Journalist-Kenya
[NAIROBI]
The world could be as much as 4°C warmer by 2060 without further action to
reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent World Bank report
If this happens then it will cause severe food
shortages, extreme weather and sea-level rise, according to the report: Turn
Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided.
The
report released 18 November and focusing on the impacts of a world 4°C hotter
by the end of the century, predicts sea-levels rise by more than a meter by
2100, flooding cities in Mozambique, Bangladesh and Venezuela and devastating
small island states and river delta regions when combined with projected
increased intensity of tropical storms.
Increase
in droughts and extreme rainfall incidences are predicted in the report to
double in magnitude in a 4°C world, and will damage ecosystems, increase species
extinction, and impact on food security.
“This
report should be a wakeup call to the world that we must work harder and faster
to combat climate change,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for
Governance and Sustainable Development.
“Rapid
cuts in CO2 emissions are necessary to stabilize long-term temperatures, but in
the near-term, aggressively addressing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs)
such as black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and HFCs can provide rapid
climate, health, and food security benefits, particularly in the critical
vulnerable regions that are already suffering some of the worst impacts of
climate change,” Zaelke said.
Cutting
SLCPs can reduce global warming rate in half for the next several decades, cut
the rate of warming over the elevated regions of the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau
by at least half, and the rate of warming in the Arctic by two-thirds over the
next 30 years, while saving millions of lives per year and preventing billions
of dollars in crop losses.
Fast-action
strategies to reduce SLCPs combined with necessary reductions in carbon dioxide
are essential for slowing already accelerating extreme weather events in the
near-term, while maintaining global temperature at or below 2°C above
preindustrial levels through the end of the century.
“Reducing
emissions of these short-lived climate forcers is critical for protecting the
world’s vulnerable peoples and vulnerable ecosystems,” said Zaelke. “When we talk about sustainable development,”
Zaelke added, “this is precisely what we mean. These measures reduce climate
change, save lives, provide access to clean energy, and improve food security
all at once.”
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