Developing Countries economies are key to climate action

Developing countries will be the most severely affected by accelerating climate change and, even excluding China from the calculation, are likely to emit more than half the annual global total of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as early as 2030. But the international community has not focused sufficiently on the range of development, adaptation, and resilience priorities and constraints these countries face in tackling the world’s interwoven emissions mitigation imperative. In an effort to help shift the global policy frame toward the crucial perspectives of developing countries themselves, we recently published an edited volume, Keys to climate action: How developing countries could drive global success and local prosperity. Within the volume, a wide range of distinguished contributors present both country case studies (on Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and South Africa) and wider geography-focused assessments (on East Africa, Africa as a whole, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the V20 group of vulnerable countries), in addition to an assessment of the overarching financing challenges. As a collection, these studies describe how climate change is hindering local development efforts while also providing new opportunities. They draw attention to the vital importance of elevating developing country perspectives in driving global climate action. They also offer central insights on the diverse and evolving issues that need to be front-of-mind when considering the relevant challenges.