Climate Change
Climate Change: Facts & Figures:
They are real and they are here..but there are things we can do together….
At the current rate of carbon emissions, global average temperatures will rise 2°C by 2050 according to research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Unless urgent action is taken now the world faces these terrifying consequences:
• 250 million people will be forced to leave their homes between now and 2050.
• Acute water shortages for 1-3 billion people
30 million more people going hungry as agricultural yields go into recession across the globe
• Sea levels edging towards increases of up to 95cm by the end of the century, submerging 18% of Bangladesh.
• A 1°C rise, expected by 2020, would see an extra 240 million people experiencing water ‘stress’ - where supply can no longer be stretched to meet demand.
• The predicted 1.3°C rise by 2025 would see tens of millions more going hungry due to falling agricultural yields in the developing world and making poverty permanent.
Climate Change
However bad the consequences of climate change are for those living in relatively wealthy countries, they will be far, far more devastating for vulnerable people in poor countries.
‘Climate change is also clearly a development issue since its adverse effects will disproportionately affect poorer countries.’ European Commission, 2003
‘Forget about making poverty history. Climate change will make poverty permanent.’ Nazmul Chowdhury, Practical Action, a Christian Aid partner
It’s getting hot in here
• Since 1850, a period in which today’s richest countries have industrialised rapidly, levels of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in our atmosphere have risen 28%; methane levels are 112% higher.
• The world’s surface temperatures are rising more rapidly than at any point in the last 10,000 years.
• The 1990s were the hottest decade since records began - and the temperature rises are speeding up.
Death and disease:
Global warming is bad for your health as these figures attest
• An estimated 150,000 people die annually from diseases that the changing climate has encouraged to grow.
• Warmer, wetter weather will see malaria, which currently kills up to 3 million people a year, spread to new territories - there is evidence that it has already encroached into previously cool highland areas of Rwanda and Tanzania.
• Christian Aid research, based on scientific predictions, reveals that 182 million people in sub-Saharan Africa alone could die of disease directly attributable to climate change by the end of the century.
Rising sea-levels
Sea levels are set to rise dramatically:
• Melting glaciers and polar ice combined with the thermal expansion of the oceans means we can expect sea-level rises of 15-95cm this century.
• A rise of 1m would displace 10 million people in Vietnam and 8-10 million in Egypt.
• The UK’s Department for International Development predicts that the number of Africans at risk of coastal flooding will rise from 1 million in 1990 to 70 million by 2080.
• In Bangladesh, flood damage has become more extreme in the last 20 years. By 2100, predicted ocean rises threaten to submerge 18% of the country, creating 35 million environmental refugees.
Water shortages
Reduced rainfall will lead to water shortages:
• The Sahel region of Africa has experienced drought-like conditions stretching back to the 1960s. There are no prospects of a revival in its rainfall levels.
• In east Africa, 11 million people were put at risk of hunger by years of unprecedented drought.
• Millions in Asia and South America depend on melting snow and glaciers for water. Thanks to rising temperatures, they are vanishing - since 1995 more than 90% of glaciers have been in retreat. Once they are gone, they cannot be replaced.
• It is expected that Africa’s last remaining tropical glacier, on Kenya’s Mt Kilimanjaro, will have vanished by 2015.
Extreme weather
Climate change will increase the incidence of extreme weather patterns
• 90% of the victims of weather-related natural disasters during the 1990s lived in poor countries.
• Over the past 35 years, storms of the force of Hurricane Katrina have almost doubled. Meteorologists say rises in the temperature of the sea surface are the most likely cause.
• Bangladesh could experience 15% more rainfall by 2030, putting 20-40% more of its land at risk of flooding.
So what can we do?
Think Green….Campaign for the environment…Support green causes…Shop Green…read labels…ask questions where you buy, look for organic, renewable and sustainable fabrics, buy Fair Trade. Swap your clothes, go vintage, walk more, car share, reduce, reuse & recycle. Use LED lightbulbs, plant a tree, choose wisely, share your green thoughts with your friends.
Trees4Good
Offset part of the carbon emissions created from your delivery by contributing towards a tree being planted for £2 with Trees4Good.
Purchase your donation here: http://www.ecochicfairtrade.co.uk/product/trees_4_good/
One Jatropha plant “eats” carbon dioxide and gives out oxygen; this in turn offsets carbon emissions and helps the environment. EcoChic will keep everyone informed about our trees and the good that is being done from our association with the programme via our blog.Climate change and poverty are major problems affecting the world today and are two of the most serious challenges the human race faces. To protect the health and economic well-being of current and future generations we must reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases - primarily carbon dioxide (CO2) - by using the technology, know how and practical solutions that are already at our disposal.
One of the best solutions to counteract the production of CO2 is to plant trees. As you are no doubt aware, trees are nature’s solution to balancing the CO2 content in the atmosphere. Basically trees take in CO2 and give out oxygen and people take in oxygen and breathe out CO2. For millennia that balanced nicely - until the industrial revolution came along a couple of centuries ago and now things are no longer working quite so well. It’s time for change. It’s time to plant.
Trees4Good plant trees! But, more than that, they plant them in parts of the world where they provide both environmental and economic benefits. Their trees will help absorb CO2 while also helping to alleviate poverty in some of the poorest countries on earth. In addition these trees provide a clean burning inedible oil that can be used for bio fuels - an alternative to CO2 producing fossil fuels helping to provide a sustainable income that prevents further logging of the rainforest.
EcoChic takes our impact on the environment very seriously and as a result, we are working towards becoming carbon neutral. By taking small little green steps and giving our customers the chance to put money towards the purchase of trees we are striving towards becoming Carbon Neutral……which is something we feel very strongly about.
We are also working closely with Carbon Clear Solutions (who introduced us to the Trees4Good programme) to identify other areas of our operations where we can reduce the company’s environmental impact.
Find out more by visiting www.trees4good.com
Purchase your donation here: http://www.ecochicfairtrade.co.uk/product/trees_4_good/
