Common but Differentiated Responsibilities for Developed and Developing States: A South African Perspective

Abstract

In the international context, as well as in international law, development serves as a criterion to differentiate between states. As a result, states are commonly divided into broad categories of developed and developing countries. The notion of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) is predicated on such differentiation in international environmental law and allows the imposition of disparate obligations on developed or developing states. Until the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, the principle of CBDR was applied in the international climate change regime based on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Paris Agreement, ratified by South Africa on 1 November 2016, brings new perspectives to the international process of addressing climate change. It modifies the principle of CBDR, and introduces the concept of nationally determined contributions, specific for and binding on each country.The present chapter outlines and analyses the methods of differentiation between developed and developing states against the backdrop of the principle of CBDR, from a South African perspective. The chapter opens by outlining the definitions and criteria at play to distinguish between developed and developing countries. The most commonly used tools, terms, and indices describing levels of development include GNI/GNP, the Human Development Index, the Gini coefficient, and categories used within the United Nations and by international financial institutions, including the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Despite well-defined criteria, no clear and precise definition of a developing or a developed state emerges. The second section of this chapter then proceeds to present a practical application of the differentiation based on the level of development used in the UN Climate Change regime. The chapter approaches the theoretical understanding of the two aspects of the principle of CBDR, namely, the common and the differentiated responsibilities. The effects of the principle of CBDR in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and its Kyoto Protocol, are examined, and the categories of Annex I, Annex II, and non-Annex I countries are presented. The change brought by the Paris Agreement, which has led to the more equitable distribution of rights and duties between developed and developing states, is further analysed. Last, South Africa’s implementation of its Paris Agreement obligations regarding its nationally determined contributions is discussed and evaluated.