Conclusions
from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s are simple: rapid
shifts to renewable energy are needed to avert catastrophic global warming. The
IPCC’s report was produced by 1250 international experts and approved by each
major government in the world. The report documented increases in human-caused
greenhouse gases, the source of those gases, and their climatic effect. The
most significant conclusions resulting from IPPC report are:
- Current
efforts to reduce greenhouse gases are not enough.
- Energy
supply is not the only thing driving emission increases.
- Big
changes will be needed to avoid disaster scenarios.
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Greenhouse gas reductions — Of the total amount of
human-caused greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere every year since
1970, both from burning fossil fuels and from other industrial processes,
current efforts to reduce greenhouse gases by switching the cleaner
technologies and renewable energy have not been enough. Global greenhouse gas
emissions have been increasing by at least 1.3 percent every year since 1970.
From 2000 to 2010, those emissions were even greater, increasing by 2.2 percent
annually.
Carbon
dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels and other industrial processes
contributed about 78 percent of total greenhouse gas emission increases from
1970 to 2010. Similar percentage contributions were documented compounding the
problem between 2000 and 2010.
Energy supply – Different economic sectors
contribute directly to total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, both
directly and indirectly through electricity and heat production. In 2010, while
energy supply contributed the most to man-made global warming (responsible for
35 percent of greenhouse gas emissions), industry is also to blame for man-made
global warming. Agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) industries are
responsible for 24 percent of emissions. Industry was responsible for 21
percent, and buildings responsible for 6 percent.
Disaster scenarios – The IPCC report compares our
carbon emissions as they relate to temperature increases. Their scenario
indicators show how much carbon we can emit in order to avoid a scenario where
the world warms by more than 2°C, or 3.6°F, by the year 2100. The bottom line
is that more emissions equal more warming.
The
IPCC reasserts that continued inaction and more carbon emissions will lead to
9°F warming (or higher) for most of the U.S. and Northern Hemisphere landmass,
resulting in faster sea level rise, more extreme weather, and collapse of the
permafrost sink.
Read more at Care2.
Wind turbine on dry lands image via Shutterstock.