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The vast majority of greenhouse gases contributing to the global challenge have been produced by wealthy nations, primarily the United States and Western Europe. Just 23 countries that are considered developed account for half of all historical CO2 emissions.
Illustration by The Geostrata
This is why rich countries committed at the 2009 United Nations climate talks (COP15) held in Copenhagen. They promised to provide $100 billion per year from 2020 onwards so that developing countries can reduce their emissions and mitigate risks related to climate change.
People who lack access to resources, such as the low-income population, are more vulnerable to waterborne infections, which are expected to be more prevalent as temperatures rise.
Furthermore, coastal districts affected by sea-level rise and storm surges may experience floods, erosion, and saltwater penetration, posing a threat to livelihoods and leading to displacement. Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable to climate change because they rely on natural resources for survival and are frequently involved with land-based activities.
This 100 billion dollars represents both a practical necessity and an ethical obligation with political importance. To limit global warming below 1 ½ degrees Celsius, all countries must move away from using fossil fuels as soon as possible.
However, some may lack sufficient resources to do this quickly while others could be discouraged by switching off their older and more polluting industries that bring them short-term financial gains. In terms of practicality, the funds would help reduce pollution fast without harming people’s health; ethically, they would ensure fairness among the rich or poor since climate change is more about sink or swim together.
Failure to provide financing might be seen as insensitive at this important juncture in history when a collaborative effort for climate action is politically unavoidable.
Based on current trends, developed countries will emit 38% more carbon in 2030 than they have pledged to cut down by 2023.
This would mean that such nations, which currently make up for three-fourths of the carbon dioxide found within our atmosphere, are not doing enough to address this issue as echoed through research findings released by the Council for Energy, Environment and Water. The US alone, along with Russia as well as the European Union (EU), collectively overshot by 83%.
Net-zero pledges may increase climate inequality. For example, wealthier countries, which include some of the most significant historical polluters, can support offset projects beyond their boundaries while continuing to pollute domestically. In turn, developing countries, which are among the most sensitive to and least culpable for climate catastrophe, are expected to undertake significantly more expensive climate policies such as switching to renewable energy and electrifying transportation.
At the same time, a few of the biggest developing economies in the world are starting to make progress in emissions.
With 18% of the global population, China has been responsible for almost 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels and industry since 1850.
However, it is now by far the biggest emitter accounting for close to 31% of this year’s total carbon dioxide released through energy generation or industrial processes.
At the end it's a marathon to zero. Theoretically, net zero ambitions are important for changing climate goals with some big challenges. A vow of net zero is not a strategy. Many governments have set net-zero targets but have yet to make them legally obligatory or explain how they intend to achieve them.
There is also no central authority mandating how to perform the calculation, leaving it up to individual judgment to determine what counts as an emission decrease, and some net-zero targets are more ambitious than others. For example, some governments choose not to count emissions from polluting industries such as aviation or shipping.
Image Credits: Rightful Owner
The past and current policy actions of wealthier nations do not show any indication of significant reductions in emissions that would signal serious climate action. This means that the burden of reducing global warming falls onto developing countries, which becomes problematic considering there has been no finance available for them to do this as they were promised during negotiations.
Historically, industrialised countries have been at the forefront of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to their lengthy history of industrialisation and economic expansion. These emissions have made a significant contribution to the current global climate problem.
However, progress in decarbonisation has been gradual, and the responsibility of addressing climate change has fallen disproportionately on developing countries. Actual funding does not equal projected amounts, reducing developing nations' ability to adequately address the effects of climate change.
To make the transition to a low-carbon economy, developing countries must have access to clean and sustainable technologies. However, technology transfer from industrialized countries to poor countries has been hampered by intellectual property rights, expensive pricing, and a lack of knowledge-sharing agreements. The Global South is especially relevant to the topic of climate justice because of its susceptibility and disproportionate effects of climate change.
BY GARGI TAMBOLI
TEAM GEOSTRATA
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