During the climate summit in Copenhagen this December, delegates from developing countries are pushing for the formation of a climate change fund to help the 3rd world pay for global warming.
Nigeria has recently been the most vocal on advocating for 1st world accountability. Eziuche Chinwe Ubani, chairman of the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change, told the Global Post, “Of course I think we should ask for money from developed countries. They have used resources and energy-often our resources- to grow and become developed.”
The Nigerian River Delta is rich in oil and natural gas, and many American oil companies such as Shell Oil have contributed to environmental degradation in the area. Nigeria is the second largest oil producer in Africa, and the fifth largest oil supplier to the US. Gas flaring and oil spills have caused untold amounts of damage to the Delta’s mangrove ecosystems. The mangroves support fisheries that serve as a major food source for Nigeria’s impoverished people. No one knows for sure the amount Africa will need to combat the effects of global warming without sacrificing economical development, but the World Bank estimates about $140 billion to $675 billion per year. Although the World Bank gave 6 African countries over $1 billion for sustainable energy initiatives last week, Nigeria was not among them.
Thailand is also fighting for the US, China, and the UK to give cash to undeveloped countries.The Prime Minister’s National Economic and Social Development Board Assistant Secretary General, Arkhom Tempittayapaisith, told the Siam Daily News in 2008 that climate change is not everyone’s problem, “developed nations, whose CO2 emissions are high, should be the ones who have to deal with it instead of developing countries.”
Developing countries have threatened to walk out of talks if the US isn’t held monetarily accountable for it’s contributions to global warming, but the US won’t sign any treaty that gives the UN jurisdiction to do so. The US is one of the planet’s biggest consumers of natural resources and emitters of greenhouse gas, but whether or not we agree to foot the global bill will determine if any agreement is reached in Copenhagen.