As climate disasters escalate around the globe, the call for climate justice has never been more urgent.
Speaking during a Speaking during recent webinar hosted by ActionAid Teresa Anderson, Climate Justice Lead, highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change on the Global South saying that those least responsible for climate change are suffering its worst consequences.
“Climate change is reversing the progress we’ve made in economic justice, women’s rights, and poverty alleviation,” Anderson said, stressing the far-reaching effects of the climate crisis.
Floods, droughts, and rising sea levels have hit marginalized communities hardest, particularly in the Global South.
Smallholder farmers are losing their livelihoods due to crop failures, and women and girls face a unique set of challenges as the impacts of climate change compound existing gender inequalities.
Wealthy countries in the Global North, Anderson noted, bear the bulk of the historical responsibility for climate change. These nations have been emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) for more than a century, while many Global South countries have only recently industrialized.
“You can’t just look at who is emitting now; you need to look at who emitted before,” she said, invoking a metaphor of cake consumption to describe the unequal burden.
Perhaps the gravest injustice, Anderson continued, is that “the countries and corporations causing climate change are not the ones feeling the worst impacts.”
Instead, it is the Global South—regions contributing the least to climate change—that suffer most.
Within these regions, women and marginalized communities are particularly vulnerable. Women are more likely to die during climate disasters due to a lack of resources, education, and decision-making power, all of which intensify the impacts of climate change.
Despite some progress, such as the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at last year’s UN Climate Conference, wealthy countries are still resisting meaningful financial commitments.
The $100 billion per year promised by developed nations falls far short of what’s needed, Anderson argued. Even worse, much of that money has come in the form of loans, further indebting countries already struggling with climate impacts.
As the world looks toward COP29, Anderson called for an ambitious new climate finance goal, warning that without sufficient support, the Global South will remain trapped in a cycle of debt and disaster.
“The money is flowing in the wrong direction. Far more is causing climate change than addressing it.” she said.
