Threat Of Climate Change On Health And Safety

Climate change is "an immediate and serious threat and growing" safety and health in the world, according to an expert conference in London.

Officers in the British armed forces warned that the price of goods such as fuel will likely increase as the conflict triggered by climate change increases.

A statement of the meeting, adding that humanitarian disasters will put more pressure on the military resources.

It calls on governments to adopt ambitious targets for limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

The climate conference opens annual UN in six weeks, and doctors, academics and military experts represented at the meeting (held in the British Medical Association (BMA) headquarters) argue that developed countries and countries development of both need to raise their games.

Scientific studies suggest that the impacts of climate change more severe fall in relatively poor countries of the tropics.

British military experts said that many of the world trade moves through these regions, North America, Western Europe and China, among the companies heavily dependent on imported oil and others.

The cons-Admiral Neil Morisetti, climate and energy security envoy of the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the conflict in such areas could make it difficult and expensive to obtain goods on which countries such as Great Britain chairs.

"If there is a risk of trade routes and other areas, so it's a food is energy," he told BBC News.

"Energy price increases - for us [the price] of gas pumps - and the goods made in South-East Asia, we import a lot."

Climate Café

Several recent studies have shown that the effects of climate change will make the conflict more likely, increasing competition, but is afraid of essential resources like water and food.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies, for example, warned recently that climate change "will increase the risk of lack of resources, mass migration and civil strife," while for the defense is that it will pass "the tipping point where there is a conflict."

The troops in Helmand province, Afghanistan, the armed forces' gas guzzlers of the world "

Alejandro Litovsky founder of the Initiative for security, said that even without the effect of increasing conflict goods were inevitable.

"Since 2000, we have seen commodity prices rise, and it is not likely to stop," he said.

"And 'primarily a lack of direct resources, and trends suggest that the depletion of these natural resources is unable to reverse in the foreseeable future without drastic measures."

He also said that the degradation of natural resources such as forests and fresh water was the removal of a great flexibility, the companies in the past and enjoy.

In last week warned the multinational Starbucks Coffee House that climate change threatens the supply of coffee in the world in 20-30 years time. "

Compromise carbon

Army officials at the meeting also stressed the importance of the armed forces by reducing their carbon footprint.

In Afghanistan, for example fuel to be delivered by road from Pakistan.

For the time has come, can cost 10 times the price at the pump. It trains on a regular basis in the opposing forces.

Several officers admitted that the armed forces were "gas guzzlers of the world" - and while it was sometimes necessary in the operations, reducing the use of fossil fuels and the adoption of renewable energy as much as possible from the direction economic views and tactics.

The cons-Admiral Morisetti recalled that when commanding an aircraft carrier, it took a gallon of oil to go to only 12 inches (30 cm), while no less than 20 tons per hour was burned during a intensive period of takeoff and landing.

"You can do [with oil prices at] $ 30 per barrel, but not $ 100 or $ 200," he said.

Health Gains

On the health side, the doctors warned of a series of impact, especially in developing countries.

Hunger and malnutrition are likely to increase, and some infectious diseases could spread, they said.

Poorer societies might expect a symbiosis between the profane, made under-nourished people are more prone to succumb to infection.

Tackling carbon emissions, however, introduce a number of health benefits they claim in their statement.

"The changes in electricity production to improve air quality.

"Small changes in lifestyle - such as increasing physical activity by walking and cycling - reduced rates of heart disease and stroke, obesity, diabetes, cancer, breast cancer, dementia and depressive illness.

"Policies to mitigate climate change would be to significantly reduce rates of preventable death and disability for hundreds of millions of people around the world."

No reason to be optimistic

As the UN summit approaches in southern Africa, the statement urges the EU to increase its ambition and commitment to reduce emissions 30% below 1990 levels by the year 2020, instead of the current target of 20%.

At the moment there seems to be a political consensus on such a move by the EU governments, though.

Other recommendations are that governments should analyze the climate threats to their health and safety and that all governments should stop building new coal plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS) - which, as systems commercial CCS that do not exist, would, as things would amount to a complete ban.

Without urgent action, carbon emissions could reach levels that should alarm key, said Chris Rapley, a professor of climate science at University College London.

We have already noted, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by about 380 parts per million [ppm] - like millions of years before the pre-industrial era, which has fluctuated between about 180 ppm during glacial periods and about 280 ppm in the warm interglacial periods.

"If we do nothing, so at the rate we're going, carbon emissions will continue to accelerate, and the atmospheric concentration will not be 450 ppm or 650ppm by the end of this century, but 1000 ppm" at he said.

"It's 10 times the difference between a glacial and an interglacial, and you must be an optimist to believe big enough that will not cause big changes."