A new report conducted by a panel of international scientists and experts in finance and economics from 11 countries revealed that the risk of climate change must be assessed as if it were a national security issue or risk to public health.
According to the experts, agricultural and biological anomalies that lead to famine, deadly heat waves that cause droughts, and the rising sea level, as previously reported by HNGN, bring severe and devastating impacts that governments should be prepared for.
"When we think about keeping our country safe, we always consider the worst case scenarios," said British Foreign Office Minister Joyce Anelay, according to NBC News. "That is what guides our policies on nuclear non-proliferation, counter-terrorism and conflict prevention. We have to think about climate change the same way."
Anelay's agency is one of the sponsors of the study.
Researchers have identified Middle East and North Africa as most vulnerable, with environmental changes possibly exacerbating the insurgency and terrorist activities happening in the region. The experts predict a scenario where people will be forced to migrate to other regions, affecting borders and triggering a global humanitarian crisis.
The panel recommended governments to regularly conduct climate change risk assessments with political leaders in the highest positions be made aware of the developments.
"As the report shows, adapting to, and mitigating the risk of, climate change is of vital importance for governments. One of the most important goals of climate change policy should be to recognize the possibility of very bad outcomes and a full risk assessment of all possibilities is the best way to achieve this," said Fiona Morrison of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, via Click Green.
"This report will be a very useful tool in assessing the important risk factors that need to be considered and the existential implications, in the coming years, of an increase in global temperature," Morrison added.
The report was published through the Centre for Science and Policy in the University of Cambridge.
