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Cancun data highlights global warming

By Li Xing, Wu Chong and Lan Lan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-06 07:45

CANCUN, Mexico - A series of figures released on the sidelines of the ongoing Cancun climate talks highlight the serious impact of climate change on people, cities and countries all over the world.

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All nations are vulnerable to climate change and will continue to face the risks as the earth continues its warming trend, according to the Climate Vulnerability Monitor report, launched by the DARA, a leading humanitarian research organization, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group of committed most vulnerable countries.

The report categorized the impacts in terms of health, weather disasters, habitat loss and economic loss in more than 170 countries. Using large and small green, yellow, orange and red dots, it not only indicates how each country is affected today, but also forecasts the degrees of danger the countries face in the future.

According to the study, deaths caused by climate change-induced natural disasters and diseases have now reached 350,000 per year.

Culminating all the figures from individual countries together, the researchers predict that if the world does not take drastic actions to slow global warming, some 10 million people will live under the threat of climate-driven desertification, and some 1 million people are likely to die as a result of extreme weather disasters in each year beginning in the year 2030.

As far as China is concerned, the report indicates that the world's most populous country will mostly suffer from habitat loss after 2030, if the earth continues to heat up.

But more than 50 developing countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific are the most vulnerable, as big red dots line up under all the four categories.

Developing Countries

Echoing the "vulnerability" study is a Climate Risk Index developed six years ago by the Germanwatch, a German-based non-governmental organization engaged in North-South cooperation.

This year's index, based on figures from weather disasters in 2009, reveals that developing countries are particularly affected.

However, the study also put countries such as Australia among the top 10 most affected countries.

"This shows that no country is immune to weather-related catastrophes," said Sven Harmeling, the author of the study at Germanwatch.

Urban Centers

Cities are both culprits and victims of climate change, according to a new report from the World Bank released on Friday - but cities can also play a major role in slowing down the global warming.

Urban residents, who now constitute more than half of the world's population, are responsible for as much as 80 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, says the report, entitled "Cities and Climate Change - an Urgent Agenda".

The world's 50 largest cities alone have a combined population (500 million people) larger than the United States.

They are also estimated to emit some 2.6 billion tons of GHGs.

However, at the same time, climate change poses grave challenges for cities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a rise in average sea level over the next 100 years ranging between 13 to 28 centimeters in a low scenario and 26 to 59 centimeters for a high scenario.

Whether they are cities of rich or poor countries, most major cities located near rivers and oceans are prone to sea levels rising as well as wind storms.