In 1992, when the world met to discuss an agreement on climate
change, equity was a simple concept: sharing the global
commons—the atmosphere in this case—equally among all. It did
not provoke much anxiety, for there were no real claimants.
However, this does not mean the concept was readily accepted. A
small group of industrialised countries had burnt fossil fuels
for 100 years and built up enormous wealth. This club had to
decide what to do to cut emissions, and it claimed all countries
were equally responsible for the problem. In 1991, just as the
climate convention was being finalised, a report, released by an
influential Washington think tank, broke the news that its
analysis showed India, China and other developing countries were
equally responsible for greenhouse gases. Anil Agarwal and I
rebutted this and brought in the issue of equitable access to
the global commons. We also showed, beyond doubt, that the
industrialised countries were singularly responsible for the
increased greenhouse gases.