Global "Climate Divide" Growing Between Rich and Poor Countries

The world's leading group of climate change experts is set for release this Friday. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is expected to underline that while global warming is changing physical and biological systems on every continent, Western countries must take extra steps to address the growing "Climate Divide." Poor countries have bore the brunt of environmental problems from the release of carbon dioxide by the US and Western Europe, but have been left almost entirely on their own to deal with the consequences. This means that while Western countries spend billions on dealing with the effects of climate change, those most in need receive little funding to deal with far greater catastrophe. On Monday, panel chair Rajendra Pauchauri called on Western countries to address the disparity.

* Rajendra Pauchauri, chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: "What we are really talking about is as much an ethical issue as an issue that sort of concerns the stability of global society. In the framework of Convention on Climate Change, it's clearly specified that resources will be provided by the developed countries to the developing world and that transfer of technology, in particular, will be facilitated by the developed countries. So I think it's there in the agreement, but it's a question of implementing it both in letter and spirit, and there, may I say, enough is not happening."

European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas also talked about the US role as the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases.

* Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for Environment: "It's obvious that the importance of the United States is paramount, because they are emitting about one-fourth of the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases, and also they have a very high per capita income, and they have contributed historically to the creation of the greenhouse phenomenon more than any other region in the world, with the exception of the European Union countries. So they have a duty to come along in an international agreement after 2012."

For more on the latest, we're joined by Andrew Revkin. He is an award-winning science reporter with the New York Times and author of several books, his latest is "The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World." In today's Times, he writes: "A growing array of officials in developing countries and experts on climate, environmental law and diplomacy insist that the first world owes the third world a climate debt." Andrew joins us from studio in Boston.

* Andrew Revkin, award-winning science reporter with the New York Times. His latest book is titled "The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World."

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