Rich Countries Pollute, Poor Countries Suffer: Is Climate Justice Real?
A young school boy in Taha community in the Northern Region of Ghana walks miles early in the morning to fetch water from an almost dried up river that barely holds water even when it rains. He does this every single day before he prepares to go to school. In the same moment, thousands of miles away, a factory in the U.S. or China pumps carbon emissions into the air, fueling industries that generate billions. The child in Ghana didn’t cause the problem, but they’re living with the consequences.
I will mention it again, climate justice isn’t just about rising temperatures and melting glaciers, it’s about the people in the poor village it affects. It’s about fairness. Who is responsible for the crisis, and who bears the brunt of it?
Who’s Really Polluting the Planet?
Let’s start with facts. Estimating, the richest 1% of the world’s population produces more carbon emissions than the poorest 50% combined. Let's take fossil fuels, who owns the large industries, the factories and the jets? It is the rich.
According to Oxfam, wealthy nations like the U.S., China, and European countries have been the largest historical polluters. The industries driving their economies ,thus, manufacturing, fossil fuel extraction, large-scale agriculture—are responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions.
Take the beaches in Ghana that are polluted with plastics and useless second-hand clothes, where did all that come from? In fact, developing countries are rather polluting less by practicing recycling and reuse of products like plastics and clothes.
Let's take it to the locals, the grassroots, the only crime they commit is deforestation which they use for livelihood and survival. With education, these locals are willing to adapt and change. This is not to justify the act of deforestation, but to affirm that the fight of climate injustice should have the rich at the forefront, the capitalists have to lead this fight or at least take accountability.
Producers of these products are the rich and developed countries, and where do the effects hit hardest? Not in the skyscraper-filled cities of New York or London, but in drought-stricken farms in Africa, flood-prone villages in Bangladesh, and hurricane-devastated Caribbean islands.
How is this fair?
The Unbearable Cost of a Crisis We Didn’t Create
For people in developing nations like Ghana, climate change isn’t a future threat, it’s here. It’s the erratic rainfall that destroys crops. It’s the desertification turning once-fertile lands into dust. It’s the rising sea levels swallowing entire communities. It is the heat waves causing different forms of diseases among locals.
If climate justice was real, wouldn’t those who caused the crisis be the ones paying for its damage? Instead, developing countries are spending billions on recovery while richer nations debate policies at climate summits, the Irony.
Are Climate Pledges Just Empty Promises?
Every year, global leaders gather at climate conferences, making bold pledges. But how much of it is real action versus public relations? To some point, I honestly do not dispute Trump's decision on some of these projects. It is necessary for attention to be directed to dire situations, however, greed makes the impact not felt at where it should be felt. On the same hand, it feels like a compensation for the damage they have caused due to their actions.
Even when funds are released, they come with strings attached, loans instead of grants, bureaucracy that slows down access, and projects that prioritize corporate profits over real community needs.
Why should the Global South have to borrow money to fix a problem the Global North created?
What Should Be Done Differently?
Holding Polluters Accountable: Big corporations and industrialized nations need stricter emission cuts, not just long-term “net-zero” pledges that delay action.
Investing in Local Solutions: Indigenous and local communities often have the best knowledge of how to protect their environment. Funding should empower them and help them get practical solutions, not use them to write beautiful reports and leave them in the same situations.
Honest Conversations: The climate movement needs to center the voices of those most affected, not just Western activists but farmers, fishermen, and displaced families from the Global South.
So, Is Climate Justice Real?
Not yet. Because justice means those who caused harm should be the ones to fix it. It means we don’t just talk about “saving the planet” without acknowledging who’s suffering the most.
And until the system changes, until the people most affected have a real seat at the table, climate justice will remain just a catchy slogan.
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Seth Borenstein, Associated Press
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