6-11-08, 8:27 am

Stockholm, Jun 10 (Prensa Latina) The Stockholm Environment Institute and Tufts University have published a study warning that the Caribbean and the 40 million people living in the island nations are in the front lines of vulnerability to climate change.

Hotter temperatures, sea-level rise and increased hurricane intensity threaten lives, property and livelihoods throughout the Caribbean, says the study. As ocean levels rise, the smallest, low-lying islands may disappear under the waves.

As temperatures rise and storms become more severe, tourism—the life-blood of many Caribbean economies—will shrink and with it both private incomes and the public tax revenues that support education, social services, and infrastructure.

These devastating impacts will occur, warns the report, regardless of the fact that Caribbean nations have contributed little to the release of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change.

This report offers a preliminary examination of the potential costs to the island nations of the

Caribbean if greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked. The study uses a methodology that compares an optimistic scenario and a pessimistic one.

Under the optimistic scenario—called “rapid stabilization” or “low-impact”—the world begins taking action in the very near future and greatly reduces emissions by mid-century with additional decreases through the end of the century.

Under the pessimistic scenario—called “business-as-usual” or “high-impact”— greenhouse gas emissions continue to skyrocket throughout the 21st century. Both scenarios are based largely on the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a panel of more than 2,000 scientists, whose consensus findings are approved by all participating governments, including the United States.

The projections presented are by no means a comprehensive picture of all climate damages, say the authors.

Prensa Latina