Lee 1

SangWon Lee
English Essay Contest
17 August 2022
Inequality of Responsibility in Climate Crisis
Recently, there are several global issues that are debated and discussed
internationally. Typically, ‘Inequality’ is a huge issue from various perspectives such as
‘Racial Inequality’ and ‘Gender Inequality. However, not only race or gender brings
inequality. The Climate crisis also causes inequality in human rights nationally,
internationally, and also personally.
The Climate affects the world in various ways such as sea level rise, temperature
increase, and abnormal climates. According to 350.org, the annual global average temperature
is about 1 degree Celsius hotter than pre-industrial levels which can bring humans extreme
heat, Ocean warming, and sea level rise. This phenomenon can cause various problems but it
mainly affects human rights. According to a survey by Korean National Human Rights
Commission, for the question that asks do you aware of how serious the climate crisis is,
93.7% of 1500 people answered they do. However, for the question that asks do you think
Human rights are related to the climate crisis, only 52.1% of people answered they do think
human rights and climate crisis are related.
The Climate crisis brings international inequality to human rights. Few developed
countries contribute a lot to the climate crisis but are not affected by it much. However, some
countries did not contribute a lot but were still affected a lot. For instance, according to Word
Population Review, 6 out of 10 countries that emitted greenhouse gases of more than 500
million metric tons a year had more GDP per capita than the world average. However,
according to IBERDROLA, only 3 out of 10 countries had a high climate risk index.
Furthermore, there were LCDS (Least Developed Countries) countries that had a high climate
risk index such as Madagascar. For example, in 2019, China emitted 9876.5 million metric
tons of greenhouse gasses, and the Philippines emitted 135.3 million metric tons of
greenhouse gas. The gap between greenhouse gas emissions is huge. However, the
Philippines had a much higher climate risk index than China. The Philippines had several
Typhoon issues which affected citizens and the economy. For instance, Typhoon Mangkhut's
passage through the Philippines in 2018 affected more than 250,000 people across the
country and left at least 59 dead due to torrential rainfall. According to German Watch,
extreme weather events caused a total of 455 deaths in the country that year — 0.43 per
100,000 inhabitants — as well as more than 4,540 million US dollars in economic losses and
 Lee 2

a drop in GDP of 0.48% per capita. Like those several examples, countries that are
responsible for climate change such as emitting greenhouse gas a lot are not really taking
responsibility. Moreover, countries that are less responsible or not responsible for climate
change are struggling more because of the climate crisis.
However, the climate affects the world in other ways such as personal and national.
This phenomenon can cause various problems but it mainly affects human rights. According
to a survey by Korean National Human Rights Commission, for the question that asks do you
aware of how serious the climate crisis is, 93.7% of 1500 people answered they do. However,
for the question that asks do you think Human rights are related to the climate crisis, only
52.1% of people answered they do think human rights and climate crisis are related.
The Climate crisis brings national inequality to human rights. Most of the people
who emit greenhouse gas make a lot of income. However, always low-income people get a
disadvantage from it. greenhouse gas emissions are huge. However, the Philippines had a
much higher climate risk index than China. The Philippines had several Typhoon issues
which affected citizens and the economy.
Lastly, there are personal damages caused by the climate crisis. Typically,
‘Inequality’ is a huge issue from various perspectives such as ‘Racial Inequality’ and ‘Gender
Inequality. However, not only race or gender brings inequality. The Climate crisis also causes
inequality in human rights nationally, internationally, and also personally.
The Climate affects the world in various ways such as sea level rise, temperature
increase, and abnormal climates. According to 350.org, the annual global average temperature
is about 1 degree Celsius hotter than pre-industrial levels which can bring humans extreme
heat, Ocean warming, and sea level rise. This phenomenon can cause various problems but it
mainly affects human rights. According to a survey by Korean National Human Rights
Commission, for the question that asks do you aware of how serious the climate crisis is,
93.7% of 1500 people answered they do. However, for the question that asks do you think
Human rights are related to the climate crisis, only 52.1% of people answered they do think
human rights and climate crisis are related.
 Lee 3

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/reports?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImprU9obG-
QIVRteWCh0OpwUbEAAYAyAAEgIlv_D_BwE
https://www.oxbridgeessays.com/blog/17-academic-phrases-use-essay/