Climate change caused by elevated carbon dioxide emissions takes its toll everywhere around the globe. However, not every country contributes to carbon dioxide emissions as much as others do, and not all countries are affected by climate change equally. Articles posted by the Center for Global Development look at how developed and developing countries differ responsibility for climate change. Historically, developed countries have been responsible for well over 50% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. There is, of course, a relationship between growing infrastructure and industry and carbon dioxide emissions. However, there are exceptions. In 2014 England’s economy grew by 2.6% and their carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 8.4%. Although some developed countries now are seeing economic growth and decreases in carbon emissions simultaneously, this is rarely the case for developing countries. There is also a greater cost for climate change on developing countries than on developed countries. More tropical storms and less access to resources take a financial toll on developed countries. While the increase in industry and infrastructure in developing countries may be a good sign for economic growth, it is not beneficial to the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. One huge contributor to carbon dioxide emissions is deforestation, which was responsible for one-third of sub-Sahara Africa’s carbon emissions. Finding a balance between economic growth and reducing our carbon footprint is difficult to achieve, but is important in working towards the advancement of developing countries while being ecologically thoughtful.
4 thoughts on “Carbon Dioxide and developing countries”
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In the past, I have always assumed that developing nations with more infrastructure and industries subsequently lead to more carbon dioxide emissions from fossils fuels and factories etc. However, although it is often not the case for other developing countries, your point about England’s decrease in C02 emission despite a growing economy interested me. While abroad in London, I was told that they have a clean air act that only allows a certain amount of pollution per year. England passed the maximum in just one month leading to a fine which emphasizes that notion that more developed countries oftentimes emit more pollution and CO2 emissions.
It is very interesting that you bring up the correlation between increased economic growth and decreased levels of carbon dioxide emissions. It makes me wonder what could possibly be done to fix these levels of emissions in countries where it is nearly impossible to make quick, effective economic growth? Being in such poor standings, do you think that the state of the planet is their most pressing issue, or do you wonder if those countries are focusing on other issues that are more prevalent in their every day lives?
It is a very interesting dynamic between the levels of CO2 produced per country, and their economic standing worldwide. The biggest economies often produce the largest levels of Greenhouse Gases, yet it is smaller underdeveloped countries who are going to be hurt most by climate change, given they don’t have the infrastructure or resources to cope with rising sea level and such. When I visited India last winter break, I saw firsthand how developing world powers often neglect the issue of climate change in order to push their economies forward.
This topic relates to mine in a huge way because I learned that the agricultural industry in developing countries is destroying their lands and emitting crazy amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. I am so glad that you posted about this because we often overlook developing countries as sources of high CO2 emission and how climate change is affecting these nations. It is important for all of us to read articles like this because it forces us to acknowledge our impact on a global level.