Climate change has already decimated large parts of the world. In Kenya, where a large portion of the economy and livelihoods of most rural people depend on pastoralism, drought has been devastating. The lands used for grazing have seen massive drought, which has led to less vegetation and less water for livestock to drink. Livestock are dying off, ruining the livelihoods of many pastoralists in Kenya. People are starving alongside their animals. This is a humanitarian and climate emergency.

Kenya was not a major contributor to climate change. Europe and the US were the leading industrialized nations, emitting the most greenhouse gasses that caused the climate crisis. But they are not the countries facing the worst impacts of the climate catastrophe. Many activist organizations have called for climate reparations; the rich countries, who colonized and exploited the global south in order to get rich, should now have to pay the bills for all of the damages caused by the climate crisis and the adaptations that will be needed to survive them. 

COP27 was a major moment for the climate reparations movement, because there they agreed to a  “Loss and Damage” Fund for vulnerable countries, which was actually launched on the first day of COP28. This isn't exactly the same as reparations, but it is a start. According to Grist, "The money isn’t meant to help climate-vulnerable countries mitigate their emissions or plan adaptation projects like sea walls or water reservoirs. Instead, it’s supposed to help them pay for damages that have already been caused by a specific climate-linked incident, like a storm, flood, heat wave, or other extreme weather event." The goal for the fund is between 290 billion and 580 billion dollars a year by 2030. So far, the developed world has contributed only around $650 million -- $100 million from Germany, $100 million from the United Arab Emirates, $75 million from the U.K., $17.5 million from the U.S., and $10 million from Japan. I was disappointed but not surprised to see such a shockingly low number from the US (compare $17.5 million to $14 billion for aid to Israel this year...).