FORUM ON FAITH AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY

THE ETHICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

GRAHAM SAULCLIMATE ACTION NETWORK CANADARESEAU 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 Delta2000

AlexandriaPort Said

Nile Delta1m Sea Level Rise

Alexandria Port Said

Tropical Cyclone Sidr moves towards the coast of Western Bangladesh

NASA

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

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 1.5-2.5°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 SaulClimate Action Network Canada