Most developed nations contribute heavily to the destruction of the atmosphere through greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, they should be ethically responsible for the damages they cause to the environment. Below are some of the measures that developed nations can adopt to reduce their pollutant emissions to the atmosphere. First, most developed nations can enact a carbon trading plan regulation that will force the most pollutant companies located both in their countries and globally to pay taxes on every ton of the carbon emitted in the atmosphere (Gardiner & Hartzell-Nichols, 2012). This will help to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere and encourage free carbon market-based carbon trading system.
Secondly, it is evident that over developed countries are endowed with enormous resources. Therefore, they can focus on capitalizing on renewable electric energy (Arnold & Bustos, 2008). This should be supplemented by the adoption of biofuels in the transportation industry which is one of the major sources of carbon gases. Again, the reduction of deforesting rates that is perpetuated through illegal cutting down of trees and forest fires will help to absorb the huge amount of free carbon in the atmosphere (Appell, 2015). Alternatively, the shift from electricity generation from coal to natural gases such as biogas will be a major step of reducing carbon levels in the atmosphere in future.
Thirdly, all the developed nation should stand by an idea that was adopted by European Union member states in 2005. The European Union opened the largest carbon trading market in the world. All the members’ states of European Union are expected to participate whereby major power plants and factories within the European Union are given permits based on the amount of carbon they can emit. Factories that emits less carbon than what they have been granted can sell their unused carbon space to the firms that have exceeded their emission limit (NPR News Staff, 2011). This approach has discouraged careless and excessive carbon emissions in the atmosphere. This is because every firm is focused on reducing the costs of catering for exceeding carbon emission limit.
Finally, developed nations can force its businesses to reduce activities that result in excessive carbon emissions. For example, in 2010 Japan forced its major businesses including government institution such as schools and public buildings to reduce their carbon emission in the atmosphere (NPR News Staff, 2011). Additionally, developed nations can establish fuel-efficiency standards in the transportation industry. This will help to curb the problem of gas emissions by all the key sectors of the economy.
Developed nations largely contribute to the climate change. Despite their huge contribution they do little or nothing to help who those largely affected by the consequences of the climate change (Flowers & Zeese, 2014). This paper offers key approaches that most developed nations can apply to help those affected by the climate change. One of the major responsibility that developed nations can take is to pay those most affected by the climate change. For example, most of the developing nations are vulnerable. Therefore, they are unable to overcome the severe effects of drought, rising sea levels, and other climate change related issues. It is the high time, the rich countries jets in to pay less developed nations appropriately for them to adapt to the climate change.
Apart from paying the less developed nations, wealthy countries can developing countries to access international funding to help them reduce and adapt to climate change. The majority of the less developed nations need funding beyond their capacity to adjust to the extreme weather, sea level rise, and other climate change negative impacts (Worland, 2016)s. Besides, they will need to get out of poverty and realize sustainable economic growth without engaging in activities that will result in greenhouse gases emission. To be able to overcome the above problems, less developed countries need to have access to international climate finance. Developed nations can help the developing nations to achieve this through the following means.
Developed nations should help the developing nations to establish nationally based strategies that will attract funding from the international climatic change organizations (Larsen, Masullo, & Chaudhury, 2015). Secondly, overdeveloped countries can help less developed countries to build strong institutions. To use climate funds effectively, it calls for the existence of strong institutions (Gertz, 2015). Many of the developing states lack these institutions and therefore, calling for the intervention of developed world to help them build strong institutions that will oversee the utilization of the climate change funds (Jamail, 2014). Finally, on the issue of the direct fund access developed countries should ensure coordination and stakeholders’ involvement in the problems of climate change in the developing world. This will need getting stakeholders from different agencies, ministries as well as non-governmental organizations to coordinate and implement effective climate change initiatives.
Overdeveloped countries should also help the highly climate change stricken countries by helping them establish projects that will help them cope with the climate change effects (Johnston, 2016). For example, developed world can teach those who are suffering the consequences of climate change new ways of farming that will lead to the production of sufficient food. This will not only help them reduce the effects of climate change but also assist them to adapt to the continuous climate change effects in the long run.
Inuit have right to ice. Ice is a natural resource that should be reserved just like any other resource that is deemed beneficial for the survival of human beings. Just like how people suffer when they destroy important natural resources such forests and water catchment areas, likewise, the Inuit have suffered from the activities of the overdeveloped nations that have led to the melting of polar ice and rising of sea levels. The traditional lifestyle of the Inuit that was deeply rooted in climatic conditions has long been forgotten (Hours, 2015). Besides, current findings show that the continued climate changes and threats have stretched to the home of the inhabitants.
