The world has broken the 1.5°c promise, small states should not have to pay the bill

(The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of this publication.)

The world has broken the 1.5℃ promise it made to its most vulnerable countries. The breach has not yet been recorded on a sustained basis, but the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says it is widely assessed as unavoidable and likely within the next few years. Even its most optimistic scenario puts peak warming at 1.8℃. For small states that fought to secure recognition of 1.5℃in the Paris Agreement, this confirms the failure to deliver a safeguard on which their security, economies and, in some cases, survival depend.

Small and climate-vulnerable states contributed negligibly to the greenhouse gas emissions that created this crisis, yet they are already borrowing heavily to repair its damage. If the major emitting countries have failed to prevent the world from breaching 1.5℃, those least responsible should not incur more debt to pay for the consequences.