Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) and the Global Politics of Climate Ethics
Dr Lorraine Elliott - Senior Fellow in International Relations, The Australian National University

The CBDR principle that is entrenched in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol reflects a political bargain between developed and developing countries. The conditions of this bargain, and its implementation in practice, have come to be a key obstacle to further and more effective progress on international action on climate change. CBDR has also come to be understood, by many developing countries at least, as a principle of burden-sharing and a symbol of a commitment (or lack thereof) by developed countries to global justice. Given the political and ethical importance of CBDR, this seminar examines the justification for burden-sharing and explores various rationale, ranging from the prudential to the solidarist, for developed countries to meet their 'differentiated responsibilities'.