Combined with global warming and imposed climate changes social and cultural changes, the traditions of the Inuit are threatened. For example, ice fishing is no longer practiced and if it happens it takes place only for a few weeks before the ice melts away. Additionally, the seasons have changed, and winter seems to occur late that it was the case before when it used to arrive in either October or November (Power, 2016). As a result of these climatic changes, people have greatly forgotten their traditional homes, mode of dressing and other many cultural practices. In one of the interviews, a resident noted that the region was warming at a higher rate than the rest of the planet (Hours, 2015). Apart from the peoples’ culture being affected by the effects of the climate change also climate change impacts seems to extend to the animals and plants. For example, old plants such as lichens and mosses are being replaced by the new spices of plants. Likewise, there is an emergence of new animals such as toads, groundhogs, and Canadian elk (Power, 2016).
From the analysis of the effects that climate change has had on Inuit, this paper holds that their culture has the right to ice. The effects of climate change have had harmful and negative impacts on the Inuit’s ability to sustain themselves as it was the case before (Gertz, 2015). These changes deny them their right to health. Additionally, the Inuit’s culture that is attributable to snow and ices it no longer practicable. For example, their ability to build their homes and have shelter and their ability to harvest plants foods and hunt fish is long forgotten. It is indisputable that climate change caused largely by overdeveloped countries such as the United States have denied Inuit cultural right to ice.
Solomon Islanders have right to be above the water. Solomon Islands was a natural resource that was meant to sustain the life and the survival of the inhabitants. However, because of the climate change that has contributed to the melting of the ice and rising of the sea level, the island has been completely lost, and the remaining part is severely eroded (Leon, 2016). The Island had a size of five hectares and vegetation that has been standing for over three hundred years. However, all this have been lost because of the climate change that has been caused by overdeveloped nations.
The Solomon Islanders had right to continue staying on this Island just like people and factories that contribute to the climate change have right to inhabit the dry land. Nature provides a balanced environment whereby all should live with sustainability without affecting each other (Reuters, 2016). However, this rule does not apply for the Solomon Islanders. They are suffering from the effects of other people who are anticipating to live a better and expensive life at their expense.
The effects of the global climate change saw families living in the Solomon Islands being relocated out of the habitat that they lived at for generations (Albert, Grinham, Gibbes, Leon, & Church, 2016). This was not planned or willing relocations but forced relocations that came as the consequences of the climate change. Findings show that in some cases an entire community was forced to leave the Island that it had lived since 1900. Now, the question remains whether those who are living on the dry land have ever suffered from the climate change from the causes created by the Islanders. The answer is being no. In fact, they suffer from climate change problems that they have created themselves. These climatic change problems have been extended to Solomon Islanders who have been forced to strain in small fragmented areas that cannot sustain them.
The suffering of the Solomon Islanders purely comes from global climate effect. The total loss of the Solomon Islands it is an indication that the traditional knowledge and the effects of the climate change should be a priority when planning for the sea-level rise. This will call for the adoption of approaches that are less harmful or harmless to the atmosphere. If the manufactures, businesses, and other human activities have to be carried at the expense of the atmosphere then those who perpetrate them they should be ready to pay for the damage caused. Solomon Island is an ideal case study whereby all the islanders should be compensated sufficiently. They relied on the Island for the livelihood and survival.
It hurts to see overdeveloped nations applying strategies that result in environmental destruction to only improve their living standards at the expense of the people who live naturally and never contributes atmosphere destruction. Nations emitting carbon gases in the atmosphere should be called upon to pay the damage experienced by the Solomon Islanders. Wealthy nations bear a big responsibility for the Solomon islanders suffering. This calls for the support of the international organizations and international climate funding bodies such as Green Climate Fund to compensate Solomon Islanders as well as help them to adapt to the rising climate change (Klare, 2017).
When it comes to the sustainable environment, it calls for the collective responsibility to make sure that a safe environment is created where all can live harmoniously (Flowers & Zeese, 2014). This is because harmful action to the atmosphere by one section of the world’s section affects the whole globe. Therefore, this why developed world should get in and help the less developed nations to adapt to strategies that reduce environmental destruction. This will lead to the creation of the atmosphere that is free from carbon emission that is contributing to climate change at a very higher rate.
On the other side, developed nations are endowed with sufficient resources, manpower, and technology to help the less developed world engage in methods that environmentally friendly. The developed world should use this advantage as well their hegemony powers to ensure that the rest of the world employs non-fossil fuels in their efforts to develop their economies. Through hegemony power, developed nations will encourage the creation of the universal economic development strategies that do not result in the emission of carbons.
It is also important to note that developed world had a big share of the environmental destruction in the past and they have continued to destroy it. Besides, their contribution to the environmental damage is higher than that of the less developed world (Rotman, 2013). From the basis of businesses, companies are supposed to be socially responsible because they acquire the resources of business operation from the society. Likewise, developed world obtains the resources to propel their economic development from nature and at the same time destroys the same nature through emission of the carbon created from the transformation of raw materials into finished products. Therefore, it arguable that developed world actions have a double effect on the environment.
