As the UK experienced its first heat wave of the year 2024, temperatures soared as high as 30.3C with the UK Health Security Agency and Met Office issuing weather health alerts for most of the country in light of the high temperatures. The alerts warned of the threat of increased deaths among older and vulnerable people. 

But if you think 30C is high, think again. Temperatures in the Global South have been rising steadily every year reaching record highs of 50C consistently. As the temperatures rise, so does the death toll. This year’s high temperatures – described as a “partial heatwave” by one meteorologist – began three weeks ago. In one week, 568 people died due to heatstroke in Karachi, Pakistan. Last month, the province of Sindh – of which Karachi is the capital – recorded an almost record-breaking temperature of 52.2C. Pakistan’s neighbours have been suffering from deadly temperatures in recent weeks as well.

In India, at least 40,000 cases of heat stroke have been reported since March, and at least 110 people have died across the country due to suspected heat stroke. It was particularly worse this year as the temperatures didn’t drop down during night time either, making rest and recuperation difficult for people standing in the terrible heat for hours during the day. Doctors in India say they’ve never seen anything like it before.

Additionally, the unprecedented heat wave during Hajj 2024 claimed the lives of over 1,000 pilgrims, serving a stark reminder of how climate change is affecting people globally, regardless of their location.

However, if you ask the average UK citizen what they know about climate change or what they have to do with it, chances are they will be disgruntled over the actions of Just Stop Oil, a climate activist group which spray painted Stonehenge with orange powder paint on Summer Solstice this year. Their demand: that the UK government does not issue any new gas or oil licences. 

When the actions of Just Stop Oil made headlines, people deemed them extreme and unhinged. Their main argument rests on the logic that it threatens the preservation of our national history and landscape. 

Perhaps then it feels a little confusing that such arguments do not extend to taking climate change seriously, in order to preserve natural landscapes or even life in the Global South, which is in danger because of the direct actions of the Global North.

It is crucial to understand and acknowledge the historical role Britain and other European countries have played in causing harm to communities worldwide through their colonial legacy.

Colonialism’s impact on climate extends beyond historical injustices; it altered ecosystems and disrupted sustainable practices of indigenous communities, the effects of which are reverberating throughout the world and felt by these communities even today. British colonists restructured India’s agricultural system, prioritising cash crops like cotton and tea over subsistence farming, leading to widespread environmental degradation. Similarly, French colonisers in North and West Africa banned traditional farming methods, replacing forests with cash crops, causing extensive deforestation and desertification. Today’s transnational corporations continue to perpetuate these practices, dispossessing indigenous populations and exploiting natural resources.

The Global North’s Carbon Footprint

The industrialization and development of Western countries have historically been powered by fossil fuels, leading to significant greenhouse gas emissions. Despite global efforts to curb emissions, the legacy of industrial activities in the Global North continues to contribute to global warming.

High-income countries make up only about 16% of the global population and yet, are responsible for approximately 75% of global cumulative carbon emissions, making them the largest emitters of Carbon dioxide since the Industrial Revolution. Despite advancements in renewable energy, many Western nations still rely heavily on fossil fuels, further exacerbating global warming. 

Climate Injustice in the South and the Legacy of Colonialism

When July 2023 was recorded as the world’s hottest month, UN secretary general, António Guterres said that the era of global warming has ended and “the era of global boiling has arrived.” Climate Action Tracker predicts that global temperatures will rise to 2.7°C. There will be a significant worsening of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people. 

However, not everyone around the world will experience climate change in a similar manner. Rather, some parts of the world will get much hotter, predominantly the Global South, as 78 low-income countries are facing the worst impacts. The irony is that they are the least responsible for climate-warming emissions.

The carbon footprint of an individual in the United Kingdom in 2022 was five times more than that of an individual in Pakistan. The average Kenyan has a footprint of just 0.5 tonnes vs 14.9 tonnes of an average American. This stark reality underscores a profound climate injustice: the countries contributing the least to global warming are suffering its most devastating impacts. 

The problem is that many assume the climate crisis is caused by universal human nature, rather than the actions of a minority of colonialists and capitalists who keep denying the reality of indigenous people who have been exploited by colonial systems for centuries. Formerly colonised nations suffer the most from climate destabilisation due to the historical emissions and wealth accumulation of the richer countries in the North. Hadeel Assali, a lecturer and postdoctoral scholar at the Center for Science and Society, aptly said,

“Instead of treating the Earth like a precious entity that gives us life, Western colonial legacies operate within a paradigm that assumes they can extract its natural resources as much as they want, and the Earth will regenerate itself.” 

