Committee profile
Climate Change & Disaster Risk Management
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. As a result of climatic change, unprecedented impact on Earth’s climate system has caused change on a global scale. The largest driver of global warming is the emission of gases that create a greenhouse effect, of which more than 90% are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. Fossil fuel burning (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy consumption is the main source of these emissions, with additional contributions from agriculture, deforestation, and manufacturing.
Climate change threatens Belizeans with food insecurity, water scarcity, flooding, infectious diseases, extreme heat, economic losses, and displacement. These impacts have led the World Health Organization to call climate change the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.
Focus and Functions
Planning
Participate in the planning and implementation of appropriate control measures in responding to health threats affecting the human-animal-plant-environment interface because of climate change.
Investigation
Participate in the investigation of health threats and provide advice on the identification, detection, control, response, and recovery because of climatic changes.
Strategy
facilitate the collection, analysis, interpretation of environmental, agricultural, and human health data for effective decision-making that is based on Climate change information.