Climate change does not only affect terrestrial and marine ecosystems around the world. It also has negative effects on the human economy. Due to the impacts it has on the territory and human activities (ironically, on the same activities that generate it), the World Bank has warned that climate change It will generate 100 million more poor people by the year 2030. This can be alleviated if current consumption trends are changed and measures are taken towards an energy transition based on renewable energies as an energy source, in addition to fulfilling the objectives set by the Paris Agreement.
Poorer
In an interview published today by the French newspaper Le Figaro, World Bank Director General Kristalina Georgieva emphasizes that while global warming affects everyone, the risk is particularly significant for poor countries, which is why they need to be strongly and immediately supported in adapting their infrastructure and developing their agriculture. This issue is critical, since the agriculture is necessary for CO2 absorption, but also causes problems such as water overexploitation and aquifer contamination. It is essential to consider how climate change affects the plant adaptation and the crops in this context.
Agriculture, in turn, is the cause of overexploitation of water and contamination of aquifers. In addition, it is the cause of the deforestation of millions of hectares per year, so it is not entirely a perfect solution. However, it is necessary, since every time on the planet there are more mouths to feed, and agriculture also helps in the absorption of CO2 by photosynthesis carried out by crops.
Conflict
There are 500 million people in a very fragile situation in countries such as Haiti, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Africa. These areas suffer from conflicts related to weapons and wars that lead to significant poverty, but they are also affected by climate change. These conflicts are one aspect of the impact of climate change on global poverty.
To illustrate this, a conflict in Syria that coincided with a drought caused rural populations to migrate to cities. When a population moves to an urban center in a short period of time, the demand for resources skyrockets. If the drought leaves water unavailable for everyone, a war for resources begins. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how climate change affects the migration of people. Furthermore, it is no less important to analyze how the context of conflicts can be aggravated by phenomena such as the floods in various regions.
Another example of armed conflicts and climate change are closely related is that in the north of Mali the lower productivity of land with the consequent negative impact on the population favored political instability.
Desperate situations
Faced with these situations in which resources increasingly limit populations, creating instability, wars and an increase in diseases and deaths, it is very possible that the number of displacement of people to other places against their will will increase. Migration is the only escape route for many families who cannot continue with their work due to lack of resources or fear of war.
According to the UN, there are now 65 million, of which 21 million are political refugees, which constitutes a historic record for the displacement of people to safer places. According to this former European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and the Budget, the World Bank has allocated an average of $10.000 billion annually to the fight against climate change in recent years. This fact reveals the cost of climate change. climate change in economic and social terms, and highlights the importance of studying the impact of climate change on global poverty.
Starting in 2020, plans will be carried out that will dedicate 28% of your financial means to mitigate the effects of climate change in the most vulnerable and fragile areas. This will also help avoid political conflicts over interests and lack of resources such as water.
Scenario changes
We must not forget that the scenarios in which we live are going to change with climate change. With rising sea levels, coastal cities will undergo migration and modification. On the other hand, governments must allocate a large part of the GDP of the countries to carry out adaptation plans against climate change.
The scenario that awaits us is not very hopeful, so all the actions that we carry out now are few.
