THIS POST IS A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE OUTRAGE IN THE GLOBAL NORTH ABOUT AFRICA’S FAILURE TO TAKE CLIMATE ACTION AND THE RESPONSE BY AN AFRICAN IN THE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW.

THE ISSUE AS DESCRIBED BY THE UNDP ON THE THE CLIMATE ACTION LAGGARDS IN AFRICA AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH IN GENERAL. THE CONTRADICTION HERE IS THAT UNDP IS A DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AGENCY OF THE UN THAT HAS NOW TURNED AGAINST DEVELOPMENT OF POOR COUNTRIES BY VIRTUE OF ITS CLIMATE AGENDA. THIS CONTRADICTION IN THE UNDP IS DETAILED IN A RELATED POST: LINK: https://tambonthongchai.com/2019/03/06/sdg/

WHAT THE UNDP SAYS ON THIS ISSUE: There is no country that is not experiencing the drastic effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50 percent higher than in 1990. Global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not act. The annual average economic losses from climate-related disasters are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. This is not to mention the human impact of geo-physical disasters, which are 91 percent climate-related, and which between 1998 and 2017 killed 1.3 million people, and left 4.4 billion injured. The goal aims to mobilize US$100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries to both adapt to climate change and invest in low-carbon development. Supporting vulnerable regions will directly contribute not only to Goal 13 but also to the other SDGs. These actions must also go hand in hand with efforts to integrate disaster risk measures, sustainable natural resource management, and human security into national development strategies. It is still possible, with strong political will, increased investment, and using existing technology, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, aiming at 1.5°C, but this requires urgent and ambitious collective action.

WITH REFERENCE TO: “The goal aims to mobilize US$100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries to both adapt to climate change and invest in low-carbon development. Supporting vulnerable regions will directly contribute not only to Goal 13 but also to the other SDGs”, THIS IS AN IMAGINARY PROPOSAL THAT THE UN HAD ARBITRARILY INCLUDED IN ITS CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDA MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT FROM THE LISTED DONORS AND WITHOUT ANY SUCCESS IN EITHER COLLECTING OR DISTRIBUTING ANY OF THESE FUNDS.

WHAT THE AFRICAN REPRESENATIVE SAYS IN THE VIDEO BELOW:

Californians use more electricity playing video games than the total energy consumption of the entire country of Senegal. Only 3% of Nigernans have air conditioners. There is a mind blowing gap between the energy haves and the energy have nots. It is in this context that we must understand the conflict between the UNDP’s demand for African climate action and the reality on the ground in Africa.

THIS GAP BETWEEN THE GLOBAL NORTH AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH IS FURTHER EXPLORED IN THIS RELATED POST: LINK: https://tambonthongchai.com/2021/01/08/the-industrial-revolution/ THERE WE NOTE AS FOLLOWS:

The climate crisis and the climate crisis movement against fossil fuels are both creations of the Global North and they are relevant only to the Global North in terms of the context of rewind and do the Industrial Revolution correctly because the Industrial Revolution is a creation of the Global North and their love hate relationship with it can only be understood in that context. 

Therefore, although climate change is a global issue, its cause and the need for climate action as stated in AGW science can only be understood as a Global North issue. If the Global North needs to cut emissions in the Global South it must do so at no cost or hardship to be borne by the Global South. In addition, if the Global North admits that they screwed up their Industrial Revolution and caused global harm, they must pay the appropriate compensation to the affected.