Beware Climate Karma

Climate Change's Frightening Toll

Approximately 315,000 people a year are being killed by climate change, according to the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum. The statistics of the report are attributable to hunger, sickness, and weather disasters. I can only imagine the what the toll would stand at if armed conflicts over dwindling resources were included in the tally, for example the violence in Darfur.

The report also reveals one of the more problematic dimensions of the climate change issue: the nations most responsible for carbon emissions (U.S., Canada, China, Russia, Western Europe) are going to be least affected in the short-term, while 15 of the 20 nations most vulnerable to climate change reside in Africa. A problem of this magnitude is incredibly difficult to solve when there is no immediate incentive to grapple with it. "The first hit and worst affected are the world's poorest groups, and yet they have done least to cause the problem," said Kofi Annan.

But if we think this is a cushion for affluent nations to fall back on, think again. The west is in for some serious karmic blowback if steps are not taken to mitigate the causes of climate change. It is estimated that 325 million people are currently affected by climate change, and that might double within 20 years to 10% of the world's population. Think of the refugee crisis that's going to cause, and whose borders the refugees will head towards. Think of the instability this will create in the developing world, the failed states, the breeding grounds for terrorism.

Watch this to see how climate change tangibly affects African families: