‘But we’re just 1% of emissions’: do smaller countries’ climate efforts matter?

According to the Guardian, several wealthy nations are using their relatively small share of global emissions to justify climate inaction. Former UK PM Rishi Sunak pointed to Britain's less-than-one percent share, Australian PM Scott Morrison cited one point three percent, Germany's Friedrich Merz invoked two percent, and Italy's Giorgia Meloni referenced the EU's six percent—all while resisting stronger climate commitments. The Guardian questions whether this reasoning—and the premise behind it—actually holds up.

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