Despite having been polluting the atmosphere as a result...
Developed countries must combat climate change while developing countries have more pressing concerns
Developing nations need to be allowed to develop without the burden of emission restrictions. Developed nations have been allowed to industrialize at whatever pace they wished, and through industrialization produce emissions. Despite having been polluting the atmosphere as a result of industrialization since the early 19th Century developed nations only began comprehensively limiting pollution after World War II in order to reduce smog through regulation such as the 1955 Air Pollution Control act and 1963 Clean Air Act in the United States[1] and many developed countries have yet to regulate their CO2 emissions. Having had free reign to develop for 200 years the developed nations need to take responsibility for those 200 years of irresponsibility while giving the developing world longer to clean up its act. The developing world at the same time has higher responsibilities that come first, for example to ensure that there is no one living in poverty. In India 456 million people live on under $1.25 per day,[2] it is absurd to suggest that India despite having higher CO2 emissions than Japan, indeed almost double,[3] should have to reduce its emissions by a similar amount and at the same time industrialise to pull these millions out of poverty. [1] Environmental Protection Agency, ‘History of the Clean Air Act’, 16 November 2010, http://epa.gov/air/caa/caa_history.html [2] The World Bank, ‘New Global Poverty Estimates – What it means for India’, 26 August 2008, http://go.worldbank.org/51QB3OCFU0 [3] Boden, Tom, and Blasing, T.J., ‘Preliminary CO2 emissions 2010’, Carbon Dioxide Analysis Center, http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/perlim_2009_2010_estimates.html