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Tuvalu is a Pacific island nation living with the fear that in a couple of decades, the rising sea level will submerge the eight islands they call home. It has a population of just about 12,000. Like other island communities, it is on the frontlines of the climate emergency that is threatening its very existence.

“They were the home of our ancestors, they are the home of our people today and we want them to remain the home of our people into the future,” Simon Kofe, Tuvalu’s then foreign minister, said in his speech at COPS28 in Glasgow in 2021. “Frankly speaking, there is no dignity to a slow and painful death,” he said, and added, “You might as well bomb our islands instead of making us suffer.”

Kofe’s message to world leaders gathered in Glasgow was short and simple—we need help. We need funds. This is at the heart of the debate on climate change. Kofe was referring to climate justice and reparation funds from the rich industrialised countries responsible for global warming that has hit the developing world for no fault of their own. Their emissions are minimal.

The developed world has grown wealthy with irresponsible emission of CO2 (carbon dioxide responsible for green-house gas) and has to take its share of historic responsibility by helping climate vulnerable nations fight global warming and adopt resilient livelihood.

“In my opinion, there is real merit to the idea that the richer nations should pay most or more for green technologies used by the developing world, as the richer nations are those most responsible for the historic greenhouse gas emissions that have caused most of the warming to date,’’ says McKenzie Funk, the American author of Windfall, a book on companies using climate change to make booming profits.

Nowhere to Go: Shehnaz, who lives in a slum near Delhi’s Geeta Colony, says that while the heat was unbearable this year, it was worse during the heavy rains that followed—the roof of her hut is made of polythene sheets, which leaks from all directions - Photo: Divya Tiwari

Living On The Margins: How The Urban Poor Fight Climate Change

BY Apeksha Priyadarshini

“That India and China are now emitting greater overall emissions doesn't change this historic fact. It's also true that richer nations have simply outsourced many of their emissions by outsourcing their manufacturing, especially to China. Should American consumers be off the hook for emissions simply because the goods they consume are manufactured elsewhere? I think not!’’ he adds.

In the early years of the climate finance debate, developing countries like India and China took the lead in calling for equity and justice for the developing world and looking to those responsible for bringing the earth to its knees pay the price. But as the crisis has worsened, China and India, both energy guzzlers, are also taking responsibility for cleaning up their corner of the planet. The largest emitters today are the US, China and India.

Scientists say that Tuvalu and many of the island atolls may become uninhabitable by the end of the century. Others in the danger zone are Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu in the Pacific, as well as S?o Tomé and Príncipe in the equatorial Atlantic, and Dominica in the Caribbeans. Nearer home, the Maldives is facing a similar situation. To drive home the point, former president Mohamed Nasheed held a cabinet meeting underwater (2009) to highlight the danger of rising sea levels to his Indian Ocean island nation.

The frequency and rising scale of storms lead to saltwater intrusion into the land, contamination of fresh water sources and destruction of soil. It also impacts the growth of coconut and banana trees. These are the staples of the island nations and bring in revenues through exports. All this is drying up. The shortage of clean drinking water leads to major health issues, especially among children and the elderly. Many of these countries are now fighting back and trying to adjust to climate resilient growth. The World Bank is doing its bit to help the pacific island states.

Their Stories: Ruksana and Ruby live in Geeta Colony in East Delhi - Photo: Divya Tiwari

In Delhi's Bastis, Women Feel The Heat Of Climate Change

BY Swati Subhedar

The UN is leading the charge in the global fight against climate change exhorting all nations to join in the push back. “Climate change is happening now and to all of us. No country or community is immune …. and, as is always the case, the poor and vulnerable are the first to suffer and the worst hit,” UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said recently. The UN is batting for climate justice for the global south.

Countries now realise that action is a must, but the question remains, is it too little too late? Is the glass half-full or half empty? “Direction of travel is right. But the process needs to pick up speed,” says Ulka Kelkar, Bangalore-based executive director climate, WRI India.

The Paris Conference of 2015 was a watershed moment in the world’s fight against global warming. Each nation agreed to fix their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to ease emissions. It was also decided in Paris that the richer countries would contribute one billion dollars annually to help poorer developing nations. But money is slow to come by. The fund took off just last year.

Politicians have realised the danger and countries are trying to get their act together. However, finance remains a major problem. The launch of a “loss and damage fund’’ at the start of the United Nations COP 28 summit is a good start. Developing nations are calling for between $1.1-$1.3 trillion a year in climate finance. Developed countries have so far been unwilling to engage in discussing specific numbers.