December 5, 2010

Source: Beijing Review

DARA, a leading humanitarian research organization, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group of committed most vulnerable countries, Friday launched a major new global report on the state of the climate crisis.

The “Climate Vulnerability Monitor” reveals distinct vulnerabilities in 184 countries and all regions of the world to short-term impacts of climate change just as the slow search for an international deal to tackle longer-term global warming continues at the UN climate summit in Cancun, Mexico (COP-16).

The Climate Vulnerability Monitor, backed by leading international authorities on climate change, categorizes countries across the world into low, moderate, high, severe, and acute vulnerability to its impact.

The report’s barometer assesses each country according to estimated effects in the four key areas of health, weather disasters, human habitat loss and economic stresses on affected sectors and natural resources.

The Monitor points to a large-scale crisis with some impacts increasing by over 300 percent globally by 2030. In less than 20 years, almost all countries in the world — over 170 — will realize high vulnerability to at least one major climate impact as the planet heats up: “the fate of the vulnerable will be the fate of the world.”

Today, the majority of impacts are still highly concentrated in more than 50 acutely vulnerable low-income countries, urgently needing assistance.

“This report shows the extent of vulnerability to climate change impacts around the world, affecting almost all countries,” said Barry Coates, Executive Director of Oxfam New Zealand. “Urgent action now is a crucial investment to avoid massive costs and suffering in future.”

“The priority for assistance must be those countries that are not only vulnerable, but also least able to cope — those with low capacity to respond and high levels of poverty. Cancun can put the foundation in place by agreeing to a fair global climate fund that allocates sufficient resources to adaptation with the mechanisms to do so equitably and accountably,” Coates said.

Close to 80 percent of the entire human toll of climate change exclusively concerns children in Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia succumbing to malnutrition, diarrheal disease or malaria, discloses the report.

Communities most exposed and vulnerable are being completely overwhelmed by just small increases in extreme weather, leading to situations similar to this year’s floods in Pakistan.

“The Maldives stands at the climate change frontline,” said President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, founder of the Climate Vulnerable Forum. “So it has always been crystal clear to us what must be done. But what happens to the Maldives today will happen to others tomorrow. ”

“The Monitor helps to bring that clarity of vision to the entire world. We aim to become carbon neutral as a country by 2020. Those who follow our lead and adopt renewable energy and green technologies will be the winners of the twenty-first century,” Nasheed said.

Half of all economic losses fall on industrialized countries, with the United States worst hit by overall damage costs.

But climate change will seriously worsen global inequalities.

Smaller total economic losses mask seriously greater relative costs elsewhere: more than 4 percent of GDP on average for the South Pacific region. Where poverty is most extreme, especially Africa, so is the degree of economic losses. And over 99 percent of all fatalities occur in developing countries.

“If we let pressures more than triple, or worse, no amount of humanitarian assistance or development aid is going to stem the suffering and devastation. Highly fragile countries will become graveyards over which we pour billions of dollars. Low-lying islands will simply not be viable anymore, then disappear. We will all pay and we will pay big time,” said DARA Director General Ross Mountain, who previously headed large UN field operations, including for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq.

(China Daily December 4, 2010)