It is a mistake to assume climate change is behind recent extreme weather events. The lack of a climate change/extreme weather connection is one of the few areas of agreement between the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC–see www.nipccreport.com).
In 2012 the IPCC asserted that a relationship between global warming and wildfires, rainfall, storms, hurricanes and other extreme weather events has not been demonstrated. The NIPCC report released in October 2013 states that, "In no case has a convincing relationship been established between warming over the past 100 years and increases in any of these extreme events."
Sadly, of the approximately US$1 billion that is spent every day across the world on climate finance, only six per cent of it goes to helping people adapt to climate change today (ref: Climate Policy Initiative, San Francisco). The rest goes to trying to stopping what might happen decades from now. This is giving more value to people yet to be born than those suffering today due to the impacts of climate change. This is immoral but is the result of the unfounded belief that humans can control the planet's climate.
Tom Harris
International Climate Science Coalition
Ontario, Canada