Cape Town conference hears nearly 19-million people displaced by climate change in 2017
The UN puts climate adaptation on an equal footing with climate mitigation when managing climate change; Cape Town’s reduction in water usage was highlighted at the gathering
Nearly 19-million people were displaced because of climate change in 2017‚ said a senior UN climate leader at the opening of a global conference on climate adaptation in Cape Town on Tuesday. "That is 2‚000 people an hour being displaced; 33 people a minute‚" said Ovais Sarmad‚ deputy executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)‚ emphasising the harmful impacts of climate change across the world. "They are more visible than ever before‚" he said. "For the first time ever, in February a ship crossed the Arctic Ocean. Arctic Sea ice is at a record low in both the Atlantic and the Pacific." About 1‚300 delegates are attending the conference, which highlights the need to put climate adaptation on an equal footing with climate mitigation as a strategy to manage climate change. Climate adaptation involves steps to prevent and adapt to extreme events — such as droughts‚ floods‚ heatwaves and rising sea levels — as Cape Town has been doing to avoid "day zero...
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