144 Days to Go - Let's Do Some Compassion Math

If you watched the David Suzuki speech on the 145 Days post, you'll have heard some sad statistics.

The world's 50 least developed countries (LDCs) have contributed less than 1 one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but are reaping over 95 per cent of the impacts.

Here are those numbers are again:

50 LDCs + <1% ghgs =" ">95% of impacts

And here are those countries (in alphabetical order):

1. Afghanistan
2. Angola
3. Bangladesh
4. Benin
5. Bhutan
6. Burkina Faso
7. Burundi
8. Cambodia
9. Cape Verde
10. Central African Republic
11. Chad
12. Comoros
13. Democratic Republic of the Congo
14. Djibouti
15. Equatorial Guinea
16. Eritrea
17. Ethiopia
18. Gambia
19. Guinea
20. Guinea-Bissau
21. Haiti
22. Kiribati
23. Lao People's Democratic Republic
24. Lesotho
25. Liberia
26. Madagascar
27. Malawi
28. Maldives
29. Mali
30. Mauritania
31. Mozambique
32. Myanmar
33. Nepal
34. Niger
35. Rwanda
36. Samoa
37. Sao Tome and Principe
38. Senegal
39. Sierra Leone
40. Solomon Islands
41. Somalia
42. Sudan
43. Timor-Leste
44. Togo
45. Tuvalu
46. Uganda
47. United Republic of Tanzania
48. Vanuatu
49. Yemen
50. Zambia

Check this UN webpage for the list of criteria for inclusion. Note the recommendation that the Maldives "graduate" from LDC status — I wonder if the fact that their country is disappearing due to global climate disruption and sea level rise will influence that decision.

Please visit Global Islands Network for information on all the small island nations that are disappearing.

My heart goes out to these countries and these people. Imagine this kind of poverty and lack of development exacerbated by the impacts of global warming. Once again, there but for the grace of the Universe go I.