How Do Governments Combat Climate Change?
World101Sep 15, 2021
On Monday, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that, over the last 50 years, nearly 12K extreme weather events linked with climate change have killed over 2M people and racked up more than $4.3T in damages.
The report said that over 90% of the deaths occurred in developing countries with WMO chief Petteri Taalas saying, "The most vulnerable communities unfortunately bear the brunt of weather, climate and water-related hazards."
World governments agree that something needs to be done about climate change, however, they don't all agree on what actions need to take place. A compromise will need to be reached in several key areas: carbon taxes, the capping, and trading of private-sector greenhouse gas emissions, clean energy standards, international agreements, adaptation policies, tech investments, and financial risks. Critical policy decisions in these areas that address the necessary changes to reverse climate change and the appetite of society will be the key to saving our planet or shutting the door to the possibility of change.
In the US, extreme heat is the number one killer of Americans. Impoverished people and people of color are often the victims. They are more likely to work and live in the more populous, urban areas with limited means for cooling themselves. Globally, marginalized populations like Indigenous people and poor people face the same challenges. Soaring temps will exacerbate health challenges that pregnant women and other vulnerable populations face unless the world's governments step up and use what little time is remaining to reduce emissions and upgrade critical infrastructure to provide adequate protection. The international community's response has been inadequate to date.
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.
There's an 85% chance that there will be at least 2˚C degrees of global warming by 2100, according to the Metaculus prediction community.