Extreme heatwaves highlight climate injustice while western countries fail to act – here’s how governments can help

By Maria Pournara, Swansea University, Filippos Proedrou, University of South Wales

Average global air temperatures breached 1.5°C for the first time at the start of 2024 — at least five years earlier than predicted. So, while developing countries burn, global climate injustice persists.

No high-emitting country has complied with the 1.5°C target set by the Paris agreement. Governments in the UK and Scotland are exacerbating the crisis by reneging on their climate pledges to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, paving the way for net zero the latest by 2050.

The catastrophic effects of climate breakdown hit people in developing countries the hardest, even though historically, the highest emitters of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change are primarily in the west — notably the US, EU as well as Russia, with China and India joining these ranks most recently.

Hence, the spotlight must be turned to countries that are highly vulnerable to a warming planet by ensuring that the organisation that acts as their advocate is given a platform to right this injustice. This organisation is the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international partnership of 58 countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet.

Founded in 2009, it serves as a cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change and advocate for the rights of people in developing countries. Based on our research, three practices stand out.

1. Debt relief

The CVF advocates for debt-for-climate swaps. These involve debt relief in exchange for climate projects, such as renewable energy or conservation parks, that will either halt emissions or help these countries adapt to climate change, or both.

Costa Rica has signed two such deals with the US. Debt totalling US$53 million (£42 million) has been swapped under the agreement for afforestation (planting of trees in areas where there were previously no forests) and conversation projects, enabling Costa Rica to rise as a climate champion.

In Barbados, a debt-for-climate swap worth US$150 million unleashed US$50 million in funding for marine conservation.

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