Notes on Managing Climate Change.
Managing Climate Change Adaptive Capacity: the extent to which a system can cope with climate change. In human systems it depends on available human physical and financial resources. Climate vulnerability: the degree to which a natural or human system lack the ability to cope with climate change. Vulnerability is a result of the magnitude of the change, its speed of onset, the sensitivity of the system and its adaptive capacity. Mitigation or adaptation? Mitigation mean reducing the output of greenhouse gases and increasing the size of greenhouse gas sinks. I.e. targets to reduce emissions, switching to renewable energy sources, capturing carbon emissions from power stations and storing them. Adaptation means changing the lifestyles to cope with new environment rather than trying to stop climate change. I.e. managed retreats of coastlines vulnerable to sea level rise, developing drought resistant crops, enlarge conservation areas to allow shifting of habitat zones. > For human systems i.e. the economy, mitigation could involve an upfront cost, to reduce atmospheric pollution to 'safe' levels. Adaptation might mean costs were more gradual and spread over time. > For natural systems like ecosystems, mitigation could limit damage. Some ecosystems may not be able to 'adapt' and could lead to death and my cause extinction. Wealthy countries may have the adequate
Global warming and the basic mechanisms of climate change.
Since the first warnings of global warming and the possibility of climate changes in 1885 by various scientists, researched has gathered insight into both the basic mechanisms of climate change and the potential impacts that can be expected in the future. In response to these findings, 160 countries gathered at the "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro, where they agreed to adopt the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC)1. The Convention aimed to stabilise greenhouse gases "at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system"2, and provided guidelines and obligations for so-called "Developed Countries"3. All countries were to develop a national database of the "anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks" and to devise a solution which will reduce the climate change4; however, developed countries also had other commitments under the convention5. Within the Convention, it provided that "[t]he Conference of the Parties shall, at its first session, review the adequacy of"6 the commitments of the parties in order to asses whether the objectives of the Convention were being met. At there first session in Bonn7, the Berlin Mandate: a "mechanism by which binding reduction and limitation obligations would be negotiated"8; was adopted, as it became apparent that the 'obligations' of the Convention were not adequate; the large
Climate Change: A Case Study
Name of the child : Mohammed Jannatul. Age: 12 years old. Sex: Male Address & family: Jannatul lives in a single room in the slum of khilkhet with his family of three. His father died and he lives with his mother and a brother. He has one sister who works as a domestic help in a family who provide her food and clothes but does not give any salary. Occupation: Janantul is a rickshaw puller. He pulls rickshaw inside Baridhara DOHS area. Impact on Working hour & Income: Jannatul generally works for 12 hours i.e. from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm. at night. He has to give the owner of the rickshaw Tk 80 everyday. He earns about Tk 350 normally if the weather is fine. However, change of weather affects his income as less people are at the street if there is more heat. Then his income faces a slump and his working hour increases. On the other hand, initially continues rain or depression is good for him as he gets a higher fare and tips from the passengers. But again he falls sick for being drenched in rain and thus cannot work for next one or two days. So again the income goes down. Health Hazard & Expenditure: Jannatul feels that in Dhaka city heat is increasing day by day. He suffers from sweating as he pulls rickshaw which is very hard physical task for a twelve-year-old. He bears the direct heat of the sun. He feels week and his entire body aches. "I don't feel like
Socio-economic and political impacts of climate change in Africa
'The cause of the warming of the African continent (and of the world as a whole) over the past 100 years is not clear. The change in atmospheric composition associated with rising levels of greenhouse gases must be one of the most plausible explanations, but there are other possibilities (Wigley et al., 1992). The trend may, for example, be the result of natural climate variability, shifts in the ocean temperature distribution or changes in the solar output. The progressive degradation of dryland areas, by reducing surface soil moisture, may have contributed to the warming over Africa, although the results of recent analyses suggest that the effects may account for no more than a small proportion of the trend observed over the continent as a whole (cf. Balling, 1991, with Hulme and Kelly, 1993). Whatever the cause of the warming trend, it provides one benchmark against which we can judge the projections of future climate warming for Africa' All that one needs to look at is the Annual rainfall during the mosts recent three decades to see that there has been around 20 to 40 percent less than was expected around the 1960's. Take extreme years such as 1984 and 1990 where rainfall levels have dropped below 50 percent of what is normally expected. But the real question we are trying to answer here is how sensitive are African natural resources, managed ecosystems and national
The Implications of the UK's Climate Change Policy on Biodiversity
The Implications of the UK's Climate Change Policy on Biodiversity Ecology & Wildlife Conservation The Implications of the UK's Climate Change Policy on Biodiversity Introduction Biodiversity is the unpredictability among living creatures and their environments. Biodiversity is necessary for human well-being because it give services, like food, medicines, clean water and soil stabilization. There is already a threat for biodiversity from the loss and disintegration of environment, pollution and persistent non-native species (Stuart, Donald, 2008). Variations in the climate pose a new challenge as it often intensifies the impacts of other forces. A recent report by G8 on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity assesses the failure of biodiversity internationally could be worth 7% of world GDP in 2050 (Stuart, Donald, 2008). Discussion The natural atmosphere is an essential part of the weather system, it is both affected by and affects weather internationally and locally. A significant body of speculation on climate change implication in the UK has been developed and is on-going. The idea is to put into practice developing theories and ideas, and to build on lessons learnt from these actions, and to also show that it is essential to point out the dangers and chances for biodiversity conservation, from improvement of climate change over a short and long period. The
How UK is being affected by climate change
How UK is being affected by climate change? Global warming has a significant effect on the climate in UK. Four of the five warmest years for more than three centuries have occurred in the last 10 years. By the 2050s, annual temperatures in the south east of the country could be on average more than 2C warmer than they are now - 30 years later that may rise to more than 3C. Predictions by the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia put global sea level rises between 12cm and 67cm by 2050.due to increased rainfall and rising sea levels. Parts of East Anglia as well as parts of the south east could end up under water. The threat of rising sea levels is compounded by the fact that the UK is gradually tilting (not equal in height). The south east of the country is sinking while the northwest is rising. Studies of long term trends of climate change at the Climate Research Unit have found that winter precipitation (the amount of water fall in winter) could increase by more than 20% by the 2080s. By contrast, in summer, central and southern UK could be much dryer than it is now with up to 18% less rainfall by 2080s. However northern England and Scotland is likely to experience the double whammy (double consequences) of both wetter summers and wetter winters. With hotter weather, the demand for water would increase significantly as would evaporation from reservoirs
Do humans have a responsibility to prevent climate change?
