The Facts
At the COP27 summit, Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif stated on Tuesday that the devastating floods that have hit his country were a "manmade disaster," underscoring that Pakistan is a victim of climate change despite its low carbon footprint.
He also urged high-income countries to compensate poorer, vulnerable nations affected by climate change, adding that damages and losses caused by floods in Pakistan now stand at over $30B.
The Spin
Narrative A
Though the poorest countries are responsible for only 1.1% of global CO2 emissions, they're the ones most affected by climate change, which has hit them with great destruction due to their inability to adapt quickly enough to respond to disasters. High-income nations have a moral imperative to fund climate disaster support and help stabilize the most vulnerable economies.
Narrative B
There's no question that rich countries must take action to find solutions to the climate change problem that they've largely caused, but creating a specific fund for loss and damage reparations might prove troublesome. This new structure would make them liable to pay for any damage provoked by natural disasters in developing countries, climate change-related or not.
