Abstrakt
'The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change' is an initiative established by The Lancet to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the health dimensions of the impact of and the response to climate change. It tracks 41 indicators across five domains: climate change impacts, exposures and vulnerability; adaptation planning and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement.
The international report is the product of a collaboration between 27 leading academic institutions and United Nations and intergovernmental agencies from each continent. It draws on world-class expertise from climate scientists, ecologists, mathematicians, geographers, engineers, energy, food, livestock and transport experts, economists, social and political scientists, public health professionals and doctors.
There are numerous other indications that the urgency of the situation with regards to climate change is appreciated. A notable example is the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report (www.IPCC.ch), which calls for actions to limit the temperature rise to 1.5oC.
The report indicates that many countries will not attain the ambitious goals set out in the Paris agreement, thus additional initiatives, which are summarized in headline statements, are essential [2]. Additionally, The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2018 was awarded to William Nordhaus for his work 'integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis'.
Climate changes may have devastating social and political effects on mankind. If governments maintain the status quo and fail to act, then millions of people will be forced into migration by the end of the century.
There are numerous praiseworthy government and non-government initiatives on a worldwide scale that aim to reduce environmental impact. A remarkable one is the recent court case that took place in the Netherlands.
On 9 October 2018, The Hague Court of Appeal upheld the historic victory of the Urgenda Foundation and 886 Dutch citizens in their climate case against the Dutch Government. The Appeal Court affirmed that the Government must reduce emissions by at least 25% by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.
Reductions of a lesser amount would be a violation of the rights of Dutch citizens as protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.