Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera criticized the rich world for ignoring its climate change responsibility, underscoring that developed countries are unwilling to compensate the damage caused by global warming and effects suffered by those that are the least to blame for it.
"That's why we're saying if you're really serious about this [then] it's not about charity. This is paying for what you have deliberately used and benefitted you and you don't want to pay up," Chakwera argued.
He also recalled promises of help, previously made by the developed world, that did not come to fruition.
"Many came [to COP27] hesitantly, including myself, because of this. From COP1 all the way to COP27 what has happened? Why are we continuously going around the same issue over and over again? It's because somebody does not want to pay up," the president said.
Developed countries have been long accused of an unjust approach toward climate issues by African leaders. At the 2022 UN Climate Change conference, some of the industrialised countries agreed to work on the initiative of providing "loss and damage" refunds to those most afflicted by global warming effects.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, while contributing just two or three percent to global carbon gas emissions, African countries suffer disproportionally from the impacts of climate change, such as droughts, floods, and famine.