Topic
Economics of Climate Change
Instructions
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that there is only 12 years left to massively cut emissions in order to prevent a 2-degree rise in global average temperatures. While individuals can change their behaviours, individuals can only do so much. Only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of all emissions in the world and as few as 15 of the worlds largest cargo ships account for as much pollution as all the cars in the world combined. How might an economic geographer think about equity and climate justice?
Answer preview
The magnitude of the current climate challenge facing the world cannot be underestimated. Globally, communities are already feeling the effects of man-made climatic changes (Bergman, 2013). Some signs of climate change include ocean acidification, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, floods, hurricanes, droughts and increasingly severe and as well as regular heatwaves. In the last 50 years, the number of fatal weather events has quadrupled (Bergman, 2013). Communities faster than anticipated feel the effects of climate change. This is a planetary emergency menace that is contributing to increased social inequality within and between nations.
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