Global warming: half of the planet's inhabitants "very vulnerable", says the IPCC
In Afghanistan, at the end of 2021, a severe drought forced thousands of people to flee their homes and live in extreme poverty.
AP - Mstyslav Chernov
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people, or nearly half of the planet's inhabitants, are "very vulnerable" to the impacts of global warming, according to the new report by UN climate experts (IPCC) published this week. Monday February 28.
This is the conclusion of 270 researchers from around the world who believe that delaying climate action further reduces the chances of a “liveable future”.
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Adapting to the effects of climate change is possible on one condition: limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, 2 at most.
Floods, droughts, heat waves: the consequences are already being felt all over the planet.
The IPCC thus estimates that approximately three and a half billion earthlings are “
very vulnerable
” to the impacts of global warming.
PRESS RELEASE |
28 Feb 2022#Climatechange: a threat to human wellbeing and health of the planet.
Taking action now can secure our future
The #IPCC released its latest #ClimateReport today.
PR ➡️ https://t.co/ISBRVbv9UM
Read the report ➡️ https://t.co/ABoUKGqREU pic.twitter.com/F6ZMeATNtr
— IPCC (@IPCC_CH) February 28, 2022
Efforts are already underway to limit damage, but they are too fragmented, unevenly distributed around the globe.
Unfortunately, time is running out, note the authors of this report.
If putting in place lifestyles and development adapted to this warmed climate is already a colossal task, it could quite simply become impossible in certain regions of the world if the temperature rises by more than 2 degrees.
The stakes are therefore crossed.
It is thus necessary at the same time to prepare now to live in a warmer world, with the consequences that this implies and at the same time to do everything possible to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The window for action is brief and it is closing quickly writes the Giec, but this window exists.
► To read also:
Global warming: the stakes "have never been so high", warns the IPCC
Already heavy damage in Africa
Africa is at risk of widespread biodiversity loss.
Above 1.5 degrees of global warming, half of the species will lose 30% of their numbers or their habitat.
Beyond 2 degrees, it is the guaranteed extinction of 7 to 18% of species and 90% of corals in Africa.
Human food is also threatened by the drought, with lower yields, for example, of maize.
Reduced fish catches in a warmer ocean will lead to iron and vitamin deficiencies for millions of people on the continent.
More insect-borne diseases like
malaria
, beyond 1.5 of global warming nearly half a million Africans under 5 and over 60 will be exposed to waves of heat above 42 degrees for 15 days in a row.
Not to mention the rise in water levels in coastal cities.
All these disturbances will lead to additional internal migrations on the continent, up to 90 million displaced persons, two thirds of them in West Africa if an additional 2 and a half degrees of temperature is reached.
► To read also:
The IPCC publishes its new report focused on adaptation to climate change
Necessary adaptations
It will be necessary to build barriers against coastal erosion, to set up more precise and more targeted weather warning services to guide populations and activities, to preserve forests.
Farmers will not only have to generalize agroecology, but also diversify their activities in order to survive.
All these adaptations, African states must plan and finance them.
Funding, underline the experts of the IPCC, constitutes the main obstacle to the implementation of projects.
However, the longer we wait, the more costly adaptation will be for Africa.
African economies will lose up to 20% growth by the end of the century if the global temperature increases by 2 degrees.
► To read also:
Kenya, leader of green energies in Africa, lacks means
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