Ten principles for climate change

Practical rules should underpin a post-Kyoto agreement. THE clock is ticking for the Kyoto Protocol, which ends next year.

The Durban conference should focus less on target numbers and more on what each country will do in terms of policies and initiatives to achieve its targets, binding or voluntary. It should first reach consensus on 10 principles that should underpin countries' policies and actions.

First, the aim should be for the world economy and individual economies to grow, but with low carbon emissions.
Second, countries should adopt a 40 to 50-year time achievable horizon.
Third, every country should work to continually reduce the energy intensity of its economy.
Fourth, all countries, particularly the developed ones, should work to reduce their per capita consumption of energy and actively discourage wasteful consumption.
Fifth, the global post-Kyoto agreement should seek a commitment from all countries, particularly those with high populations, to curtail their growth rates to less than, or equal to, replacement levels.
Sixth, policy initiatives in developed economies such as an emissions trading scheme should have maximum coverage, not just the big businesses.
Seventh, governments in developed countries should provide price signals and incentives to everyone, householders and businesses alike, to continually reduce their carbon footprints.
Eighth, all governments should promote investments in renewable energy and carbon sinks such as forests
Ninth, all governments should agree to develop policies that minimise "carbon leakage" (moving factories countries without an emission fee)
Tenth, each government should combat its emissions growth by undertaking ''local actions'' and not rely heavily on measures such as international carbon trading to financially offset its emissions.
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