Policy Proposal 3: Community Action
GLASGOW PROPOSAL FOR A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH
We need concrete – and specific and achievable – ideas that move beyond generalised appeals to the ‘how’ this will happen. Attempting to impose legally binding commitments on states will face political hurdles and may be difficult to surmount. Multilateral legal targets for reducing emissions scuppered Kyoto and led to the Paris approach of bottom-up target setting at a national level driven by enlightened self-interest.
It is important not to build a divisive global system for climate action that leads to wider disparities based on the capacities of different countries. We should not build in unfairness to the system but, rather, build on what we know of human behaviours and communities, which is based on the supposition that we care more for those we have ties to (social, cultural, economic). To achieve this, it is suggested that we:
- Should push national net zero targets into national law (see for example the German court throwing out the current German emission reduction plan as not being sufficiently robust to meet its obligations).
- Construct ‘a linked arm’ process (the ‘Scotia Process’) which is that actors with greater capacity help those that are willing to take action but lack the ability in two ways:
Read the full Proposal here
