Climate change - the last straw for communities at risk?

Abstract

CLIMATE CHANGE Most scientists agree that climate change is happening, and will continue to happen in the foreseeable future even if the global gas emissions responsible for this phenomenon are curtailed significantly in the short to medium term. According to South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Strategy, approved by Cabinet in September 2004, there is now more confidence than ever before that global climate change is a threat to sustainable development, especially in developing countries. It could undermine global poverty alleviation efforts, and have severe implications for food security, clean water, energy supply, environmental health and human settlements. Research funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC) has confirmed this, with credible regional projections made available using the latest general circulation models, as well as regional climate models and empirical downscaling techniques.

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