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	Natural disasters push 26 million people into poverty each year, says World Bank by Robert Glasser UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction   Floods, earthquakes, droughts, tsunamis and other extreme natural disasters push at least 26 million people into poverty each year and cost the global economy more than half a trillion dollars in lost consumption, the World Bank has said.   A bank study of 117 countries concluded that the full cost of natural disasters was $520bn a year - 60% higher than any previous estimate - once the impact on poor people was taken into account.   Jim Kim, the World Bank’s president, said: “Severe climate shocks threaten to roll back decades of progress against poverty. Storms, floods, and droughts have dire human and economic consequences, with poor people often paying the heaviest price. Building resilience to disasters not only makes economic sense, it is a moral imperative.”   The report cited policies that can assist countries to become more resilient to extreme natural disasters and improve early warning systems that could bring benefits of $100bn a year, the bank said.   It cited the example of Kenya, where the country’s social protection system had provided help to vulnerable farmers well before the 2015 drought, and Pakistan, where a rapid response programme of cash grants after severe floods in 2010 had benefited 8 million people.   Stephane Hallegatte, who prepared the World Bank report, said: “Countries are enduring a growing number of unexpected shocks as a result of climate change. Poor people need social and financial protection from disasters that cannot be avoided. With risk policies that we know to be effective, we have the opportunity to assist millions of people from falling into poverty.”   The bank’s research showed that previous studies had underestimated the impact of natural disasters because they had measured the cost by assessing damage to physical assets.   Costs were much higher when lost consumption of poor people who have fewer assets than the better off was taken into account.   It said $1 in losses did not mean the same to a rich person and poor person.   “The same loss affects poor and marginalised people far more because their livelihoods depend on fewer assets, their consumption is closer to subsistence levels, they cannot rely on savings to smooth the impacts, their health and education are at greater risk, and they may need more time to recover and reconstruct.   “A flood or an earthquake can be disastrous for poor people, but have a negligible impact on a country’s wealth or production if it affects people who own almost nothing and have very low incomes.” http://bit.ly/2eUpA4Q   Aug. 2017   Climate Change is Key Driver of Disasters, by Robert Glasser - UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction   Until recently it has been well understood that the main drivers of weather-related disasters were increased exposure and vulnerability due to poverty, the breakneck pace of urbanization in low and middle income countries, population growth, the destruction of protective eco-systems and low institutional capacity to manage disaster risk.   It is generally accepted that climate change is in the mix, but it is often difficult to pinpoint the role it plays in specific disaster events. Over the last 20 years, some 90 percent of major recorded disaster events have been weather-related.   The Emergency Events Database maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, based at the University of Louvain, Belgium, recorded 6,457 weather-related disasters between 1995 and 2015. There has been a doubling of such events yearly over the last decade.   About 89 percent of the 606,000 lives lost in these events occurred not in Europe but in lower income countries where under-recording of disaster-related mortality remains an issue.   Now comes research published in The Lancet, which focusses on the possible impact of climate change in Europe and finds that weather-related disasters could affect about two-thirds of the European population annually by the year 2100 leaving as many as 351 million people exposed per year compared with 25 million people exposed per year during the reference period of 1981 to 2010.   It is a comprehensive investigation of climate and demographic changes focused on natural hazards which cause the most mortality and affect the highest numbers of people including heatwaves and cold waves, wildfires, droughts, river and coastal floods, and windstorms in a “business-as-usual scenario of greenhouse gas emissions.”   A key finding is that there could be a 50-fold increase in mortality annually, by the year 2100. In southern Europe, currently suffering the ravages of the so-called Lucifer heatwave and associated wildfires, premature mortality linked to weather extremes could become the greatest environmental risk factor.   According to The Lancet, “The projected changes are dominated by global warming (accounting for more than 90 percent of the risk to human beings), mainly through a rise in the frequency of heatwaves (about 2,700 heat-related fatalities per year during the reference period vs 151,500 during the period 2071-100).”   Those numbers are quite staggering. The implications of the findings are profound for the rest of the world, particularly low and middle income countries which do not have access to the kind of resources which Europe has for adaptation to climate change and reducing the risk posed by extreme weather events.   