The carbon gases released by the developed world do not affect the atmosphere at their geographical region alone. They also have negative impacts on the global atmosphere and the less developed world suffer most from these impacts (George, 2016). This is because the developing nations lack mechanisms to counteract the severe effects of climate change. It is out of this basis whereby this paper argues that developed world should be ethically responsible for sharing and subsidizing knowledge, technology, and manpower with the less developed world to create a global environment that is conducive to everyone.
As discussed in the above section, developed world should be ethically responsible for the climate changes problems they create and negatively affect the developing world. In the following discussion, this paper suggests the approaches that overdeveloped countries can undertake to help the less developed world to engage in strategies that will reduce environmental destruction.
First, the developed nations can act as an example by fully doing away with fossil fuel. This should be followed by explaining the less developed world the importance of relying solely on the natural source of energy. Secondly, developed world should employ the utilization of the natural energy in their international corporations operating in the developed world. Thirdly, developed nations should offer financial assistance to the developing countries to help them replace the fossil-based fuel energies. This should be supplemented by creating alternatives to discourage the new users of the fossil fuels.
References
Albert, S., Grinham, A., Gibbes, B., Leon, J., & Church, J. (2016, May 9). Sea Level Rise Swallows 5 Whole Pacific Islands. Retrieved from The Conversation: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sea-level-rise-swallows-5-whole-pacific-islands/
Appell, D. (2015, March 3). Is Global Warming a Moral Issue? Retrieved from Yale Climate Connections: https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2015/03/is-global-warming-a-moral-issue/
Arnold, D. G., & Bustos, K. (2008). Business, Ethics, and Global. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 24(1&2), 103-130.
Flowers, M., & Zeese, K. (2014, September 7). Climate Alarms Ringing, UN Fails to Act. Retrieved from Truthout: https://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/26036-climate-alarms-ringing-un-fails-to-act
Gardiner, S. M., & Hartzell-Nichols, L. (2012). Ethics and Global Climate Change. Nature Education Knowledge, 10(5), 3-15.
George, S. (2016, November 23). Corporate Power + Climate Change = Genocide. Retrieved from Climate and Capitalism: https://climateandcapitalism.com/2016/11/23/corporate-power-climate-change-geocide/
Gertz, E. (2015, July 26). Inuit fight climate change with human-rights claim against U.S. Retrieved from Grist Magazine, Inc.: https://grist.org/article/gertz-inuit/
Hours, C. (2015, October 6). Climate change: Inuit culture on thin ice. Retrieved from Phys.org: https://phys.org/news/2015-10-climate-Inuit-culture-thin-ice.html
Jamail, D. (2014, September 8). From Pine Beetles to Disappearing Glaciers, NASA Scientists Tell of “Dramatic” Planetary Changes. Retrieved from Democratic Underground, LLC.: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10025503926
Johnston, I. (2016, November 3). Climate change: How wealthy countries are avoiding helping the world’s poorest cope. Retrieved from independent.co.uk: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-global-warming-aid-richest-developing-countries-a7394251.html
Klare, M. T. (2017, April 20). Climate Change As Genocide: Inaction Equals Annihilation. Retrieved from Conservation Suriname: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-as-genocide-inaction-equals-annihilation_us_58f8c4a3e4b0cb086d7eaf4e
Larsen, G., Masullo, I., & Chaudhury, M. (2015, December 3). Three Ways to Help Developing Countries Get Direct Access to Climate Finance. Retrieved from World Resources Institute: https://www.wri.org/blog/2015/12/3-ways-help-developing-countries-get-direct-access-climate-finance
Leon, J. (2016, May 9). Sea-level rise has claimed five whole islands in the Pacific: first scientific evidence. Retrieved from The Conversation Africa, Inc: https://theconversation.com/sea-level-rise-has-claimed-five-whole-islands-in-the-pacific-first-scientific-evidence-58511
NPR NEWS STAFF. (2011, December 9). What Countries Are Doing To Tackle Climate Change? Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2011/12/07/143302823/what-countries-are-doing-to-tackle-climate-change
Power, J. (2016, September 4). When the ice goes, so does the wisdom,’ says Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/when-the-ice-goes-so-does-the-wisdom-says-inuit-activist-sheila-wattcloutier-20160826-gr24sn.html
Reuters. (2016, May 10). Five Pacific islands lost to rising seas as climate change hits. Retrieved from Guardian News and Media Limited: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/10/five-pacific-islands-lost-rising-seas-climate-change
Rotman, D. (2013, April 11). Climate Change: The Moral Choices. Retrieved from MIT Technology Review: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/513526/climate-change-the-moral-choices/
Worland, J. (2016, February 5). How Climate Change Unfairly Burdens Poorer Countries. Retrieved from Time Inc: https://time.com/4209510/climate-change-poor-countries/
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download