U.N. Proposes 'Climate Services' To Help Developing Nations Deal With Onslaught Of Extreme Weather

GENEVA -- The global economy could reduce $100 billion a year in climate change-linked losses by providing the most vulnerable countries with "climate services" to help them prepare, a United Nations expert panel recommended Thursday.

The panel proposed creating a $75 million-a-year U.N.-administered agency, or program, to help developing nations deal with an increasing onslaught of tropical cyclones, storm surges, floods and droughts.

The World Meteorological Organization – the U.N.'s weather agency – said most of the funding would come through development aid, and then be handed out for specific projects in the most vulnerable nations.

It said in a statement that more surveillance and early warning information is needed because about 90 percent of disasters in recent decades were caused by weather or climate-related hazards. It said the findings were based on concerns raised at a 2009 world climate conference

We want to make "the best possible information available to decision-makers," organization director Michel Jarraud said.

The WMO said that the hazards currently lead to economic losses of $100 billion per year, "are rising, and can inhibit the pace of development by years if not decades."

The panel was co-chaired by former U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland, who now heads the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, and former Egyptian water minister Mahmoud Abu Zeid.

Egeland said better flood monitoring and other early warning climate-service systems would produce "great benefits in terms of reduced disaster risks, increased food security, improved health and more effective adaptation to climate change."

Comments

[avanteguard]

09:18 PM on 05/13/2011

it is vitally important that our politicians resist even a nickel for such proposals, we shall administer to our country's needs and let others do the same, as we cannot let ourseves be fleeced like this any longer.

[Lawrence Lenhart]

06:42 PM on 05/19/2011

The US can barely deal with the aftermath of New Orleans and Mississippi. What if 50% of the US population was affected by a single event. In the next fifty years, this will happen to Bangladesh (50% of US population in the size of Iowa, all at sea level). How does Bangladesh "administer to its country's needs" exactly as the third poorest large country after India and China?

[rcozad]

10:19 PM on 05/12/2011

All based on pure BS I'm sure like the earth is 6,000 years old, and Adam had a dinosaur for a pet !

[steve11407]

10:12 PM on 05/12/2011

I have heard about helping developing nations for at least 30 yrs. How long does it take to develope a nation?

[Bryan Boru]

04:09 PM on 05/12/2011

I'm sure the fart-regulating EPA is 100% behind this effort.

[MikeWebster]

03:44 AM on 05/13/2011

The EPA doesn't regulate farts, though I wish they would regulate stupidity.

[INDIVIDUALTERRY]

04:04 PM on 05/12/2011

I don't understand , doesn't the third world get the Weather Channel?

Sounds like a few in the UN are trying to get their brother-in-law a job.

[Lock Piatt]

04:14 PM on 05/12/2011

YEP?

[Bryan Boru]

04:02 PM on 05/12/2011

Here we go again. The Kyoto/Copenhagen climate doomsayers couldn't convince Americans to cough up unlimited funds to themselves in the name of third worlders the first time, so this is Part II.

They SO want to get their hands deep into our pockets. Has there ever been an organization better at enabling corruption than the U.N.?

[MikeWebster]

03:47 AM on 05/13/2011

I thought America was bankrupt.

Unfortunately the reason that right wing Americans aren't convinced is that they are ignorant of the science. Certainly all the major scientific institutions in the country, and indeed world wide have indicated that they believe that the evidence is unequivocal that the climate is warming dangerously.

Funnily enough, America is going to need the help of other countries like China and India more than the other way around. All bets are off for stabilizing the climate so that America survives, if those countries begin emitting as much CO2 per head as Americans do.

[trucker1000]

10:18 AM on 05/13/2011

Funny we have had no increase in temp in a decade

[Dan Crabtree]

03:21 PM on 05/12/2011

Lets see now these developing nations have been developing for ohhh some 3 centuries or so.with billions pumped into there nations from idiot nations like america..now lets pump some true green in there as well that will help in there development of course.

[MikeWebster]

03:55 AM on 05/13/2011

I think you got one part wrong. You said:
"with billions pumped into there nations from idiot nations like america"
it should have read:
"with billions pumped out of their nations into idiot nations like america"

Fixed.

[SecondTime]

03:08 PM on 05/12/2011

Imagine no UN. How good that would be. Several layers of busybodies removed from public life at a stroke. Nations left to get on with things without 747s worth of consultants and freeloaders descending on them every week. Fewer platforms for despots to dress up and pontificate even as their thugs destroy their societies back home. And, blessing of blessings, no UNEP, no IPCC, no demented PR folks pushing pseudo science and alarmism everywhere.

[mharleyvet]

03:26 PM on 05/12/2011

What a beautiful thought.

[MikeWebster]

04:02 AM on 05/13/2011

I think imagine there is no America, and you get more of a utopia. At least then you'd get many millions less deaths of men women and children worldwide from American military agression and weapons.

Possible also the rest of the world might have some chance of survival, by accepting the science that shows the Earth is warming dangerously due to emissions from burning fossil fuels.

BTW: You've also just accused the all the major scientific institutions in the US of pushing pseudo science. In fact it is people like yourself with not even a basic level of scientific literacy who are pushing denial in the face of overwhelming and unequivocal evidence.

[trucker1000]

10:25 AM on 05/13/2011

Mike there is no evidence except in computer models funny how the seas are not raising like the computers models said funny how we do not have the 50 million refugees that were predict for 2010 in fact more people are living in the areas that we wore told would be flooded, now the date has been moved to 2020

[relians]

02:44 PM on 05/12/2011

costa rica and guatamala have already started this.

[Jim Shaffer]

02:34 PM on 05/12/2011

The UN should be protecting these little nations from international corporations who install there to exploit their lack of environmental and labor laws, and easily bought governments.

[Dan Crabtree]

03:21 PM on 05/12/2011

jim return to reading your commusnit manefesto..please..

[MikeWebster]

04:03 AM on 05/13/2011

Happy to see all your American jobs go overseas are you?

[Jim Shaffer]

05:47 AM on 05/13/2011

Thank you for reducing me to a political sterotype. Clearly it's people who think they can get their well being by taking it from the 3rd world who cause terrorism. People who prop up crony governments to protect their profit margin caused 9/11. They're helped by facilitators like yourself who don't mind if the well being of their nation depends on opressing others. Keep telling yourself how evil those terrorists are, it won't keep them from preparing another attack, maybe next time it'll be nuclear.

[robrtl]

01:50 PM on 05/12/2011

what does the un accomplish besides providing a job for intellectuals from impoverished nation who can pontificate to the world upon matters which they have little expertise and less experience of.

[crankyCrackPot]

02:07 PM on 05/12/2011

UN also gives the Arabs a great forum to constantly blame Israel for all the world's ills.

[MikeWebster]

04:09 AM on 05/13/2011

Not only the Arabs. In fact the US has to use it's veto against the rest of the world time and time again to allow Israel off the hook for its war crimes.

Also, the Arabs don't blame Israel for the worlds ills. They blame Israel for Israel's crimes, which is only right.

[REMEMBER2050]

03:02 PM on 05/12/2011

Oh, I don't know. In this case they're trying to save developing nations a hundred billion dollars a year. I mean, other than that and the odd protest against war crimes, absolutely nothing, I'm sure.

[rwextthoughts]

01:17 PM on 05/12/2011

This is the new HP "Onion" page

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

12:57 PM on 05/12/2011

Early warning climate services? Let me save us all a few bucks. You have been warned. Now if Al Gore is right you have 100 years to prepare. Otherwise, keep developing your nation.

[Anne Mccormick]

01:06 PM on 05/12/2011

agreed! however, these people could turn around and ask where we get off telling them that the cannot enjoy the same lifestyle that we enjoy in the western world

[MikeWebster]

04:11 AM on 05/13/2011

This is why there must be a transfer of technologies - particularly green energy technologies from the West to the developing world. Additionally, America and other Western countries will need to modify their own lifestyles so that when the developing world reaches parity, it doesn't destroy the carrying capacity of the Earth.

[Bryan Boru]

04:07 PM on 05/12/2011

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, did you hear the Vatican has now joined Charlie Manson and the doomsdayers? Apparently the Himalayas will be bone-dry in 24 years.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/05/11/green-smoke-mirrors-vatican-weighs-climate-change/

[MikeWebster]

04:13 AM on 05/13/2011

I don't know about the exact predictions for the Himalayas. What I do know is that when a conservative institution like the vatican is accepting that there is no possible room left for denial of AGW, American deniers like Fox and yourself begin to look so backward that your ability to breath becomes a source of amazement.

[PopeAntichristo]

11:39 AM on 05/12/2011

Worldwide hurricanes are down.

http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/monckton/goreerrors.html

[REMEMBER2050]

01:39 PM on 05/12/2011

Terrific. I guess if you take Katrina out of the mix hurricane really are looking great. But wait. Tornadoes are up. You a meteorologist? Most of them have the incredibly bad habit of looking at a tiny chunk of data and assuming it means something. Like Imhofe must be relying on them extensively, saying there's no global warming because it snowed in the midwest last winter. Everybody knows you can't look at a tiny weather pattern to discount global warming. Or almost everybody, at least.

[Tom Joad]

08:51 PM on 05/12/2011

...Monckton is a notorious liar...

[John Mainstream]

11:32 AM on 05/12/2011

This child would perfer a pair of shoes and some food.