Andrew Steer, Special Envoy for Climate Change for the World Bank Group, expressed concern over a new report by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, the scientific arm of the eight-nation Arctic Council, which predicts that sea level rise will reach between 0.9 and 1.6 meters by the end of this century.
4 May 2011: Andrew Steer, Special Envoy for Climate Change for the World Bank Group, has expressed concern over the findings of a new report by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), the scientific arm of the eight-nation Arctic Council. The report predicts that sea level rise will reach between 0.9 and 1.6 meters by the end of this century, with negative effects in particular over poor populations who live in the lowest lying land and have the fewest resources to adapt.
Steer noted that, in urban areas alone, over 360 million people – most in developing countries – live in low-elevation coastal zones that are threatened by rising sea levels and storm surges. Steer cautioned that, “It is clear that we’re not on track in the battle against climate change. Despite ongoing efforts to cut back greenhouse gases (GHGs), we are still on a path for a temperature rise much greater than the 2ºC maximum that nations set for themselves in Cancun last year.” [World Bank Press Release]