It is no secret that the international community has so far failed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, despite the well-warnings of scientific experts. One possible way to dissuade states from their shortsightedness may be to remind them of the minor costs they are imposing on future generations.
In understanding these ‘costs’, it is important to note that climate change itself can very well be seen as a war waged on developing countries. It is for this reason that many feel that mitigating its costly aftermath -particularly for poor nations - should much more aptly be our primary priority.
Poor countries cannot afford big responses like building sea-walls and making economies run on wind and solar power and other renewable sources, but their ongoing damage demands urgent responses.
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The Ukraine crisis raised the costs of climate change for poor nations in many ways and increased the obstacles to overcoming it. It's been made evident that the costs of protecting against sudden weather changes and adapting to gradual shifts rise by billions with each new highly destructive outcome on society [1].
Climate change has long had a crippling effect on global growth, making poverty both more common and harder to escape. A region’s vulnerability seems to have no correlation as strongly with proximity to sea as with its per capita income and population
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In the Ukraine, climate change is a regional security issue.
In places like Somalia, temperature changes have contributed to increased food insecurity and conflict. This begs the question - can we afford to ignore the climate crisis looming over our international relations? Essentially, war zones could become “new humanitarian emergencies” unless we deal with this now.
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