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The world should react with the same urgency to climate change as it does to the coronavirus crisis, says the Red Cross, warning that global warming poses a greater threat than COVID-19.
Even as the pandemic rages, climate change is not taking a break to wreak havoc, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a report.
In its report on global catastrophes since the 1960s, the Geneva-based organization noted that the world has been affected by more than 100 disasters, many of them climate-related, since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic in March.
More than 50 million people have been affected, he said.
“Of course, COVID is there, it is in front of us, it is affecting our families, our friends, our relatives,” said the Secretary General of the International Federation, Jagan Chapagain, in a virtual press conference.
“It is a very, very serious crisis that the world is currently facing,” he said of the pandemic, which has already killed more than 1.3 million people.
‘There is no vaccine for climate change’
But, he warned, the International Federation hopes that “climate change will have a more significant impact in the medium and long term on human life and on Earth.”
And while it seems increasingly likely that one or more COVID-19 vaccines will be available soon, Chapagain emphasized that “sadly, there is no vaccine for climate change.”
Global efforts to address climate change are failing to protect those most in need, according to the International Federation’s World Disaster Report 2020.
👉 https://t.co/YYoTC77Xxp#WorldDisastersReport pic.twitter.com/V1WuPMBxji– IFRC (@ifrc) November 17, 2020
When it comes to global warming, he warned, “much more sustained action and investment will be required to truly protect human life on this Earth.”
The frequency and intensity of extreme and climate-related weather events have increased steadily since the 1960s, the International Federation said.
In 2019 alone, the world was hit by 308 natural disasters, 77 percent of them climatic or weather-related, killing some 24,400 people.
The number of climate and weather-related disasters has increased by nearly 35 percent since the 1990s, the International Federation said, calling it a “deadly event.”
Weather and climate-related disasters have killed more than 410,000 people over the past decade, most of them in poorer countries, and heat waves and storms have turned out to be the deadliest, according to the report.
Faced with this threat, which “literally threatens our long-term survival”, the International Federation called on the international community to act with the necessary urgency.
“These disasters are already at the doors of all the countries of the world,” he said.
“With challenges like these, international solidarity is not only a moral responsibility, but also a smart decision.
“Investing in resilience in the most vulnerable places is more profitable than accepting continued increases in the cost of humanitarian response, and contributes to a more secure, prosperous and sustainable world for all,” he added.
The International Federation estimated that about $ 50 billion annually would be needed over the next decade to help 50 developing countries adapt to the changing climate.
He stressed that this amount was “dwarfed by the global response to the economic impact of COVID-19”, which has already exceeded $ 10 billion.
He also regretted that much of the money invested so far in preventing and mitigating climate change has not gone to developing countries most at risk.
“Our first responsibility is to protect the communities that are most exposed and vulnerable to climate risks,” Chapagain said, warning that “our research shows that the world collectively is not doing this.”
“There is a clear disconnect between where climate risk is greatest and where financing for climate adaptation is going,” he said.
“This disconnect could very well cost lives.”
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