How the Richest Fuel Global Warming - but the Poorest Suffer Most From It

[marmar]

from the Independent UK, via CommonDreams:

Published on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 by the Independent / UK
How Richest Fuel Global Warming - but Poorest Suffer Most from It
by Philip Thornton

By the end of tomorrow the average Briton will have caused as much global warning as the typical Kenyan will over the whole of this year, according to a report.

The findings highlight the glaring imbalance between the rich countries that produce most of the pollution and the poor countries that suffer the consequences in the forms of drought, floods, starvation and disease.

The World Development Movement (WDM), a poverty campaign group, has drawn up a "climate calendar" showing the dates when the UK will have emitted as much CO2 gas as other countries will in a year.

Unsurprisingly, the poorest counties such as Chad, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo produce virtually no carbon emissions. Even populous countries such as India will be overtaken in its emissions by the UK in a month's time. In fact, 164 countries in the world have a smaller carbon footprint than the UK, while just 20, mainly including the major oil producers as well as the US, have a larger one.

By the end of tomorrow the average Briton will have produced 0.26 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

"The poorest countries in the world, with 738 million people, make no contribution to climate change, but it is those same people who face the worst consequences," Benedict Southworth, WDM's director, said. " One hundred and sixty thousand people are already dying every year due to climate change- related diseases and billions will face drought, floods, starvation and disease."

WDM has calculated the figures by taking the annual CO2 emission for each country, dividing by the number of people and then working out a daily contribution.

Thus while an Afghan on average will produce an annual equivalent of 0.02 tonnes of CO2, a Briton will produce 9.62 tonnes and the most prolific polluter - someone from the United Arab Emirates - will emit about 56 tonnes.

WDM acknowledged that its figures were based on averages that masked differences between life in rural and urban areas, but said that the figures still exposed the "injustice" of global warming. .....(more)

The rest of the article is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0109-05.htm

[Captain Hilts]

1. I love the Guardian, but this is an historically ignorant article. nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. It's from the Independent, not the Guardian

I don't know why the OP says "the Guardian", and then puts the correct "independent" in the next line.

In what way is it historically ignorant?

[marmar]

4. My mistake. Corrected.

n/t

[wtmusic]

2. But think how the rich will suffer when they have to drive smaller cars

it all evens out, when you think about it :crazy: