Heba Aly
I guess I need it because today's topic is a tough one. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just announced that 2020 – as if it wasn't bad enough – ranks as the second-hottest year on record. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates that by 2050 the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance every year as a result of storms, droughts, and floods could double to 200 million people. In its worst-case projections, the Federation estimates that climate-related humanitarian costs will reach $20 billion per year by 2030, which is almost the cost of the entire humanitarian response sector. The humanitarian playbook just isn't equipped for a mega-crisis like this, and it has very little time to prepare.