Do humans have a responsibility to prevent climate change? Climate change is becoming a large controversial issue around the world and arguably the greatest threat facing our planet. Due to changing atmospheres and warming oceans, melting large icecaps, increased severe weather outbursts and warnings for droughts and floods, there is a large amount of human uncertainty as to what will happen next. These problems will harm the poorest countries and peoples the most due to their vulnerable locations and limited resources which make it difficult or impossible for them to adapt1, but should humans really be liable for the affects of the planet? This essay will first discuss what climate change actually means before looking into if and why humans have a responsibility for prevent it, it will also be necessary to mention human rights as they play a huge part in this question. Climate change is often defined as a change in the "average weather" that a given region experiences. When we speak of climate change on a global scale, we are referring to changes in the climate of the Earth as a whole, including temperature increases (global warming) or decreases, and shifts in wind patterns and precipitation.2 The global average sea level is projected to increase over the next 100 years by between 9 and 88 cm for the full range of emissions scenarios3. This rise has been shown to be
Global Environmental System - The Global Climate Change Affects on UK
Module Title: Global Environmental System The Global Climate Change Affects on UK Table of Content The Global Climate Change Affects on UK 1 Table of Content 1 Introduction 1 The climate on the Earth 2 The effects on climate and human life 2 Climate change over UK 4 Climate history of UK 5 Conclusion 6 Bibliography 7 Introduction Since now, the global warming, the so caused global climate change and consequent effects on the global eco-system are getting worse increasingly. Human beings begin to pay more and more attention on the series of problems, which were directly or indirectly caused by human activities. The lake are filled by sands, trees are losing away, air is full of dust, all of those phenomenon are happening at every corner of the world, also including Britain. Before looking onto this part, we should be aware of the global general climate trend first. The climate on the Earth The climate is different with the weather. Usually the climate is described as the average weather condition over a relatively long period. However, it is not the only definition of the climate, there are over 50 definitions are accepted in the worldwide. Also the climate is always defined as in a local area; because the local climate is formed by many factors, and the factors are not always the same in vary areas. There are mainly three determinations of the local climate,
Climate Change And Economic Policy. An Australian Perspective
Michael Pasquale 14270745 2 Climate Change and Economic Policy An Australian Perspective Economic Policy 302 ________________ Climate change is defined as “Change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods”(Bruno and Mehmet 2010). Modern methods of production create greenhouse gasses as a negative externality via the market failure and government intervention is needed to rectify the situation. Climate change is an issue for the Australian government as it needs to intervene to correct the market failure caused by the free markets inability to provide property rights to mitigate damages caused by the negative externality. (Calhoun 2010) The greenhouse gas externality is a by-product of the production of goods and services via the over-production of emissions. Dr Peter John Wood argues that” climate change is an indisputable threat” and on that basis, as well as the world stage Australia has taken the reins in acting upon climate change. An externality is defined as” are the unintended consequence of one economic agent’s economic activity that affect another agent’s economic activity, but which are not adequately priced through the market (Sonia and Jeff 2011)”. This is also
The Car Industries Response Towards Climate Change Issues
The Car Industries Response Towards Climate Change Issues Introduction Climate change is currently a very important issue. A large number of scientists and industry experts are of the opinion that, if the damage that humanity is causing to the earth's environment goes on unchecked, there will be a drastic shift in the climate towards a more inhospitable environment. (see appendix 1 for more information) This report aims to analyse the responses of some companies in the automobile market to the environmental problems faced by the industry and to determine if they are making enough of an effort to combat the damage they, and their products, are causing to the environment. This report will be looking at Toyota, Mercedes Benz, BMW and Ford and using the pyramid of social responsibility model and the stakeholder theory to determine these organisations positions on environmental issues. How Organisations respond to Climate Change Issues. Countries, individuals and organisations are responsible for emissions. Recently, governments have come up with a 'carbon footprint' scheme to encourage individuals to cut their carbon emissions. The Kyoto Protocol was created in 1997, but went into force in Febuary 2005 with the aim of dropping CO2 emissions by 5.2% of the 1990 levels by 2012. (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4269921.stm) Some countries are more worried
