Combating Impact of Climate Change Depends on
Global Policymakers
STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY
E. WIRTH, President, United Nations Foundation
on the release of the IPCC Working Group II report
“Each new report from the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reinforces the
scale of the problem and the urgency of action.
Global leaders and policymakers should take heed
as the world’s scientists assert that the
impacts of climate change may be broader and more
profound than previously thought.
“The economic analysis has shifted as rapidly
as the science has come in: The focus on the cost
of action to combat the urgency of the climate
challenge has been replaced by the understanding
of the unacceptable and growing cost of inaction.
“The IPCC Working Group II report clearly
demonstrates that the world’s poorest countries
will suffer the brunt of these impacts. Areas
of Asia and Africa could be crippled by both drought
and flood, which will severely restrict already
difficult access to safe, clean water. Ecosystem
changes already underway could poison oceans and
wreck coral reefs and fish species, with serious
economic impacts for local communities dependent
upon on marine resources.
“Some developed countries are already preparing
to adapt to coming environmental shocks—for
example, by developing desalination plants and
flood barriers—but the international community
must act now to help all countries address the
impacts of climate change.
“The United Nations, via the United Nations
Development Programme and the Global Environment
Facility, is working to bring together resources
that will help. There is an enormous opportunity
to mobilize critical technology and resources
to help all societies prepare for, adapt to and
mitigate changes to our world.
“Our political leaders must embrace this
opportunity and accept these challenges if we’re
to see lasting change in all countries. The timeframe
for action is narrow and there is much to be done.”
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the United Nations Foundation The UN Foundation was created in 1998
with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s
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Peper Long
United Nations Foundation
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e-mail: plong@unfoundation.org
