climate change causing “dramatic rise” in economic losses
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

Climate change causing “dramatic rise” in economic losses

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Climate change causing “dramatic rise” in economic losses

Earthquakes and tsunamis have killed 1.3 million people
United Nations - APP

’Climate-related and geophysical disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis have killed 1.3 million people over the last 20 years and left a further 4.4 billion injured, homeless or in need of emergency assistance, UN experts said on Wednesday.

The findings, published by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), also show that people in low- and middle-income countries are seven times more likely to die from natural disasters than those in developed nations.

“This puts a big emphasis on the need to…make sure that we curb greenhouse gas emissions”, Riicardo Mena, UNISDR chief, in charge of implementing the Sendai Framework, said in a statement.

Failing to do this, risks letting climate-related hazards get out of control, he told journalists in Geneva, before calling for greater investment in disaster risk-reduction measures, “so that we do not allow for countries to create new risk”.

In terms of the impact of disasters on the global economy between 1998 and 2017, affected countries reported direct losses of $2.908 trillion. That’s more than twice what was lost in the previous two decades.

Illustrating the growing threat from climate change, extreme weather events now account for 77 per cent of total economic losses, $2.245 trillion, the report notes.

This represents a “dramatic rise” of 151 per cent compared with losses reported between 1978 and 1997, which amounted to $895 billion.
The increased vulnerability of poorer countries to disasters is illustrated by the fact that, in the last 20 years, only one officially high-income territory – the island of Puerto Rico – has featured in a league tablable of the top 10 economic losses as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).

Last September, devastation in the US-dependency caused by Hurricane Maria contributed to overall losses since 1998, of more than $71 billion; the equivalent of 12.2 per cent of Puerto Rico’s GDP.

Apart from Cuba, which is classified as an upper-middle income country in the 20-year review, the other top 10 worst-hit nations, as a percentage of their output, are all lower-income.

Haiti – where a deadly 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the north-west of the island just four days ago – recorded the highest losses, at 17..5 per cent of GDP.

In terms of fatalities from disasters, the report indicates that more than 747,000 people – 56 per cent of the total – died in the lasst two decades during major seismic events, a total of 563 earthquakes and related tsunamis.

Overall, however, more than 90 per cent of all disasters in the last 20 years were in fact floods, storms, droughts and other extreme weather events.
Heatwaves are an increasing global threat for which solutions need to be found in the next five to 10 years, warned report co-author Professor Debarati Guha, from the Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), part of the Universit Catholique de Louvain (UCL).

“The next one that is going to hit us with an explosion is heatwaves”, she said. I’s going to be both in poor countries, remember, human beings have a limit, a thermal resistance limit…it is also ggoing to be a huge problem in the wealthier countries”.

“We emphasize the need to reduce existing risk to strengthen the resilience of people and nations. Otherwise the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is going to be a very elusive target”, UNISDR’s Ricardo Mena said.

 

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

climate change causing “dramatic rise” in economic losses climate change causing “dramatic rise” in economic losses



GMT 06:29 2011 Monday ,14 November

Matthew cruises to win at Ochoa Invitational

GMT 03:34 2017 Wednesday ,22 March

Tillerson to skip NATO meeting next month

GMT 13:44 2013 Friday ,15 March

Israel suppress Palestinian demonstrations

GMT 16:15 2017 Monday ,01 May

Moroccan Workers’ Syndicate

GMT 11:56 2016 Wednesday ,12 October

Toyota, Suzuki eye partnership as industry consolidates

GMT 15:42 2011 Thursday ,23 June

Express checks in with foursquare

GMT 10:49 2017 Sunday ,13 August

Car rams into crowd at violent Virginia rally

GMT 17:45 2013 Sunday ,20 October

5 Indian spices that are good for your health

GMT 08:41 2012 Saturday ,15 September

Italian magazine: will print Kate topless snaps

GMT 08:02 2012 Tuesday ,05 June

Zoe Saldana in Prabal Gurung

GMT 06:11 2012 Saturday ,15 September

Tunisia’s Media Conflict: Journalists fight for freedom

GMT 14:35 2015 Friday ,24 July

Awqaf Minister hails New Suez Canal project

GMT 16:34 2017 Thursday ,28 December

Hitler's Nazi-parade Mercedes set

GMT 11:22 2011 Monday ,10 October

Paul McCartney to play in Moscow in December

GMT 05:17 2015 Friday ,25 September

Pope expresses solidarity with Muslims after stampede

GMT 05:44 2012 Saturday ,21 April

ATV engine 95 HP

GMT 03:01 2011 Monday ,19 September

Laughter, tears at US television\'s Emmy awards

GMT 12:04 2012 Wednesday ,07 March

6 Music animation draws on 10 years of eclectic radio

GMT 01:00 2015 Sunday ,05 April

Barzani congratulates Abadi on Tikrit victory

GMT 13:24 2015 Thursday ,15 October

Tesla installs 'autopilot' update

GMT 06:17 2012 Monday ,02 January

Countries across the world celebrate the New Year

GMT 04:07 2016 Tuesday ,07 June

For new era of self-driving cars

GMT 08:21 2017 Saturday ,23 December

Saudi-Sudanese Deal to Ease Transfers

GMT 11:08 2017 Thursday ,21 December

Asian markets mostly down as tax cut euphoria wanes
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday