Whatever, do not make the poor countries trust they can count on the rich ones
Sir Martin Wolf in “Why the obstacles to a deal on climate are mountainous” July 9, repeats frequent arguments of why the costs associated with the reduction of carbon emissions should be borne by high-income countries. Nothing wrong with that except if doing so makes the poor countries actually believe this is going to be so.
Since I am certain that Martin Wolf like me suspects that the possibilities of the high-income countries picking up the tab on this are almost nil, may I suggest that a more productive and honest line of argument would be on the line of the following:
“You poor countries, you better take special notice since in most of the climate change impact studies you seem to be dangerously exposed and since you most probably will not be helped sufficiently by the rest of the world community, you better stop copying the rich countries unsustainable habits, and start cracking on preparing yourself for the worst, on your own. And who knows, there might even be some great hidden benefits in doing so.”
Since I am certain that Martin Wolf like me suspects that the possibilities of the high-income countries picking up the tab on this are almost nil, may I suggest that a more productive and honest line of argument would be on the line of the following:
“You poor countries, you better take special notice since in most of the climate change impact studies you seem to be dangerously exposed and since you most probably will not be helped sufficiently by the rest of the world community, you better stop copying the rich countries unsustainable habits, and start cracking on preparing yourself for the worst, on your own. And who knows, there might even be some great hidden benefits in doing so.”
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