Global warming: ‘Rich nations must lead in damage control’

Contradicting the general perception that developing nations have a greater responsibility to check climate change and global warming, Oxfam, an international agency, released a report saying that rich countries should not only cut their emissions, but also help others.

The report, Hanging Together or Separately, was released on Thursday. According to the report, only rich countries can break the deadlock currently crippling international climate negotiations.

As per studies, annual global emissions need to return to 1990 levels or below by 2020. The report said that roughly half of these reductions can be achieved through the establishment of a ‘Global Mitigation and Finance Mechanism’ which will provide developing countries with the up-front support they need to limit the growth in their emissions.

Rich countries must collectively cut their emissions by 40%. According to the report, the UK must cut its emissions by 45.3% by 2020 on 1990 levels; the EU should have a combined target of 45%.

Many developing countries have  made significant steps to reduce emissions and signalled their willingness to discuss further action, provided that rich nations provide support. “Rich countries, which are most responsible for climate change, must break this deadlock. Our proposed approach gives them a way to do that,” said Nisha Agrawal, CEO, Oxfam India.

Oxfam estimates that $150 billion is needed every year to fund adaptation and mitigation action in developing countries. This is a small amount compared with the cost of inaction — which economist Sir Nicolas Stern estimates could be as much as 5-20% of global GDP.