Global Warming Poses Major Threat to the Bahamas

The Bahamas is at risk of losing 80 percent of its landmass in the next eight decades due to the current pace of global warming, according to an article posted on The Bahamas Tribune that quotes expert Oneil Johnson Jr.

“I want to make this abundantly clear, The Bahamas is perhaps one of the most vulnerable countries to sea-level rise,” he stressed, as he spoke on the topic, ‘Climate Change - the Reality of Our Warming World’ to the Rotary of Club of Grand Bahama via Zoom.

Mr Johnson - who has a Master’s Degree in Foreign Impact of Hurricanes and Climate Change on Education – said Climate Change is real and threatens the Bahamas, the Caribbean and other small countries.

He noted that sea level is projected to rise by as much as one metre by 2100. Eighty percent of The Bahamas’ landmass is less than one metre above sea level, he said.

“Sea level rise, which we are hearing more and more about in The Bahamas, is perhaps one of the most vexing concerns for small island developing states because most of us are very low-lying.”

Countries likeGuyana are at risk of losing 90 percent of their landmass if sea levels were to rise one metre, while Guam, the U.S. territory, is already experiencing the impact on sea-level rise.

Mr. Johnson said greenhouse gases caused by pollution in the atmosphere are responsible for global warming, which is causing glaciers to melt around the world.

He noted that countries such as China and the US are mainly at fault, with the former accounting for more than one-quarter of global emission of greenhouse gases, and the latter 14 percent, while the rest of the world contributes less than 22 percent of emission.