It's not hard to imagine that those nations of the world most impacted by effects of Climate Change, are also those nations of the world most willing to acknowledge the very real risks -- both economic and humanitarian. Afterall it is these nations (the less developed nations) that are most often disproportionately impacted, first.
UN: 'Massive shift' needed on energy
bbc.com -- 12 April 2014
[...]
It [the United Nations Report] will argue that if significant action isn't taken by 2030, global temperatures could rise by more than 2 degrees C.
Such a rise in temperature would be highly dangerous, the report will argue.
[...]
'Severe and irreversible'
[...]
It [the IPCC recent report] argued that the impacts of global warming are likely to be "severe, pervasive and irreversible".
[...]
But even the "developed countries" of the world, won't be able
to out-run the effects of Climate Change for long. Seeing as how we now live in a complex economic system that relies on many global ties.
Here are some of those 'severe and irreversible' impacts that the UN is running through the global-village, now warning us about:
IPCC report finds world might be irreversibly changed
by Tom Arup, Environment editor, The Age; The Sydney Morning Herald -- March 31, 2014
[...]
The IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] had significantly more scientific research at hand than for its previous assessment in 2007. The report says impact due to climate change already observed includes:
• Changes to rainfall patterns and melting snow that are altering the quantity and quality of water systems.
• Land and sea species shifting their geographical range, seasonal activities, migration patterns and interaction.
[...]
• Land and freshwater species face rising risk of extinction during and beyond the 21st century.
• The fraction of people facing water scarcity and affected by river flooding will increase in the 21st century as warming rises.
[...]
• Global economic losses are difficult to estimate, but an additional two degrees warming could lead to between 0.2 to 2 per cent loss of global income. Losses are considered more likely to be greater than this range than smaller.
• Ill-health is expected to increase in many regions, especially developing countries.
[...]
Afterall, AC only goes so far, when the power-grid is plagued by constant 'brown-outs', and super-market shelves are filled with increasingly 'inferior quality' foods. In ever scarcer quantities, with ever increasing prices.
And guess which segments of society, that these economic changes will 'severely impact' first?
The poor. Unfortunately they don't have the individual resources to 'buy their way out of it' ... out of all local economic trouble predicted.
Here's some findings from the IPCC Report itself -- from the Summary Document. These excerpts focus on the disproportionate impacts that Climate Change will have on those 'living in poverty'.
In marginal ways, it's not all negative. Of course those few positive Keynesian economic effects will be short-lived -- "unless structural inequalities are addressed and needs for equity among poor and non-poor people are met" -- as the report concludes:
Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability [pdf 18 MB]
IPCC -- TECHNICAL SUMMARY
[pg 11]
Livelihoods and poverty
Climate-related hazards constitute an additional burden to people living in poverty, acting as a threat multiplier often with negative outcomes for livelihoods (high confidence). Climate-related hazards affect poor people’s lives directly through impacts on livelihoods, such as reductions in crop yields or destruction of homes, and indirectly through increased food prices and food insecurity. Urban and rural transient poor who face multiple deprivations can slide into chronic poverty as a result of extreme events, or a series of events, when unable to rebuild their eroded assets (limited evidence, high agreement). Limited positive observed impacts on poor people include isolated cases of social asset accumulation, agricultural diversification, disaster preparedness, and collective action. [9.3, 11.3, 13.1-3, 22.4, 24.4, 26.8]
[pg 25]
Climate change indirectly increases risks from violent conflict in the form of civil war, inter-group violence, and violent protests by exacerbating well-established drivers of these conflicts such as poverty and economic shocks (medium confidence). Statistical studies show that climate variability is significantly related to these forms of conflict. Poorly designed adaptation and mitigation strategies can increase risks from violent conflict. [12.5, 13.2, 19.4]
[pg 26]
Livelihoods and poverty
Throughout the 21st century, climate change impacts will slow down economic growth and poverty reduction, further erode food security, and trigger new poverty traps, the latter particularly in urban areas and emerging hotspots of hunger (medium confidence). Climate change will exacerbate poverty in low and lower-middle income countries, including high mountain states, countries at risk from sea-level rise, and countries with indigenous peoples, and create new poverty pockets in upper-middle- to high-income countries in which inequality is increasing. In urban and rural areas, wage-labor-dependent poor households that are net buyers of food will be particularly affected due to food price increases, including in regions with high food insecurity and high inequality (particularly Africa), although the agricultural self-employed could benefit. Insurance programs, social protection measures, and disaster risk reduction may enhance long-term livelihood resilience among poor and marginalized people, if policies address multidimensional poverty. [8.1, 8.4, 9.3, 10.9, 13.2-4, 22.3, 26.8]
[pg 32]
C-2. Climate-resilient Pathways and Transformation
Climate-resilient pathways are development trajectories that combine adaptation and mitigation to realize the goal of sustainable development. They can be seen as iterative, continually evolving processes for managing change within complex systems.
Climate-resilient pathways include strategies, choices, and actions that reduce climate change and its impacts. They also include actions to ensure that effective risk management and adaptation can be implemented and sustained (high confidence). Delaying actions may reduce options for climate-resilient pathways in the future. See Figure TS.13. Prospects for climate-resilient development pathways are related fundamentally to what the world accomplishes with climate change mitigation. Climate-resilient development pathways will have only marginal effects on poverty reduction, unless structural inequalities are addressed and needs for equity among poor and non-poor people are met (medium confidence). [1.1, 2.5, 13.4, 20.2-4, 20.6, Figure 1-5]
What would happen, if the nations of the world found a way to:
"Quit each taking a stake in the world's resources -- and all started taking a stake in the world's future, instead?"
-- jamess
What a world it
could be ... with such 'a long-term investment' strategy.
One based on people, not profits.
Making it so ... in our life-times, is our perpetual -- and now severely impactful -- challenge ... as constructive, caring, forward-looking human-beings.
Now more so than ever ... according to the UN, and this distinguished "panel" of the world's best Scientists, NOW both sounding that global-village alarm.