The climate crisis affects practically the entire planet but, clearly, there are some countries (and population groups) that are being harmed more and others that have the resources to face part of the consequences of global warming.
In the same way, it is clear that not all countries and citizens of the world have the same responsibility for the activities that have historically caused and continue to cause the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted. from the burning of fossil fuels.
Carbon Brief, a non-profit organization specializing in climate change science and policy, has reviewed historical CO₂ emissions data with particular attention to the role of colonialism and, as a result, now presents an updated graph showing, year by year year, from 1850 (beginning of the industrial revolution) to 2023, the accumulated amounts of emissions of this gas from fuel burning, land use and forests.
The report prepared by this group of scientists and specialized journalists - which publishes one of the most prestigious Internet pages on the subject - shows that although the United States and China continue to be the countries in which the highest emissions accumulate, if we take into account Considering colonialism, countries like the United Kingdom, Holland and Portugal actually have more historical responsibility for the problem of climate change than the figures analyzed so far in a strictly state-based manner indicate.
Both the moving graph and the content of the report provide data to better understand the problem and highlight the need to implement and financially fund compensation funds for losses and damages such as the one finally agreed upon in the first session of COP28.
“Historical responsibility for climate change changes radically when colonial rule is taken into account,” Carbon Brief states in the summary of findings from its data review with this perspective.
"In total, humans have collectively pumped 2,558 million tons of CO₂ (GtCO₂) into the atmosphere since 1850, enough to warm the planet 1.15°C above pre-industrial temperatures. The responsibility in this process is very The richest countries – and within each nation, the richest individuals – are responsible for a much larger share of the problem.
A previous analysis by Carbon Brief already showed that the United States (20%) is the largest contributor to global warming. However, it implicitly did not assign any responsibility for emissions under colonial rule to the colonial rulers, even though they had ultimate decision-making authority at the time.
The new analysis tests the implications of reversing this assumption. It is found that the United States (21%) and China (12%) still lead, but the proportion of former colonial powers is growing significantly.
The French share in historical emissions increases with this calculation system and that of the United Kingdom almost doubles; Even more in percentage terms, the Netherlands almost triples its responsibility and Portugal more than triples it. The total sum of EU countries and the United Kingdom indicates that their historical responsibility for these emissions increases by almost a third (compared to the calculation with the previous system), reaching 19% of the world total.
India is among the former colonies that see its share of historical responsibility fall (by 15%, below the United Kingdom), Indonesia also drops by this system by 24% and Africa's already small contribution is also actually reduced by 24%.
The report also indicates that although with the new calculation former colonies such as India and Indonesia have less historical global responsibility, they are currently located at the top of the ranking of countries with the most total emissions (see below the data analyzed per capita). .
The authors indicate that the new study takes into account the same data referring to CO₂ emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and cement production, along with land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF).
It covers the period from 1850 (often taken as a benchmark for current warming) to 2023, based primarily on a recent compilation of emissions estimates.
The authors of the new study indicate that if historical (accumulated) emissions are weighted by the current population of each state, the Netherlands (with 2,014 tCO₂ per person) and the United Kingdom (1,922 tCO₂) become the main emitters in the world in cumulative per capita terms. They are followed by Russia (1,655 tCO₂), the United States (1,560 tCO₂) and Canada (1,524 tCO₂).
On this per capita measure, China (217 tCO₂ per person), the African continent (92 tCO₂) and India (52 tCO₂) are far behind the contributions of developed nations to warming.
The findings now presented "reinforce the important historical responsibility of developed countries for current warming, particularly former colonial powers in Europe," Carbon Brief highlights.
While today they represent less than 11% of the world's population, together the US, EU and UK are responsible for 39% of cumulative historical emissions and current CO2-related warming.
Many of these countries now have small and declining emissions. However, within the international climate regime it is recognized that its current relative wealth – and its historical contributions to current warming – are linked to the responsibility to lead, not only in terms of reducing its own emissions, but also in supporting the response. climate in less developed countries, recall the authors of the new study.
