Climate change: At-risk nations fear extinction after IPCC report

At-risk nations fear extinction after IPCC report
Countries like the Maldives are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Source: Getty Images
2 Min Read

Daily US Times: Vulnerable nations due to climate change have warned they are on the “edge of extinction” if action is not taken.

The warning by a group of developing countries comes after a landmark United Nations report about the science of climate change argued that global warming could make parts of the world uninhabitable.

World leaders including British PM Boris Johnson have called the report a “wake-up call to the world”.

But some of the strongest reaction to the findings of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has come from countries that are set to be the worst hit.

Mohamed Nasheed, a former Maldives president, said: “We are paying with our lives for the carbon someone else emitted.” Mr Nasheed represents almost 50 countries that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The Maldives is the world’s lowest-lying country and Mr Nasheed said the projections by IPCC would be “devastating” for the nation, putting it on the “edge of extinction”.

Heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall will become more common and extreme, according to the latest IPCC report. The UN’s chief has labelled it a “code red for humanity”.

The report says there is “unequivocal” evidence that humans are to blame for increasing global temperatures. Temperatures are likely to rise 1.5C above pre-industrial levels within the next two decades, it adds.

The report said, that could lead to sea levels rising by half a metre, but a rise of 2 meter by the end of the century cannot be ruled out.

Diann Black-Layne, lead climate negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States and ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda said rising sea levels could have a devastating impact on low-lying coastal countries.

You may read: Strong winds push Greece wildfires towards villages