ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the issue on which international climate negotiations have visibly foundered is the distribution of the costs of climate protection between developed and developing countries. International negotiations have centered on the mechanism of a global fund to pay for the costs to poor countries of investing in climate protection. A tax on carbon emissions would provide an obvious source of funds; it would provide an incentive to reduce greenhouse gases. Another source of funds could be a little known international financial vehicle known as Special Drawing Rights, often referred to as 'paper gold'. The funds would be allocated based both on what help countries need to pay for their own climate protection costs and the importance of their efforts to global climate protection targets. Finally, in order to qualify, each country would be required to meet its obligation to reduce GHGs, making the trust fund resources an incentive for countries to meet their public trust duties.
