Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The Global South is the climate movement’s unsung leader

Nature Climate Change volume 12, pages 410–412 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Numerous examples highlight leadership and real climate action in the Global South. With financial support from and partnership with countries in the Global North, this leadership can be a cornerstone for getting on track to meeting the Paris Agreement.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1

Kyodo News/Contributor/Kyodo News/Getty

References

  1. Ellis-Petersen, H. Narendra Modi pledges India will reach net zero emissions by 2070. The Guardian (1 November 2021).

  2. Cavcic, M. Nigeria vows to reach net-zero by 2060, highlights key role of gas in energy transition. Offshore Energy (3 November 2021).

  3. McCoy, T. & Pessoa, G. S. Brazil, once a champion of environmentalism, grapples with new role as climate antagonist. Washington Post (2 November 2021).

  4. Hook, L., White, E. & Olcott, E. China hits back at criticism of Xi’s absence from COP26. Financial Times (3 November 2021).

  5. Ritchie, H. & Roser, M. CO2 and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Our World Data, 2020).

  6. Ricciardi, V. et al. Glob. Food Secur. 17, 64–72 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Sprinkler and Micro Irrigated Area (ICID, 2021).

  8. Amoroso, R. O. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, E10275–E10282 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Magembe, L. The Promise of Restorative Aquaculture Solutions (The Nature Conservancy, 2020).

  10. The Future of Rail – Analysis (IEA, 2019).

  11. On Track to Full Electrification: Low Carbon Railways in India (Rapid Transition Alliance, 2021).

  12. Poushter, J. Car, bike or motorcycle? Depends on where you live. Pew Research Center (16 April 2015).

  13. Roy, E. Renewables provide 37% of India’s power capacity. The Indian Express (15 July 2021).

  14. Transforming Cities with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Systems (UITP, 2019).

  15. Implementation of Bioenergy in Brazil – 2021 Update (IEA, 2021).

  16. Jin, L. et al. Driving a Green Future: A Retrospective Review of China’s Electric Vehicle Development and Outlook for the Future (ICCT, 2021).

  17. High-Speed Databases and Atlas (UIC, 2021).

  18. Electricity Mix in China Q1 2020 – Data & Statistics (IEA, 2020).

  19. O’Meara, S. Nature 584, S1–S3 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Gillespie, T. & Ritchie, G. Nature bonds may be the next big thing for emerging markets. Bloomberg (25 February 2021).

  21. Chile becomes the first country in the world to issue a sustainability linked bond. GFL (3 February 2022).

  22. Namasivayam, A. et al. Project Drawdown’s Health and Education Solution: The Cascading Benefits of Access to Universal Education and Voluntary Family Planning (Project Drawdown, 2022).

  23. Graetz, N. et al. Nature 577, 235–238 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Timperley, J. Nature 598, 400–402 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Frischmann, C. J. et al. in Partnerships for the Goals: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (eds Leal Filho, W. et al.) 321–344 (Springer International, 2020).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Project Drawdown, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Chad Jonathan Frischmann, Mamta Mehra, Emilia Jankowska, Heather Jones & Amrita Namasivayam

  2. Global Council for Science and the Environment, Washington, DC, USA

    Mamta Mehra

  3. Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

    Jimena Alvarez

  4. Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London, London, UK

    Abdulmutalib Yussuff

Authors
  1. Chad Jonathan Frischmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mamta Mehra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jimena Alvarez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Emilia Jankowska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Heather Jones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Amrita Namasivayam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Abdulmutalib Yussuff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

C.J.F., M.M. and H.J. conceived the idea for this Comment. M.M. led the project planning and coordination. C.J.F., M.M., J.A., E.J., H.J., A.N. and A.Y. contributed to literature search and writing, according to sector expertise. C.J.F. led the framing and editing of the manuscript. All authors contributed to revising the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chad Jonathan Frischmann.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Frischmann, C.J., Mehra, M., Alvarez, J. et al. The Global South is the climate movement’s unsung leader. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 410–412 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01351-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01351-3

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing