At the now concluded COP 27 climate forum in Egypt, there arose a pattern to the proceedings that bore something of a resemblance – perhaps much more in tone than in content – to the North/South, rich/poor debate of three decades plus ago. It appeared that the sense of urgency articulated in the stirring presentations on the issue of ‘rich and poor,’ for which the Third World leaders of that era had developed a particular appetite, their failure to ‘move’ rich countries, notwithstanding, was, to some extent, repeating itself in Egypt. Back then, it was a question of vested interest, the matter of rich countries, while willing to accommodate the hype and hoopla that characterized the appeals of the Third World statespersons, coming to the table with decidedly closed minds on the matter of changing the status quo.
