Effects of Climate Change

by millytant
Even though Japan, the US and Europe release more than 40 percent of global emissions, the effects of climate change have a far bigger impact on communities in developing countries which don’t have the resources to protect themselves – and who are contributing least to the problem.

A ruddy great big dirty carbon footprint

Carbon Footprint

As we are made increasingly aware of our carbon footprint and the destructive impact travel can have on the environment, it makes it increasingly difficult to enjoy guilt-free holidays.

The future for developing countries

People living in poverty face a future with more frequent and unpredictable floods, droughts, hunger and disease. If we don’t take action now, by 2080 sea levels will rise 50cm, according to Oxfam. This will leave twice as many people exposed to serious flooding, mostly in South and South-east Asia. Global warming creating water shortages will leave three billion people in the Middle East and India desperate for water. And droughts and floods will cause severe food shortages, help spread infectious diseases, devastate communities, and take away their livelihoods.

What we can do to help slow global warming

Reducing car use and home energy use home helps to reduce our carbon footprint and the onset of global warming, but it’s probably only a tiny minority who are willing to convert to being committed ‘non-flyers’. For the rest of us the prospect of kicking the flying habit entirely is a step too far. The alternative is to at least donate money to offset your carbon emissions – or to support organisations that deal with the fallout from climate change and global warming.

Wipe Your Carbon Footprints

Offsetting carbon emissions

When you book your flights or a holiday, some travel companies and airlines now offer you the chance to balance your carbon use by donating to organisations that plant trees or build renewable energy facilities. You can also calculate and buy offsets independently through websites such as www.carbonfund.org To offset a flight from London  to Barcelona, for example, would cost you less than €2.

Supporting disaster reduction work and adaptation strategies

Alternatively, you could support organisations that undertake disaster risk reduction work or climate adaptation projects in developing countries.  A regular charity donation will help sustain the continued work of aid agencies and disaster releif teams.

The Mercy Corps’ ‘Cool Carbon’ Initiative, for example, provides an online tool to help you tot up how much you should contribute based on your travel plans, and you can then invest in your chosen projects. These help communities develop adaptation strategies to cope with the effects of climate change, and also provide workable energy options that reduce carbon emissions. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, Mercy Corps has introduced fuel efficient stoves, while in Colombia it has helped to install Biogas latrines.

Other organisations are doing equally important work. In Sri Lanka rising sea levels are encroaching on coastal rice fields; Practical Action has helped farmers trial new saline-tolerant varieties of rice. In Vietnam, Oxfam has helped communities plant dense mangroves along the coast to prevent erosion.

Is this enough?

We know these organisations alone can’t solve the problem of climate change. Long-term solutions depend partly on G8 country leaders being held accountable for limiting their greenhouse gas emissions – and for providing funds for adaptation. But in the meantime, individual charity donations to these organisations do support important projects working to help the most vulnerable communities face the immediate effects of climate change.