Climate change global warming issues have made worldwide headlines. Every concerned citizen is now tuned in to climate change global warming information, issues, and ways they too can help solve the situation. However, the status of governments throughout the world is not equal in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and the ability to pay for the solutions to repair the effects of climate change global warming.
Climate change global warming may be a universal issue touching even the small island nations in Asia and the Pacific but it is the Northern Hemisphere, the developed nations that are the leading producers of greenhouse gas emissions. These nations also have more money to combat the problem.
Third world nations are seeking justice and equity proposing that all people of the planet earth should be treated in the same way regardless of whether or not they are a poor nation incapable of battling the causes and effects of climate change global warming on their own.
To level out the playing field, it has been suggested that greenhouse gas emission reductions should be based on the size of the nation and its capacity to contribute making room for allowances where necessary. This feeling is endorsed by many developing nations and the European Union. Unfortunately, this take on justice and equity is not necessarily endorsed by all the United Nations member nations.
The biggest dissenter at the Kyoto Protocol was President George Bush of the United States, who insisted that developing nations should be equally responsible for cleaning up the environment and should be held accountable for the same level of commitment to greenhouse gas reductions. Yet, it is the developing nations who are doing the most polluting. The balance is not equal and the trays are weighted down heavily on the side of the weakest offenders.
Going back to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed and ratified in 1992, by the United States and many other world nations, it was then agreed that common but differentiated responsibilities would apply for all nations. Developed nations account for 80% of the total carbon dioxide emission released into the atmosphere.
The United States is responsible for over 50% billions tons of climate change global warming pollutants, while the countries with the largest population, China and India produce 19.9 billion tons combined. Demographically, the largest climate change global warming offenders represent only 20 percent of the worlds population. The fallout from these greenhouse gas emissions produced by the west is jeopardizing the health and safety of greatest populations found in the poorer countries of the East. These countries of the East are also battling tremendous debt and poverty.
