May 28, 2012
The threat that human-induced climate change poses to many of the least developed countries (LDCs) is profound. This study argues that many poor countries have been caught in a poverty trap due at least in part to weather related disasters with the high frequency of shocks eroding social and physical capital. LDCs need an international agreement on climate change that involves all countries with substantial emissions, including some emerging countries like India and China with large numbers of people still in poverty. The study emphasises that the global costs of decarbonisation should be shared equitably with the condition that, where reducing greenhouse gas emissions in LDCs entails costs, poor people should not bear these costs.