All these instances of extreme weather conditions come from climate change. Climate change is unequivocally a severe issue all around the world affecting numerous lives. While many are aware of this fact, some are unmindful of the immense gap among the amounts of damage people face from this issue. For instance, when a strong heatwave comes, some people simply reduce their outdoor activities and lower their air conditioner temperatures indoors in order to tolerate this heat. People do these simple and easy tasks and perceive climate change as a tolerable matter. On the other hand, others may not have the option of this simple solution. Some have jobs in the scorching heat and others don’t have access to air conditioning. These people inevitably have to suffer through this immense heat, which can be detrimental to their health. This is a terrifying reality that is threatening our lives right now. In this way, climate change is ferociously attacking the weak. The socially and economically disadvantaged are suffering more and more as climate change gets worse. Looking from a larger perspective, this gap isn’t just between people. It is also apparent between countries. The damages in developing countries are significantly greater than those in developed countries. When damage is worse, it is harder to recover, especially because these poor countries do not have the proper technology and resources to do so. The poor are inevitably suffering more and more while the rich can simply pour in money in order to create temporary solutions just for their own good. This is a vicious cycle that goes on and on. According to The World Bank, millions of poor people in less developed countries face more significant threats in extreme climate events. Despite the fact that these vulnerable people contribute the least to this climate change, they are the ones who are facing the most damage.
This gap between the rich and poor in a situation of crisis isn’t just a one-time thing. Look at the corona crisis that is happening right now. Certainly, we can see that this epidemic is affecting people of high status as numerous celebrities and even the president of the United States have gotten it. Although it is a worldwide epidemic also affecting these people of high status, the death rate from Corona is evidently disparate among different people in different classes. Here, we can also see a gap between the rich and poor. The country with the highest fatality rate from the corona is Yemen at 18%, followed by Sudan, Peru, Mexico, Syria, Somalia, Egypt, and Afghanistan. On the other hand, the country with the lowest fatality rate is New Zealand at 0.03%, which is a big difference from Yemen. Regardless of how many cases each country gets, this gap in fatality rate is relatively significant. For instance, the United States, despite having the highest number of confirmed cases, has a fatality rate of 1.2%. As shown, death rates are notably higher in less developed countries even at a time of an epidemic. But what exactly is the cause of such an enormous gap?
There are many factors to advantages and disadvantages nations face in times of difficulty. For the covid pandemic, the supply of vaccines in different countries certainly reflects the fatality rate. I clearly remember the imbalance in supply when the first vaccine came out. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on leaders of major countries around the world to address the issue of inequality in the supply of vaccines. According to AFP, 104 doses of vaccine per 100 people were given in high-income countries compared to 2 doses per 100 people in 29 lowest-income countries. In Korea alone, the supply of vaccines was not smooth in the early days. Even now, this supply is discriminatory, resulting in a spectrum of damages in regard to the availability of vaccines. Each country's economic, diplomatic, and medical capabilities were directly linked to the lives of its people. In the face of the imminent crisis, human rights were neglected and inequality deepened.
Various people and nations being treated differently in these instances is not an unprecedented matter. The effects of climate change certainly echo the same pattern. Low-income countries are suffering from the greenhouse gasses produced by high-income countries. Low-income countries don’t have enough money to endure extreme weather conditions contrary to high-income countries. Low-income countries are less adaptable to these conditions than high-income countries are. This repetition of inequalities reflects the deficiency of rights for those in lower-income countries. People’s right to live, right to housing, right to medical care, and right to shelter are all disregarded by those oblivious to this disparity. As a result, those vulnerable are facing the damages made by the wealthy.
Patterns between the rich and poor are an especially apparent matter in greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions by country, the United States is 25%, the European Union 22%, and China 13%. Overall, the more developed the countries are, the more greenhouse gasses they emit. On the other hand, the actual damages from the greenhouse gasses are more prominent in the vulnerable class as they lack the strength to avoid this crisis. According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), over the past 11 years, the number of people who have died from drought and heat waves in vulnerable areas is 15 times higher than in wealthier areas. This gap is primarily due to the lack of adaptability of the poor and the slower response to climate change. The slower the response to the climate crisis, the greater the damage to humanity, and the more vulnerable the population is. This slow response is because, unlike in developed countries, regions, where socio-economic development is slow, don’t readily respond to damages from climate change. Climate change is not a minor issue as it is estimated that 3.3-3.6 billion people worldwide are vulnerable to climate change. If current levels of greenhouse gas emissions continue, this number will grow. Of the world's population, 1.3 billion people still live without electricity, more than 2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water, and 4.2 billion people do not have access to sanitary toilets. To achieve a satisfactory environment, reducing inequality is essential to respond to the climate crisis.
