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Climate change will mostly hit the poor, says Ban

Climate change will mostly hit the poor, says Ban
By Mutuna Chanda
Thursday June 05, 2008 [04:00]

THE poor will be hardest hit by weather-related disasters and soaring price inflation for staple foods, United Nations (UN) secretary general Ban Ki Moon has warned. In his message marking the World Environment Day, which falls today under the theme “Kick the Habit: Towards a Low Carbon Economy”, Ban stated that everyone was part of the solution to mitigating the effects of climate change.

“The cost will be borne by all,” Ban stated. “Even the richest nations face the prospect of economic recession and a world in conflict over diminishing resources. Mitigating climate change, eradicating poverty and promoting economic and political stability all demand the same solution: we must kick the carbon habit.”

Ban stated that the environmental, economic and political implications of global warming were deep.

“Ecosystems - from mountain to ocean, from the poles to the tropics - are undergoing rapid change,” he stated. “Low lying cities face inundation, fertile lands are turning to desert and weather patterns are becoming ever more unpredictable.”

He stated that the world’s dependence on carbon-based energy had caused significant build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which were causing climate change.

“Our world is in a grip of a dangerous carbon habit. Coal and oil paved the way for the developed world’s industrial progress. Fast developing countries are now taking the same path in search of equal living standards. Meanwhile in the least developed countries, even less sustainable energy sources such as charcoal, remain the only available option for the poor,” he stated.

“We don’t just burn carbon in the form of fossil fuels. Throughout the tropics, valuable forests are being felled for timber and making paper, for pasture and arable land and increasingly for plantations to supply a growing demand for biofuels.

This further manifestation of our carbon habit not only releases vast amounts of carbon dioxide, it also destroys a valuable resource for absorbing atmospheric carbon, further contributing to climate change...we know that climate change is happening and we know that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that we emit are the cause.”

Ban stated that the cost of fighting climate change may be less than expected.

“Often we need a crisis to wake us to reality. With the climate crisis upon us, businesses and governments are realising that far from costing the earth, addressing global warming can actually save money and invigorate economies,” Ban stated.

“While the estimated costs of climate change are incalculable, the price tag for fighting it may be less than any of us may have thought. Some estimates put the cost at less than one per cent of global gross domestic product - a cheap price indeed for waging a global war.”

Ban stated that there were solutions on hand to reduce carbon emissions.

“Even better news is that technologies already exist or are under development to make our consumption of carbon based fuels cleaner and more efficient and to harness the renewable power of sun, wind and waves,” stated Ban.

Labels: ENVIRONMENT

posted by MrK @ 5:07 PM