Dear Aubrey I strongly support Contraction and convergence. It is the only mechanism which combines environmental responsibility with social justice to provide a potentially viable solution to the problem of global climate change. Best wishes Ian Lowe Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society, Griffith University President, Australian Conservation Foundation The Earth Charter Initiative is a broad-based, voluntary, diverse, global network of people, organisations and institutions which participates in promoting and implementing the values and principles of the Earth Charter. Members include leading international institutions, cational governments and their agencies university associations, non-government organisations and community-based groups, city governments, faith groups, schools and businesses as well as thousands of individuals. The Earth Charter embodies the fundamental principles of a new global ethics under four broad headings: I) respect and care for the community of life; 2) ecological integrity; 3) social and economic justice; and 4) democracy, non-violence and peace. Australian environmental groups have worked strongly for decades on the first two of these. There is now an increasing recognition that solving the complex problems we face demands an integrated approach. Solutions to our environmental problems will not be socially and politically sustainable unless they are based on social and economic justice. This is most obviously true of climate change, which can only he solved if the developed nations accept their responsibility for causing the problem as well as accepting the legitimate demands of poorer countries to improve their material wellbeing. These principles lead inexorably to a 'contract and converge’ model in which the Earth's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide is much more equitably allocated. Voice of Reason, Ian Lowe

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