If your neighbor, avoiding garbage pick-up fees, burns their trash and during a dry spell a spark flies over to your house and catches it on fire, should your neighbor have to pay for the damage to your home?
If your neighbor keeps having huge barbecues with billowing smoke even though you have asked and asked that they be mindful of your child with asthma. And then if your child has an asthma attack breathing in said smoke, should your neighbor be responsible for the hospital bill?
Negligence and plain selfishness are easy to see on an individual level and holding people responsible on an individual level is usually a cut-and-dried solution.
But what about nations?
When nations do not limit green house gases, then are they responsible to pay for the damages of climate change to nations suffering from the changes in climate (like hurricanes, droughts, flooding, or fires) but who are not polluting nearly to the degree that wealthier nations are?
 |
| 2020 hrricane damage Caribbean coast communities, Nicaragua |
Last month Nicaragua lived through two category 4 hurricanes within two weeks. TWO within TWO WEEKS!
The Nicaraguan government is committed to reducing green house gases even though Nicaraguans per capita have a low carbon footprint. The president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, Dante Mossi said that as of October 2020, the Nicaraguan National Program for Sustainable Electrification and Renewable Energy (PNESER) has achieved for Nicaragua a 98.33% in electricity coverage throughout the nation and 74.39% of the electricity was generated from renewable sources. Mossi went on to say…
“Nicaragua will be the second country in Latin America to achieve 100% national coverage, which is a historic accomplishment that demonstrates the commitment of the Government to guarantee this basic right for the population…we must acknowledge and congratulate Nicaragua for obtaining approval of US $ 115 million-dollar funding from the United Nations Green Climate Fund to manage the effects of climate change. Approval of funds at this scale by the Green Climate Fund is unprecedented for the region and a clear recognition of Nicaragua's work on environmental protection, as well asadaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change. We have a lot to learn from the Nicaragua experience.”
So, with Nicaragua working to do its part, should not neighbors who are having so much impact on climate change help pay for the damages created by climate change?
And this is the rub…an individual may be held responsible, but a nation?
Why not?
Climate justice calls for action, and being held responsible when negligence and selfishness happens is a good way to ensure the action. Being held responsible calls for atonement and funds to repair damage or reparations. Only when climate change hits us in the pocket.. that seems to be the only effect that moves many.
And this is the rub…an individual may be held responsible, but a nation?
Why not?
Climate justice calls for action, and being held responsible when negligence and selfishness happens is a good way to ensure the action. Being held responsible calls for atonement and funds to repair damage or reparations. Only when climate change hits us in the pocket.. that seems to be the only effect that moves many.
-Kathleen
NOTE: If you are reading this blog using the mobile version,click on "web version" to see the full blog with all the features including "subscribe to blog by email".
Please join us and also share on your social media.
Donate here to the ongoing work of the CDCA with the poor in Nicaragua:
