Who will be most affected by climate change?
Industrialized countries are the biggest contributors to climate change. Yet it is the poorest people in developing regions such as Africa and South Asia that are most threatened by climate change. Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity. This may devastate already fragile resources such as clean water, fisheries and forests, and damage agriculture, infrastructure, property and health. Climate change can be catastrophic for people who are dependent on rain-fed agriculture and have no surplus resources or coping mechanisms for the resulting loss of livelihood. Industrialized countries have a responsibility to dramatically reduce their own emissions while helping developing countries to adapt to climate change.
