Donations to help poor countries take action regarding global heating lumps emissions reduction together with short-term protection from global heating effects.

It is a fundamental mistake to treat curing the disease and alleviating the symptoms as equivalent. The inhabitants of countries receiving aid will want to use the funds for alleviating the symptoms, and so will fossil fuel companies. But alleviating the systems will provide only a temporary benefit -- 30 years from now, its effect will be gone.

If we don't direct these funds to the long term reduction of greenhouse emissions, they will do nothing to save civilization and the ecosphere.