Climate Change and its Impact on Hunger

The affects of climate change are vast. The entire world and its inhabitants have been directly or indirectly affected by the consequences of climate change with some parts of the world feeling its affects more than others. According to a report from Oxfam America, over 1 billion people are already hungry, but projections show that over the next decade if the situation in the world does not improve, more than 100 million people will become food insecure as a result of climate change.

The cause of climate change is human generated. The United Nations notes on climate change that, “fossil fuels formed by long-dead plants and animals are the single biggest source of humanity’s greenhouse. Burning coal, oil and natural gas releases billion of tons of carbon every year...” These greenhouse gases blanket the atmosphere keeping the heat in and not allowing it to escape our atmosphere. In a report by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, (UN) the FAO discusses the affects of climate change on agricultural and forestry systems. In the short term, extreme events like droughts, floods and heat waves are expected to increase while the long term affects could be higher temperatures, elevation in CO2 emissions, and changes in rainfall.

Climate change is a current and future cause of hunger. In developing countries, like Ethiopia, it is greatly affected by climate change because of the country’s reliance on its agricultural sector. With a population of 90 million, 85% of Ethiopians are employed in agriculture (Central Intelligence Agency). Droughts have an adverse affect on not only the rural Ethiopians, but the entire country. Fluctuations in precipitation have a direct impact on the economic growth of Ethiopia because of its dependence on the agricultural sector for its GDP, and employment. Because of climate change, Ethiopia, a country that is already prone to droughts, may see more of its population being unable to provide for themselves. In my next blog entry, I will discuss an NGO that is working to limit the effects of climate change on the people of Ethiopia through practices of sustainable development.

For more information:

Chicago's plan to limit the affects of climate change: http://www.chicagoclimateaction.org/

Climate change info from the EPA: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

World Food Programme Plan for climate change and hunger: http://www.wfp.org/content/climate-change-and-hunger-responding-challenge