As developed countries have provided the most significant cause for this problem, we must take responsibility and work towards solving this problem. Developed countries need to take responsibility for what they have done, rather than helping them move backward. Countries readily agreed that the problem must be solved, but are unwilling to bear the economic cost of solving it and are hesitant to make their own companies pay the environmental costs. President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, arguing that the impact of global warming on climate change is not urgent. Australia abolished the carbon tax two years after it was introduced in 2012, and France, which introduced a carbon tax in 2014, tried to raise the carbon tax rate in 2018 but failed. Indonesia, which declared that it would introduce a carbon tax in April 2022, recently announced that it would postpone the introduction of the carbon tax indefinitely. This is an example of how difficult it is to demand a responsible attitude from companies.
We must inform and hold accountable for companies that have been irresponsibly emitting carbon, destroying the environment, and making profits because this is a crime that destroys human rights. Climate change is not a natural disaster, but man-made and a result of crime. Until now, companies have not taken any responsibility for the carbon they emit for their own benefit. They have accumulated and piled up to a point where our lives are threatened, but they still want to turn away.
Potential Solutions:
Bilateral agreements are agreements made between different parties. Here, countries can negotiate with each other on matters regarding financing committees. These arrangements ensure that donors can target specific areas in need. These agreements can be more efficient than multilateral agreements as they only require agreements involving fewer entities. In November of 2021, the Glasgow climate conference took place. Here, donor countries announced that they would provide an $8.5 billion effort to help South Africa transition to renewable energy generation. From this deal, the European Union came together with four national governments and created a craft package around the wants of South Africa. These solutions not only ensure that climate change is alleviated but also help with inequality as lower-income nations are able to be funded. Although solutions like bilateral agreements are posed, they may not be very effective if countries hesitate to participate. Bilateral agreements can be quite susceptible to the ebbs and flows of political attention, which is a significant disadvantage. Despite a few disadvantages, considering the inequality and unfair human rights lower-income nations are facing, countries should make an effort in funding troubled nations.
International climate funds also help these lower-income countries deal with harsh weather conditions. For example, the U.N.-backed Green Climate Fund is one of the largest international climate funds and it offers universal eligibility. The GCF's scope is broad as it provides room for programming that is based on what nations genuinely need rather than what is currently politically appealing. On the other hand, just like bilateral agreements, if nations are unwilling to put in the effort and participate, this solution would be impractical. GCF has only received a total of $18 billion in pledges. Since developed countries are more likely to contribute through bilateral channels or major banks, climate-focused funds are unfortunately not as widely supported.
Finally, the help of developmental banks also serves as a great solution as it manages noteworthy amounts of climate financing by providing productive investment and technical assistance in poor countries. This management, however, has two main barriers. For one, many of these institutions haven't taken climate change seriously enough in their programming. In fact, since the Glasgow climate conference lacked precise deadlines and benchmarks for stopping funding for fossil fuel projects, numerous banks were under scrutiny. Additionally, developmental banks prefer working with projects with lower risks and with low costs. Instead of relying heavily on lending, developmental banks should make an effort in using instruments that better mobilize private capital. As a result, focusing on private-sector funding, developmental banks are able to fill up the climate finance gap.
Taking small steps towards change:
Human rights are universal rights that are recognized by all human beings, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or race. Accordingly, throughout history, mankind has fought countless times to protect human rights. Human rights were made for a reason and this right should be upheld and protected by the state. Therefore, taking steps in alleviating the inequality in the levels of human rights people have, we should start by actively addressing environmental problems that are causing climate change and should listen to the voices of those who suffer from this. The first step to solving problems regarding climate change and human rights is spreading awareness. Only then can the human rights of the people be protected. We cannot make the problem that has affected our past and present carry on in the future.
We think of ourselves as bystanders, but we are in fact the vicious perpetrators of these problems. Despite all the problems we have made, there are some small steps we can take right now in order to help. We need to reduce excessive consumption, save energy, refrain from using disposable products, reduce household waste, and be vigilant about environmental protection. We need to raise our voices to businesses and governments to reduce carbon emissions and practice carbon neutrality by using renewable energy. We must take action regarding environmental pollution, global warming, and the human rights that are neglected. Efforts to overcome environmental pollution should be an opportunity to end poverty and to grant human rights to those who are left behind and neglected. The disaster has already begun, and people are hesitant to say that it is near. We shouldn't hide the two sides of a crisis under fear and neglect and we should start to take action.
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