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 Who will it
affect?
The poorest on the planet.
Poor developing nations, particularly small island nation states will be the worst hit. A
15-95 cm rise in sea level could turn these people into environmental refugees. Besides,
poor countries are least prepared to face the wrath of floods and hurricanes. The
lifestyles of future generations shall be compromised. Plants and animals around the world
will be severely affected by changing weather patterns.Who is responsible?
The rich on the planet.
Industrialised countries are mainly responsible for the mess. They owe their present
prosperity to years of 'historical' emissions, that have accumulated in the atmosphere
since the start of the industrial revolution and an extremely high level of current
emissions. Developing countries, meanwhile, have only recently set out on the path of
industrialisation, and their per capita emissions are still comparatively low, though
increasing.
In 1990, out of the 21 billion tonnes of emissions globally, 14 billion tonnes were
emitted by rich developed countries, home to only one-fifth of the world’s
population. Of this 14 billion tonnes, the US alone contributed 5 billion tonnes of
carbon. India emits 159 million metric tonnes of carbon. This is only 10 per cent of the
US emissions (1,511 million tonnes) despite a population nearly four times over. |
| EMISSIONS
OF 1 AMERICAN = 11 ASIANS = 9 LATIN AMERICANS = 13 AFRICANS |
Cumulative carbon emissions, 1950-1996 |
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