ABSTRACT
The Framework Convention on Climate Change proposes stabilisation of emissions in Annex I countries (the OECD plus CIS and Eastern Europe), while allowing developing countries to continue increasing their emissions. This split in responsibility recognises that restrictions on developing countries would be unfairly detrimental to their economic development, and this is certainly justifiable on equity grounds, especially as the majority of past emissions have come from the developed world. However, if the incompleteness of the treaty causes carbon emissions to increase in developing countries both the effectiveness and the stability of any agreement will be greatly reduced. This lowering of effectiveness will in turn adversely impact on developing countries, as their reliance on the agricultural sector makes them highly vulnerable to climatic change.
