![]() Date: 2024-08-16 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00017311 | |||||||||
CLIMATE CRISIS | |||||||||
Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess | |||||||||
CLIMATE CRISIS
New Climate Crisis Report: Invest $1.8 Trillion Now or Pay Heavier Price Later
Aerial view of Maldives. Low-lying atoll nations are especially threatened by climate change. Grafner / iStock / Getty Images Plus
The images of the climate crisis are devastating. People around the world, especially the world's poor, are suffering from extreme weather, droughts and wildfires. The latest example was in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, when Bahamans fleeing the wreckage that upended their lives were denied entry to the U.S.
Now a new report from a commission of 34 leaders in politics, scientists and business says that nations rich and poor must invest in adapting to the climate crisis or pay a much heavier price in years to come. Furthermore, an investment now will reap benefits that will outweigh the costs 4 to 1 in the near future, as Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
Adapt Now: A Gobal Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience by the Global Commission on Adaptation was led by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, World Bank chief executive Kristalina Georgieva and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
'Global actions to slow climate change are promising but insufficient,' the report stated. 'We must invest in a massive effort to adapt to conditions that are now inevitable.'
It pinpointed several key areas to consider in adapting to the climate crisis. The analysis found that a $1.8 trillion global investment in five specific areas over the next decade could generate $7.1 trillion in total net benefits, as a United Nations press release stated.
The five key areas will produce a triple dividend — escaping future losses, generating economic gains through innovation, and delivering social and environmental benefits. The five areas of focus, as the BBC reported, are:
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Global-Commission-on-Adaption-2019-Report
We face a crisis. Climate change is upon us, and its impacts are getting more severe with each passing year. Global actions to slow climate change are promising but insufficient. We must invest in a massive effort to adapt to conditions that are now inevitable: higher temperatures, rising seas, fiercer storms, more unpredictable rainfall, and more acidic oceans. We are not starting from a standstill. There are many bright spots where adaptation efforts have begun—but we need more urgency, innovation, and scale. Adaptation is not an alternative to a redoubled effort to stop climate change, but an essential complement to it. Failing to lead and act on adaptation will result in a huge economic and human toll, causing widespread increases in poverty and severely undermining long-term global economic prospects. The good news is that adaptation, done right, will lead to better growth and development. It will also save lives, protect nature, reduce inequalities, and create opportunities. We can do it 'http://truevaluemetrics.org/DBpdfs/ClimateCrisis/Global-Commission-on-Adaption-2019-Report.pdf' | Open PDF ... Global-Commission-on-Adaption-2019-Report |