UK Burns More Carbon Dioxide Per Head Than 18 Commonwealth Countries

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Glaring climate inequalities between the Commonwealthโ€™s richest and poorest countries pose a โ€œdirect threat to African livesโ€, a new report hasย found.

Data analysed by the Kenyan-based climate and energy think tank Power Shift Africa reveals the UK emitted 5.5 tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions per head last year – as much as more than 18 Commonwealth countriesย combined.

The damning report concludes that the historic, and continuing pollution of the Commonwealthโ€™s leaders โ€“ the UK, Australia and Canada โ€“ have driven climate change that is already impacting the poorest countries in the blocย worst.


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African development, energy and climate expert Youba Sokona, told DeSmog: โ€œThe vast emissions that the UK, Canada and Australia produce compared to the rest of the Commonwealth are a direct threat to African lives andย livelihoods.

โ€œIf [the UK, Canada and Australia] really cared about the Commonwealth, like they claim, these leaders would be doing far more to curb their emissions. They would be supporting the other Commonwealth members in their efforts towards zero emissions development pathways and help clean up the mess they have contributedย to.โ€

โ€˜Hollowย wordsโ€™

Commonwealth leaders were quick to sing the praises of the alliance, the report notes, โ€œand yet, when it comes to climate change, the biggest long-term threat to the prosperity of the majority of Commonwealth citizens, these warm words ringย hollowโ€.

The report, โ€œClimate Change Inequality In The Commonwealthโ€, reveals that Canada and Australia burn more than the combined per head emissions of 27 and 28 Commonwealth countries respectively โ€“ half of the bloc’s 54 member states. By contrast, poorer countries such as Malawi and Rwanda emit a tiny 0.08 and 0.09 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent perย head.

Professor Tahseen Jafry, Director of the Centre for Climate Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University, told DeSmog it was โ€œclear that the poorest nations who have contributed least to climate change are suffering theย mostโ€.

โ€œThese figures are compelling evidence that the UK needs to act now, and raise ambition to reduce its carbon emissions to meet net zero targets by 2050,โ€ sheย said.


Read moreย โ€” African Energy Experts Dismiss UK Climate Science Denial Group’s ‘Misleading’ย Report


Greenย recovery

The report notes that recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for Commonwealth countries to transition to a โ€œgreen, low-carbon, socially inclusiveโ€ economy that is โ€œmore resilient to externalย shocksโ€.

It highlights how more than 60 world leaders, including many from Africa and other poorer Commonwealth nations, signed a 10-point pledge at the 2020 UN General Assembly in September to put the climate at the forefront of their Covid-19 recoveryย plans.

Speaking at the UK-Africa investment summit in London in January this year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK would formally end all direct support for coal mining and power plants abroad but still help African countries โ€œextract and useโ€ oil andย gas.

During the 2018-2019 financial year alone, the UKโ€™s export finance (UKEF) agency provided more than ยฃ2 billion ($2.6 billion) in support and loans guarantees to oil and gas projects overseas, according to an analysis by Climate Home News lastย year.

Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift Africa and author of the report, said: โ€œItโ€™s remarkable that there is such climate inequality within the Commonwealth. Whether it is droughts and desertification in Sub-Saharan Africa, water shortages in Cape Town, floodwaters in Bangladesh and India or rising sea levels threatening the Pacific Islands, more than ever, itโ€™s now clear that the Commonwealthโ€™s poorest citizens are already bearing the brunt of climateย change.

โ€œWith Boris Johnson seeking new post-Brexit trade deals with Commonwealth members one would think he might act more decisively on climate change considering the impact of the UKโ€™s current, and historic,ย emissions.โ€

Disclaimer: Mohamed Adow, founder of PSA, is a Director of DeSmog UK.

Main image credit: PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay

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