Industrialized countries have developed their economies and their populations, by emitting far more than their fair share of greenhouse gases. Now, having created this problem in large part, they also have the greatest resources available to tackle it.
Rich countries have accumulated a "climate debt" and have a historical responsibility to repay it. This means transferring adequate public finance and technology to developing countries so they can tackle climate change, and also building low-carbon economies while addressing the urgent need for development. This “climate finance” is a matter of justice and it will help to ensure a safer climate, more secure livelihoods, and clean affordable energy for everyone.
Developing countries shouldn’t be forced to address climate change without more money from countries that contributed the most to the crisis.
Unfortunately, developed countries have refused to commit to any clear path to fulfill their 2009 commitment to giving $100 billion a year in additional climate finance by 2020. Developed nations have pledged very little new funding in recent years, leaving developing nations -- where millions still have no access to energy -- with insufficient resources.
Developing countries cannot and shouldn’t be forced to address the climate crisis without money from the countries that historically contributed the most to the climate change-causing carbon pollution in the atmosphere.
Many developed countries are trying to avoid their responsibilities by asserting that the majority of the money somehow will come from the private sector. But climate finance, including for the Green Climate Fund, must come from public sources. Unreliable carbon markets should play no role in providing this finance. Nor should aid money or humanitarian assistance be repackaged or diverted from other urgent causes.
Many innovative sources of public funding are available, for instance redirecting subsidies currently going to the dirty fossil fuels industry, which reached $500 billion globally in 2011, or different kinds of Financial Transactions Taxes. These taxes alone could deliver hundreds of billions of dollars per year from a minuscule tax on global financial transactions -such as the trading of stocks, etc- with negligible impact on average people.
While rich-country governments remain shamefully inert on the climate crisis, a global 'climate justice' movement grows bigger and stronger everyday, bringing together people from developed and developing countries: communities and activists are resisting fossil fuels, building small-scale, decentralized community power solutions, transforming our food systems, and demanding ambitious action from governments.
With all the inspiring organizing I've witnessed, I'm optimistic that we can make the positive changes we so urgently need.