LONDON, April 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A growing body of research shows that the worst impacts of climate change are being borne by the most vulnerable nations.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is one of these nations – who due to its geographical location – is now experiencing a higher number of the harshest hurricanes resulting from climate change.
In 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall on the southwest coast of Dominica on 18 September as a Category 5 hurricane. Windspeeds of 220 mph took the lives of 68 people and decimated 90% of the housing infrastructure and directly impacted 80% of the population.
Power and water supplies were disrupted, and entire crops were destroyed.
With a population of just over 70 000 people, Dominica, classified as a Small Island Developing Nation (SIDS), was declared international humanitarian emergency.
Five days after Hurricane Maria, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr the Hon. Roosevelt Skerritt left the frontlines of the devastation to address the 72nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Here, he reminded the nations, especially developed nations, of how small countries like his who had made a very little to no contribution to global warming were on the receiving end of the ferocious impact of climate change.
“Heat is the fuel that supercharges ordinary storms and turns them into a devastating force. In the past we would prepare for one heavy storm a year, now thousands of storms form on a breeze in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and line up to pound us with maximum force.
“We in the Caribbean do not produce greenhouse gases or sulphate aerosols. We do not pollute or overfish. We have made no contribution to global warming that can move the needle, yet we are among the main victims on the war against climate change.”
In 2019, the world’s six largest carbon dioxide emitters together accounted for 51% of the global population and 67% of total CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. Dominica was not on this list.
The U.S. is the second-largest CO2 emitter after China, and the largest historically. In 2019, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions totalled 6,558 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents – a two percent increase since 1990, while Dominica represented 0% of the global share of CO2 emissions in the same period according to Worldometer.
The recent recommitment of the Biden administration’s to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate agreement and advance research and development for solutions is a step in the right direction from a large CO2 emitter like the U.S and will go a long way in helping to protect the health and well-being future generations.
The future of humanity has always been intertwined with that of the natural world.
While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the entire world, it particularly amplified the unique vulnerabilities of SIDS, who are disproportionately bearing the brunt of multiple world crises – climate, nature, health and economics and finance.
The acute structural challenges and multi-dimensional vulnerabilities of SIDS are being more exposed and intensifying over time. Addressing these vulnerabilities is a significant challenge for the small nations, most of whom are middle income countries and are not necessarily eligible to access concessionary finance based on GDP or other established criteria.
Climate change presents unique challenges to SIDS such as Dominica. The associated development challenges from sea-level rise, altered rainfall patterns, and storm-surges threaten to reverse progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals now and in the future. The United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000, commits world leaders to combat environmental degradation amongst other things.
Key projected risks for SIDS include increased loss of land from sea-level rise, flooding, ecosystem degradation and freshwater stress, to tropical storms of increased intensity, and extreme water level events that may double by 2050.
“Dominica is one of the countries on the frontlines of climate change. They feel its impacts first and most severely, yet they contribute less than 1% of global carbon emissions. They are vulnerable to hurricanes and cyclones, which are becoming more frequent and extreme, causing economic and environmental devastation, not to mention loss of life. Their dependence on food and energy imports, and tourism revenue, increase their vulnerability to external shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It must be emphasized that climate change for small island nations is a matter of life and death,” added Micha Emmet, CEO at CS Global Partners – a leading government advisory and marketing firm.
Climate justice is an area of research that frames climate change as a political and ethical issue, and not solely as a problem underpinned by environmental change. SIDS-focused research in climate justice has centred on the shortcomings of existing climate actions to prevent negative climate impacts that affect island states.
The so-called ‘North-South’ divide highlights the difference between developed and developing countries in identifying and implementing ambitious actions that would limit the risks that climate change presents. This divide is exemplified by the contrast between SIDS advocating to limit global average warming to 1.5°C and pushback from developed countries to keep to this warming limit, despite the existential risks that increased warming presents for SIDS.
Contact:
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5eb2078a-157b-43a1-b9c8-d2bb333bd231
