A new report shows the number of people in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) affected by extreme temperatures, forest fires, droughts, storms and floods grew from five million in the 1970s to more than 40 million from 2000 to 2009. Overall, adverse weather conditions also have cost the LAC region more than US$40 billion in the last ten years. For Mexico the estimated annual cost of dealing with the effects of climate change will be 6.22 per cent of current GDP net present value by 2100, using an annual discount rate of four per cent. Such costs will intensify budget constraints across Latin America and the Caribbean and may complicate attempts to reduce poverty and to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
The climate change challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean were laid out in graphic detail in a new publication by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Using charts, graphs and maps, Vital Climate Change Graphics for Latin America and the Caribbean depicts the major signs of climate change in the region, its physical impacts, such as environmental damage, and a rise in diseases as well as calculating current levels of greenhouse gas emissions and possibilities for mitigation. The report, which was produced in collaboration with the Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and UNEP's Polar Research Centre GRID-Arendal, also forecasts future climate scenarios for the region. Graphics show that by 2050, rises in the temperature of ocean surfaces will result in more frequent bleaching of coral reefs, with a negative impact on tourism and fishing.
Climate change has effects on health, not only through heat waves and waterborne diseases, but also as a result of the expansion of geographical areas conducive to the transmission of vector-borne diseases, according to the report released on the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference taking place in Mexico's coastal city. It also shows that in 1970, only a small number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean were home to mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria but by 2002 the vast majority of the region was affected by these tropical diseases.
Although the contribution of Latin America and the Caribbean to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions represents only eight per cent of global emissions � excluding those related to land use change – the expected changes in climate during the present century are certain to have a significant impact on the region, according to the report. Drawing on historical analysis of variables, such as temperature, precipitation and sea levels, the report outlines for decision-makers, academics and the general public the effects and causes of these climate change phenomenon.