This report provides an overview of current and historical greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; examines alternative formulations on how efforts to lower anthropogenic GHG emissions could be shared among regions/countries; evaluates quantitatively the implications of alternative GHG allocation/reduction criteria, particularly from a ‘North-South’ perspective; and describes a combined GHG emission data base and software tool developed for the analysis of GHG allocation regimes: the Parametric Framework. The Parametric Framework (in Lotus format) contains a data set comprising 13 world regions/countries, socio-economic background data, and three different types of greenhouse gases/sources: fossil fuel and industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, CO2 emissions from biota and land-use changes, and anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions. Historical emission data span the period 1800 to 1988 for CO2, and 1950 to 1988 for CH4. In addition, the numerical routines necessary to calculate the quantitative implications of four alternative GHG allocation criteria (and their variants) are included. Four GHG emission reduction and allocation criteria are analyzed: equal per capita emissions, equal percentage cuts from current emissions to desired target levels (‘grandfathering’), cutbacks proportional to past contributions to atmospheric concentration increase on a regional basis (compensation for ‘natural debt’), and natural GHG sinks adjusted emission reduction. An analysis was made of the quantitative implications of the four GHG emission allocation criteria for 13 world regions, assuming a reduction of global emissions to Gt C (C-equivalent) by the year 2050. Additional sensitivity analyses were performed for each of the criteria.
