Dozens of NGOs urged the rich world Monday to repair the harm it has done to poor countries through global warming, saying the issue risked becoming “the biggest social injustice of our time.”
In an open letter to cabinet ministers heading to UN climate talks in Doha, Qatar, more than 40 civil society groupings called on governments to create a “mechanism for compensation and rehabilitation.”
“Poor countries and communities least responsible for the global climate crisis are also the most vulnerable,” said the document that claims to speak on behalf of more than a million people concerned by climate change.
“Given historic inaction by developed countries, we are heading towards the biggest social injustice of our time.”
The letter was signed by bodies like the WWF, Greenpeace, Oxfam and ActionAid and issued mid-way through UN climate talks straining to come to an agreement on extending the Kyoto Protocol on curbing Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions and helping poorer countries.
“The past 12 months have provided some of the starkest indicators that climate impacts are unfolding much faster than previously modelled. This year has seen an increasing number of severe floods and droughts and dramatic melting of Arctic sea ice — all cause for alarm,” said the letter.
“In spite of these realities, political leaders are still failing to act with sufficient ambition” or to help developing countries adapt.
The developing world, responsible for the bulk of man-made climate change since the industrial era, must urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions, help poorer nations adapt, and repair the loss and damage they suffered, said the letter.
Rich world must repair climate damage: NGOs
