Rising seas threaten ‘mass exodus on a biblical scale’, UN chief warns

Paco Dennis

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This is going to happen, so we all need to be prepared for it in the near future.

"An increase in the pace at which sea levels are rising threatens “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale”, the UN secretary general has warned.

The climate crisis is causing sea levels to rise faster than for 3,000 years, bringing a “torrent of trouble” to almost a billion people, from London to Los Angeles and Bangkok to Buenos Aires, António Guterres said on Tuesday. Some nations could cease to exist, drowned under the waves, he said.


Addressing the UN security council, Guterres said slashing carbon emissions, addressing problems such as poverty that worsen the impact of the rising seas on communities and developing new international laws to protect those made homeless – and even stateless – were all needed. He said sea level rise was a threat-multiplier which, by damaging lives, economies and infrastructure, had “dramatic implications” for global peace and security.

Significant sea level rise is already inevitable with current levels of global heating, but the consequences of failing to tackle the problem are “unthinkable”. Guterres said: “Low-lying communities and entire countries could disappear for ever. We would witness a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale. And we would see ever fiercer competition for fresh water, land and other resources.

“People’s human rights do not disappear because their homes do,” he said. “Yes, this means international refugee law.”

The International Law Commission is assessing the legal situation. In 2020, the UN human rights committee ruled that it was unlawful for governments to return people to countries where their lives might be threatened by the climate crisis."


https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ass-exodus-on-a-biblical-scale-un-chief-warns
 

Addressing the UN security council, Guterres said slashing carbon emissions, addressing problems such as poverty that worsen the impact of the rising seas on communities and developing new international laws to protect those made homeless – and even stateless – were all needed.
I'm generally not comfortable with pessimism but I believe those who hold true power in this world actually don't care about Humanity, and will continue efforts to deny climate change and the remedies proposed, so to preserve the world's wealth and retaining it in the hands of the wealthy.
 

Maybe... I have no doubt sea level is rising and will continue to. How much and how fast is the question.

The answer to that lies in a net ice balance, primarily in Antarctica and to a lesser extent Greenland. If we have big net ice mass losses there it could be catastrophic, but I am not sure we know the answer to that question. Lots of talk about sea ice, but that is not where the problem lies, its glacial ice on the land masses. A harder thing to get our hands around.

And I suspect it will be a slow process by human standards, it has been so far. Not what I think of as "Biblical" but destructive none the less.

It is an important issue and we need good science to help us understand where things are going.
 
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Would love to see that but the issue has been politicized to the point that its hard to find unbiased scientists.
I agree that it has been over politicized to the point its hard to know the truth.

However I think there are many good unbiased scientists, problem is they are not the spokes people we usually hear from. And there is a lot of bias in which scientists and studies get funding.

I also worry that some scientists are too willing to draw political conclusions from their work. I. e. they go from a good scientific study to conclusions about what we should do about it politically, or overblown speculation about what the long term outcome will be. Science can only inform policy decisions, not make them.
 
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us Baby Boomers are all getting close to our allotted lives, but what about our children's children. what about them? we can only hope (and vote) that our global legislators finally get woke...
 
This is going to happen, so we all need to be prepared for it in the near future.

"An increase in the pace at which sea levels are rising threatens “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale”, the UN secretary general has warned.

The climate crisis is causing sea levels to rise faster than for 3,000 years, bringing a “torrent of trouble” to almost a billion people, from London to Los Angeles and Bangkok to Buenos Aires, António Guterres said on Tuesday. Some nations could cease to exist, drowned under the waves, he said.


Addressing the UN security council, Guterres said slashing carbon emissions, addressing problems such as poverty that worsen the impact of the rising seas on communities and developing new international laws to protect those made homeless – and even stateless – were all needed. He said sea level rise was a threat-multiplier which, by damaging lives, economies and infrastructure, had “dramatic implications” for global peace and security.

Significant sea level rise is already inevitable with current levels of global heating, but the consequences of failing to tackle the problem are “unthinkable”. Guterres said: “Low-lying communities and entire countries could disappear for ever. We would witness a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale. And we would see ever fiercer competition for fresh water, land and other resources.

“People’s human rights do not disappear because their homes do,” he said. “Yes, this means international refugee law.”

The International Law Commission is assessing the legal situation. In 2020, the UN human rights committee ruled that it was unlawful for governments to return people to countries where their lives might be threatened by the climate crisis."


https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ass-exodus-on-a-biblical-scale-un-chief-warns
Sorry, not on my worry list.

I am 6,604 ft. above sea level as I type. I don't think I'll be here when the seas get that high.
 
Although across the planet a lot of third world people will suffer, especially tropical corral islands, and some Western country seaport urban areas, here in the USA, a lot of wealthy people living along the immediate Atlantic coast and Gulf coast are not one's I'll shed any tears over as it is wealthy powers that are most responsible for Global Warming. Way way too much human overpopulation already. Not much an issue on the Pacific Coast because due to its more violent storm waves, have created high bluffs along most coastal areas. Very few live at tidal zones elevations. More at issue for this person beyond my lifetime is how the planet's fragile balance of life will suffer with many species going extinct causing planet wide food chain chaos.
 


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