Difficult to implement; what is the idea of climate reparation?

Difficult to implement; what is the idea of climate reparation?

Subject : Environment

Section : Climate change

Context: Facing the worst flooding disaster in its history, Pakistan has begun demanding reparations, or compensation, from the rich countries that are mainly responsible for causing climate change.

Concept:

What is “Polluter Pays” principle?

• “Polluter Pays” principle that makes the polluter liable for paying not just for the cost of remedial action, but also for compensating the victims of environmental damage caused by their actions.

What is Common But Differentiated Responsibilities?

• It is a principle that was formalized in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1992.
• CBDR is a principle that acknowledges different capabilities and differing responsibilities of individual countries in addressing climate change.
• CBDR is based on two elements of responsibilities- one is the common responsibility of all the states to cater to the concerns of environmental protection and sustainable development and the other is of differentiated responsibility enabling the states to act, for environment protection, in their national capacity and as per their national priority.

What are climate reparations?

• Climate reparations refer to a call for money to be paid by the Global North to the Global South as a means of addressing the historical contributions that the Global North has made (and continues to make) toward climate change.

What is Climate justice?

• Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of climate change and responsibilities to deal with climate change.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

• OCHA is a United Nations (U.N.) body
• It was established in 1991 to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters
• It is the successor to the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO)
• OCHA’s mandate was subsequently broadened to include coordinating humanitarian response, policy development and humanitarian advocacy
• OCHA organized the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey.
• It is a sitting observer in the United Nations Development Group.
• The headquarters is based in two locations (New York and Geneva)