Earth given 50-50 chance of hitting key warming mark by 2026
NBCDec 25, 2021
The Facts
On Wednesday, the British nonprofit Oxfam said wealthy nations owe poorer nations $13T in development aid to combat the effects of climate change. Instead of paying the debt, wealthy nations are demanding these nations pay $232M per day in debt payments owed.
As the 2022 COP27 summit concluded, there was hope that there would be aid for poorer nations with the creation of a fund designed to help those nations suffering from climate change. No payments to the fund had been made by wealthier nations.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
No government in the world has the funds to give developing countries full aid for their transition to clean energy and climate-friendly practices. The UN should be reaching out to development banks that use government funds to encourage economic growth instead. Those same institutions could provide loans that would reduce the risk to private investors. This is the most pragmatic approach the global community and international development system can likely take at the present time.
Establishment-critical narrative
Historically speaking, wealthy nations have raided foreign countries and exploited the land and the people for their own benefit. Those same nations are now responsible for the damage done in these countries and the damage done to the climate from their pillaging of the Earth. International distributive justice is the only path forward to rebuild the colonized and marginalized countries that are now being ravaged by the impacts of reckless actions and poor choices made by wealthy giants.
