International Climate School-ICS

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Global average sea & air temps spike before El Niño, ‘The Atlantic is on fire,’ World's glaciers' prolonged decline, Arctic sea ice under threat, Heat waves in Texas, China, India, Summer snow in Alberta, Crop futures surge as drought spreads, Ecological tipping points could occur sooner than expected, and more... in The Collapse Chronicle!

The greenhouse effect helps trap heat from the sun, which keeps the temperature on earth comfortable. But people’s activities are increasing the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing the earth to warm up.
The earth's temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the planet’s system. When sunlight reaches the earth’s surface, it can either be reflected back into space or absorbed by the earth. Incoming energy that is absorbed by the earth warms the planet. Once absorbed, the planet releases some of the energy back into the atmosphere as heat (also called infrared radiation). Solar energy that is reflected back to space does not warm the earth.

Certain gases in the atmosphere absorb energy, slowing or preventing the loss of heat to space. Those gases are known as “greenhouse gases.” They act like a blanket, making the earth warmer than it would otherwise be. This process, commonly known as the “greenhouse effect,” is natural and necessary to support life. However, the recent buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities has changed the earth's climate and resulted in dangerous effects to human health and welfare and to ecosystems.

What is the definition of a climate refugee?

Those people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of marked environmental disruption (natural and/or triggered by people) that jeopardied their existence and/or seriously affected the quality of their life'.

😎 What Needs to Happen Next to Address Loss and Damage?

Climate impacts are already causing widespread disruptions, and they’re only poised to worsen. The need for loss and damage solutions — most notably, finance — is more urgent than ever before. With the groundbreaking outcome from COP27, the international community will have to work especially diligently on deciding the concrete details of loss and damage funding arrangements, including the newly established fund. Developing countries and communities on the front lines of climate impacts are counting on them.

7) What Activities Could Loss and Damage Funds Support?

Addressing loss and damage could span a range of activities and should be shaped by the communities experiencing them. Examples include weather-indexed crop insurance for farmers or proactively setting aside funds to rebuild critical infrastructure when disaster strikes.

It could also entail providing immediate humanitarian assistance after an extreme weather event, offering relief and rehabilitation to victims through provision of basic amenities, enabling social protection systems to provide emergency cash transfers to the poor, and enhancing microcredit institutions to provide financing for livelihood restoration.

Such funding could also help people rebuild when their homes are destroyed. For example, while early warning systems in Bangladesh have helped radically reduce fatalities from extreme weather events, people leave the storm shelters to find their homes and livelihoods destroyed, and have thus unquestionably experienced loss and damage.

Finally, when necessary, funding for loss and damage can assist with migration and relocation of people who are permanently displaced, and/or help diversify skills if their original livelihoods are no longer available.