Climate change could result in the deaths of 1 billion poor people: Study

Human-induced climate change could lead to the premature deaths of around one billion people in the next century, according to a study.

If global warming reaches or surpasses 2°C this century, it's projected that predominantly wealthier people will be linked to the deaths of approximately 1 billion people with lower incomes, a situation that bears a resemblance to cases of involuntary or negligent manslaughter, a study published in theFuture of Energy Policy says.

"If you take the scientific consensus of the 1,000-ton rule seriously and run the numbers, anthropogenic global warming equates to a billion premature dead bodies over the next century. Obviously, we have to act. And we have to act fast," said one of the study writers, Joshua Pearce.

The "1,000-ton rule" suggests that about one early death might occur for every 1,000 tons of fossil carbon burned.

According to the study, climate change directly leads to deaths from heat waves, while intermediary causes of death — which fall between direct and indirect impacts — include crop failures, droughts, flooding, extreme weather events, wildfires, and the rise of sea levels.

Source: Scripps Local Media

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