The Minister of State in Belize, Christopher Coye, demanded climate compensation last week saying, “We should be compensated for suffering the excesses of others and supported in mitigating and adapting to climate change effects.”
Belize is one of a number of developing countries suffering major effects of climate change while emitting minute amounts of greenhouse gases, and also struggling financially in the face of huge debts to the Global North, including China. The issue is on the agenda for November’s climate conference in Glasgow and will highlight the failure of wealthy nations to keep their 2015 promise to deliver US$100 billion per year to assist poor countries to build resilience and adaptation responses to the spiraling climate chaos. Australia formally withdrew in 2019 from the Green Climate Fund set up to deliver the promised money.