Countries have found it difficult to reach their emissions-reduction targets, even though they committed to making nationally determined contributions (NDCs) as part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement to slow down global warming. This is especially true for developing nations, where urgent political and economic issues frequently take precedence over long-term climate goals.
It takes a mental adjustment to implement climate policy effectively. The issue of who should pay for climate action within and between nations arises from the fact that climate change is both a negative externality and an inequality issue, Eco-Business reported.
To make sure that developing nations do not bear the brunt of the rich world's previous carbon dioxide emissions and that safeguards are in place for future generations, policymakers ought to pay more attention to the complex trade-off between economic efficiency and equality.
Naturally, the Paris pact adhered to the concept of "common but differentiated responsibilities," which states that while all nations have a responsibility to address climate change, those responsibilities are not equal. The pact set explicit goals. However, there's still a propensity to concentrate on homogenous goals.
Take the worldwide effort to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. This is a complementary long-term objective that was specified in the Paris Agreement, but many poor nations are still well behind schedule in achieving it.
Instead than implementing a one-size-fits-all approach, nations must be empowered to develop climate policies depending on their historical obligations and current capabilities in order to meet this challenging goal. According to recent research, this would force high-income nations to have net-negative emissions targets while allowing low-income nations to have net-positive emissions.
Naturally, this kind of distinction would not be a free pass; developing nations would still need to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. However, this strategy, which embodies the idea of "common but differentiated responsibilities," more accurately captures their demands for development and economic circumstances.
Furthermore, the inefficiency of financial aid from developed to developing nations to promote climate action can be attributed mostly to issues with accountability and transparency. According to this same study, direct monetary transfers may not be the most politically viable option in this situation. Instead, carbon sequestration and capture—whether via technological advancements or natural solutions—may be.
Enabling every nation to oversee its individual carbon absorption initiatives might advance global carbon neutrality while honoring unique national contexts.
In contrast to the United States and Europe, where emissions are mostly tied to energy, Latin America exhibits nearly equal distribution of emissions between land use, agricultural and livestock, and energy.