Questions and Answers Concerning the Taiwan Question (2):What is the one-China principle? What is the basis of the one-China principle?
ArchiveAug 12, 2022
Facts
- On Monday, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made its second landfall on mainland Africa killing at least 66 people in Malawi and Mozambique, while 93 were injured and 16 are reportedly missing. The storm made its first landfall in late February.[1]
- According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Freddy is one of the strongest ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere and could be the longest-lasting tropical cyclone in history.[2]
- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that more than 160K people had already been affected by Freddy ahead of its second landfall in Mozambique and Malawi, following its path of destruction that hit Madagascar for a second time last week.[3]
- Earlier, the "once-in-a-lifetime" storm across the Indian Ocean wreaked havoc on Mauritius and Réunion Island. At the height of Freddy's lifecycle, winds reached 160 mph (257 km per hour), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.[4]
- Since its first landfall last month in Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique, Freddy has claimed the lives of at least 136 people and has caused shutdowns in all major hydropower stations of Malawi and cutoffs in power supply and phone signals in Mozambique.[5]
- French weather agency Météo-France’s regional tropical cyclone monitoring center in Réunion on Monday warned that the storm would continue over the next 48 hours, expecting to weaken and exit back to sea on Wednesday.[6]
Spin
Narrative A
A Category 5 storm was unheard of in this region prior to 1994, and cyclone seasons have since worsened to the point that the 2018-19 season was the worst ever recorded. Data shows that climate change will increase the likelihood that the region will take impacts from stronger storms more frequently. It is incumbent upon African nations and the international community as a whole to help this vulnerable and impoverished region prepare for and become resilient to an onslaught of climate-fueled disasters.
Narrative B
For decades, African nations have been out of the climate change emissions problem. Africa is responsible for roughly one percent of global emissions and to date its nations have contributed pennies to the climate change fight. With such a small contribution to global warming, the people of Africa will be among those suffering the most. Wealthier nations are quick to place bans and limits on the cheaper, but emissions-rich solutions. Perhaps Africa will make the giant leap to renewable sources without ever having been bogged down with dirty fossil fuels.
Narrative C
It's easy to dismiss any extreme weather event as a consequence of climate change, but in reality, they're usually influenced by a myriad of factors that have nothing to do with it. More research is needed before we can establish any direct causal link between the two.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the total damage incurred by climate change during the 21st century will be at least 8.84% of world GDP, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
