Developing countries lack means to acquire better technologies to fight global warming

Washington, Dec 10 (ANI): A new research has determined that contrary to earlier projections, few developing countries will be able to afford more efficient technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next few decades.

The study, by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado, warns that continuing economic and technological disparities will make it more difficult than anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it underscores the challenges that poorer nations face in trying to adapt to global warming.

Many developing countries, such as Mexico, are failing to adapt technologies that are substantially more efficient and could result in reduced carbon dioxide emissions. There is simply no evidence that developing countries will somehow become wealthier and be in a position to install more environmentally friendly technologies," said Patricia Romero Lankao, an NCAR sociologist, who is the lead author of the study.

"We always knew that reducing greenhouse gas emissions was going to be a challenge, but now it looks like we underestimated the magnitude of this problem," she added.

As a result, most industrialized and developing countries are increasing their emissions of carbon dioxide.

Their economic growth is outstripping the increase in efficiency, and the demand for more cars, larger houses, and other goods and services is leading to ever-increasing emissions of carbon dioxide.

Many of the products these nations consume come from developing countries that are producing more but not gaining the wealth needed to increase efficiency.

As a result, most industrialized countries, as well as developing countries with growing economies, are increasing their emissions of carbon dioxide.

Overall, global emissions grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the 1990s and 3.3 percent from 2000 to 2006.

The United States and other technologically advanced nations are under pressure to reduce their per capita carbon dioxide emissions, while developing countries are being urged to adopt cleaner technology.

The research suggests that both goals will be difficult to achieve.

Even though the developing nations analyzed by the research team generally have smaller economies, they are responsible for about 47 percent of the world's emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the major greenhouse gases.

If developing countries fail to become significantly more prosperous, they may be unable to protect their residents from some of the more dangerous impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise and more-frequent droughts. (ANI)