The United States, European Union, China and India account for more than 50% of global carbon emissions. The Climate Governance Commission calls on these four countries to negotiate and declare a ‘Big Four Grand Bargain’ setting coordinated GreenHouse Gas (GHG) reduction targets and fossil fuel phase out goals with concrete timelines and implementation plans, among other key measures.
Such a bargain would acknowledge the need for the Big Four to take the lead on ending the use of fossil fuels, even though this may prove, in the short-term, economically and politically challenging for the players involved. These challenges make it very difficult for any of the four to make substantive progress unilaterally. Moving together to ensure burden-sharing makes progress more feasible.