Adapt or die: the science, politics and economics of climate change

Abstract

have stated that part of the vision behind the Kyoto Protocol 1997 portends for developing countries in the 21st century what apartheid bore for South Africa in the zo" Century. The threats to humanity that come with an increase in global temperatures include rising sea levels, changes in agricultural production, severe weather events such as hurricanes, the spread of diseases such as malaria and environmental effects such as the loss of biodiversity. Environmentalists have used these eventualities as justification to advocate for the reduction of global trade, consumption of vital resources such as energy, and most dramatically, suggesting that third world countries should not pursue the same course of development as the developed countries. The suggested alternative is alleged to be environmentally friendly yet more expensive. All these are being pursued under the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol, said to be the 'insurance policy' for humanity, has been largely driven by the assumption that the impacts of global warming, if unmitigated, will pose threats to humanity and to the environment.