Climate change is devastating the Global South

Right now in India and Pakistan, a record-breaking heatwave is impacting the daily lives of nearly a billion people. Scorching temperatures are damaging wheat harvests, preventing many labourers from working outdoors, and making people vulnerable to serious health issues and even death.

Our native countries of Kenya and Bangladesh are suffering too: Northern Kenya is facing a prolonged drought that is putting rural communities at greater risk of starvation and last year, torrential rains left one-quarter of Bangladesh under water and destroyed the homes of millions.

These are some of the latest examples of how the 3.6 billion people in developing countries are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, and a preview of what the “new normal” will look like if the global community doesn’t immediately step up its climate action.

Given their power, wealth, and responsibility for the climate crisis, the onus is particularly on rich countries in North America and Europe to help vulnerable countries weather climate impacts – and it has never been more urgent.

Despite the negligible contribution that most vulnerable countries have made to cause climate change, these countries are the most ambitious in tackling it – but they cannot fight this crisis on their own.