http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1128-04.htm
Published on Friday,
November 28, 2003
by the Agence France Presse (http://www.afp.com/)
Billions
May Suffer Severe Water Shortages as Global Warming Melts Glaciers
[ Photo
of huge crack in the Larsen B ice shelf... ]
CAPTION:
"This photo shows a crack in the Larsen B ice shelf in
the Wedden sea, in Antarctica. Billions of people will
face severe water shortages as glaciers around the world
melt unless governments take urgent action to tackle
global warming, the WWF said." (AFP/EPA/File)
MILAN -- Billions of people will face severe water shortages
as glaciers around the world melt unless governments take urgent
action to tackle global warming, the environmental group World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) said, ahead of a UN conference on climate
change (http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/climate.cfm).
"Increasing global temperatures in the coming century
will cause continued widespread melting of glaciers, which
contain 70 percent of the world's fresh water reserves,"
it warned in a new study.
"An overall rise
of temperature of four degrees Celsius
before the end of the century would eliminate almost all
of them," it said. Average temperatures have risen between
0.6 and 0.7 degrees Celsius since 1860, according to WWF,
which urged countries to curb emissions of carbon dioxide
to ensure the increase stays well below a threshold of two
degrees.
The Switzerland-based
conservation group released its study
on climate change and global glacier decline in Milan where
more than 180 countries are due to gather from December 1-12
for the UN Climate Change Convention to assess progress
in addressing problems concerning global warming.
"The melting of
glaciers will lead to water shortages
for billions of people, as well as sea levels rising
and destroying coastal communities worldwide," WWF said.
Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, where major cities rely on
glaciers as their main source of water during dry seasons,
would be worst affected, it predicted.
In the Himalayas, there
was a grave danger of flooding,
the group said, noting that glacier-fed rivers in the region
supply water to one third of the world's population.
"Glacial meltdown
is a clear sign that we must act now
to fight global warming and stop the melting," said Jennifer
Morgan, director of WWF's climate change programme. The
environmental organisation called on the ministers who
will attend the Milan conference to act faster to combat
global warming, urging those from developing nations
in particular to demonstrate their will to tackle the
issue.
WWF wants strong rules
governing the use of forests,
which play a vital role in absorbing carbon dioxide.
The group also asked governments to ensure Russia ratifies
the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which establishes a set of goals
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Already ratified by
119 countries, the text just needs
a commitment from Moscow to become international law,
it said. On Tuesday, Italian officials said the European
Union has pledged 390 million dollars (325 million euros)
a year to help developing countries from 2005 fight the
damaging effects of climate change.
In 2001, 20 countries
including the 15 EU members pledged
to provide 410 million dollars annually to poorer countries
until 2005.
© Copyright 2003
AFP
###
