$67 Billion For Environmental Damages

“Africa contributes very little to the pollution blamed for global warming but its people are likely to be among the hardest hit by droughts, floods and rising sea levels.”

The African Union is considering a proposal to demand at least $67 billion a year in environmental damages from developed countries at the Copenhagen Climate summit in December. Africa is seeking a common position to increase its bargaining power in Copenhagen.

For the first time, 53 African nations have come under one umbrella to speak in one voice on the upcoming climate change negotiations in Copenhagen. Representatives of 10 African heads of state have gathered this week at AU headquarters in Addis Abeba to determine how much the continent should ask in compensation at the UN climate summit in December.

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Of course, the effects of climate change affect the poorest people first. May be time is running out for Africa to cleaning up an environmental problem that the industrialized world has created.

African nations have struggled to find a common position in many aspects, and this sort of resolution should help in creating a united front and increasing the continent’s bargaining power.

Relevant readings:

“African farms becoming too hot to handle “

“An insurance plan for climate change victims”

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