All about the weather
Norway has developed through the production and use of fossils fuels. They powered their way to industrialization and development. The US, Canada, Australia and European nations have done the same. The industrialised way of life is as intrinsically bound up in the emitting of CO2 as the life of cattle-rearing people of Northern Kenya is in the weather.
The right to energy
Less than 5% of rural households in Kenya have access to electricity. For Kenya and other developing countries, expanding energy services, is one of the most pressing issues. Fossil fuel emissions per capita in Africa are among the lowest in the world. With the fastest population growth in the world and rising per capita GDP, Africa is likely to increase its share of global emissions over the coming decades. This is described as the “South’s dilemma”.
Climate versus development
The only proven routes to development – to water and food security, improved health care and education, secure livelihoods – involve expanding access to energy services. The seemingly inevitable consequence of this is an increase in fossil fuel use and thus carbon emissions. From the standpoint of developing countries, this pits development squarely against climate protection. And for this reason, developing countries have been unambiguous in their insistence that, as important as it is to deal with climate change, a solution cannot come at the expense of their development.
Yet another challenge for Africa
This puts developing countries, especially those in Africa, in a very difficult position. These countries will be under pressure to focus their limited resources on directing their development along an often expensive, though sustainable, low carbon path. At the same time, they are the most vulnerable to climate change impacts because they have fewer social, technological and financial resources to adapt. This is further exacerbated by existing developmental challenges such as endemic poverty, complex governance and institutional dimensions; limited access to capital, including markets, infrastructure and technology; the impact of the HIV and AIDS pandemic; ecosystem degradation; and complex disasters and conflicts.
The inconvenient truth of responsibility
The real kernel of inconvenient truth lurking at the heart of the climate change debate is that industrialised nations have not only gobbled up their share of the atmosphere, but also quite a large proportion of that needed by those yet to undergo industrialisation. The tried-and-tested method of development through high fossil fuel dependency, now demonstrably unsustainable, is no longer possible. Carbon-based growth is no longer a viable option in either the North or the South if we are to keep warming below 2ºC.
New and additional funding
This is why wealthy nations, through new and additional funding, must support developing countries in achieving sustainable low-carbon development and implementing effective, pro-poor adaptation measures to counter climate change impacts. Finance for developing countries must come from sources that are substantial, reliable, predictable and sustainable. It is vital that this funding be additional to official development assistance (ODA), to avoid fighting climate change at the expense of other development efforts.
A world of poverty and inequality that is also facing a climate crisis needs a fair, comprehensive, international agreement to deal with the threat. Without this, it is Norwegian Church Aid’s belief that humanity will fail on both counts. Failure is not an option in Copenhagen this year. African countries must be secured a viable portion of the scant remaining atmospheric space, and to do so in a manner that allows them to prosper within it.
Written by Media and Communication Officer Isaiah Kito and Political Advisor Therese Vangstad, Norwegian Church Aid, Kenya. Contact: 
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