The equitable international allocation of tradable carbon emission permits

The claim that equity considerations can play a significant role in negotiations over the international allocation of tradable permits for carbon emissions is challenged on the grounds that theories of distributive Justice have very little to contribute as regards distributive Justice between sovereign states. In so far as distributive justice principles are to be invoked at all they would imply that some International agency should be allowed to sell or lease some of the total permits to be allocated and to use the revenues for ald to the most needy individuals in society, irrespective of where they live. The remaining permits should be distributed between countries according to criteria that enjoy wide acceptability in negotiation situations involving mutual shares in collective burdens.