In recent months global awareness on the risks associated with climate change has shifted drastically. Few would now dare to argue against the view that climate change presents an enormous humanitarian challenge. Even if progress in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases is made, we should not forget that weather patterns have changed already, global temperatures have risen already and, above all, climate change is already taking a heavy human toll around the globe already.
For far too long climate change has been seen as a problem of the future and one that only a limited range of ministries and institutions should manage. This must change now. Climate change requires broader engagement.
We need to build up knowledge on how the most vulnerable communities can protect and adapt themselves and what types of global support systems are needed. How will millions of people in Africa and Asia be affected by changing monsoon seasons? How will the poor cope with more frequent and intense droughts and floods? How will the weakest survive more agonising heat waves and violent tropical storms? How can we defuse the tensions that are likely to erupt as food and water shortages worsen? What are the security implications of the mass migrations predicated by many experts? Should we start identifying safe land for coastal and insular populations? How can the latest advances in agriculture and water harvesting be made available to those most in need? How can the humanitarian community enlist the help of all sectors to face those challenges? And who will pay the bills? These are just a few of the many questions that come to mind.
Adapting to the adverse effects of climate change also means increasing the resilience of the communities at risk. To achieve this objective involves efforts and expertise in areas ranging from economic development to risk reduction and from disaster relief to private investment. Coordinated efforts at the global, regional and local levels will, therefore, be required to find practical solutions. These efforts will carry a cost.
The Global Humanitarian Forum, launched in Geneva this week, will focus its activities on the adverse humanitarian consequences of climate change. It will seek to provide an impartial and inclusive platform where decision-makers can break through barriers to adaptation and work together to search for solutions; where scientists and economists can meet leaders of communities that are trying already to adapt to a changing climate; and where we can better harness the business community’s ability to work for the common good.
The scale and effect of climate change requires from us unprecedented collaboration. Now is the time to act.
Kofi Annan is president of the Global Humanitarian Forum. He was formerly secretary-general of the United Nations and was co-recipient, with the UN, of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize