A huge “climate debt” is owed by the global north to the global south, according to campaigners at Cop29, writes Damian Carrington, environment editor.
“We are asking for the down payment of a very large debt – a down payment of $5tn [a year],” said Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network, global alliance of more than 1900 civil society organisations in over 130 countries.
The argument is simple: rich nations prospered by burning fossil fuels and now need to fund poorer nations to avoid the same path, and cope with the severe heatwaves, floods and storms fuelled by global heating and already here.
I am aware of that. And I am also aware of the dynamics of their GDP carbon intensity.
Do you really think if India and China were given $1 trillion a year each they would suddenly stop their expansion of coal power generation or even use a majority of that sum to combat climate change?
I don’t have any issues with helping countries combating climate change (financially or otherwise), I do have issues with the “global south” framing.