Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Climate change will have profound impacts on a broad spectrum of infrastructure
systems (water and energy supply, sanitation and drainage, transport and
telecommunication), services (including health care and emergency services), the
built environment and ecosystem services.
• Climate trends are affecting the abundance and distribution of harvested aquatic
species, both freshwater and marine, and aquaculture production systems in
different parts of the world but with benefits in other regions.
• Without adaptation, local temperature increases in excess of about 1°C above
pre-industrial is projected to have negative effects on yields for the major crops
(wheat, rice and maize) with increased global food prices by 2050.
In fleshing out these generalities, the IPCC maintains that climate change is already
impacting on natural and human systems. It says these effects include changing
precipitation, melting snow and diminishing crop yields.
The Working Group II report sees additional costs being derived from the following
key risks:
3
• Risk of death, injury, ill-health, or disrupted livelihoods in low-lying coastal zones
and small island developing states and other small islands, due to storm surges,
coastal flooding, and sea-level rise.
• Risk of severe ill-health and disrupted livelihoods for large urban populations due
to inland flooding in some regions.
• Systemic risks due to extreme weather events leading to breakdown of
infrastructure networks and critical services such as electricity, water supply, and
health and emergency services.
• Risk of mortality and morbidity during periods of extreme heat, particularly for
vulnerable urban populations and those working outdoors in urban or rural areas.
• Risk of food insecurity and the breakdown of food systems linked to warming,
drought, flooding, and precipitation variability and extremes, particularly for
poorer populations in urban and rural settings.
• Risk of loss of rural livelihoods and income due to insufficient access to drinking
and irrigation water and reduced agricultural productivity, particularly for farmers
and pastoralists with minimal capital in semiarid regions.
• Risk of loss of marine and coastal ecosystems, biodiversity, and the ecosystem
goods, functions, and services they provide for coastal livelihoods, especially for
fishing communities in the tropics and the Arctic.
• Risk of loss of terrestrial and inland water ecosystems, biodiversity, and the
ecosystem goods, functions, and services they provide for livelihoods.
