Global rich must pay more to tackle climate crisis, says architect of Paris deal
Rich individuals in all countries must pay more to tackle the climate crisis, whether through taxes or charges on consumption, one of the architects of the Paris agreement has said.
There is a growing consensus on the need for some kind of global wealth tax, with Brazil, which will host the Cop climate summit next year, an enthusiastic supporter.
Meanwhile, poor countries are struggling to raise the estimated $1tn (£785bn) a year of external finance needed to help them cut emissions and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis.
Another proposal is for a frequent flyer levy, as the richest people tend to take far more flights – in any year about half of the people in the UK do not fly, for instance. Laurence Tubiana, the chief executive of the European Climate Foundation, said a levy could be targeted at business class and first class seats.
"Meanwhile, poor countries are struggling to raise the estimated $1tn (£785bn) a year of external finance needed to help them cut emissions and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis."
It felt so sad to read this.
Yup. Rich Western nations giving the big middle finger to those who can barely afford to care for their people is pretty on-brand for 21st century capitalism.
it's worthwhile to remember that said rich nations only became rich by heavily exploiting the global south
Is prefer to phrase that differently. Most rich nations had the ability to build robust economies with steady growth without exploiting the global south... they just exploited the global south to get even richer.
It's not required that someone else suffer for a nation to get richer - and that's what makes it even more disappointing that that exploitation went forward.
Colonization - historically done by Britain, Portugal, Belgium, etc - did, in fact, exploit huge swathes of the south in order to get rich.
Absolutely, and that's awful and wrong.
My point was that wealth and standard of living increases don't require colonization. They could have progressed without needing to oppress native peoples.
My apologies. I read your response incorrectly.
Hey no worries, as someone with ADHD you'd be amazed how often I accidentally imply exactly the opposite of what I state.. and my communication isn't always the clearest.
Yeah, I have ADHD too. I misunderstand all the time, and it's only getting worse with age.