This is one in a series of issue briefs IATP produced as a lead in to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was held in Copenhagen.

The briefing paper examines the disproportionate role wealthy nations have had in contributing to global greenhouse emissions (GHG), contrasted with the role of poorer nations and people. Also under the spotlight is a look at who has benefited the most from GHG-intensive development patterns and who is most affected by climate change. The paper also links the eradication of the Indigenous commons in the U.S. and the capture of agriculture by agribusiness using the same market-based philosophy underlying the industrial world's approach to climate change.