Discussion — ‘Developed countries have a greater obligation to combat climate change than developing countries.’
Developed countries are countries with a stable economy and advanced industries whilst developing countries are those striving to become more economically and socially advanced as developed countries. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time that refers to increasing global temperatures and changing weather patterns caused by industrialization and other such human activity. Given the historical context and the greater amount of resources possessed by developed countries, this essay will argue why the topic statement is true.
To begin with, developed countries should bear more responsibility for combating climate change as these countries are the biggest contributors to global emissions. This is especially relevant when considering the historical context. Developed countries, such as Britain or the USA, have been the earliest countries to industrialize and have also contributed the most to carbon emissions and pollution. Due to this, developed countries have a greater obligation than newly developing countries to address the consequences of their past and present actions.
Secondly, one should also discern that developed countries have far more of the necessary resources required to combat climate change, including money and investment in climate research. Developing countries on the other hand must also contend with domestic challenges like improving healthcare and education, as well as working to alleviate those in poverty. Asking developing countries to expend the same amount of resources to combat climate change would only widen the wealth gap between developed and developing countries, exacerbating cycles of poverty. Thus, developing countries should not be expected to put in the same effort as developed countries, but rather should only be expected to put in as much effort as would be considered equitable.
On the contrary, many argue that climate change is a problem everyone bears responsibility for, and therefore, everyone must play a part in combating climate change. Nevertheless, the topic statement does not state that developing countries do not bear any responsibility. Instead, it only states that developed countries bear a greater obligation than developing countries. In the same way one would not expect someone of lower economic status to donate the same amount of money to charity as someone of higher economic status, one should also not expect developing countries to contribute the same amount of resources to combating climate change as developed countries
To conclude, whilst it is true that climate change truly is a global issue that we must all contend with, the question of who must carry more of the burden to combat climate change lies on developed countries due to both their bigger amount of dispensable resources and historic responsibility.
