Climate change boosts conflict risk, floods, hunger: UN (via AFP)
Soaring carbon emissions will amplify the risk of conflict, hunger, floods and mass migration this century, the UN’s expert panel said Monday in a landmark report on the impact of climate change. Left unchecked, greenhouse gas emissions may cost trillions…
This post was republished using Repost. Please read it on Informed Comment directly: https://www.juancole.com/2014/03/certain-warming-insecurity.html
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Related video:
PBS NewsHour: “Exploring the connections between climate change and global security”
China is likely to respond to global warming more rapidly and effectively than the US and the EU although it hasn’t so far. Why? Because it has a command economy, plus pollution in its cities is so critical and obvious that it cannot be ignored any longer. Yes, China has great financial incentives to maintain the status quo, just like pretty much everywhere else; my point is that command economies by nature address crises better and it is for this reason democracies revert to authoritarianism during times of war. What does this imply? That as global warming accelerates there will be a movement toward authoritarian and command economies all over the world, because decisive action rather than consensus building will become a necessity. Or do you see it differently?
As we transition from the “fight carbon” phase to the “shit happens” phase:
Fixing this problem is hardly liable.
The world’s not WE, it’s grandly tribal.
The rich will find a comfortable mesh,
and why worry about Bangladesh.