8.1 Development, Equity and Sustainability

There are fundamental scientific and epistemological links between development, equity and sustainability issues and climate change. The concept of sustainable development could only be gauged by its three attributes viz. economic, social and environmental. A consistent integration of development, equity and sustainable development is a necessity to develop an effective and practical climate change strategy. Many national policies taken today could well affect the future climate change prospects significantly. While mainstream economics which is used for practical policy making has often ignored many crucial aspects of environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development, there is a small growing body of economic analysis and application which seeks to address such shortcomings.

Equity in the context of a social decision requires a fair and just outcome. It is an important element of the collective decision-making framework needed to respond to global climate change for a number of reasons, including: a) moral and ethical concerns; b) facilitating effectiveness; c) sustainable development; and d) requirement of the UNFCC. The principles of justice and fair play is a fundamental human right. Most modern international agreements including the UN Charter, enshrine moral and ethical concerns relating to basic equality of all human beings and the existence of inalienable and fundamental human rights. Equitable decisions generally carry greater legitimacy and encourage parties with differing interests to co-operate better in carrying out mutually agreeable decisions. Therefore, a successful implementation of a collective human response to the problem of global climate change will require the sustained collaboration of all sovereign nation states. While penalties and safeguards will play a role, decisions that are widely acceptable as equitable are likely to be implemented with greater willingness and goodwill than those enforced under conditions of mistrust or coercion.