CLIMATE CHANGE: AN INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

Rising levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have warmed the Earth with wide-ranging impact. In his State of the Union speech earlier this week, President Obama said the debate over climate change was settled. “Climate change is a fact.” “The shift to a cleaner energy economy won’t happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way,” he said.

Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged political, economic and financial leaders to intensify their efforts to move towards a low-carbon economy in preparation for the Climate Summit in September 2014 in New York. Climate change was a major focus of the annual Forum in Davos, which dedicated one entire day and more than 20 events to the topic of climate change and energy policy.

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to the effects resulting in the climate from global warming. Wallace Broecker, a geochemist, coined the phrase “global warming” in 1975. Global warming refers to the increase of the average global surface temperature caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. A greenhouse gas absorbs energy from the sun and re-emits it in all directions, including down to Earth. An increase in greenhouse gases results in the temperature of the Earth rising, which in turn, causes numerous changes in the Earth’s climate. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that occurs naturally and is also emitted by the burning of fossil fuels for energy.

The concern regarding climate change began in the 19th century, when scientific evidence first began to suggest that accumulated carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere could create a greenhouse effect and increase the temperature of the planet. By the middle of the 20th century, it was becoming clear that human action had significantly increased the production of carbon dioxide, and the process of global warming was accelerating. The level of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere presently is higher than at any time in the last 800,000 years.

Most of the hottest years on record have occurred during the past two decades. According to NASA scientists, 2013 tied with 2009 and 2006 as the seventh warmest year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. With the exception of 1998, the 10 warmest years have all occurred since 2000. Today, most scientists agree that either we stop and reverse this process now or face a devastating cascade of natural disasters that will seriously alter life on Earth.

Consequences of Climate Change

Because so many systems are tied to climate, a change in climate can affect many related aspects of where and how people, plants and animals live, such as food production, and availability and use of water. The consequences of global warming include rising sea levels; extreme heat events, melting snow and ice; fires and drought; and extreme storms, rainfall and floods. In Europe, the heat wave in the summer of 2003 resulted in over 30,000 deaths.  In India, temperatures reached 48.1 degrees Centigrade, which is nearly 119 degrees Fahrenheit. Two years later, the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina in the United States was attributed in large part to the elevated water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2008, in one of many topographic changing developments, 160 square miles of territory broke away from the Antarctic coast after its bindings to Antarctica had melted away.

According to a recent draft United Nations report, a delay in reducing the emission of carbon to the atmosphere would force future generations to develop the ability to somehow remove greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and store them underground to preserve the livability of the planet. The most evident problem is that it is still not clear whether such technologies will ever exist at the necessary scale, and even if they do, the cost of the reparations might be prohibitive. The new warnings came in a draft report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations panel of climate experts that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for its efforts to analyze and communicate the risks of climate change.

UN Initiatives on Climate Change

In 1992, the “Earth Summit” produced the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a first step in tackling the problem of climate change. The Convention’s 1997 Kyoto Protocol, set carbon emission reduction targets for industrialized countries, and helped stabilize and in some cases reduce, emissions in several countries.

In 1998, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) set up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide an objective source of scientific information and to study the issue of climate change in depth. In December 2010, climate change talks in Cancún concluded with a package of decisions to help countries advance towards a low-emissions future. The “Cancún Agreements,” include formalizing mitigation pledges and ensuring increased accountability for them, as well as taking concrete action to protect the world’s forests.

In 2011 the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, produced the Durban Platform. In Durban, governments decided to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, but not later than 2015. In December 2012, after two weeks of negotiations at the Doha conference, nations agreed to a new commitment period for the Kyoto protocol and affirmed a previous decision to adopt a new global climate pact by 2015.

The recent draft UN report states that the situation has grown critical and the risk of severe economic disruption is increasing. It predicts that another 15 years of failure to limit carbon emissions could make the problem virtually impossible to solve with current technologies, and states that governments of the world are still spending far more money to subsidize fossil fuels than to accelerate the shift to cleaner energy, thus encouraging continued investment in projects like coal-burning power plants that pose a long-term climate risk.

Political Response by Individual Nations to Climate Change

Political willingness to tackle climate change is growing in many countries and new policies are spreading, however, currently there is still a considerably larger growth in the production of fossil fuels. Emissions appear to have fallen in recent years in some of the wealthiest countries but the growth of international trade allows manufacturers to produce abroad goods that are consumed in wealthy countries. These countries outsource their greenhouse gas emissions to countries like China.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which was meant to have nations commit to limit emissions, has not been as successful as intended because some important countries like the United States refused to ratify it or later withdrew, and also because of flaws within the treaty itself, such as the fact that the treaty exempted developing countries from taking strong action, a decision that many experts think was a mistake.

Nations have agreed to try to limit the warming of the planet to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels. This target is not ideal, an according to experts, would still mean future ecological and economic damage, but the hope is that it would come on slowly enough to be somewhat manageable. What is clear is that the risk of doing nothing with regards to climate change will risk serious disruption to all living things on Earth and will cause catastrophic events to occur that will pose significant risks to human health, agriculture, freshwater supplies, coastlines, and other natural resources that are vital to the economy, the environment, and our quality of life. What is not clear at all is how to reach a solution that avoids further endangering the Earth.

How can we address the issue of Global Warming?

Is it necessary to implement more strict policies on nations regarding carbon emissions?

Is the UN effective in addressing the concerns about climate change?

Should the United States and China, as the nations that produce the largest amount of carbon emissions, be required by the international community to formulate a plan to reduce their emissions?

In a recent session on climate, growth and development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that progress on addressing climate change will involve not just governments but also the full engagement of the business and finance communities. Do businesses have a social responsibility to help in the reduction of carbon emissions and prevent the future dangers that climate change pose to society?

 

 

3 thoughts on “CLIMATE CHANGE: AN INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

  • March 17, 2014 at 4:36 pm
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    First to say, I believe more in global change than in globar warming since not every geographical zone of the planet is getting warmer. There are in the last two years many places that have experienced a drastic comedown in temperature. Some of them, with coldest winters since the 80s. If we look at the evolution of the temeprature in earth trough millions of years, we can see that for example the glaciers have been melting down and growing up many times through the last several millions of years. So it might be also a rational way of thinking that humans have not such a great impact in climate change and that this change in our climate is just following a normal cycle, which is happening since the birth of the earth.

    Although some people could think this way, it is not an excuse for not trying to be more efficient and environmentally friendly. Being more green and preserving our firests and natural areas should be in everyones mind. It is in the hands of governments, firms and private individuals to be more environmentally friendly and therefore all of these three groups should be encouraged to change the way of doing things.

    United Stares and China should be forced by the international community to lower the greenhouse emissions they produce and this is only possible by implementing limitations in the industry. The European Union is aware of the climate problem and has already implemented measures like limiting the CO2 emissions of automobiles and car manufacturers. Although global warming can be debated, it is fact that great meteopolitan areas are suffering great air pollution and many health problem in this areas are appearing. Governments and cities sholuld be forced also to implement more strict measures to avoild that pollution.

    This problem can be lowered if individuals and companies put a grain of sand to the cause, and lower their emissions in a daily basis.

    Reply
  • April 14, 2014 at 9:08 pm
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    How can we address the issue of Global Warming?

    -Global warming is one of those issues where we have to make small changes now and allow them to accumulate to effect those of our future. If we can stop using aerosol hairspray, or be more conscientious about what we do and HOW it affects others and the world we live in, it will add up to a better future. It is our ‘social responsibility’ as humans to the world we live in to treat it right. I do not think there is any way to fix global warming, but I feel that we can make small changes in order to slow the process down or even halt it.

    Is it necessary to implement more strict policies on nations regarding carbon emissions?

    -I believe at the start it is necessary because if it was not necessary then global warming would not be as prominent as an issue as it is. We would not have to discuss this topic if we didn’t need strict policies in place because we would just be doing it on our own. A lot of businesses and even every day life gts caught up in just “how much emission” they are contributing. No one takes a moment and stop to think that there “oh it’s just a little” adds up with everyone else in the world providing “just a little.” It is a very common concept within our era for any situation really.

    Should the United States and China, as the nations that produce the largest amount of carbon emissions, be required by the international community to formulate a plan to reduce their emissions?

    -I believe that it could be beneficial for them to collaborate to see what would work. Two brains think better than one, and if they can find a way to work with one another efficiently then I think it would be certainly beneficial. They both understand what the other one is gaining from producing it so maybe that will lead them to putting their brains together and compromising on both their ends and reaching one result that isn’t sided in biases from either one and it could be extremely effective. We need limitations on the industry. They can figure out these limitations.

    In a recent session on climate, growth and development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that progress on addressing climate change will involve not just governments but also the full engagement of the business and finance communities. Do businesses have a social responsibility to help in the reduction of carbon emissions and prevent the future dangers that climate change pose to society?

    -Yes, as I already kind of mentioned businesses definitely have a social responsibility to help in the reduction of carbon emissions and prevent the future dangers that climate change poses to society. Businesses are the ones that make use of these factories producing carbon emissions. If they were to all agree (the businesses) to not use those factories and require them to produce more eco-friendly to the atmosphere, then the factories would be forced to work out the problem because they would be losing their business and they need that business as their income. The businesses have a social responsibility to their customers and their communities. By using these factories they are aiding in the carbon emission that will in the end hurt those customers and members of the communities.

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  • April 21, 2014 at 2:35 am
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    How can we address the issue of Global Warming?

    The issue of global warming can’t be solved overnight, as it didn’t a rise overnight. However, there is many things each individual can do to help out our society. wind energy is something I have become very interested in and I believe it would allow us to not blow so much coal and nuclear energy. Also each individual should take pride in the planet they live on by recycling rather than littering. I believe recycling can be very effective if done properly world wide.

    Is it necessary to implement more strict policies on nations regarding carbon emissions?

    Yes, I do believe it is necessary to implement more strict policies on nations regarding carbon emissions. I believe companies are not only being wasteful but are being negligent as well. Companies should be driven to be compete to be the most environmentally friendly and should contribute to making the world a cleaner place. Stricter policies would help would motivate companies.

    Should the United States and China, as the nations that produce the largest amount of carbon emissions, be required by the international community to formulate a plan to reduce their emissions?

    Yes, that is how this issue can be addressed. China and The U.S could work together and research potential solutions for the reduction in emissions. Also they need to be forced to consider how much of emissions are actually relative versus emissions that are not. Emissions need to be monitored because climate control is becoming a more serious issue.

    In a recent session on climate, growth and development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that progress on addressing climate change will involve not just governments but also the full engagement of the business and finance communities. Do businesses have a social responsibility to help in the reduction of carbon emissions and prevent the future dangers that climate change pose to society?

    Yes, they do because they play big role in all the carbon emissions. Also, because some of the companies are deffinetly responsible for excessive and unnecessary carbon emissions. If companies consider the social responsibilities they have they can effectively act against the global warming issue. It is not an issue that will be solved today or tomorrow, but if companies take it serious it will be very effective.

    Reply

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