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Newsroom |
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Climate change threatens Latin America and the Caribbean
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A
drying out and die off of the Amazon rainforest as a result of climate
change could alter the global carbon balance. Rio Tapajos Para State,
Brazil.
© WWF-Canon / Michel ROGGO |
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29 Aug 2006
London, UK – As the United States marks the first anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina today, a new report from a coalition of the UK’s
biggest environment and development groups, including WWF, focuses on
the impact that extreme weather and climate change are having on the
Latin America and the Caribbean region.
The report, Up in Smoke? Latin America and the Caribbean,
catalogues the impact of climate change and environmental degradation,
confirming that largely regular and predictable temperature and
rainfall patterns are changing, becoming less predictable and often
more extreme.
“Climate change impacts are being felt across Latin America, ranging
from drought in the Amazon to floods in Haiti, from vanishing glaciers
in Colombia to hurricanes, not only in Central America but even in
southern Brazil,” said Giulio Volpi, WWF’s Climate Change Coordinator
for Latin America. “Across the region the capacity of natural
ecosystems to act as buffers against extreme weather events is being
undermined, leaving people more vulnerable."
According to the report, climate change will have major economic
impacts on fisheries, coral reefs, tourism, water availability and
agriculture, and could increase the impacts of already serious chronic
malnutrition affecting a large sector of the Latin American population.
"Global warming is already affecting Latin America and the Caribbean,
threatening disastrous impacts on nature and people, particularly on
poor communities," added Volpi. "Latin American leaders must do their
fair share to fight climate change."
In particular, the report calls on Latin American governments to
prevent climate altering emissions by committing to a solid set of
policies to reduce climate vulnerability in the short, medium and
long-terms, as well as launch an ambitious climate change initiative
boosting both energy efficiency and renewable energy and halting
deforestation, to meet energy, environmental and climate security.
For further information:
Giulio Volpi, Latin American Climate Change Coordinator
WWF-Brazil
Tel: +5561 364 7400
Email: giulio@wwf.org.br
Martin Hiller, Communications Manager
WWF Global Climate Change Programme
Tel: +41 22 364 9226
Email: mhiller@wwfint.org
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