Environmental Issue of Climate Reparation

Environmental Economics Class Project
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Environmental Economics Class Project
One of the biggest environmental issues affecting the world and America in particular relates to climate reparation. Climate reparation refers to the idea that the globe’s largest greenhouse gas emitters should compensate developing nations for bearing the disproportionate effects of climate change. Although America and other developed countries are responsible for most of the emissions historically, the effects of climate-related harms do not affect all countries equally. Developing countries and communities of color are less resilient to climate change effects and pay a higher price for the environmental loss and damage induced by first-world nations. For years, developing nations have tried to negotiate with developed countries for climate reparations, arguing that they suffer the most violent effects of climate change and yet they have the lowest emissions historically. Climate reparation has become an increasingly important topic amidst the devastating effects of climate change on developing countries such as the disastrous flooding in Nigeria and Pakistan, the unprecedented hurricanes in the Caribbean, and long spells of drought in the Horn of Africa.
The environmental issue of climate reparation revolves around the moral question of who should be held responsible for the loss and damage caused by climate change effects. Severe climate disasters continue to affect developing countries more than wealthier nations and yet the latter have been responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions throughout the decades. Developed countries have also contributed significantly to the problem of climate change by failing to deliver on their emission goals. For instance, America has not only released more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere historically, but it has also failed to meet carbon emission goals since climate change became a global concern. On the other hand, developing countries like Pakistan, which are responsible for the least amount of the globe’s planet-warming emissions, continue to suffer devastating effects of climate change. For instance, the devastating tornadoes in the Caribbean have resulted in thousands of deaths and plunged most economies underwater, even as the region contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (Plumer et al., 2022). Developing nations are now pushing for loss and damage reparations, arguing that it is a matter of morality and justice since they did little to bring about the climate crisis that is threatening their economies, infrastructure, and peoples.
The proposed climate reparation policy involves developed countries like America, the EU, Russia, and China paying for the damage their greenhouse gas emissions have caused on developing countries. This proposal requires wealthier, higher-emitting nations to make monetary recompences to lower-income countries recovering from adverse climate impacts. For instance, researchers have projected that the cost of loss and damage from climate change in developing countries will have reached the $1 trillion mark (Plumer et al., 20...