Study Says Global Warming is a Threat to Asian Security

Source: CNN.com

Researchers at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, released a report claiming that global warming presents “seriously underestimated” threats to the Asia Pacific region.

The report, titled “Heating up the Planet: Climate Change and Security,” looks at a variety of consequences that could arise from an increase in global temperature. These have the possibility of seriously impacting many facets of the region. Threats range from temperature increases facilitating the spread of malaria and dengue fever; communities and crops destroyed due to rising sea levels; and greater impact of natural disasters, which will stretch the limited resources of countries.

The paper claims that the threat is more serious than historical global temperature fluctuations because the change is happening over a more compact period, which will decrease the counter effects of human and biological adaptation.

They say that a reduction in greenhouse gases is the best way to minimize this risk posed by increasing temperatures.



The Lowy Institute bills itself as “an independent, nonpartisan think tank which conducts original, policy-relevant research about international political, strategic, and economic issues from an Australian perspective.”