The Cost of Becoming Richer is Paid by Poor Countries
To become extremely powerful and dominate the world, nations must be wealthy. To become extremely wealthy, they must earn vast amounts of money. To earn vast amounts of money, they must produce in massive quantities. To produce in massive quantities, they must use large amounts of energy. When fossil energy is used in large quantities, a massive amount of carbon is emitted, causing global temperatures to rise.
To produce excessively, wealthy nations in particular rely heavily on fossil energy. Energy sources such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels. When fossil energy is used, a large amount of carbon is released into the atmosphere. Clean energy (hydro, wind, solar, etc.) is used far less because it is expensive. For financial reasons, it is also not easy for poor nations to adopt clean energy.
As global temperatures rise, problems such as floods and landslides have started emerging worldwide. This has now become a shared problem across the globe. Although war between nations is also a major issue, war only plagues the nations directly involved. However, because rising global temperatures primarily affect poor nations, global warming has become a major and serious world crisis.
Wealthy nations can also be affected by rising global temperatures, and indeed they are. But because they are rich and well-resourced, wealthy nations can prevent or mitigate the damage caused by rising global temperatures. Poor nations, on the other hand, lacking wealth and resources, have to pay a heavy price for environmental degradation caused by global warming. They suffer massive losses of life and property. Nepal is currently enduring this exact problem.
Although the exact cause of the severe disaster that struck Nepal on Bhadra 10 (August 26) has not yet been conclusively determined, various experts are linking the devastation to environmental destruction. They state that it occurred due to rising global temperatures.
The more fossil energy is used, the more carbon is emitted into the atmosphere. In other words, using vast amounts of fossil energy to manufacture goods on a large scale releases massive quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. This heavy carbon emission heats the Earth in direct proportion, and continues to heat it. Tragically, the Earth's temperature is rising continuously and at an alarming rate.
Now let us look at how much carbon each nation emits into this shared atmosphere. It is called a shared atmosphere because, despite belonging to different countries, we all live under the same sky and stand on the same Earth. The Earth and sky are shared among all nations, rich and poor alike.
China—the world's largest producer and exporter, often called the "warehouse of the world"—alone accounts for 28 percent of the total global carbon emissions into the shared atmosphere. Similarly, the United States, the world's richest nation, accounts for 15 percent of total energy-related emissions. India, running swiftly in the race for economic prosperity, contributes 7 percent of global carbon emissions. Likewise, the European Union, Russia, and Japan account for 6 percent, 5 percent, and 3 percent of global carbon emissions, respectively.
While a rich nation like America emits carbon on a massive scale, China emits an even larger share. Similarly, India is also releasing large amounts of carbon in pursuit of its dream of becoming wealthy. However, China's carbon emissions are growing at a concerning level. Chasing wealth and driven by the ambition to become the world's number one superpower, China is producing on a massive scale and emitting carbon accordingly.
Similarly, nations such as Brazil, Indonesia, Germany, Canada, Qatar, Iran, and South Korea are also emitting large amounts of carbon. Wealthy nations are in a race to produce more to get even richer, while poorer nations are in the same race to achieve wealth. This race is driving up the Earth's temperature. Once-poor nations like China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia are now sprinting rapidly toward their dreams of becoming rich and powerful.
The sad reality is that the cost of various nations' dreams of prosperity is being paid by poor countries. Environmentalists and scientists noted that environmental degradation (rising global temperature) was responsible for the catastrophic floods that hit Pakistan in 2022. Those devastating floods claimed over 1,700 lives and displaced 33 million people. Pakistan suffered a similarly catastrophic flood in 2010.
In their pursuit of wealth, various nations continue to
produce goods on a massive scale and emit huge amounts of carbon without
stopping. It remains uncertain when these heavy manufacturing nations will
switch to clean energy. However, their ambition to become ultra-wealthy and
powerful is making the Earth excessively hot and disrupting the ecological
balance. We know what happens when global temperatures rise: we witnessed
firsthand in Nepal the destruction nature unleashes when enraged. We are still not
in a position to state with certainty how many lives were lost or how much
property was damaged in the Bhadra 10 disaster. The retrieval of bodies and
rescue operations are still ongoing.
Nations should contribute to this Environmental Protection Fund in direct proportion to their carbon emissions. The funds collected should then be used to compensate affected countries and support nations like Nepal that suffer severe damage from environmental degradation. Nations that raise the Earth's temperature through heavy carbon emissions must be held accountable to provide compensation.
Poor nations like Nepal, which lack the resources to mitigate the destruction caused by ecological imbalance, must urge high-emitting, production-heavy nations to stop or significantly reduce their use of fossil energy. A concerted campaign must be launched to ensure the voice of poor nations reaches a level where these powerful countries are forced to listen.
Nepal must take the destruction caused by rising global temperatures—and particularly the suffering inflicted on poor nations—very seriously. Given its mountainous terrain and vast network of rivers, Nepal must treat this issue with the utmost urgency.
The 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly
opened on September 8, 2026, in New York City, USA, and will run through
September 22, 2026. News reports indicate that Prime Minister Balendra Shah
will represent Nepal at the General Assembly. At this assembly, Nepal must
speak forcefully about the destruction caused by fossil fuels, advocate for
environmental protection, and demand the establishment of an
"Environmental Protection Fund."
Bishwa Raj Adhikari
