Global Health

Climate Change Will Exacerbate Gap Between Rich and Poor

by Mike Smith

category: Climate Change

Published November 20, 2009 @ 11:18AM PT

• 6262 Views

Climate change won't just hit the poorest the hardest, with those in developing countries bearing the brunt of climate change — losing access to crucial water supplies, and feeling the effect of rising sea levels. Climate change will additionally exacerbate gaps between the rich and poor. The effects of climate change is likely to reverse many of the hard earned and costly developments gains of the Millennium Development Goals. Specific setbacks will include increased water scarcity, and changes in the availability of food. Quite simply, climate change is the perfect storm. And oh yeah, climate change is already producing more ferocious natural disasters.

The increased necessity of migration due to the failure of crops and rising sea levels will further impact health from both a perspective of the stress and strain of mass migration, and also due to increased potential for civil strife.

Altering family planning, reproductive health care and improve the rights of women could reduce population stress and in turn reduce greenhouse emissions. But in the short term, there is nothing better than rapidly cutting emissions. The long term strategy will continue to be a challenge as the richer get richer and consume more, and the poor get poorer and continue to be hit even harder.

Photo: Suburbanbloke