Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Developing Countries

This Article addresses the issue whether climate change is a myth or a reality. Can if affect development of developing countries? This article is a qualitative research on the need of developing countries to strike a balance on the options of choosing whether to pursue sustainable development goals only or addressing climate change and its effects or both. Developing countries are affected by climate change just like the developed countries. If they were to ignore it this would affect their sustainable development goals. However to address climate change, their pursuit of sustainable development is affected. Resources that would be used in achieving the goals of sustainable development are diverted to combating the effects of climate change. Developing countries lack the technology and finances to combat climate change on their own. They need developed countries to assist them. However this assistance is not forthcoming. Therefore there is a need to strike a balance between what goals to pursue. We look at Uganda as an example of a developing country that is affected by climate change and how it has coped briefly. We look at the international conventions that deal with climate change including the Paris Agreement and we see how they impact on developing countries’ pursuit of sustainable development goals. Are the conventions adequate?