Opinion | Rich countries are pledging funds to help poorer nations fight climate change, but does foreign aid actually work?

Name: Running for sustainability: Indian boy to cover 750km for UN sustainable development goals
Uploaded: 2021-12-24T22:45:16.000Z
Duration: 2 min 25 s
Description: Running for sustainability: Indian boy to cover 750km for UN sustainable development goals

Developing countries will suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change, but have been promised only half the funds the UN says are needed for them to adapt

Yet, even when money is granted, failed initiatives show that it does not always solve problems

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A worker unloads relief goods in Cebu, in the Philippines, on December 19. While there is a clear imperative for providing emergency relief funds, long-term foreign aid projects often fail to meet their aims because of short-sighted planning. Photo: EPA-EFE

Mukhtar Karim

Published: 6:45am, 25 Dec 2021Updated: 7:07am, 25 Dec 2021

It is no secret that poor nations are paying the price for environmental damage caused by rich ones. Leaders in the developed world have loudly promised to finance poor nations’ efforts to protect themselves against climate change. Yet, even in the wake of the COP26 talks, the funds remain woefully inadequate.

There are no global courts or mechanisms to enforce these pledges, only the crumbling pillars of goodwill. Rich nations will have to spend their sparse commitments wisely if they want them to amount to anything more than another box-ticking exercise.

A fragmented, “siloed” approach to foreign aid does not work. Having one programme for food, another for water and another for education usually means problems go unsolved. Instead, we need a holistic, all-encompassing approach that actually promotes development.

The Gyandoot programme in India is a perfect example of a failed initiative. It provided computer kiosks in rural areas, yet the lack of electricity and connectivity meant that only a few proved commercially viable.

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Running for sustainability: Indian boy to cover 750km for UN sustainable development goals

The computers were left to fall into disrepair, and today they are nothing but a symbol of international incompetence. This illustrates the flaws of a siloed approach; it fails to see the forest for the trees.