Climate Change, Womens Health, and What We Can/Should Do

CSW58 / UU-UNO

Jan W. Dash, PhD

Chair, UU-UNO Climate Initiative Matchmaker, Climate Science Rapid Response Team March 2014

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Outline: Climate / Womens Health

!! Impacts

of climate change (general) !! Impacts of climate change on health !! Impact on womens health (specific) !! What can / should we do !! Appendix
!! Quick review of the science !! The climate deniers - action opponents

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Climate Change Increasingly Impacts our Life Support Systems

We are seeing bad impacts NOW !! Impacts will get FAR WORSE if we do not act !! No place to hide (US will be hit very hard) !! Disasters increasingly worse due to climate change if we dont act, more: National insecurity, wars, migrations, water shortages, food shortages, fires, droughts, disease, floods, extinctions, extreme weather, sea level rise, heat waves, economic disruption !! Women and children hit the hardest
!!
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Ex: Crops down by 2100 (IPCC Vol II, TS.7)

CROP YIELDS DOWN WHEN TEMP UP

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Climate Impacts and Health Risk

!!THESE

CLIMATE IMPACTS WILL NEGATIVELY AFFECT HEALTH GENERALLY AND WOMENS HEALTH SPECIFICALLY

!!Gender, Climate Change, and Health "! World Health Organization report
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Climate Change and Health

!! "Climate

change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.

!! Effects of climate change on health will affect most populations in the next decades and put the lives and wellbeing of billions of people at increased risk. !! Ref:!"Managing the health effects of climate change"!,!Anthony Costello et. al; Vol373 May16, 2009

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Climate Impacts & Health IPCC 2007

HEALTH

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3 specific examples of climate impacts on women, #1: Disasters

!! Men

and women are affected differently in all phases of a disaster

!! IPCC 2007,Vol II, Chapter 8, p. 398

!! Ex: In

the 1991 cyclone disasters that killed 140 000 people in Bangladesh, 90% of victims were women (WHO report; Aguilar, 2004) !! Heat wave in Europe !! Climate change => more extreme events

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#2 Ex: Water Shortages

!! In

most developing countries, women are responsible for collecting, storing, protecting and distributing water !! In times of water scarcity women have to carry water home from unsafe sources. This can lead to water-related diseases such as diarrhoeal disease, which in developing countries is a leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age (WHO & UNICEF, 2005)
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#3 Ex: Food Insecurity

Inuit Women (Canadian Journal Public Health 2010)

! FOOD

!CLIMATE
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What can we do? Climate Risk Management

!! Recognition

of risks: 2 types

!! Average risk: probable, low impact !! Extreme risk: less probable, high impact
!! The

best way to think about the response to climate is RISK MANAGEMENT

!! Rational response to risk - lower it! !! If dont act, today s extreme climate risk " tomorrow s average climate risk

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Climate Mitigation no silver bullet. Progress exists (good). We need MORE

!! Action

by individuals !! Action by organizations

!! Corporations, Universities, Faith-based, NGOs
!! Action !! Action

at all levels of government to support non-fossil energy

!! City, State, Regional, National, International !! Carbon tax (put a price on carbon) !! Investor action (divestment, shareholders)

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Climate Ethics why we should act

!! Climate

!! Poor have the smallest effect on climate are hurt the worst
!! Women and children in developing countries

justice:

!! Intergenerational

!! Lives of our descendants !! More humane for preventive action by us now rather than requiring expensive disaster adaption by our descendants in the future

ethics:

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Reference: climate.uu-uno.org

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Bottom Line on Climate: Big Problem that We Can Solve

!! Human

activities are causing recent global warming / climate change !! Climate impacts bad, observed now, will become far worse if we do not act
!! Health impacts will be very bad
!! NOT

too late !! We have the technology, just need the will !! We need optimism (no other choice)

!!You

can help
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Thank You

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APPENDIX: QUICK SCIENCE REVIEW: Global warming exists, due to us. Graph: Natural variation removed (El Nios/La Nias, volcanoes, sun):

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Temperature Forecasts depend on Human Behavior (Model scenarios)

IPCC 2007 Science Vol I Now appear conservative

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APPENDIX: Contrarians / Deniers and Opposition to climate action

!!

We Have No Climate Risk 4 trenches:

1.! 2.! 3.! 4.!
!!

Deny global warming exists Deny human influence on climate Minimize climate impact risk Exaggerate cost of climate action mitigation

!! Create

doubt = old tobacco tactic

Science cant prove so we shouldnt act !! Oppose climate action, renewable energy
!! Sponsors: libertarian think tanks, fossil fuel interests
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