UN Chief citing Kerala Floods: Climate change running faster than we are

UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres cited the devastating floods in Kerala and the wildfires in California as he expressed concern that climate change is running faster than we are and called for urgency and action to prevent ever greater climaterelated crises The UN chief said last year climaterelated disasters were responsible for thousands of deaths and USD 320 billion dollars in lossesClimate change is running faster than we are The impacts are devastating and it is usually the poorest and the most vulnerable who are hit first and worst by storms floods droughts wildfires and rising seas Guterres said at the launch of the 2018 New Climate Economy report here on WednesdayThis year we have seen the terrible flooding in Kerala in India savage wildfires in California and Canada and dramatic warming in the Arctic that is affecting weather patterns across the northern hemisphere The trend is clear The last 19 years included 18 of the warmest years on record and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere continue to rise he saidThe southern Indian state witnessed the worst flooding in 100 years About 80 dams had overflowed and more than 370 lives lost Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that a total of 12 million people affected by floods had been housed in 3314 relief camps in the stateGuterres warned that runaway climate change is a real possibility with severe implications for communities economies peace and the security of nations Climate change has been proven to amplify and exacerbate other risks Put simply we need climate action to prevent ever greater crises We must act with greater ambition and urgency he saidThe document published by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate iquest a project comprising several UN bodies and other institutions iquest finds that the benefits of smarter and clearer growth are significantly underestimated and that bold climate action could deliver USD 26 trillion in economic benefits through to 2030Other benefits of switching to a clean economy include the creation of over 65 million new lowcarbon jobs and 700000 fewer air pollutionrelated deaths Ngozi OkonjoIweala former finance minister of Nigeria and cochair of the Global Commission said Policymakers should take their feet off the brakes send a clear signal that the new growth story is here and that it comes with exciting economic and market opportunities USD 26 trillion and a more sustainable planet are on offer if we act decisively nowGuterres added that momentum for climate action is growing every day with over 130 of the worlds most influential companies now committed to using only renewable energy fossil fueldependent countries looking to diversify and over 250 investors with USD 28 trillion in managed assets signing on to the Climate Action 100 initiativeClimate change is a public health emergency that is expected to cause an additional 250000 deaths every year between 2030 and 2050 according to WHO We need ClimateAction now httpstcoeQ2wTEO98i pictwittercomrPhDybmJSomdash Antoacutenio Guterres antonioguterres August 26 2018The Climate Action is a fiveyear initiative led by investors to engage systemically important greenhouse gas emitters and other companies across the global economy that have significant opportunities to drive the clean energy transition and help achieve the goals of the Paris AgreementGuterres said clean energy systems help developing countries where over a billion people still do not have access to electricityIt can help deliver access to energy to the one billion people who currently lack electricity he added Underlining the risks faced by the world the UN chief said women the poorest and the most vulnerable are hit first and worst by storms floods droughts wildfires and rising seasThe UN SecretaryGeneral said climate change will be high on the agenda of the 2018 opening session of the General Assembly as part of efforts to galvanise action ahead of the milestone 2020 meeting of parties to the 2015 Paris AgreementCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever