2. WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM (2013)
-annual survey of more than 1,000 experts released
-climate change ranked the “third biggest concern overall”
-failure to adapt to climate change listed as the “biggest
single environmental hazard facing the planet”
-runaway climate change listed as first serious “X factor”, an
emerging concern with unknown consequences
3. A HOTTER WORLD
-20th century is the warmest of the last 1,000 years
-1980’s, 1990’s, and 2000’s are the warmest decades on record
-world’s warmest 13 years of average global temperatures have
all occurred in the 16 years since 1997
-warmer temperatures mean increasing droughts, floods, heat
waves and other extreme weather
4. EUROPEAN HEAT WAVE (2003)
Source: Wiki (Giorgiogp2)
-death toll of 70,000
-costs exceeded €13 B
-the duration, geographic
scope, impact, and severity
of the event were
unprecedented in European
history
5. HURRICANE KATRINA (2005)
-storm surge of 24-28 ft
-43 tornadoes
-1.2 million people under an
evacuation order
-deadliest, costliest disaster
in US history at $81 B
6. INCREASING CLIMATE DISASTERS
-each year, 700 to 1,000 events
-2011: a year of weather extremes for the US
-14 extreme weather events caused losses of $1 B
each
-worst tornado outbreak in history hit the southern
states, with April recording 750 tornadoes
7. CLIMATE PROFOUNDLY
IMPACTS OUR LIVES
-climate and weather affect the air we breathe, the food we
eat, the water we drink
-extreme weather can lead to damaged infrastructure, lost
livelihoods, population displacements, and overcrowded
conditions which are ideal for the spread of disease
-climate variables can affect the emergence of new
pathogens and the spread of infectious disease
8. HEALTH IMPACTS IN A WARMER
WORLD
-extreme high air temperature and increased air pollutants
-cardiovascular and respiratory deaths
-extreme weather events and rising sea level
-destruction of homes, medical facilities, essential services
-from increased risk of infectious diseases to mental health
conditions
-increasingly variable rainfall
-frequency of droughts doubles and duration increases six-fold
-increased risk of diarrhoeal disease
-transmission of disease
-e.g. malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis
9. TOGETHER WE MUST
-recognize that climate change is an
emerging and significant threat to
public health
-raise awareness of this threat, and
ensure that health is included in the
climate change agenda
-continue to explore the links
between climate change and human
health
-work with countries around the
world to assess their vulnerabilities,
and build their capacity to address
climate change
10. CLIMATE CHANGE
-will profoundly affect our economy, health, lifestyles and social
well-being
-requires moral and intergenerational responsibility
-how we respond will define the world our children and
grandchildren grow up in
-not just an environmental and health issue, but also a human
rights issue, an international security issue, and a justice issue
What is at stake?
11. ABSOLUTE URGENCY
-2015, the date by which to adopt a universal climate change
agreement, is already too late
-world tries to hold average climate warming to 2°C, the
threshold associated with dangerous climate change
-no one yet thinks the world is on a path to stay below an average
global rise of 2°C
-whether governments accept or minimize the fact that record-
breaking temperatures and extreme precipitation are changing on
a global scale, many of the world’s peoples are feeling the
impacts now
