The Oxford Approach Operationalizing the UNFCCC Principle of ‘Respective Capabilities’ 2nd Edition

The policy brief proposes a measure for national ‘differentiated economic capabilities’ (ability to pay) as integral for operationalising Article 3.1 of the UNFCCC. The primary purpose of the measure is to define or assess climate change cost/burden sharing. To illustrate the potential use of this methodology the paper considers two examples: assessing the fairness of a given cost distribution; and developing a rule-based ‘graduation scheme’ regarding obligations to pay.