Climate change is both a development and environmental issue. A global consensus is emerging that climate change is an issue that cannot wait and needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Today there is a double challenge: how to reduce damaging carbon emissions and still meet the energy demands of the world’s poor. The World Bank focuses on the additional economic and social opportunities that a low carbon path creates.

Countries trying to escape from poverty should not be penalized for the consequences of fossil fuel dependent growth patterns in the rich countries. Their development aspirations should be at the center.

A global regulatory framework, which would provide the necessary financial flows to developing countries, is needed. This framework should match the long-term need for energy for development with the necessary technical innovation and financial incentives to move consistently towards a low carbon economy.

The Poor Are Disproportionately Affected

Developing countries are more vulnerable to climate change than rich countries, with poor people being the most at risk from the increased impacts of volatility in weather patterns (i.e., floods and droughts). Human-induced climate change is expected to negatively impact agricultural productivity throughout the tropics and sub-tropics, decrease water quantity and quality in most arid and semi-arid regions, increase the incidence of malaria, dengue and other vector borne diseases in the tropics and sub-tropics, and harm ecological systems and their biodiversity. In addition, the sea level rise associated with expected increases in temperature could displace tens of millions of people living in low-lying areas, such as the Ganges and the Nile deltas, and could threaten the very existence of small island states.

Author: Emmanuel Ayomide Praise
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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