In 2021, during the 26th Conference of Parties in Glasgow, Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of

Barbados, addressed the leaders of developed nations who are being criticized for engaging in
harmful developmental activities with cross-border implications. Her message was illustrated by
the statement, “Stop throwing your garbage in my yard and then telling me to clean it up,” 1 with
“garbage” referring to greenhouse gas emissions. Mottley’s statement highlights the
disproportionate impact of such activities on smaller, developing countries, which lack the
necessary resources and infrastructure to address ecological issues arising from such actions.
Her statement was made in the context of a demand for wealthier nations to compensate poorer
ones for the “loss and damage” resulting from climate change. This demand raises concerns
about how smaller, developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change and
how they are left to cope with the consequences of actions beyond their control. A key question
to answer before this demand can be acceded to is, “How Far are Developed Nations the Prime
Drivers of Loss of Biodiversity in Oceans and Tropical Forests?”
Today, rich countries, such as the United States, Canada, Japan, and much of Western Europe,
make up only 12 percent of the global population. However, they bear responsibility for 50
percent of all greenhouse gas emissions released from fossil fuels and industry in the last 170
years, contributing to Earth’s temperature rising by approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees
Fahrenheit).2 This global warming has led to more frequent and intense heat waves, floods,
droughts, and wildfires, all of which cause significant loss of biodiversity. Unlike the source of
these emissions, which are mainly in specific regions (developed nations), the consequences of
these disasters affect life all over the planet.
Let us take the example of Bhutan. Bhutan has achieved carbon negativity through its carbon
sequestration through its vast forests and its exportation of renewable energy abroad, meaning
Bhutan’s actual emissions are entirely outweighed by the carbon emissions it offsets.
Nonetheless, Bhutan faces severe risks from rising temperatures, with melting glaciers in the
Himalayas already creating flash floods and mudslides that have devastated villages. This causes
a significant biodiversity loss in tropical forests arising from a problem it has not created. The
problem is created by those developed countries which reap the benefits of their actions while
having the necessary resources to deal with its consequences.
One of the significant effects of global warming on the oceans is ocean acidification. As seawater
absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it becomes more acidic, significantly
impacting marine ecosystems. Acidification can disrupt the growth and development of
calcifying organisms, such as corals and mollusks, which build shells and skeletons out of
calcium carbonate. This can cause significant declines in the populations of these organisms and

1
Barbados PM Mottley leads the charge against climate change. (2021, December 7). UNEP.
http://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/barbados-pm-mottley-leads-charge-against-climate-change.
2
Who Has The Most Historical Responsibility for Climate Change? (Published 2021). (2021, November 12). Who
Has the Most Historical Responsibility for Climate Change? - the New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/12/climate/cop26-emissions-compensation.html.
alter the balance of entire marine ecosystems. Additionally, acidification can affect the behavior
and reproduction of fish and other marine animals, which can have cascading effects throughout
food webs.
Global warming is significantly impacting tropical forests, with droughts and wildfires becoming
increasingly common and severe. As temperatures rise, tropical forests are experiencing more
frequent and intense droughts, which can devastate the forest ecosystem. Trees already stressed
by drought are more susceptible to diseases and pests, which can lead to widespread die-offs. In
addition, drought can reduce the amount of water available to the forest, leading to declines in
plant growth and productivity.
Furthermore, wildfires are becoming more common in tropical forests due to hotter and drier
conditions. These fires can burn vast forest areas, destroying habitats for countless species and
releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming. The loss of
forest cover can also increase the risk of erosion and flooding and alter local weather patterns.
The liability of such developed nations is not limited to their greenhouse gas emissions. Another
major factor in the loss of biodiversity is the practice of overfishing. Developed countries have a
higher demand for seafood, as people in these countries tend to have higher incomes and more
disposable income to spend on food. As a result, fishing fleets from these countries often travel
to waters around the world to meet the demand, leading to overfishing in some areas. To catch
fish, industrial fishing practices are employed that are highly efficient but often unsustainable.
One of the best examples of this is that of the Atlantic Cod which was fished to near extinction.
While once regarded as being so plentiful near the coasts of Canada and the USA that one could
walk on water across their backs, by the 1990’s their population had reduced by 99%. 3 This led
to an emergency moratorium being enacted on catching cod by the two countries’ governments,
which was a necessary step in light of the emergence of new fishing technologies that made this
disaster possible.
Unfortunately, such loss of biodiversity can also take a form where developed countries, through
their soft power, encourage deforestation in developing countries and take advantage of the
product created without hampering their environment. To analyze this phenomenon, one study
developed the concept of a deforestation footprint which calculated a country’s deforestation
footprint from its imported deforestation plus any domestic deforestation.4
The study revealed that the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan had a national deforestation
footprint primarily sourced from foreign developing countries, with 46 to 57 percent from
tropical forests. The US showed the most noticeable footprint and had a high demand for timber
3
Environmental Consequences of Fishing Practices | EnvironmentalScience.org. (n.d.). Environmental
Consequences of Fishing Practices | EnvironmentalScience.org.
https://www.environmentalscience.org/environmental-consequences-fishing-practices
4
World, T. (n.d.). Developed nations are ‘encouraging’ deforestation in poorer ones. Developed Nations Are
‘Encouraging’ Deforestation in Poorer Ones. https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/developed-nations-are-
encouraging-deforestation-in-poorer-ones-45455
from Cambodia, rubber from Liberia, and fruits and nuts from Guatemala. Furthermore, the
demand for beef and soy in the US and European Union led to the deforestation of tropical
forests in Brazil.
However, the most incriminating evidence against developed countries that they are the prime
drivers of biodiversity loss is their admission of guilt. By signing the Paris Agreement of 2015
and pledging to help developing nations fight climate change, the developed nations accepted
that they were the prime cause of this disastrous phenomenon.
It should be noted that developing nations are not absolved of responsibility regarding the issue
of biodiversity loss. As highlighted, these nations contribute to biodiversity loss, often at the
behest of developed nations. Additionally, due to their rapidly increasing populations, developing
nations engage in large-scale deforestation, overfishing, and increased CO2 emissions from
industries to support their people. Developed nations have used these points to avoid
compensating developing nations for climate change. However, they conveniently ignore two
crucial factors: the per capita greenhouse gas emissions of developing nations, which pale
compared to those of developed nations, and the historical actions of developed nations. When
data from 1850 onwards is considered, it becomes evident that developing nations have
contributed far less to biodiversity loss.
To conclude, the author would highlight the Common But Differentiated Responsibilities
(CBDR) concept, which states, “Given the different contributions to global environmental
degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries
acknowledge the responsibility they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development
in view of their societies' pressures on the global environment and of technologies and financial
resources they command.”5 The unequivocal truth is that combating climate change requires
unity. However, this unity can only be achieved when every single country takes responsibility
for its actions concerning its contribution to climate change.

5
Nexus, C. (2015, July 30). Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
Climate Nexus. https://climatenexus.org/climate-change-news/common-but-differentiated-responsibilities-and-
respective-capabilities-cbdr-rc/