Billions of People at Risk from Climate Change
April 7th, 2007 by Stephen
The BBC carries details of a report on the possible effects of climate change. Predictions, of course, are hard (especially about the future)! But after a great deal of debate, some conclusions have been drawn – one of which is not entirely surprising: the people most at risk from climate change are the world’s poor – those least able to avoid its effects.
According to the BBC:
The impact of climate change has been a major source of dispute
Billions of people face shortages of food and water and increased risk of flooding, experts at a major climate change conference have warned.
The bleak conclusion came ahead of the publication of a key report by hundreds of international environmental experts.
Agreement on the final wording of the report was reached after a marathon debate through the night in Brussels.
People living in poverty would be worst affected by the effects of climate change, the gathered experts said.
“It’s the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit,” said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
