Forum 2008 The Human Face of Climate Change Forum 2008 – The Human Face of Climate Change Founded in 2007, the Global Humanitarian Forum is an international organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, working to harness the full potential of the global society for overcoming humanitarian challenges. The Forum 2008 was the first annual centrepiece event of the Global Humanitarian Forum. ISBN: 978-2-8399-0449-0 Global Humanitarian Forum Geneva Phone +41 22 919 75 00 Villa Rigot, Avenue de la Paix 9 Fax +41 22 919 75 19 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
[email protected] www.ghf-ge.org Cover Picture: Hatem Ali, 70 years old, has become completely penniless after a cyclone hit in Borguna, Bangladesh. Munem Wasif Series: Water Tragedy: Climate Refugee of Bangladesh; 2007 Prix Pictet, Shortlist 2008 www.prixpictet.com 2 Forum 2008: The Human Face of Climate Change Message from the President 3 Climate change has a human face. Kofi A. Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum Severe weather happened before. Now it happens more often. Heat waves or floods hit before global warming. Now they hit harder. Storms of the magnitude of cyclone Nargis, which killed over one hundred thousand people in May of this year, will hit again. We are witnessing devastating consequences for human beings worldwide, but for people already on the edge of survival, struggling to feed and house their families, this change is an additional, near unbearable burden. From now onwards we know that climate change is the single most destructive force actively confronting humankind today. Greenhouse gas emissions are the fuel of this force.