Unfair burden of climate change24 May 2010
The poorest and most vulnerable have done least to cause climate change - but they're being worst hit.
Whether it's people of small islands facing rising seas, or older people in the UK dying in heat waves - climate change gets the most vulnerable first. Usually it's the poorest on the frontline.
Yet the rich have done most to cause the problem. Countries like the UK and the United States have been burning fossil fuels over the past 200 years.
Did you know?
6% of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere today have been generated by the UK alone.
Rich countries are home to just one in five of the world's people - but have pumped out four-fifths of the Earth's greenhouse gases since 1751.
So it's up to the rich to make cuts first.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sets out the different responsibilities that rich and poor countries have to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Most of the world's governments have signed up to this approach. The risks from doing nothing are greater than the benefits of taking action now.
> Where next for international negotiations?
Did you know?
The average person in Africa emits 11 times less CO2 than someone in the UK.
© Prakash Hatvalne
