Amnesty International on Friday warned that recent flooding in Mozambique underscores widening global inequalities in climate responsibility, as major emitting states scale back environmental protections and international cooperation. The organization said communities in Mozambique are facing repeated climate disasters, with heavy rains displacing thousands and damaging infrastructure in low-lying coastal regions, where recovery remains fragile following past extreme weather events such as Cyclone Kenneth.
While Mozambique continues to invest in oil and gas, it is responsible for only 0.11% of greenhouse gas emissions, making its historical contribution negligible compared to industrialized nations, which rank in the double digits. However, it is among the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts.
The warning comes amid significant shifts in US climate policy. President Donald Trump recently described sustainable energy policies as a “hoax” during remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Earlier, the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement formally took effect for a second time. The administration has also announced its intention to exit other multilateral climate institutions, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The US has declined to pay into the UN general budget, to which it is a party, and currently owes billions. In particular, the US has left the UN Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, removing tens of millions in funding for vulnerable countries such as Mozambique.
Domestically, the administration has moved to weaken environmental regulation, including rescinding greenhouse gas rules and rolling back scientific assessments that underpin federal climate policy. Critics argue these steps undermine public access to reliable climate data and weaken regulatory safeguards. The Trump administration argues that the 2009 endangerment finding, which highlighted the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions, was a financial setback for American taxpayers, who now must pay more for automobiles and risk losing manufacturing jobs to China.
The Trump administration’s reasoning above was criticized in October 2025. Blue states that voted for Kamala Harris had their energy grants cancelled, while red states continued to receive energy grants to fund more efficient grids and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
In July 2025, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion affirming that states have binding obligations under international law to prevent significant environmental harm. The island nation of Vanuatu, in particular, circulated a draft resolution during the UN General Assembly urging states to align national policies with their climate commitments and consider mechanisms for addressing climate-related loss and damage. The draft calls on governments to strengthen nationally determined contributions under the Paris framework and to phase out fossil fuels in line with limiting warming to well below 1.5°C. It also proposes the creation of an international register to document climate-related loss and damage.
