CLIMATE change could create a global refugee problem to dwarf the current crisis, Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday.
Europe is currently in the grip of the most serious refugee crisis since the Second World War as those displaced by conflict and persecution in Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and other troubled nations seek safety abroad.
But yesterday the First Minister warned of an even greater emergency if world leaders fail to act on climate change at crunch talks taking place in France next month.
The governments of more than 190 countries will meet in Paris to hammer out a worldwide deal aimed at cutting harmful emissions and avoiding catastrophic climate change as the current agreement nears its end.
Experts say a rise of just 2C would create irreversible damage, and estimates suggest the continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions could push the temperature up by 5C.
Sturgeon said yesterday that failure to act now would force countless more from their homes.
Speaking at the Network of International Development Organisations in Scotland (Nidos) conference in Glasgow, she said: “The massive displacement of people as a result of the civil war in Syria is heart-rending – it is vital that Scotland and the UK play a full part in welcoming refugees.
“The movement of people we have seen this year – primarily from one country – is dwarfed by the possible implications of climate change.
“Drought, crop failure and rising sea levels could force many more people from around the world to leave their homelands.
“Tackling climate change – and encouraging peace and prosperity overseas – isn’t altruism. It’s enlightened self-interest.
“Scotland, like all developed nations, will be a wealthier, happier, healthier and more secure nation if we play a full part in tackling global challenges.
“They don’t go away if we bury our head in the sand and pretend they are for somebody else to deal with it. We all have a responsibility to come together to find solutions to these challenges.”
Climate Change Minister Aileen McLeod will be among delegates in Paris as Scotland calls for urgent action to limit pollution.
Sturgeon said Scotland would do “everything it can” to ensure the nations represented – which account for 90 per cent of global emissions – act to limit global warming to 2C or less.
The First Minister said the national and international dimensions of poverty and inequality were interlinked, adding: “Scotland cannot act with credibility overseas if we are blind to inequality here at home.
“Our ambitions for a fairer Scotland are undermined without global action to tackle poverty, promote prosperity and to tackle climate change.”
Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, called on Holyrood to address “incoherencies” in policy that have seen Scotland miss its first four annual climate targets while supporting some of those affected by global warming through the Climate Justice Fund, which operates in countries including Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda.
Calling the impact of climate change “one of the starkest examples of inequality in the world today”, he added: “More than a billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day. One in nine people don’t have enough to eat.
“In just 15 years, extreme poverty has been halved – the fastest reduction in poverty in human history.
“Having halved extreme poverty in 15 years, we believe we can end it in 15 more – an ambition that is held not just by
Oxfam, but by all the world’s leaders who signed up to exactly this target in New York this September as the first Sustainable Development Goal.
“But to do so, we need to tackle extreme inequality. World Bank projections show even on optimistic growth forecasts, it will not be possible to eliminate extreme poverty if inequality levels don’t simultaneously reduce.”
RISING sea levels caused by carbon emissions could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty and make seven times that number homeless, according to reports released yesterday.
The World Bank found sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia were most at risk of suffering poverty triggered by rising global temperatures in the next 15 years.
Meanwhile, the Climate Central organisation found a 4C hike caused by carbon emissions could push land currently home to up to 760 million people under water.
Even if global leaders agree a deal to limit that rise to 2C, 130 million would be affected.
The cities most under threat include Shanghai, Hong Kong, Calcutta, Mumbai, Dhaka, Jakarta and Hanoi.
China, the world’s biggest polluter, currently has 145 million citizens living on exposed coastal land.
Economist Stephane Hallegatte, who lead the World Bank research, said: “The report demonstrates that ending poverty and fighting climate change cannot be done in isolation – the two will be much more easily achieved if they are addressed together.
“Between now and 2030, good, climate-informed development gives us the best chance we have of warding off increases in poverty due to climate change.”
The National View: Words alone will not be enough to halt climate change
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