Many low-income countries are still struggling to put in place the most rudimentary of climate risk early warning systems.   The Lancet findings underline the size of the challenge facing many countries in regions of the world where weather-related extreme events pose an even greater threat than in Europe.   This research throws into stark relief how difficult it will be to reduce disaster losses and alleviate the impact on human health if there is not a major ramping up of mitigation, climate adaptation and risk reduction efforts in the immediate future.   These latest research findings are a welcome addition to our understanding of disaster risk in Europe but should also encourage similar investigations of the consequences of climate change in other parts of the world likely to suffer the worsening impacts of weather-related disasters in the future. http://www.unisdr.org/archive/54505   Jan. 2017   NASA, NOAA Data show 2016 Warmest Year on Record Globally.   Earth''s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).   Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit (0.99 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures.   The 2016 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA''s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. NOAA scientists concur with the finding that 2016 was the warmest year on record based on separate, independent analyses of the data.   “2016 is remarkably the third record year in a row in this series,” said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. “We don''t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.”   The planet''s average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.   Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year — from January through September, with the exception of June — were the warmest on record for those respective months. October, November, and December of 2016 were the second warmest of those months on record — in all three cases, behind records set in 2015.   Weather dynamics often affect regional temperatures, so not every region on Earth experienced record average temperatures last year. For example, both NASA and NOAA found the 2016 annual mean temperature for the contiguous 48 United States was the second warmest on record. In contrast, the Arctic experienced its warmest year ever, consistent with record low sea ice found in that region for most of the year.   NASA''s analyses incorporate surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations.   NOAA scientists used much of the same raw temperature data, but with a different baseline period, and different methods to analyze Earth''s polar regions and global temperatures.   NASA monitors Earth''s vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites, as well as airborne and ground-based observation campaigns.   NASA shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.   Dec 2016   2016 slated to be hottest year ever. (UN News)   According to the United Nations weather agency, 2016 is set to be the hottest year on record with global temperatures of approximately 1.2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels.   The continued trend means that 16 of the 17 hottest years on record will have been during this century. Temperatures are not the only record-breaking indicators of climate change. Concentrations of major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to increase to new limits and Arctic sea ice remains at very low levels – particularly at the beginning of this year and in October as the re-freezing period begins. This year also saw significant and unusually early melting of the Greenland ice sheet.   In a press release, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas warned that despite the extra heat due to El Niño no longer having an impact, global warming would continue.   According to Mr. Taalas, temperatures in parts of Arctic Russia were as much as 6° to 7°C above long-term averages; other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions throughout Russia, Alaska and northwest Canada were at least 3° above average.   “We are used to measuring temperature records in fractions of a degree,” he said.   WMO’s findings show that temperature increases are most pronounced in the northern hemisphere; more than 90 per cent of land areas in the northern part of the globe had temperatures of more than 1°C above average, although much of southern Africa and several other regions throughout the southern hemisphere saw the same trend.   Ocean temperatures were also above normal, which has contributed to significant coral bleaching and disruption of ecosystems, including in the Great Barrier Reef, which has seen up to 50 per cent of its coral die in certain parts.   Sea levels rose about 15 millimetres between November 2014 and February 2016 – five times that of the post-1993 trend of three to 3.5 mm per year.   “Because of climate change,” he said, “the occurrence and impact of extreme events has risen. ‘Once-in-a-generation’ heatwaves and flooding are becoming more regular. Sea level rise has increased exposure to storm surges associated with tropical cyclones.”   2016 witnessed major impacts from extreme weather events, with Hurricane Matthew this October responsible for the most casualties. There have also been typhoons and cyclones, flooding throughout Asia and Africa, major heatwaves, the most damaging wildfire in Canada’s history, and major droughts.   WMO has linked weather-related events to conclusions by the International Organisation for Migration (IMO) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which reported 19.2 million new displacements due to weather, water, climate and geophysical hazards in 113 countries in 2015 (data for 2016 is not yet available). That number is more than twice the number of people displaced due to human-related conflict and violence.   * WMO highlights Global Climate 2016: http://arcg.is/2naISJb Visit the related web page
