Even as it is recognized as key to a durable and effective regime, equity has proven an especially challenging objective under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In addition to the well-known and comprehensively analysed equity issues that arise with demand-side climate policies, very different equity issues come to the fore in connection with supply-side policies. This session will be devoted to reviewing some of these equity challenges, highlighting their connection to effective climate policy, and examining possible ways forward.

Regarding the extraction of carbon resources, we will discuss questions such as: If carbon emissions are to be kept within a tightly constrained budget, who gets to still exploit their fossil fuel assets? What would the basis for distributing a “right to extract”?

With regard to supply-side policies and distributive impacts, we will ask: In what cases are supply-side policies regressive enough to significantly affect affordability and access? What steps can be taken to address that problem? What are the appropriate roles for international institutions such as the UNFCCC?

With regard to livelihoods and a fossil fuels phase-out, we will discuss: What “just transition” lessons can be learned from other sectors that have endured a rapid industrial decline? What compensating steps might be appropriate in the fossil livelihoods case?

Finally, looking at legal and ethical responsibility issues, we will consider: Is there a basis for moral or legal claims against extractors? Do any such claims shed light on issues of support for adaptation, or compensation for loss and damage?