Tom Burke on the human costs of climate change

Three months before the Copenhagen climate conference, Tom Burke, one of the founding directors of the organisation for sustainable development E3G, writes in the liberal daily The Independent that debate on climate change must focus on human costs: "The Forum's report estimated that by 2030 the health of some 660 million people might be seriously affected by natural disasters. This is almost twice the number of people expected to suffer from diabetes by then. As the doctors point out, other health impacts will arise from changes in the distribution or frequency of occurrence of disease carriers. A third set of climate impacts affecting health arise from the infrastructure disruptions generated by a changing climate. Extreme weather events not only do direct harm to people, they also destroy or prevent access to hospitals and clinics. The displacement and conflict resulting from loss of food or clean water cause not only physical harm, but also much mental distress - as yet a much overlooked aspect of the health effects of climate change."

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