- A bad climate for development, September 17, 2009, The Economist: “In late April Mostafa Rokonuzzaman, a farmer in south-western Bangladesh, gave an impassioned speech at a public meeting in his village, complaining that climate change, freakish hot spells and failed rains were ruining his vegetables. He didn’t know the half of it. A month later Mr Rokonuzzaman was chest-deep in a flood that had swept away his house, farm and even the village where the meeting took place. Cyclone Aila (its effects pictured above) which caused the storm surge that breached the village’s flood barriers, was itself a plausible example of how climate change is wreaking devastation in poor countries. Most people in the West know that the poor world contributes to climate change, though the scale of its contribution still comes as a surprise. Poor and middle-income countries already account for just over half of total carbon emissions (see chart 1); Brazil produces more CO2 per head than Germany. The lifetime emissions from these countries’ planned power stations would match the world’s entire industrial pollution since 1850. Less often realised, though, is that global warming does far more damage to poor countries than they do to the climate…”
- 4.5 M kids worldwide in danger of dying, By Ellalyn De Vera, September 18, 2009, Manila Bulletin: “At least 4.5 million children worldwide are in danger of dying from the impacts of climate change unless world leaders agree to increase funds that will mitigate the effects of climate change, non-government aid agency Oxfam International said. Oxfam issued the statement during the launch of its report titled ‘Beyond Aid’ released Wednesday, in time for the United Nations Climate Summit in New York on Sept. 22. The meeting will be followed by the G20 Summit on Sept. 24, where climate finance will be high on the agenda…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty