The 100 most vulnerable nations have contributed least to climate change

Another short new briefing (PDF) from the International Institute Environment and Development (IIED), this one on the 100 countries most vulnerable to climate change:

• Human-induced climate change is likely to have the heaviest impact on small low-lying island and coastal states, African nations, Asian mega-deltas and the polar regions.

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• The 100 most vulnerable countries have contributed the least to total global carbon emissions.

• If the highest emitting nations fail to introduce strong mitigation measures, the most vulnerable countries will suffer catastrophic impacts over the longer term.

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This introduction is quite blunt and powerful:

Well over a billion people in 100 countries face a bleak future. In these, the nations most vulnerable to climate change, resilience has already been eroded by entrenched poverty, degraded or threatened environments and other problems. The harsher, more frequent natural disasters that are predicted could tip them over the edge into chronic famine or forced migration. Yet these are also the countries that have contributed least to climate change. It is vital that their voices and views be heard in the negotiations to determine the post-Kyoto climate regime. Equally importantly, the countries emitting the most greenhouse gases must redress the balance by establishing robust mitigation programmes and by supporting adaptation.