Assignment 7
Semester 2 2025
Due 2025
, DVA4801
Assignment 7
Semester 2 2025
Due 2025
Development debates and Issues
Political and Economic Factors of Climate Change in the Global South
Climate change presents both profound political and economic challenges for
developing countries. States in the Global South remain disproportionately vulnerable to
its impacts despite contributing minimally to historical greenhouse gas emissions. This
asymmetry has reframed climate change as an issue of justice: developing countries
emphasize the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” and consistently
call for financial support and technology transfers from wealthier nations. Since the
adoption of the 2015 Paris Agreement, international climate diplomacy has revolved
around balancing mitigation (emissions reduction) with adaptation (resilience-building)
for vulnerable countries. Key outcomes include the Paris Agreement itself, which obliges
all parties to set nationally determined contributions (NDCs) aiming to limit warming to
well below 2 °C, alongside recent developments from successive COP meetings.
For instance, COP26 (Glasgow 2021) launched the “Glasgow Climate Pact,” urging
developed nations to “at least double” adaptation finance by 2025. COP27 (Sharm el-
Sheikh 2022) established a Loss and Damage Fund specifically to support vulnerable
countries. Most recently, COP28 (Dubai 2023) concluded the first global stocktake,
which found progress “too slow across all areas”—including emissions, resilience, and
finance—and explicitly called for a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
These agreements have raised political stakes: governments in the Global South must
integrate climate targets into domestic policies while simultaneously negotiating finance