Sep 04 2009

Climate Changes

Posted by: Jennifer Zerwer

Several news stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:

It's just the beginning of September, and California has already spent $106.5 million during the fiscal year to fight more than 50 major wildfires. According to researchers at Headwaters Economics, even a slight rise in average spring and summer temperatures could bring an incredible increase in the number and cost of fires. Using Montana as a case study, where an average of $28 million is spent annually to protect homes from forest fires, researchers anticipate a one-degree increase in average summer temperatures would at least double home protection costs. The combination of additional development and hotter summers could push the average annual cost of protecting homes from forest fires even further, to exceed $80 million by 2025.

In South Asia, the effects of climate change are expected to threaten water and food security for more than 1.6 billion people. A report produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute reveals India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal will be most vulnerable to falling crop yields caused by glacier retreat, floods, droughts and erratic rainfall.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded the total funding need for adaptation to climate change by 2030 could amount to $49 billion - $171 billion per year globally. To better understand the level of global investment required to adapt, the UNFCCC commissioned six studies that provided estimates for the year 2030. Areas covered by the studies included agriculture, forestry and fisheries, water supply, human health, coastal zones, infrastructure and ecosystems. Infrastructure accounted for three quarters of the estimated costs.

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