Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6): Regional Assessments

Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6): Regional Assessments

Question: Which of the following organisation has recently released the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6): Regional Assessments report?
(a) United Nations Environment Programme
(b) United Nations Development Program
(c) World Bank
(d) World Economic Forum
Ans: (a)
Related facts:

  • On 19 May 2016 United Nations Environment Programme has released the “Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6): Regional Assessments” report.
  • Six separate reports are released to provide highly detailed examinations of the environmental issues affecting each of the world’s six regions namely; Pan-European region, North America, Asia and the Pacific, West Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa.
  • According to the report the worst impacts of climate change are projected to occur in the Pacific and South and South-East Asia.
  • Seven of the 10 most vulnerable countries worldwide, the population of which are at risk from sea-level rise by 2050 are in the Asia Pacific region.
  • India tops the chart with nearly 40 million people in the country projected to be at risk from rising sea levels.
  • The list is followed by more than 25 million in Bangladesh, over 20 million in China and nearly 15 million in the Philippines.
  • According to report the changes in settlement patterns, urbanisation and socio-economic status in Asia have influenced observed trends in vulnerability and exposure to climate extremes.
  • It listed Mumbai and Kolkata in India, Guangzhou and Shanghai in China, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Yangon in Myanmar, Bangkok in Thailand, and Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong in Vietnam as projected to have the largest population exposure to coastal flooding in 2070.
  • By 2050, areas of storm surge zones are expected for Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with a combined total of over 58 million people at risk.
  • Global urban populations are projected to increase by 2.5 billion by 2050, with nearly 90 per cent of the increase in Asia and Africa.
  • It may be recalled that in 2011, six of the ten countries most vulnerable to climate change worldwide were in Asia and the Pacific.

Reference:
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/40-million-indians-at-risk-from-rising-sea-levels-un-report/article8626999.ece
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=27074&ArticleID=36180&l=en