Climate Change: North- South Perspectives and Roadblocks

Abstract

The issue of global warming and climate damage has gravitated the attention of one and all, throughout the globe. This issue is not haunting any single or selected group of countries but the entire world community. As the issue of climate change and its negative impacts has acquired a global character hence, global and coordinated efforts are needed in this context. The discourses on this issue could be characterized as a mixture of cooperation and conflicts, accommodations and stubbornness. Although, global efforts in this context could be traced back to the convening of Stockholm Conference of 1972 yet credible success for this crucial and sensitive issue has been remained prisoner of contrasting perspectives and stances of North and South. The North (refers to the rich and developed countries) are adamant on fixing responsibilities on all the countries on equal footing irrespective of the considerations of who did the more damage to the environment so far? The South (refers to the developing and underdeveloped countries) is contesting the perspectives of the North on two prominent narratives of Common but Differential Responsibilities and Criteria of Luxury emissions vs Survival emissions. In lieu of this contrasting scenario characterized by blame-game and shifting responsibilities, a credible solution to this sensitive issue could not be reached so far.  Part I introduces the subject of the paper