Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:03:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: Dalberg Global Development Advisors
Subject: Human Impact of Climate Change – Global Humanitarian Forum Report
Dalberg Global Development Advisors
News Flash – June 2009
Human Impact of Climate Change – The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis
June 12, 2009 – Kofi A. Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, has introduced a major new report into the human impact of climate change. The ‘Human Impact Report: Climate Change – The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis’, was launched in London on May 29, and is the first ever comprehensive report looking at the human impact of climate change.
The Global Humanitarian Forum commissioned Dalberg Global Development Advisers to develop the report in December 2008 by collating all relevant information and current statistics relating to the human impact of climate change. Within the limitations of existing research, the report presents the most plausible estimate of the impact of climate change on human society today. The report was reviewed by leading international experts, including Rajendra Pachauri of the IPCC, Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, and Barbara Stocking of Oxfam.
The report was issued immediately prior to official preparatory talks in Bonn for a new UN international climate agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. These talks will culminate at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.
Kofi Annan, second right, former UN Secretary-General and President of Global Humanitarian Forum talks to the media during the launch of the ‘Human Impact Report : Climate Change-The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis’ report on the impact of climate change on humans worldwide, London, Friday, May 29, 2009. From right, the panel consisted of Barbara Stocking (CEO of Oxfam GB), Kofi Annan, Walter Fust (CEO of Global Humanitarian Forum) and Søren Peter Andreasen (Dalberg). (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Mr Annan said:
“Climate change is a silent human crisis. Yet it is the greatest emerging humanitarian challenge of our time. Already today, it causes suffering to hundreds of millions of people most of whom are not even aware that they are victims of climate change. We need an international agreement to contain climate change and reduce its widespread suffering.
“Despite its dangerous impact, climate change is a neglected area of research since much of the debate has focused on the long term physical effects. The point of this report is to focus on today and on the human face climate change.
“Just six months before the Copenhagen summit, the world finds itself at a crossroads. We can no longer afford to ignore the human impact of climate change. Put simply, the report is a clarion call for negotiators at Copenhagen to come to the most ambitious international agreement ever negotiated, or continue to accept mass starvation, mass sickness and mass migration on an ever growing scale.”
Mr Annan was joined at the launch by report review panelist Barbara Stocking, chief executive of Oxfam GB and Global Humanitarian Forum Board Member. She said:
“Climate change is a human crisis which threatens to overwhelm the humanitarian system and turn back the clock on development. It is also a gross injustice – poor people in developing countries bear over 90% of the burden – through death, disease, destitution and financial loss – yet are least responsible for creating the problem. Despite this, funding from rich countries to help the poor and vulnerable adapt to climate change is not even 1 percent of what is needed. This glaring injustice must be addressed at Copenhagen in December.”
The Human Impact of Climate Change will be the theme of the Global Humanitarian Forum’s annual centerpiece event on 23 and 24 of June 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Visit the Global Humanitarian Forum Geneva website for more information:
View press releases and statements (http://www.ghf-geneva.org/index.cfm)
Read the full report (http://assets.ghf-ge.org/downloads/humanimpactreport.pdf)
Read the op-ed on the report by Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (http://assets.ghf-ge.org/downloads/pachauri_op_ed_guardian_29_may_2009.pdf)