Climate Change

Our world today is hotter than it has been in two thousand years. The 1990s was, globally, the warmest decade and the 1900s, the warmest century during the last 1000 years. The seven warmest years have occurred this decade, with the warmest being 1998.    By the end of the century, if current trends continue, the global temperature will likely climb higher than at any time in the past two million years.  According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), limiting warming to under 2° Celsius (3.6°F) is vital to preventing the worst effects of climate change.

IPCC further states that "there is new and stronger evidence that the observed warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities".   For more than a century, people have relied on fossil fuels such as oil and coal for their energy needs, with coal being the dirtiest fossil fuel. Burning fossil fuels such as coal releases into the atmosphere massive amounts of the global warming gases such as carbon dioxide -the most significant greenhouse gas. The more carbon dioxide is released, the more we increase the "greenhouse effect" on our planet by trapping in heat and increasing global temperatures.  This creates  catastrophic impacts on the planet's ecosystems - impacts that will hit developing countries the hardest.
 
There is strong evidence that extreme weather events – such as hurricanes, floods, droughts and heat waves – are increasing (and becoming more severe and frequent) because of climate change.  According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the economic costs of extreme weather events are  growing rapidly.  Since 1960, the number of global weather disasters has increase four-fold, real economic losses seven-fold.  Real losses are estimated from US$ 3.9 billion per year in the 1950's to a staggering US$40 billion per year in the 1990s.  The cumulative number of people affected by disasters rose to two billion in the 1990s, up from 740 million in the 1970s. Virtually all of these millions were concentrated in poorer countries. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, massive flooding, decline of agricultural yields, an increase in risk of species extinction and biodiversity loss - these are the other impacts that we may face if we don't act today to stop climate change.

What is Climate Change?

Climate change is the warming of our planet, caused by human activity.  It is the worst environmental problem we face today.  Most scientists and governments around the world now agree that climate change will damage or destroy many natural ecosystems and human communities.
When we speak of climate change on a global scale, we are referring to changes in the climate of the Earth as a whole.  The rate and magnitude of global climate changes over the long term have enormous implications for natural ecosystems.

How does Climate Change happen?

Climate change is happening due to an increased concentration of certain gases in the atmosphere.  These heat-trapping gases are becoming more concentrated in the Earth's atmosphere, trapping more heat in the process.  The most prevalent of these gases is carbon dioxide, released from burning coal, oil and natural gas in power plants, cars, factories and so on as well as through large scale deforestation. 

What are the impacts of Climate Change?

Climate change is more than a warming trend.  According to the IPCC's Third Assessment Report, increasing temperatures will lead to changes in many aspects of weather, such as wind patterns, the amount and type of precipitation, and the types and frequency of severe weather events that may be expected to occur.  Such climate change could have far-reaching and/or unpredictable environmental, social and economic consequences.  Some of the likely impacts of climate change are:

1. Loss of fresh water: Within 50 years, the number of people facing water shortages will soar up to 5 billion out of a total of 8 billion.
2. Decline in agriculture output:  It seems obvious that any significant change in climate on a global scale should impact local agriculture, and therefore affect the world's food supply.
3. Decreased soil fertility and erosion: The shift of vegetation, droughts, and change in precipitation will increase desertification.  This will indirectly lead to increased use of chemical fertilizers, and industrial pollution.
4. Pests and diseases: Conditions will be more favorable for the proliferation of insect pests in warmer climates, such as mosquitoes carrying malaria.
5. Sea-level rise: As the world warms sea water itself will expand in size. This effect combined with the partial melting of land-based glaciers such as the Greenland Ice Sheet and sea-ice will result in a rise of sea level ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 meters by the middle of the next century.  Such a rise will pose a threat to coastal communities, agriculture, coastal fresh water sources, as well as, threaten the existence of some Island states.
6. Increased occurrence of extreme weather events: The increased number of droughts, floods, storms, etc has a huge impact on society and economy.