Transcriber: Rhonda Jacobs Reviewer: David DeRuwe
As man-induced climate changes increase, so do disasters.
According to the Global Assessment Report 2019 for Disaster Risk Reduction,
one climate crisis is occurring every single week.
The climate crisis manifests itself in several ways.
However, one of the most significant ways is in the frequency, intensity
and severity of hurricanes, storm surges, tornadoes, floods,
droughts and slope instability.
[Climate Crisis]
These result in disasters.
2019 was no exception, where there were disasters globally.
This ranged from floods in Japan, floods in the UK,
forest fires in Australia and California,
floods in parts of Africa as a result of storm Idai,
to the most powerful hurricane ever in the Atlantic, Hurricane Dorian,
which destroyed part of the Bahamas.
You may argue
that these climate extremes are not linked to climate change,
and that debate may rage on.
It’s almost impossible to say
whether these individual climatic extreme events are linked to climate change.
However, what we do know is that over the last 30 years,
there has been a significant increase in the number of hydrological,
climatic as well as meteorological events.
This compares from 30 years ago
when on average there were 300 of these extreme events
to present, where there is now over 900 extreme climatic events.
Some may argue this may be due to increased exposure to urbanization,
to better recording, to better monitoring.
However, you have to ask yourself the question,
if you explore other natural hazards, for example, earthquakes and tsunami,
there are, or there’s normally yearly fluctuation,
but nothing on the scale
of the increase of climatic hydrological meteorological events.
The price we pay is significant.
Climatic extreme results in disaster.
The human price is the most significant price we pay
as a result of climate extreme and the climate crisis.
Every single year, thousands of people lose their life
as a result of the climate crisis.
Millions are displaced as a result of the climate crisis.
It is normally the most vulnerable in our society
who are affected the most.
It’s those who are living below the poverty line.
Those in the developed world,
it is usually the elderly, women, children
who are impacted most significantly by the climate crisis.
We humans pay the price of climate extreme.
The economic impact is significant.
According to the UN 2018 report,
there has been a significant increase
in terms of the economic impact of climate change.
Climate change has resulted in over 2.2 trillion
in terms of economic loss,
mostly in the developed world, the US and China.
But no country is immune from the economic impact of climate change.
Again, 2019 exemplifies this impact.
It is global.
Whether it’s in the United States as a result of the fire in California,
resulting in over 25 billion in economic loss
to the typhoons in Japan - 24 billion
to Africa as a result of storm Idai,
which resulted in over 2 billion in losses.
Economic loss - no country, no continent is immune from these losses.
Climate change impacts significantly on our food security.
We are at a tipping point.
For years there have been environmental degradation,
there have been loss of biodiversity, there has been drought,
there’s result of crop vulnerability.
We are at that tipping point.
Years of significant impact of climate change
is reducing our food security
and may lead to food insecurity.
The impacts of climate change are here, and it is now.
We have to reduce our vulnerability and build our resilience.
This is integral to our survival.
As I said before, the debate on climate change may go on.
Individual climatic extreme events - are these related to climate change?
And the answer may not be as important.
What we do know as a result of climate change, there is increase in temperature.
There is sea level rise.
That in itself is impacting not just on the human system,
but also on the natural system.
Sea level rise, global warming has made our coral reefs much more vulnerable.
Coral reefs are integral for protecting the tropical coastline.
The slow deaths of these coral reefs
has resulted in these coastlines becoming much more vulnerable.
They are much more prone to storm surges, to floods.
Rising sea level impacts on natural systems.
For example, dunes around the UK.
Destruction of these dunes -
they’re a natural protector of our coastline,
the mangroves, the swamps, our forests, our watersheds.
Climate change, as a fact, we know is impacting on these natural systems.
These systems are becoming much more vulnerable.
Unless we act, there will be more disasters.
[Unsustainable development. Climate change.]
Responding to climate crisis will require radical changes
[to] how we live,
but sustained changes demand appropriate actions
which are guided by our understanding of the benefits of taking action
and the consequences of not taking action.
We have to respond in appropriate way.
The response may be in building much more resilient infrastructure,
much more resilient houses.
It may be increasing biodiversity.
It may be in how we protect our natural systems, our sand dunes,
our coastline, our cliffs.
We have to respond in appropriate way.
It may be decarbonizing our industry.
It may be using much more alternative energy.
We need to respond in an appropriate way.
It is a crisis.
It is a water crisis.
It is a humanitarian crisis.
It is a food crisis.
Climate change is here.
It is now.
And we must respond appropriately.
[Wake up]
No single initiative in isolation can solve the climate crisis.
We must work as individuals.
We must work collectively to instill changes.
Let us all play a part in bringing this climate crisis,
this emergency, to an end.
Our survival is at stake.
Thank you.