Climate change is one of the debatable issues in the world today. It is worth noting that climate change is a big threat to humanity and sustainability. Climate change refers to a lasting and significant change in the distribution of weather patterns in a period of time. The causes of climate change are many, and there is need to mitigate them in various ways. Both the developing and developed countries are part of the causes and effect of climate change; hence, every country is part of the issues concerning climate change. The problem of climate change begins when the greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. The principal gases that are involved include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, as well as halogenated hydrocarbons. Scientists are very sure of the fact that the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere will lead to the increase of global temperatures. The third world countries are very concerned on the effects of climate change. The economic and philosophical issues of climate change in third world countries continue to become a reality. It is worth noting that third world countries in the world are more vulnerable to the effects of global warming due to its economic and financial status. In general perspective, climate change continues to be realistic phenomena in third world countries.
The aspect of climate change seems to be controversial due to the variation in philosophies and economic status. The third world countries assert that they must be given an opportunity to pollute in order to economically develop like other global economic superpowers. On the other hand, developed nations focus at mitigating the causes of climate change without putting into consideration the developing nations (Winkler 265). The irony in the causes of climate change is that developed nations assert that developing nations are the main cause of climate change. This seems to be ironical because the developed nations are more industrialized meaning they release a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The philosophies and issues related to climate change became evident in 2009 during the Copenhagen summit. The West placed all the blame on third world countries such as India and China being against the agreement to curb greenhouse gases emission. The developing nations justified the issue claiming that for them to be at par with the West they must be given the right to pollute (Dinar 93). Studies show that there are various philosophical issue in the world today that relate to global warming. The United States seem to have less focus on the climate change, and those who believe that the planet is changing have decreases. On the other hand, people in developing nations believe that the climate is changing and the planet is warming. In fact, people in the third world countries are willing to pay extra on energy related issues if the climate change will be mitigated (Dehejia “The Developing World, Leading on Climate Change?”).
It has been asserted by the developed nations that the third world countries have ignored the issue of global warming and focused on growth. In the modern world, it has become very complex to solve the problem of climate change due to variation of philosophies. People in developing nations believe that the developed nations caused climate change and they should be responsible economically and morally in facing it. The main concern here is that the third world countries will basically pay the highest price for climate change, yet they did not begin the problem (Winkler 312). It is with noting that the combination of climate change effects and economic condition of third world countries puts the nations into a state of economic turmoil. The effects of global warming in third world countries have already been witnessed.
The economic issues of climate change in third world countries are a reality. Economists assert that there is a relationship between economic development and the environment. It is through this relationship that creates the link between climate change and economic issues in the third world countries. The channel of causation runs in various levels within the environment and economic related issues.
Third world countries depend on agriculture for economic development. This implies that climate change and global warming will have devastating effects on economic development and welfare of the people. One of the most threatened regions in third world countries is the tropical regions. This is because the soil in such regions is poor rendering most of the land unusable for agricultural means (Wuryandani 270). Climate change will worsen the situation in the tropical regions. Third world countries are much concerned with such facts because it will affect the economy and more so threaten agriculture. Analytically, developing nations are much concerned with the industrialized countries since they release a lot of greenhouse gases.
The economic models justify various economic issues in relation to climate change in third world countries. Climate change will render most of the farm land in third world countries unusable. In the third world countries, most farmers are small scale and with low capital; hence, they will not be in a position to implement policies and strategies that will help them adapt to climate change (Dehejia “The Developing World, Leading on Climate Change?”). It will only make sense for farmer to adapt new ways of farming if it is more profitable. With the effects of climate change there is no guarantee that such adaptations will create more yields.
Economic issues of climate change in third world countries are a real issue. It is predicted that the third world countries will face a lot of losses due to climate change. The mitigation factors to climate change in third world countries might de crease the impacts of climate change in the economy. One main concern is the cost of mitigation, which may be too costly for third world countries to adapt (Dinar 168). The third world countries will also suffer because the global warming will increase production in industrial countries. This means that increase in supply leads to decrease in world prices meaning the third world countries agriculture will be worse off.
