Considerations of Global Equity and Burden-Sharing in Community-Scale Climate Action Planning

This research paper explores the application of global equity and "burden-sharing" principles to community-scale climate action planning. Using the City of Seattle as a case study, the authors apply the Greenhouse Development Rights (GDR) framework to demonstrate that an equitable global mitigation obligation for a wealthy city would require it to go carbon "negative" by 2020, meaning it must reduce its own emissions while financing low-carbon transitions in developing regions.

• Common community goals of reducing emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 may no longer be sufficient to limit global warming to 2 degrees C, as the IPCC Fourth Assessment report suggests developed countries may need reductions of 80-95% by 2050 to meet a 450ppm CO2 equivalent trajectory.
• The Greenhouse Development Rights (GDR) framework differs from per-capita or "contraction and convergence" approaches by accounting for a region's historical emissions responsibility and its relative capacity to pay, based on a development threshold of $7,500 per year.
• Applying the GDR framework to the City of Seattle indicates that to meet its global mitigation obligation, the city would need to become carbon "neutral" before 2020 and progressively carbon "negative" thereafter, an obligation that exceeds its own domestic emissions.
• Going "carbon negative" in a community context does not imply physical sequestration of gases within the city, but rather reducing local emissions while investing in low-GHG transitions in developing regions that have limited capacity and responsibility.
• Communities can fulfill global obligations through greenhouse gas offsets or direct technology and financial support, though offsets carry risks regarding "additionality"; the authors suggest using high-quality standards like the Gold Standard to mitigate these risks.
• The estimated cost for Seattle to meet its 2020 obligation at a price of $20/ton CO2e would be approximately $100 million, or $150 per resident annually, which the authors suggest is manageable as it is less than 0.5% of the projected median per-capita income for 2020.

APA

Erickson, P., Chandler, C., & Lazarus, M. (2010). Considerations of Global Equity and Burden-Sharing in Community-Scale Climate Action Planning. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Economics_of_climate_policy/sei-workingpaperus-1008.pdf

Chicago

Erickson, Peter, Chelsea Chandler, and Michael Lazarus. Considerations of Global Equity and Burden-Sharing in Community-Scale Climate Action Planning. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Economics_of_climate_policy/sei-workingpaperus-1008.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Erickson |first1=Peter |last2=Chandler |first2=Chelsea |last3=Lazarus |first3=Michael |title=Considerations of Global Equity and Burden-Sharing in Community-Scale Climate Action Planning |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=December 2010 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Economics_of_climate_policy/sei-workingpaperus-1008.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{erickson2010considerations, author = {Erickson, Peter and Chandler, Chelsea and Lazarus, Michael}, title = {{Considerations of Global Equity and Burden-Sharing in Community-Scale Climate Action Planning}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Economics_of_climate_policy/sei-workingpaperus-1008.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }