assessing ‘fair shares’ in national mitigation efforts. Research Square preprint 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5163328/v1. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Fairness considerations have been central to the international climate change mitigation discourse, generating numerous theoretical and philosophical debates. In this article, we address the pressing need for practical guidance on navigating this landscape in assessing relative mitigation efforts. The Paris Agreement mandates that updates to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) include clear and transparent considerations of fairness. This reflects a progression from previous submissions where such considerations were optional and inconsistently addressed. We propose a set of entry points for examining and revising these assertions in practice. We demonstrate the use of this approach through a case study focusing on the European Union. Our work emphasizes the importance of explicitly defining foundational principles, specifying allocation quantities, defining allocation approaches, and presenting selected indicators to operationalize ‘fair shares’ in mitigation efforts. By bridging the gap between scholarly debates and practical application, this study supports the integration of clear and transparent fairness considerations into climate policy commitments.

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