In lieu of the upcoming COP27 to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, a select few rich and high-emission countries have become partial to paying reparations to “underdeveloped”(overexploited) nations suffering the consequences of severe climate change such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, and an extreme increase in temperature.
However, the controversy lies in the possibility of opening up unlimited liability directed toward the countries providing the funds. Essentially, there is fear present that the countries producing the most carbon emissions will be held responsible for their unceasing harmful actions.
This specific issue referred to in the conference as “loss and damage,” calls for massively industrialized nations such as the U.S., EU, and China to provide supportive funding for developing nations that have suffered massively from disasters as a result of the changing climate, yet lack much responsibility at all for the crisis itself. Despite having contributed little to none of the cause of global warming as a result of harmful emissions, such vulnerable nations tend to endure the worst of the aftermath.
Among the nations to potentially be compensated are island states such as the Maldives, Vanuatu, and Jamaica. Currently, the situation rests in the hands of the International Court of Justice, whose opinion would carry much more legal weight and moral authority.
Sources:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/05/climate-change-china-emissions-00064736
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/06/climate/loss-and-damage-climate-cop27.html
9 comments:
It is tragic that nations like Maldives are forced to bear disproportional consequences of anthropogenic climate change. Small island nations are at a significantly higher risk, and it is certainly unfair that they face the consequences of rising sea levels despite not having contributed to the cause. However, I wonder what authority the International Court of Justice really has in matters like this. If the International Court of Justice rules that, for example, the US must pay reparation costs to these nations, who will enforce this ruling? While having rich, CO2 emitting countries pay reparations for our actions seems like a great idea, I am skeptical to whether it will ever become a reality.
Over the past few decades, increase in global trade has increased the rate at which countries develop. While this obviously benefits these developing nations, it also benefits industrialized nations, as international trade markets offer economic benefits to all participants. From an economic standpoint, developed nations should compensate developing nations for the hardship that climate change (caused in large part by industrialized nations) has caused them, as it will allow these nations to develop more successfully, increasing the amount of trade that industrialized nations can participate in. And from a moral standpoint, they should absolutely compensate them for the hardship climate change has caused. It’s unjust that industrialized nations are able to grow their economies while hurting developing nations, and they take no responsibility for their actions.
While it is a good start to addressing the climate issue reparations only go so far. If the issue of climate change itself is not being acted upon, no sum of money will be able to fix the irreparable damage being done to the Earth and the damage done to these nations will only continue to worsen. Reparations should be an aspect in the pursuit of stopping climate change but there should be much more being done in terms of international legislation which will hold the major perpetrators of CO2 emissions, and oil consumers accountable and hopefully reduce the drastic effect on wildlife that is resulting.
It has been horrible how smaller and less developed countries suffer from everyday electronic use and other contributors to carbon emissions in the world. The US and other powerhouses should realize the hard they are causing to both themselves and other countries around them. Reparations should be made and considerations should be implemented to stop the drastically spreading CO2 emissions.
I certainly agree that smaller nations should receive funds for the damages caused by climate change. Many of the nations most affected by climate change are small island nations with smaller economies and limited wealth. Financial assistance will be necessary to death with the potential humanitarian disasters of climate-change-fueled storms and rising sea levels. However, its highly unlikely that the nations of the world would be able to agree to a legally enforceable reparations scheme where they don't have control over how much they spend, leaving these efforts subject to approval of each country's government. While some nations are making contributions to help smaller nations affected by climate change, voluntary efforts likely will not be enough to fully address the needs of these nations.
It is certainly reasonable for countries such as the US to give reparations to the countries they have exploited for years. However, I am curious to see how much money will actually be reimbursed to these suffering countries. With climate change trending more and more towards becoming irreversible, I agree with Ally's comment that at this point, there needs to be more action that takes place to combat climate change. Even so, it is still the moral thing to send reparations because people are suffering at the hands of climate change as each day of exploitation continues.
In context, the requirement for more industrially advanced countries to make greater contributions towards climate change reparations is logical. Developing countries are already dealing with prevalent issues economically and socially, such as poverty, exploitation, and so on, so it doesn't seem just for them to also have to deal with the consequences of climate change like sea-level rise affecting the general population. I also agree that extended measures should be imposed to ensure more accountability in limiting CO2 emissions fueling climate change.
I think that is a good idea and comes from a good place but the issue is like Andrew said, it is highly for countries to be able to create an enforceable system to give a stable amount of reparations. I believe that much like anything in global politics it is highly unlikely that this is a plan that can succeed in the long term. I also agree with Ally that there should be more focus on helping combat climate change. In addition, Josh said, smaller less developed countries have a larger carbon foot print as they are unable to use more renewable energy and I believe that instead of giving reparations, to is a better idea to subsidize and incentivize companies and countries to be able to convert to renewable energy.
Climate change is indeed an issue in the world that I believe needs to have its full attention towards because of the amount of impact it has had on not only our surroundings but also worldwide. The heat waves, the storms, the droughts are causes of climate change. I remember writing a whole entire presentation on deforestation and how that has impacted climate change greatly. Countries like the US, South America, China are so interested in gaining profit that they don’t realize the amount of harm factories and industrial processes have on the environment. Deforestation plays a big factor. The act of cutting down trees, especially in the Amazon rainforest just to have more land to create more infrastructure is just wrong in general. The government there is not only harming life, but also risking the lives and survival of species, animals, and indigenous families living in these areas. People are so interested in making money to gain a reputation in society when they completely disregard the minorities surrounding them. There are so many countries or places that are suffering from poverty and a rise in deaths, and because of the increase in temperature worldwide, countries like Jamaica and the Maldives are suffering from something they do not deserve to suffer from because they did not cause their country to suffer from this, it is outside countries that are disregarding the safety and health of other nations, but rather only caring about the well-being of their nation.
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