Jordan Times
Sunday, December 9, 2007
2007/2008 Human Development Report to be launched next week
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN - The impact of global warming on the welfare of communities worldwide is the focus of the 2007/2008 Human Development Report (HDR) to be launched in the Kingdom next week.
In the UNDP’s latest HDR, “Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world”, development experts and environmentalists present a strong case linking human behaviour to climate change with catastrophic results for the globe.
It presents the adverse impact of climate change through droughts, floods and tropical storms, which have already destroyed lives and even further set back some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities around the world.
It cites environmentally negative factors such as gas emissions as the most serious issues requiring immediate attention by global leaders and the need to develop and deploy low carbon technologies.
Within the context of human development, the report describes the threat of climate change as a destructive path depriving current and future generations from opportunity and social equality as well as undermining poverty-reduction targets set by the Millennium Development Goals.
It calls on global leaders and society to reflect on ways in which they manage the environment, noting that a change in that track would have direct bearing on human development prospects of 40 per cent of the world’s population - some 2.6 billion people.
The report highlights some countries’ experiences in cutting down on gas emissions and other policies undertaken by governments to reduce the impact of climate change and ensure more sustainable livelihoods for their populations in addition to proposing strategies and benchmarks to reduce gas emissions.
It also identifies a range of policies required to close the gap between climate security statements and energy policies to avoid the dangers of climate change.
The report will be launched in the Kingdom on December 16 under the patronage of HRH Princess Basma, who is also UNDP’s Honorary Human Development Ambassador, and will include remarks by UNDP officials, and the ministers of planning and environment.