No One Is Immune to Climate Change

Most major commentaries, from Laudato Si' to the World Economic Forum, point out that although wealthy nations drive climate change through their dependence on fossil fuels, it disproportionately affects developing nations and low-income communities. In the first place, the poor tend to live in high-risk areas, prone to drought, flooding, and extreme temperatures. At the same time, when disaster strikes, impoverished communities often lack the resources to rebuild, especially when environmental shifts result in the destruction of traditional livelihoods.

Recent disasters, however, from wildfires to the cataclysmic floods in Nepal and Tibet, are beginning to reflect a new narrative: no one, not even the super-wealthy, is immune to climate change. Tsunamis don't distinguish between poor fishermen and billionaires on gigayachts; nor do wildfires bypass the homes of celebrities as they rage across continents. Mudslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions suffocate the educated and illiterate, CEOs and the unemployed, tourists and locals; no one is safe. In addition, the "haves" of the world now have to deal with constant travel delays due to weather patterns as well as unstable communication systems.

Now that climate change is affecting everyone on the planet, perhaps, at last, humanity will wake up, not out of compassion for the poor but out of the need to survive!