Transcript Left is 1941, Right is 2004 - Canadian Council of Churches

FORUM ON FAITH AND
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY
THE ETHICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
GRAHAM SAUL
CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK CANADA
RESEAU ACTION CLIMAT CANADA
Melting is faster than we thought
River Deltas Most Vulnerable to
Sea Level Rise
136 PORT CITIES around the World have
more than 1 Million Inhabitants (2005)
Nile Delta
2000
Alexandria
Port
Said
Nile Delta
1m Sea Level Rise
Alexandria
Port
Said
Tropical Cyclone Sidr moves towards the coast
of Western Bangladesh
November 14, 2007
8.5 million people
affected
500,000 houses
completely destroyed
900,000 houses
partially destroyed
40,000 people injured
3,000 people dead
NASA
World Energy Outlook
“The projected rise in emissions of
greenhouse gases in the Reference Scenario
puts us on a course of doubling the
concentration of those gases in the
atmosphere by the end of this century,
entailing an eventual global average
temperature increase of up to 6 degrees
Celsius.”
World Energy Outlook, 2008 (page 11)
Golden Frog:
White Possum – 2008: First Mammal to
become extinct due to climate change
Climate Justice:
1. The Extinction Crisis
Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change: Fourth
Assessment Report
"There is medium confidence that approximately 20-30% of
species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of
extinction if increases in global average warming exceed 1.52.5°C (relative to 1980-1999). As global average temperature
increase exceeds about 3.5°C, model projections suggest
significant extinctions (40-70% of species assessed) around
the globe.“
Over One Million Species Face Extinction
at 3.5 degrees
Climate Justice:
2. Global Environmental Justice
Canadian GHG Emissions –
1990 to 2007
CO2 Emissions Per Capita (2002)
The principle of Common But Differentiated
Responsibilities and respective capabilities
• Rich countries like Canada have contributed
disproportionately to the problem,
• they continue to produce more emission per
person,
• and they have more capacity to deal with the
problem because they have more resources.
Climate Justice:
3. Intergenerational Justice
Thank you
Graham Saul
Climate Action Network Canada