Opinion: Coping with Climate Change Requires Locally Relevant Solutions
It is true that most human activities emit greenhouse gases. Emissions are rising dramatically due to increasing industrialisation and change in land use. Deforestation is the second largest source of carbon dioxide.
Recently, massive deforestation has occurred mainly in the tropics to the detriment of the climate. It is estimated that 950 million to 3 billion tonnes of carbon are released globally every year.
Damages will be unevenly distributed and sometime irreversible in that climate change has caused a market failure as poor countries which pollute less are the most affected.
Although developed countries are responsible for the bulk of historical greenhouse gas emissions, their strong economies and institutions leaves them better positioned than developing countries to cope with changes in the climate and its implications. Quantifying the economic costs of climate change involves many uncertainties and caveats.
Because countries differ considerably in their vulnerability to climate change, the cost of damages and adaptation will vary widely unless special efforts are made to redistribute them.
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