By: George Kurzom

https://www.maan-ctr.org/magazine/article/3832/

Western countries consume more than half of all meat in the world

Exclusive to Environment and Development Horizons (Afaq magazine):

The gap between the rich countries in the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere with regard to dealing with the damages of the climate crisis was one of the major issues discussed at the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (COP 27),  as the rich Western industrialized countries gained their wealth to a large extent by depleting the natural resources of the countries of the South, and thanks to the burning of fossil fuels, which are mostly sourced from the countries of the South as well, Noting that this fuel is the main cause of global warming, while the responsibility of developing and poor countries for the crisis is much less, and often marginal. Despite this, the poor countries are the most affected by the crisis and most in need of economic assistance.

Residents of rich countries, including the USA, Canada, Japan and a large part of Western Europe, embody only a small part of the world's population, however, they are responsible for almost half the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere so far.

Hence, the international community recognizes that rich countries have a primary role and responsibility towards reducing the emissions a lot more than the countries that have no effect on the emissions, they are also oblige to financially assist the poor countries in the adaptation process.

A crisis of trust

Many countries, with the support of many environmental organizations, at the Sharm el-Sheikh conference pursued to return to the principle of payment for “loss and damage”, although this principle was agreed upon at the climate conference in Poland more than nine years ago (COP19/ 2013).

The abovementioned principle requires the establishment of a financing mechanism dedicated to the damages caused by the climate crisis that cannot be prevented.

In general, developing countries think that it is the rich countries that should shoulder the responsibility of the financing since they are the ones that are currently responsible for emitting most of the greenhouse gases, and historically they are the ones that have largely caused this crisis.

What increases the doubts and fears of developing countries towards rich countries is that the latter countries have failed to fulfill even the promise they made in the past. That is, the annual transfer of one hundred billion dollars to help prepare infrastructure and technologies to adapt to the climate crisis, and in most cases, the money that was transferred was provided as a loan, not a grant.

Support for developing countries does not have to be huge amounts of money transfers from rich countries that are themselves facing climate crises. The rich countries can forgive at least part of the debts of poor countries to international banks and to some rich countries.

Hence, a change in needed in the policy of international financial bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, and a change is required as well in the ways of aid that are undertaken.

It is noteworthy that aid money is currently being transferred for insurance purposes, noting that the companies that run this field are mostly from rich countries. so, they are the ones who benefit to a large extent from the funds allocated to the world's poor.

The arrogance of some European countries, Australia and North America reflects disregard for their great responsibility in compensating the majority of humanity that is forced to pay the price of the huge consumption of the rich countries as well as the exploitation and depletion of resources developed by rich industrialized countries, while the principle to be applies should be that  “The polluter pays,” not the polluter demanding the repayment of loans with inflated interest.

What is also required are initiatives that allow poor and developing countries to better resist the consequences of the climate crisis. Among other things, rainforests must be preserved, which requires support and aid from the European Union and the United States.

Aid and assistance must also be focused on the technological field for the purpose of efficient and optimal use of water, cultivation of food in line with adaptation to changing climate conditions, and rehabilitation of ecosystems that can mitigate the effects of floods.

To implement these measures, it is important to change priorities that do not necessarily require harming the well-being of rich countries. For example, if only a small part of what is invested today in the arms industry is diverted towards the industrial sector specialized in dealing with the climate crisis, and towards developing the infrastructure and technologies necessary to adapt to the crisis, then significant progress will be made towards preparing to adapt to a world that is expected to witness a steady increase in temperature in the next century.