The international move to create equity among nations is a crucial issue, and uses the principle of respective capabilities and differentiated responsibilities. This is not easy to achieve due to variation that exist between the economies of developed nations and the developing nations. Third world countries struggle to meet various economic related issues, and focusing in mitigation becomes problematic. It is worth noting that third world countries struggle to improve the welfare of its people yet the issue of climate change tends to worsen the situation.
The third world countries focus at mitigating negative impacts of climate change but the efforts are becoming problematic due to the complexities that come with it. The structures of economic development are very different in the world, and this sort of imbalance causes climate change. The use of biofuel develops an economic issue on the developing nations. Biofuel is derived from agricultural products, making it one of the economic issues in third world countries (Wuryandani 17). The increase in price of food products caused by the focus of biofuel will cause a serious problem in food security in third world countries. Most of the income in developing economies is allocated to food; this means that the economic welfare of the people will be affected adversely. Climate change causes the economic imbalance in third world countries.
The current world development programs on economy disregards the issue of environmental sustainability. The economic development in third world countries is increasing, and economists assert that this development is supported by industrialization, which causes climate change. The spiraling inflation and the uncertainty of the financial markets are associated with climate change and global warming. The global economic players will be forced to adjust to policies that reduce greenhouse gas emission. The focuses of demand and supply in the world put a lot of pressure in the developing economies.
There is pressure to push third world countries to forego the economic development and focus of the environment. This is unrealistic phenomena because the third world countries are struggling to attain economic sustainability. The issue here should focus on enabling third world countries to focus on economic growth with the issue of environmental sustainability taken into consideration.
One of the example of climate change and impacts of human development in third world countries can be based in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is one of the countries that are in a climatic zone that is very sensitive to physical fluctuations. Climate change has various economic impacts in Kazakhstan; this has led to involvement of climate change in the nation’s strategies and programs (National Human Development Report 2008 17). This country is one of the third world countries that depend tremendously on agriculture, and in real sense agriculture depends on the climatic conditions. The climate has already changed in Kazakhstan and the adverse effects are influencing the economy. The country has focused on the adaptive measures in order to reduce the impacts of climate change on agriculture. The mitigation program tend to be expensive; hence, pushing the economy into negative direction (National Human Development Report 2008 67). The country is lacking various resources for forecast, metrological observation, and risk assessment tools. Therefore, the country is not in a position to provide its citizens with climatic information.
Management of water, forest and agriculture in Kazakhstan has become very difficult due to lack of money. The frequent drought in the region is exposing the country into health problems and unreliable food supply (National Human Development Report 2008 150). This is believed to be as a result of climate change. The climate change in Kazakhstan is also associated with crop land erosion, decline on cereal production, decline in livestock breeding, increased natural disasters, as well as increased melting of glaciers. The outcome of climate change in Kazakhstan affects the economic development of the nation.
In general perspective, it is evident that there are various economic and philosophical issues of climate change in the third world countries. It is evident that the world has developing and developed countries and each of them have various ideologies on climate change. There are various economic issues in the third world countries on issue of climate change. Studies show that third world countries depend more on agriculture; the connection between agriculture and climate is very high. This implies that there are economic issues that will arise on the perspective. Developed countries are industries and economically stable, yet third world countries focus on industrialization and attaining economic stability. Climate change is a big threat to third world countries due to the fact that they are struggling to achieve stable economies.
Work Cited
Dehejia, Vivek. The Developing World, Leading on Climate Change? New York Times, 2011 < http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/the-developing-world-leading-on-climate-change/?_r=0>
Dinar, Ariel & Mendelsohn. Climate Change, Agriculture, and Third world countries: Does Adaptation Matter? The World Bank Research Observer. vol 14, no. 2 (August 1999),
National Human Development Report 2008. Climate Change and Its Impact on Kazakhstan’s Human Development. Global Environment Facility
Winkler, Harald. Climate Change and Third world countries. South African Journal of Science 101, 2005
Wuryandani, Gantaiah & Matondang, Solomo. Macroeconomics Impact of Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges. Bank Indonesia, 2008
