ABSTRACT
The countries of the North bear the principal responsibility for the parlous state of the global environment. Since 1860 the industrialised countries of Europe, North America and (later) Japan, have consumed more energy, created more pollution and contributed greater carbon dioxide emissions. Wasteful energy use, and the production of goods using dirty technologies, have spread to the developing world, where environmental problems are exacerbated by highly unequal distribution of resources and rapid population increase.
