UN urges governments to take action against climate change

A major report warns that a lack of urgency in taking action against climate related issues will cause further economic losses in the future.

According to the UN a "small additional investment" in more resilient infrastructure "could make a crucial difference in achieving the national and international goals of ending poverty, improving health and education, and ensuring sustainable and equitable growth".

In a major new report from the UN titled, Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, the economic cost of natural disasters worldwide has reached an average of between $250bn and $300bn.

UN Secretary‐General's Special Representative on Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström said: "If we do not address risk reduction, future losses from disaster will increase and this will impact countries' capacity to invest money in other areas such as health and education. If we do not take the necessary measures now, it will be difficult to achieve development, let alone sustainable, development".

The report coinciding with the upcoming Third Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, does not focus exclusively on climate-related risks. However, it warns that in many countries "climate change is magnifying risks and increasing the cost of disasters".

The report also calculated that in the Caribbean the average annual loss related to tropical cyclone winds alone are expected to increase by $1.4bn by 2050.

Similarly, the report mentions evidence that increased incidences of droughts in some countries is already impacting agricultural production and undermining GDP growth. Therefore, there is sufficient evidence for the UN to ensure new infrastructure to mitigate the impact of climate change.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (pictured top right) says: "We are playing with fire. There is a very real possibility that disaster risk, fuelled by climate change, will reach a tipping point beyond which the effort and resources necessary to reduce it will exceed the capacity of future generations”.

It is estimated that an annual global investment of $6bn in disaster risk management strategies would generate total benefits in terms of risk reduction of $360bn, which is equivalent to a 20 per cent reduction of new and additional annual economic losses.

The total investment of just 0.1 per cent of the $6tr a year will have to be invested in infrastructure over the next 15 years.

 The Sendai conference is expected to focus on building the Hyogo Framework for Action, which was launched in 2005 as a 10-year plan to better co-ordinate global disaster management efforts.