Climate change is caused by human activity however, ultimately deciding who is responsible for it has proven quite difficult. Most first world countries advanced their economic growth and wealth while deepening the climate crisis, before realizing the consequences of their actions. A common argument put forward by emerging nations is that those countries that have contributed most to the climate crisis should assume the greatest responsibility while tackling it. Emergent nations however believe that climate change is a global issue and therefore responsibility should be shared. This report has looked into some of the arguments put forward by both sides and explored whether affluent countries have a high obligation to combat climate change.

There are numerous ways human activity has contributed towards climate change and global warming (European Commission, n.d.). One of the biggest causes of climate change is the “Greenhouse” effect which occurs due to some gases in the atmosphere trapping the sun's heat. Human activities i.e., burning of fossil fuels have increased their concentration in the atmosphere. Irresponsible agricultural farming also has an impact on the environment. In the case of livestock farming; cows and sheep produce large amounts of methane when they digest food, Fertilisers used in crop farming produce nitrous oxide emissions, Pesticides and insecticides contain harmful chemicals that are released into the environment. Although irresponsible agricultural farming has an impact on climate, production of greenhouse gases is a by-product of industries and economic growth and therefore probably the most important cause of climate change.

According to the United Nations General Assembly (1992), climate change affects all regions around the world resulting in dire consequences. An important effect of climate change is global warming. The Mediterranean area is becoming drier, making it more vulnerable to droughts and wildfires. There has been an increased number of heat-related deaths in some regions. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. Climate change is happening so fast that many plants and animal species are struggling to cope. One of the most significant consequences of climate change is the melting of the polar ice shield which has contributed towards increasing sea levels. This has led to flooding and erosion of low-lying/coastal areas resulting in loss of houses and livestock. A study by National Geographic (Nunez, 2019), suggests that a continuous rise in sea levels could result in Florida and Bangladesh being fully submerged under the sea.

Globally, climate change became a reality when a British Antarctic Survey discovered a hole in the atmosphere’s ozone layer in 1985. This led to the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, which required all countries to stop producing substances that damage the ozone layer (UN Environment Program, 2020). The Montreal Protocol was the first treaty ratified by all countries in the world. It not only succeeded in eliminating approximately 99 percent of common ozone-depleting substances but also focused the world’s attention on climate change. Despite this, on a global level, the developing countries need for economic development, stability and eradication of poverty puts economic growth and industrialization at the forefront of their goals before giving into consideration of climatic problems. Deciding who has a higher obligation towards tackling climate change relates to the historical and current emissions. The United States, followed by the European Union have the most carbon emissions of all time (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2008). Developing countries argue that developed nations have emitted more greenhouse gases over the past 200 years. These nations grew their economies by burning fossil fuels and spewing emissions from their factories, homes and cars. The developed countries should therefore bare majority of the burden because they were able to advance in their economies without any restrictions. Fossil fuel firms clearly played a major role in the climate problem as well. 70% of the globally emitted greenhouse gases over the previous two decades are linked to 100 fossil fuel producers- the majority of which are based in the developed world (Carbon Major Report, 2017). Due to this, the Kyoto Protocol emerged. It did not require developing countries, including major carbon emitters, to reduce their carbon emissions, despite China accounting for 28% and India’s 7% of all global emissions (Lindsay Maizland, 2020).

Developed countries argue that high emitting developing countries must do more to address climate change globally. The argument that the largest contributors in the past are more obligated to reduce emissions today, is disregarded by developed nations. According to a study by Hannah Ritchie (2019), carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels were around zero, almost negligible, prior to the year 1750 globally. The United Kingdom was the world’s first nation to hit the industrial revolution, thus making it the first CO2 emitter. Developed countries counter-argue that historic emissions earlier than 1750 were considerably low and unimportant to the numbers compared today. For example, in 1751 the global emissions (mainly from United Kingdom) were 3600 times less than current global emissions.

Further research concluded that a countries’ contributions to climate change is strongly associated with its emissions within the last five decades. Emissions before 1970 are thus considered irrelevant. Moreover, countries with greater historical emissions are not always the current biggest emitters. For example, according to Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2017), some countries such as the UK were responsible for only 1% of global emissions in 2017. Further reductions in these countries’ emissions would have practically zero benefits or impact on emissions at the global level. With both the perspectives of the developed and the developing nations, a global compromise, the Paris Agreement (United Nations, 2015) was achieved. It requires all countries globally to set emissions-reduction goals, with an aim to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The pact provides a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation. It also aims to establish global net-zero emissions, where the amount of greenhouse gases emitted equals the amount removed from the atmosphere, creating a neutral balance. However, one of the short comings of the Paris agreement is that countries set their own targets based on economic growth. If a country is unable to reach that goal (or has simply ignored it), there are no consequences faced.

