December 2022: "When can you pay us back? Because payment is overdue."

BACKGROUND: This is the urgent call of a 10-year old girl from Ghana, speaking at the climate change conference COP27 in Egypt. She may live to experience catastrophic climate disasters if we continue to burn fossil fuels to heat our houses, get electricity, run our cars, and fly to vacation spots, while our officials refuse to admit our responsibility for the damages we have caused—and continue to cause—worldwide. But at COP27, a breakthrough deal was reached at the last minute, at dawn on Sunday, Nov. 20, but with very ambiguous language, which was still being written after the vote was taken.

Over 130 out of 193 countries at the conference had demanded payment for "loss and damage" caused by the rich industrialized countries, who put out the vast majority of greenhouse gases (GHG). Of the most populous countries (> 40 million), the US is the richest, and emits the most GHG per person.  At COP27, we refused until the last minute to accept any responsibility for the damages we cause. So much for leadership on climate change, and on human rights.

ACTION: Urge President Biden to publicly accept America's responsibility for the damages we continue to cause. Such an admission may be the critical linchpin for the rest of the world to take action to cut its emissions. In addition, urge the President to set up a commission of prominent ethical leaders, economists, and a balanced group of Republican and Democratic officials, to make recommendations on an ethical and effective path to paying our obligations. As a guide, they could consider this estimate of the damages caused by Americans: (332 million Americans) x (18.5 tons CO2e per person annually) x ($185 damages per ton of CO2e emitted) = $ 1.1 Trillion damages per year.

CONTACT: President Biden

• Web: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/  (leave a message)
• Tel: 1-202-456-1111 (leave a message)
• Mail: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20500

Please send this email on to family and friends and/or write a letter-to-the-editor on this important issue. It is a good way to educate others and build support for needed policies.