This post initially appeared of my Governance Village blog, The Heat Beat
Earlier today Reuters reported that African leaders are planning to ask rich nations to pay $67 Billion per annum in climate mitigation funds. Ministers from 10 African nations met in Addis Ababa to draft a position in advance of the Copenhagen summit. It is unclear if these funds will be in the form of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) or simply as compensation. Climate change, after all, is said to have a disproportionate impact on the world’s poor. Shouldn’t they be duly compensated for a mess made by wealthy nations?
This is tricky. On the one hand, it only seems fair that poor nations should be compensated. A report by Global Humanitarian Forum suggests that the worlds 50 poorest countries produce less than one percent of global CO2 emissions, yet bare 90 percent of the burden. Fifteen of the 20 countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are in Africa. Why not provide them with the capital resources necessary to navigate the impacts a changing climate will have on their nations?
On the other hand, skeptics are concerned with issues of accountability. Will that $67 billion truly go towards fighting climate change, or simply serve to line the pockets of corruption?
Aid won’t mitigate CO2 emissions, but it could help mitigate their impact. What do you think? Are reparation payments for our dirty work appropriate in a warming atmosphere, or is the notion that aid payments could help just a whole lotta hot air?