From a national perspective, questions on how countries like India contribute to climate change arise. Poverty is widespread in India, despite its rapid economic growth. India’s first-ever climate change assessment report revealed that the country’s average temperature is expected to rise by 4.4 degree Celsius by the end of the year 2100 (Mohan, 2020). This could increase stress on India’s natural ecosystems, agricultural output, and freshwater resources. The potential adverse implications have placed developing countries like India in a tough spot, forcing it to look for ways to come up with innovative measures to cut its emissions without jeopardizing their economic growth prospects. One such initiative called "low-carbon rural development," aims at lifting millions of people in the countryside out of poverty while also addressing climate change within the nation.

Two thirds of India’s population live in rural regions or on farms with little access to electricity. Additionally, 70% of Indian households burn wood and dung in their stoves, adding to greenhouse gases. The low carbon rural development initiative includes installing biogas units and solar powered lighting. It also promotes scientifically and economically sound climate-smart farming techniques through use of information technology platforms like smart-phone apps (Mohan, 2020). By doing so, it can help stimulate economic growth in rural areas, thus further relieving the effects of poverty. Although reducing emissions, while simultaneously promoting development, is a significantly positive impact of this approach, there are some challenges in its implementation. As India is desperately striving for economic growth, government funding to promote climate resilience at the national level would be quite limited. Economic stability is preferred over climate protection by low-income countries despite these populations bearing majority of the brunt of the problems caused by the changing climate. India is doing all they can within their limits to help counter climate change. The South Asia office of Climate Parliament was set up to discuss a solution to climate change as well as increase the nations desire for sustainable energy. Yet there is still the argument whether India has done enough (Mohan, 2020).

So, whose problem is this to fix? The simple answer is that the responsibility for mitigating climate change belongs to all of us. We must all change our behaviour and our policies. The key feature of the Paris Agreement (United Nations, 2015) was that it recognized climate change as a shared problem. The concept of “common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)” was introduced that recognises a higher level of contribution by the developed countries towards the environmental degradation of resources. The principle refers that all the countries should give their best in the fight against environmental protection but the developed countries that are primarily accountable for climate change should share the burden more as compared to the developing nations. In the words of Mohamad Adow- “addressing climate change requires urgent action by all people certainly, including rich and poor, but with wealthy countries taking the lead” (Timperley, 2020). Climate change is a catastrophe waiting to occure. It has the potential to affect all of us in the future and we all should be part of the solution. Poorer nations have pressing issues that are currently affecting the lives of their citizens such as poverty, starvation, lack of clean drinking water and health facilities. The rich developed nations are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, but by supporting and investing in the developing world, they can have a much larger effect at a global level. Therefore, developed countries should contribute proportionally more and have a higher obligation to reduce the effects of climate change.

The major source of information for the report was from the European Commission, the Carbon Disclosure Project and United Nations documents on climate change. These were based on researched pieces of work, scrutinized by world experts, heavily debated and then rectified by all major players. Information from these will be accurate, precise and factual. The research however, may have been debated under politically charged circumstances, with an additional preference for their own country. Articles from the BBC, Hannah Ritchie, Lindsay Maizland and Vishwa Mohan were referenced from newspaper websites. The writers are likely to have a track record of good writing, checking their facts and working within legal limits although it may contain their personal opinions as well.

The process of writing this report has been a great learning journey for me. In this day and age, there is a wealth of knowledge available at your fingertips via the internet. However, at times there is an information overload. It is extremely important to identify and filter out the reliable sources of information. In-depth analysis of any problem helps one identify the various pros and cons of an argument and paves the way to a balanced opinion. This experience will help me critically analyse any research work or information in the future. Whilst writing this report, I also had the opportunity to read around the topic. I now realize what an important and pressing issue climate change is. I always believed that protecting the planet is a simple matter of choice. However, my research into this topic has made me aware of its complexity. Protecting the environment is a costly affair. Although, climate change is a global problem and everyone should work towards resolving it, I believe developed nations have a higher obligation to combat climate change as they were the major contributors in the past and have more resources to mitigate its effects.

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