EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 74 • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013
Warmer world keeps millions of people trapped in poverty
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EGULAR food shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa.....shifting rain patterns in South Asia leaving some parts under water and others without enough water for power generation, irrigation, or drinking.....degradation and loss of reefs in South East Asia resulting in reduced fish stocks and coastal communities and cities more vulnerable to increasingly violent storms....these are but a few of the likely impacts of a possible global temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius1 in the next few decades that threatens to trap millions of people
in poverty, according to a new scientific report released earlier this week by the World Bank Group. Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience builds on a World Bank report released late last year, which concluded the world would warm by 4 degrees Celsius2 (4°C or 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century if we did not take concerted action now. This new report looks at the likely impacts of present day, 2°C and 4°C warming on agricultur-
SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT
THREATENING. Rising global temperatures are increasingly threatening the health and livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations. [UNEP]
al production, water resources, coastal ecosystems and cities across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. “This new report outlines an alarming scenario for the days and years ahead - what we could face in our lifetime,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “The scientists tell us that if the world warms by 2°C - warming which may be reached in 20 to 30 years - that will cause widespread food shortages, unprecedented heat-waves, and more intense cyclones. In the near-term, climate
change, which is already unfolding, could batter the slums even more and greatly harm the lives and the hopes of individuals and families who have had little hand in raising the Earth’s temperature.” “These changes forecast for the tropics illustrate the level of hardships that will be inflicted on all regions eventually, it we fail to keep warming under control,” Kim said. “Urgent action is needed to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to help countries prepare for a world of dramatic
climate and weather extremes.” The report, prepared for the World Bank by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics, reveals how rising global temperatures are increasingly threatening the health and livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations, crucially magnifying problems each region is struggling with today. Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience is an analysis of the latest climate science, as a means
to better understand the risks of climate change to development. Key findings include: • In Sub-Saharan Africa, by the 2030s droughts and heat will leave 40 percent of the land now growing maize unable to support that crop, while rising temperatures could cause major loss of savanna grasslands threatening pastoral livelihoods. By the 2050s, depending on the sub-region, the proportion of the population undernourished is projected to increase by 2590 percent compared to the present. [UNEP]
OST species of birds, amphibians and corals at greatest risk from climate change are not currently considered threatened with extinction and may be left out of conservation actions, according to a study released Monday. Researchers from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported in the U.S. journal Plos One that they examined the findings of more than 100 scientists over the last five years and looked for the biological and ecological characteristics that make species more or less sensitive or adaptable to climate change. Up to 83 percent of birds, 66 percent of amphibians and 70 percent of corals that were identified as “highly vulnerable to the
impacts of climate change are not currently considered threatened with extinction” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are therefore unlikely to be receiving focused conservation attention, according to the study. “The findings revealed some alarming surprises,” lead author Wendy Foden said in a statement. “We hadn’t expected that so many species and areas that were not previously considered to be of concern would emerge as highly vulnerable to climate change. Clearly, if we simply carry on with conservation as usual, without taking climate change into account, we’ll fail to help many of the species and areas that need it most, “ Foden said. Up to 9 percent of all birds, 15 percent of all am-
phibians and 9 percent of all corals that were found to be highly vulnerable to climate change are already threatened with extinction. These species, which are threatened by unsustainable logging and agricultural expansion, need urgent conservation action in the face of climate change, according to the researchers. The study also presented the first global-scale maps of vulnerability to climate change for the assessed species groups. It showed that the Amazon hosts the highest concentrations of the birds and amphibians that are most vulnerable to climate change, and the Coral Triangle of the central Indo-West Pacific contains the majority of climate change vulnerable corals. [PNA/Xinhua]
Study reveals climate change threatens many ‘safe species’
PHL must brace for worsening global warming- - World Bank M A
new report raised urgency for further mainstreaming climate change into government’s planning and budgeting process so archipelagic Philippines -- the world’s third most vulnerable to weather extremes, sea level rise and temperature increase -- can better build its resilience amidst projections climate-altering global warming will worsen in forthcoming decades. Released yesterday in Metro Manila, the report ‘Getting a Grip on Climate Change in the Philippines’ urged action to address gaps that derail such mainstreaming bid
as experts reported the previously projected 2°C rise in global temperature might even reach 4°C by 2060, jeopardizing socio-economic development worldwide. “By acting now, however, he Philippines can avoid substantial humanitarian and economic costs,” World Bank sector leader for environment Christophe Crepin said during the report’s launch. He noted government already gained headway by instituting various climate change-addressing strategies including the 26 percent annual increase in budgetary allotment for related ini-
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tiatives since 2008, outpacing the national budget’s six percent growth. Government can build on such gain by carrying out and improving core public initiatives for climate change, setting complementary policy and institutional reforms as well as promoting more efficient resource use, he noted. “A lot has been done already but more needs to be done,” he said. The report covers results of the Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review which WB, Climate Change Commission and the budget department conducted earlier. [PNA]