Cash needed to avert climate disasters
2 February 2009
Last year the EU, one of the worst polluters, acknowledged that rich nations would have to cut emissions first and fastest and help poorer nations to adapt to the changing environment - that's a start
Climate change is already impacting on millions of poor people around the world and they're least responsible for causing it. Developing countries are experiencing four times more natural disasters than 20 years ago. By 2020, up to 250m people across Africa may face drastic water shortages. Between 150m and 1bn people could be displaced by extreme weather, disease, and a lack of crops like corn and rice.
This awful scenario can be prevented, but it all costs money. So finance is a make-or-break part of any global climate agreement. Yet, it already looks like the EU is refusing to commit to a figure to help developing countries cope with the effects of our carbon emissions.
If countries are not ready for the new reality of climate change, they will suffer far greater damage from floods, droughts and hurricanes, and at much higher cost, both in human and financial terms.
And what do the EU need to commit to in order to get a deal that puts poor people at its heart? Just $12 billion a year, less than Brits spent on Christmas presents in 2007 - surely not too much to expect.
Comments:
Many leading scientists are now deeply concerned that we will see much of the planet's surface becoming uninhabitable within the next fifty years or so - with the developing countries being hardest hit. See this week's New Scientist for a terrifying prediction of what could well happen:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126971.700-how-to-survive-the-coming-century.html
Martin Ratcliffe | March 1, 2009 10:10 AM
Too much talk and not enough action! I believe that EU needs to apply pressure to developing nations to invest in renewable energies rather than coal. This is the most damaging and carbon-emitting pollutant of them all. Plus to stop cutting down and burning rainforests, they are the earth's lungs.
Sarah | February 27, 2009 12:34 PM
This article is interesting, and true. However, we have to realise that at least the EU is putting ideas forward, unlikely other rich nations, and that after this period of recession, they are surely more likely to follow these through.
Suzie | February 26, 2009 12:13 PM
The cost of handling disasters is far much higher than putting up measures for curbing disaster like drought and floods.
lets invest more on dams to collect water and this will be used for irrigation, drought will become a nightmare. lets also go to grassroots and use Indigenous knowledge systems to localize our mitigation strategies.
a Kenyan Citizen
Hannah | February 3, 2009 8:36 AM