The injustice of how global warming impacts the most needy and vulnerable is here for everyone to see.  Climate change is caused by developed nations' dependence on fossil fuels, yet poor nations are affected disproportionally.

Many indigenous and traditional peoples who have been pushed to the least fertile and most fragile lands as a consequence of historical, social, political and economic exclusion are among those who are at greatest risk.

Impacts of climate chang include:
• negative effects on the natural resource base of traditional Indigenous livelihoods; this includes natural resources and ecosystems important for tourism, hunting, gathering, fishing and herding;
• the melting of glaciers and polar ice - much of this in areas of significance to some Indigenous peoples;
• increased vulnerability to external influences, such as drought, flood, wildfire and invasive plants and animals;
• shortages of food, fuel or water, which may in turn prompt migration away from traditional lands; and
• threats to traditional knowledge and cultural activities that involve Indigenous peoples’ relationships with land, plants and animals.
Along with affecting health and livelihoods, such impacts may affect the spiritual and cultural connection of Indigenous people with country (Oxfam, 2007)

An estimated 790 million people suffer from nutritional deficiency (DFID, 2004). This situation is expected to aggravate with climate change, especially in low-latitude countries where the overall crop productivity is expected to decrease (IPCC, 2007).

So what will the Western world do when millions of people die as an indirect result of climate change?  Will it take responsibility for its actions or just look away?