Mitigating climate impact on health
Climate crisis threatens progress in development, global health and poverty reduction and it widens health inequality. It affects social and environmental determinants of health. The climate crisis encompasses warming temperature, increases in the rate or intensity of extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Eventually, it threatens people’s health by affecting the air that people breathe, the water that people drink and the food that people eat. The severity of health risks of a country depends on the ability of national and local public health and safety systems to address the changing threats. In Bangladesh, the health sector has limited expertise on climate change and lacks the capacity to fully respond to, recover from and adapt to climate-related shocks and stresses in ensuring essential health services. To outline the impact of climate change on health, Warmer average temperatures can lead to an increase in heat-related death and can worsen air quality, which can lead to asthma attacks and other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events can affect human health in a number of ways — damaging roads and bridges and, thus, disrupting access to hospital and pharmacies and interrupting communication, utility, and health care services. It can also worsen mental health impact such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, people with disabilities may also be disproportionally affected if they are unable to access evacuation routes, have difficulty in understanding or receiving warnings of impending danger, or have limited ability to communicate their needs. Climate change and the direct impact of a higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the air affects food safety and nutrition. A higher air temperature can increase cases of bacteria-related food poisoning because bacteria grow more rapidly in a warm environment. A higher sea surface temperature can lead to higher mercury concentrations in seafood and an increase in extreme weather events can contaminate the food chain through storm water run-off.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.