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Developed Countries should have a Moral Obligation to Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change

Developed countries have a moral obligation to mitigate the effects of climate change This debate would be done in a form somewhat similar to Public Forum debate N is Negative A is Affirmative Rules: 1 N: Introductory statements/ Definitions 1 A: Acceptance/First constructive speech 2 N: Constructive speech 2 A: Rebuttal on N constructive 3 N: Rebuttal on A constructive 3 A: Summary (Refutation on rebuttal) 4 N: Summary 4 A: Final Focus (Why our side wins the debate) 5 N: Final Focus/ Closing statements 5 A: Closing statements Definitions: Developed countries are countries that tend to have the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, have well-developed basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society, or a infrastructure for transportation, communications, and energy. These countries, the wealthiest nations in the world, include Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. China, India, Pakistan and Russia are not considered "developed" The definition of moral means right as opposed to something which is wrong. An obligation is a promise, duty or commitment. So we can say a moral obligation is a duty to take an action which is right (moral). A moral obligation does not mean one has a legal obligation but one can argue that fulfilling a legal obligation is a moral obligation. For example I may have a moral obligation to help my neighbor, but there is no legal requirement for me do so. If I choose not to fulfill my moral obligation to help, the police will not be knocking on my door. Mitigate to lessen, make less severe or painful. Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions. For example: more or fewer extreme weather events.