A comprehensive report documenting the global impact of climate change on human society today.

The report was launched in London on 29 May 2009 by Kofi Annan as well as Barbara Stocking, who was a member of the report's Advisory Panel.

The Human Impact Report is the first consolidated volume specifically and exclusively focused on the adverse impacts of climate change on human society across the world. The report is based on the latest and best information on the human impact of climate change as well as inputs from world-leading scientists and climate, humanitarian and development experts.

In order to provide an idea of the scales of impacts caused by climate change today, the report includes estimates on the numbers of deaths and casualties as a result of climate change, the economic costs of climate change, as well as projections 20 years into the future.

The aim of the report is to fill a void in the general public understanding of climate change and to support senior policy-makers in handling this important issue.

“The role of this report is to document the greatest ongoing silent crisis of human history.” – Kofi Annan

“Long regarded as a distant environmental or future problem, climate change is already a major constraint on human efforts. It has been creeping up on the world for years, doing its deadly work by aggravating a host of other major problems affecting society, such as malaria and poverty. This report aims at breaking the silent suffering of millions.” – Human Impact Report

The vast majority of the victims of climate change are the world’s poorest groups, who are unable to cope with the additional burden, and lack any responsibility for causing it.

Estimates of Suffering due to Climate Change Today:

• Deaths - over 300,000 per year
• Severely Affected - over 300 million people
  
• Living at Extreme Risk - 500 million people
  
• Climate Displaced People - over 20 million
  
• Economic Losses - over US 100 billion dollar
  

• Deaths - approximately 500,000 per year
  Severely Affected: approximately 650 million people
  
• Climate Displaced People – more than 75 million
  
• Economic Losses – over US 300 billion dollars

The full report:

• “Human Impact Report: Climate Change – The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis” (2009)
  

 
Other documents:

• Guardian Op-ed of Rajendra Pachauri (29 May 2009)
  
• Commentary
  
• Introduction by Kofi Annan
  
• Executive Summary
  
• Conclusion by Walter Fust
  
• Methodology
  
• Bibliography