Extract and a comment from me below. Read online: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/02/1133492
--
Rising seas pose “unthinkable” risks to billions around the world, with profound implications for security, international law, human rights and the very fabric of societies, senior officials told the Security Council on Tuesday, as members held their first-ever debate on the phenomenon’s global implications.
“The impact of rising seas is already creating new sources of instability and conflict,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who opened the meeting.
Noting that some nations’ coastlines have already seen triple the average rate of sea level rise, he warned that, in the coming decades, low-lying communities – and entire countries – could disappear forever.
“We would witness a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale, and we would see ever-fiercer competition for fresh water, land and other resources,” he warned...
--
COMMENT (NPW): The potential catastrophic health impacts of climate change are well documented, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres uses appropriate terminology such as 'on a biblical scale' to try to convey the magnitude of the threat. But I suspect the vast majority of the world's population remains unaware of these impacts. Even fewer people, including and especially policymakers, are able to truly digest and understand the implications. We hear words such as 'on a biblical scale' and we tend to move on without really digesting them. Basic knowledge of the current and future health impacts of climate change is vital to protect personal and public health. I look forward to your thoughts on what is working well (we are fortunate to have leaders such as António Guterres and Greta Thunberg) and what could be done better.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
