Why Global South climate entrepreneurship is most needed
Investing in low carbon infrastructure makes financial and environmental sense.
The Global North is responsible for 92% of total carbon emissions since the Industrial Revolution. By almost any accounting, the United States and Europe, a big part of the Global North (along with Australia) bear overwhelming responsibility for the climate crisis.
There is some reason for optimism. For 30 years, cumulative C02 emissions in the United States and Europe have plateaued. According to an original analysis by Renewables.org, the Global North has continued strong growth and development in that period without a corresponding increase in carbon emissions.
By contrast, nations in the Global South, which includes typically less developed countries, have nearly quadrupled their annual emissions. It recently surpassed the less populous Global North in total carbon emitted each year—the Global South now releases 63% of annual carbon emissions. Without intervention, innovation, and entrepreneurship, this trend may continue until the Global South is as polluting on a per capita basis as the Global North, which would be a catastrophic outcome.