UN: By 2050, climate change could force 200 million to evacuate

Climate change could force up to 200 million people worldwide to flee their homes by 2050, United Nations (UN) officials warned Tuesday, a week after thousands of families in Luzon evacuated due to successive typhoons. In a statement posted to mark World Habitat Day, the UN then told the international community to address threats of climate change on the world’s urban areas, cautioning that the link between urbanization and climate change was “real and potentially deadly." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon particularly noted that 60 million people now live within a meter of sea level even as the world’s major coastal cities remained at risk of inundation by rising waters. “Rising sea levels are a major impact of climate change and an urgent concern," Ban said in a message. He added that these crises, however, make room for innovative measures that can help fight climate change. “More and more municipalities are harnessing wind, solar and geothermal energy, contributing to green growth and improving environmental protection," Ban said. In Central Luzon, floodwaters brought by Typhoons Pedring and Quiel led to overcrowding in evacuation centers as of Monday, with some flood-hit villages remaining inaccessible. Role of local leaders The world’s towns and cities should be able to count on their mayors and municipal leaders in times of disaster, added Margareta Wahlström, the UN’s secretary-general special representative for disaster risk reduction. “Cities today are bursting at the seams and they are both an opportunity for economies of scale which will reduce the impact of climate change, and a challenge because of the rapid pace of urbanization," Wahlström said. In the wake of Typhoons Pedring and Quiel, measures for disaster risk reduction have again found themselves on top of the Philippine government’s priorities, with President Aquino on Monday calling for better response from government in times of calamities. — PE/VS, GMA News