Rising sea levels threaten to trigger exodus of 'biblical proportions', UN warns

"The danger is particularly acute for nearly 900 million people who live in low-lying coastal areas, one in every 10 people on Earth.“, highlighted Guterres before the Security Council.

"Communities living in low-lying areas and entire countries could disappear forever. We would be witnessing a massive exodus of entire populations, of biblical proportions“, He added.

Some small and sparsely populated island states are at risk of disappearing completely. But the impact of rising sea levels, caused by the melting of glaciers, the expansion of the oceans due to higher temperatures and, now, mainly by the melting of polar ice caps, goes much further.

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“Whatever the scenario, countries like Bangladesh, China, India and the Netherlands are all at risk,” he warned. Guterres.

“Megacities on all continents will suffer severe impacts, such as Cairo, Lagos, Maputo, Bangkok, Dhaka, Jakarta, Mumbai, Shanghai, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, New York, Buenos Aires and Santiago”, he detailed.

According to experts from the UN Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), sea levels rose between 15 and 25 cm between 1900 and 2018. And an increase of 43 cm is expected by 2100, if the planet experiences a 2°C increase in temperature compared to the pre-industrial era.

Furthermore, the elevation could reach 84 cm if the planet warms by 3 or 4°C by the end of the century.

The problem of refugees

Rising sea levels, in addition to submerging certain areas, are accompanied by an increase in storms and flooding in coastal regions.

In this context of populations that will be forced to seek exile, Guterres asked to "voids are filled in existing legal frameworks” at a global level. “This should include refugee law“, he insisted. And solutions must also be presented for the future of States that will completely lose their land territory.

The secretary-general also considered that the UN Security Council has “an essential role to play” in “addressing the devastating security challenges that rising water levels present”.

Climate change increases risk of human trafficking, UN warns

The multiplication of meteorological disasters, which lead to the displacement of millions of people, is currently one of the “main causes” of human trafficking. This is what a United Nations (UN) report published this Tuesday (24) concluded, which also mentions the impact of the war in Ukraine.

This is a controversial topic within the organization.

For example, in 2021, Russia vetoed a resolution that established a generic link between global warming and world security, a text supported by the majority of Council members.

(With AFP)

Curto curation:

Refugees are people who are outside their country of origin due to well-founded fears of persecution related to issues of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, as well as due to serious and widespread violations of human rights and armed conflicts . The UN estimates that this is the reality for 25,4 million people around the world. (UNHCR)

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