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United Nations
UN, aid partners issue call for global efforts to slash climate-induced
disaster risks
3 December 2008 - The United Nations and its humanitarian partners
appealed today for stepped-up action on a global scale to boost
preparedness for effectively responding to disasters brought on by
climate change.
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee comprising nearly 20 UN agencies
and aid organizations and the UN International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR) issued the call in Poznan, Poland, where the latest
round of UN climate change talks is under way.
Climate change is not some futuristic scenario, cautioned John Holmes,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. Its happening today,
and millions of people are already suffering the consequences.
Last years devastating floods in sub-Saharan Africa and China, the
heat waves in South-Eastern Europe, droughts in Eastern and Southern
Africa and massive Caribbean hurricanes all serve as a curtain raiser
on the future, he added.
Nine out of 10 disasters recorded are climate-related, while the
number of disasters has doubled to more than 400 annually over the
past two decades.
During the course of the next 20 years, it s expected that the
intensity, frequency, duration and extent of weather-related hazards
will rise around the world.
Better disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response will curtail
much of the loss and suffering resulting from such hazards.
According to a press release issued today by the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), investing in risk
reduction can curb the amount of money needed to respond to
emergencies once they have occurred.
For example, China averted losses of some $12 billion as a result of
the just over $3 billion it spent on flood control between 1960 and
2000.
News Tracker: past stories on this issue
Time to prepare for disasters caused by climate change is now, says UN
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