CLIMATE JUSTICE

DIVEST HARVARD

Index:
What is Climate Justice? General Facts Who is affected? 1 2 3 3

What Is Climate Justice?

Climate Justice refers to how Global Warming disproportionally affects certain populations and peoples of the world. People of color, lowincome, indigenous communities, and people living in the Global South are often the first affected by climate

What is being done?

change, despite the fact that statistically these people contribute to climate change the least. These communities are often affected by compromised health, financial burdens, and social and cultural disruptions, and are many times hit the hardest by extreme natural disasters, heat related illness and death, infectious diseases, respiratory illness, and rising energy costs.

Divest Harvard: Fact Sheet No. 3

July 2013

Main Issues:
There are many ways people are affected by climate change, here are a few main ones
1. Disease
Many populations suffer diseases caused by pollutants, and that result in the wake of natural disasters

2. Lack of Water
As the temperature rises, glaciers melt and there are droughts, leaving less fresh water available

General Facts:
The World Health Organization estimated that in 2000 climate change was causing 150,000 deaths worldwide from malaria, malnutrition, diarrhea and ooding. This conservative estimate is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every week An estimated 90% of all those killed and 98% of those affected by natural disasters live in Asia and Africa. Developing countries are most at risk because they lack the resources and capacity to prevent or mitigate the worst effects Between 1850 and 2007, 23 of the worlds richest countries, home to only 14% of the worlds population, produced 60% of the worlds carbon emissions Approximately 182 million people in sub-Saharan Africa alone could die of disease directly attributable to climate change by the end of the century

A 1 meter rise would displace 10 million people in Vietnam and 8-10 million in Egypt During the Pliocene period, when the world was 2C - 3C warmer, sea-levels were 25 meters higher. About 1 billion people live within a 25-meter rise in todays sea-level, including many US East Coast cities and areas occupied by more than 250 million people in China It is estimated that less than 1/10th of climate funds disbursed so far have been to help developing countries which bear the brunt of climate impacts to adapt According to the World Bank, by the 2030s, 40 percent of the land used to grow maize in subSaharan Africa will be unable to sustain that crop because of droughts and heat

3. Natural Disasters
The number of extreme natural disasters continues to rise due to rising temperatures, and countries and communities with the least amount of infrastructure are affected most

4. Migration
Those who live near coast lines will be forced to move due to rising sea levels, and their countries and other countries will be forced to accommodate them

5. Food Crisis
Lack of water and changing climate will affect many farming peoples livelihoods, especially in developing countries

newint.org

Who is Affected?
Demographic of people most affected by Global Warming

Impoverished (Globally)
Developing countries have 98% of the seriously affected and 99% of all deaths from weather-related disasters, along with over 90% of the total economic losses Droughts, oods, heat waves, sea-level rises and ercer storms will cause severe hardship in areas that are already poor or were emerging from poverty 75% of the worlds poor live in rural areas

People of Color (in U.S.)

African American children are six times more likely to die from asthma than other children

Women (Globally)
Women are more likely to die during natural disasters than men

Sixty-eight percent of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal plant -- one of the biggest sources of carbon pollution in America African Americans living in Los Angeles are more than twice as likely to die during a heat wave as other residents of the city

Climate change leads to increased illness and disease and women are the primary caregivers for the sick

Global warming increases the likelihood of armed conict, including violence against women

Damages from 2.5C Degrees of Warming

Estimated percentage of GDP
India 4.93

and largely depend on natural resources for their livelihoods and income

Africa

3.91

OECD Europe

2.83

Which areas are currently most affected by Global Warming?

Bangladesh Sudan Caribbean Australia Siberia Tuvalu Great Barrier Reef Alps Britain

High-Income OPEC

1.95

Eastern Europe

0.71

Japan

0.50

United States

0.45

China

0.22

Russia cato.org

-0.65

Bibliography/Sources
http://www.actforclimatejustice.org/about/what-is-climate-justice/ http://newint.org/features/2009/01/01/climate-justice-facts/ http://tcktcktck.org/categories/5,24,3592/search_type/and/order/date?filtro=facts&topics=24&regions=3592 http://tcktcktck.org/2013/01/41394/41394 http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2013/04/environmental-justice-for-today-for-the-future.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/climate-change-poverty-link_n_3463748.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/climate-change-poverty-link_n_3463748.html http://www.theroot.com/views/how-climate-change-affects-people-color http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/regulation/2008/2/v31n1-3.pdf http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/6486612/Global-warming-ten-most-affected-areas.html http://www.globalpovertyproject.com/infobank/climate_change

Photos: Manish Swarup/AP, The Guardian http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/category/renewable-energy/ https://access.foundationsource.com/project/technical-assistance-environmental-justice