	Human rights abuses in your shopping basket by Amnesty International   Palm oil is a commodity in massive demand for its use in a wide range of basic products from ice-cream and chocolate to shampoo and toothpaste.   Most companies will tell you that the palm oil they use is “sustainable” – meaning that it is environmentally friendly and the workers are treated fairly.   But an Amnesty International investigation has revealed that some of the world’s biggest companies - including Colgate, Nestlé and Unilever - are contributing to child labour and wretched conditions for other workers on palm oil plantations.   Abuses are also taking place on plantations run by companies who are certified as "sustainable", meaning even brands you buy marked as made with “sustainable” or “certified palm oil” could be tainted by human rights abuses.   This means that much of the palm oil in the products in your shopping basket could be tainted by human rights abuses, even when the label says "sustainable".   Global demand for palm oil makes it a lucrative business, but at the price of workers’ misery. Amnesty International investigated the Indonesian palm oil plantations that supply the world’s biggest palm oil trader, Wilmar, and found forced labour, low pay, exposure to toxic chemicals and discrimination against women - employed as casual workers, without pensions and medical insurance.   To meet the food and household sectors’ hunger for a cheap and versatile crop that can be used to manufacture anything, workers are pressurized and threatened to work ever-longer hours, doing physically demanding tasks such as manually cutting fruit from trees 20 metres tall.   To get paid, workers have to cut, carry, spray and collect large numbers of palm fruits to meet ridiculously high targets. This can leave workers in significant physical pain, and they also face a range of penalties for things like not picking up palm fruits from the ground and picking unripe fruit.   ''It is difficult work because the target is horrifying…My feet hurt, my hands hurt and my back hurts after doing the work''. - A worker on a plantation   Amnesty International traced palm oil exports from Wilmar’s Indonesian operations to nine of the world’s biggest companies. While all the companies admitted they get palm oil from Wilmar, only two would say which products it goes in.   These companies tell their consumers they use “sustainable” palm oil. So why aren’t they putting more pressure on Wilmar to treat its workers better? None of the nine companies said they had ever taken action to deal with labour rights abuses in Wilmar’s operations.   It is time for companies to be more transparent about what goes into some of the world’s most popular brands, and to take action when those products contain the fruits of human rights abuses.   Children as young as eight are doing hazardous, hard physical work on palm oil plantations.   This is because palm oil workers have to meet such gruelling targets to get paid enough to live on, many bring their families with them to help.   Most of the children help their parents in the afternoons, after attending school, and on weekends and holidays. However, some have dropped out of school to help their parents and work all day long, picking up and carrying palm fruits.   The children work without any safety equipment, in an environment full of hazards including falling branches and exposure to dangerous chemicals.   The physically demanding and tiring work can injure young children. They carry heavy sacks of palm fruit that can weigh from 12 to 25kg. They manoeuvre wheelbarrows heavy with fruit over narrow bridges.   ''I left school to help my father because he couldn’t do the work anymore. He was sick...I would have liked to have gone to school to become smarter. I would like to become a teacher''. - A 14-year-old boy who harvests palm fruits   Life for a palm oil worker can go from bad to worse if they are exposed to the toxic pesticides and fertilizers used to maintain the lucrative palm fruit plants.   Workers who spray toxic chemicals suffer vomiting, stomach pain and nails falling off their fingers. Worse still, the faulty equipment they use mean many spilled the chemicals on their hands and backs on a regular basis resulting in severe injuries.   One worker, Yohanna, was splashed in the face with toxic fertilizer while trying to load a spraying tank on her bike. The accident caused permanent nerve damage, blindness in one eye, dizziness and headaches.   ''I can’t see through the eye. I get headaches in part of my head, when I do, my eye feels really swollen. I still get a bit dizzy. If I use my right hand a lot, my head hurts. I would just like to walk stable like I used to''. - Yohanna, a palm oil worker   The fertilizers and pesticides cause so much damage because they contain paraquat, a toxic chemical banned in the EU. Wilmar says it phased out paraquat in 2012, but workers on the plantation are still using it, with tragic consequences.   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/sustainable-palm-oil-abuse-exposed/   * Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: http://www.business-humanrights.org/ Visit the related web page
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