Climate justice movements have long called for reparations, recognizing the “climate debt” owed by the wealthy nations to the poorer ones. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finally acknowledged the link between colonialism and climate change in its 6th report, published in 2022.

Perhaps it is important to remember that climate change is not a far-distant concept. People in the Global South are experiencing its devastating consequences in real time right now. To address climate change effectively, it is essential to acknowledge and rectify these colonial legacies and hold the countries responsible for it accountable through reparations, debt cancellation, and a just transition from fossil fuels.

No Climate Justice without Peace

Unnecessary wars and conflicts initiated by imperial countries have significantly contributed to climate change. Research revealed that the planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of Israel’s assault in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations.

According to an analysis by researchers in the UK and US, the vast majority (over 99%) of the 281,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2 equivalent) estimated to have been generated in the first 60 days following 7th October 2023, can be attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. The study claims that the climate cost of the first 60 days of Israel’s military attack was equivalent to burning at least 150,000 tonnes of coal.

Warfare results in widespread destruction of infrastructure and natural habitats, exacerbating environmental degradation and contributing to climate change. In addition to genocide, Israel is clearly also waging an ecocide which will have widespread consequences, the majority of which will be borne by the Global South.

The Billionaire Problem

According to Boeing’s CEO, almost 80% of the world has never flown on an aeroplane. Compared to how North America saw 300,000 private flights in July 2021 alone, the link between carbon emissions and socio-economic background is almost harsh. Taylor Swift topped the list of celebrities with the greatest private jet CO2 emissions of 8,240 metric tonnes. Her shortest flight in 2022 was only 36 minutes. To put even more perspective to this, these are just the numbers regarding one celebrity. This does not include world leaders, royalties, moguls, etcetera. The idea of disregarding CO2 emissions for the sake of petty convenience also allows for more social class-based inequality.

Jeff Bezos’ 11-minute space flight was responsible for more carbon emissions per passenger than any of the world’s poorest billion people could emit in their entire lives.

The fact of the matter is, the rich pollute differently and much more. 

Global North’s Inadequate Response & Hypocrisy

Despite their historical responsibility and capability, Western countries are not doing enough to combat climate change and assist affected regions in the Global South. Many Western nations are falling short of their emission reduction targets as well. 

The financial reparations promised to help developing countries adapt to climate change and mitigate its impacts has been insufficient and slow to materialise. The United States, one of the largest historical and current emitters, due largely to its Military Industrial Complex, has shown indifference and inconsistency in its climate policies, undermining global efforts to address climate change.

Infact, developed countries often demand that developing nations curb their emissions and impose unfair carbon taxes on them, despite their own historical and ongoing contributions to climate change. This hypocritical audacity is glaringly obvious because the Global South is not only less responsible for emissions but also often lacks the resources to implement large-scale green initiatives without support. Moreover, developing countries argue that they have the right to pursue economic development, which can entail increased emissions, to lift their populations out of poverty. 

As some parts of the world experience extreme heat waves, other parts of the world are experiencing extreme floods and extreme droughts. It is clear that the actions of the Global North have triggered catastrophic global warming and climate change. The full force of which is being felt by countries like Afghanistan, South Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. With extreme temperatures and food insecurity on the rise because of drought and flooding, the conditions in these countries have already resulted in climate refugees.

So what actions can be justifiable to ensure more people don’t die of extreme weather conditions or starvation? Demanding that the UK government does not issue any new gas or oil licences is a very small demand by Just Stop Oil, considering the urgency of the situation and the fact that people are dying due to the results of climate change today. The West’s inaction and indifference today is actively threatening not only Global South’s present but also their own future.

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References

1. Heatwave in the UK

2. Deaths mount as Pakistan swelters in heatwave

3. India’s searing heatwave

4. Stonehenge covered in powder paint by Just Stop Oil

5. Hannah Ritchie, Pablo Rosado and Max Roser (2023) – “Per capita, national, historical: how do countries compare on CO2 metrics?”

6. Emissions from Israel’s war in Gaza have ‘immense’ effect on climate catastrophe

7. Why Private Jets Aren’t So Fly (Eco-Wise)