I think that this line of thinking is impossible to decouple from the idea that former colonizers have something to give that developing nations need, and that

I think that this line of thinking is impossible to decouple from the idea that former colonizers have something to give that developing nations need, and that the latter want it or should take it. It is very difficult for example to convince a large part of the world to abandon cheap energy sources or industrialization because the economies that used it to industrialize their economies say it's bad, and all the alternatives are too expensive or inaccessible to grow their economies at the same rate. If you listen to what the leaders of these countries say publicly, it's not that they don't want cheap and clean energy or to fight climate change. It's that they don't want to abandon their nations' economic growth for the sake of it, particularly when it's led by states that have made a policy of exploiting them in the not-too-distant past. The problem to solve isn't the lack of empathy or resource sharing from the rich former colonizers. We have enormous amounts of that. What we need are evidence based approaches combined with collaboration led by developing nations' governments and people based on what they say they need. The last part is more important than anything we can do in our governments or societies, because we have no credibility. Basically don't tell or give people what you think they need. Ask them and listen.