The Stream, November 9: Poverty Will Increase If Climate Change Not Addressed, World Bank Says

The Global Rundown

Climate change will push millions more people into poverty by 2030 if action is not taken to curb it, a report by the World Bank found. In a largely symbolic move, the United States denied approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. Rising sea levels are pushing port cities in Europe to rethink how they coexist with water. A new drought atlas tracks Europe’s climate over the past 2,000 years. Brazil is still trying to determine what caused a dam at an iron ore mine to burst, flooding nearby towns.

“Fighting water is a war you never win.”–Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Netherlands, on efforts by two of the largest port cities in Europe — Rotterdam and Hamburg — to protect against rising sea levels and floods. (Yale Environment 360)

By The Numbers

100 million people Additional number, globally, at risk of entering poverty by 2030 if extreme weather and climate change are not addressed, according to the World Bank. Reuters

100 kilometers Distance floodwater and mud traveled from the site of a burst dam at a mine in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. As a result of the incident, the world’s second largest producer of iron ore pellets is suspending production. Reuters; Bloomberg

Science, Studies, And Reports

A new drought atlas uses tree ring data to provide information about wet and dry periods across Europe over the past 2,000 years. Researchers hope the atlas will provide clues to long-term climate patterns in the region and help predict future climate scenarios. The Earth Institute

On The Radar

U.S. President Barack Obama Friday denied approval for the Keystone XL pipeline that would have carried crude oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The refusal to approve the pipeline, long opposed by environmentalists on concerns about both water contamination and climate emissions, was largely symbolic of the new position the United States wants to stake out before global climate change negotiations this December, according to analysts. Guardian

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek