Transcript Global Warming

Global Warming
O Definition and Condition
O Causes of Global Warming
O Impacts of Global Warming
O Solutions to Global Warming
O Solutions to Global Warming in Asia
Definition and Condition
O Global warming is the rise in the average
temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans
since the late 19th century and its projected
continuation.
O Since the early 20th century, Earth's mean
surface temperature has increased by about
0.8 °C (1.4 °F), with about two-thirds of the
increase occurring since 1980.
Warming of the climate system is
unequivocal, and scientists are more than
90% certain that it is primarily caused by
increasing concentrations of greenhouse
gases produced by human activities
O
O such as the burning of fossil fuels and
deforestation.
These
findings
are
recognized by the national science
academies of all major industrialized
nations.
O Global warming is the term used to describe a
gradual increase in the average temperature of
the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change
that is believed to be permanently changing the
Earth’s climate.
O There is great debate among many people, and
sometimes in the news, on whether global
warming is real (some call it a hoax). But
climate scientists looking at the data and facts
agree the planet is warming.
O While many view the effects of global warming to
be more substantial and more rapidly occurring
than others do, the scientific consensus on
climatic changes related to global warming is that
the average temperature of the Earth has risen
between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years.
O The increased volumes of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases released by the burning of
fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other
human activities, are believed to be the primary
sources of the global warming that has occurred
over the past 50 years.
O Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate carrying out global warming research
have recently predicted that average global
temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8
°C by the year 2100.
O Changes resulting from global warming may
include rising sea levels due to the melting of the
polar ice caps, as well as an increase in
occurrence and severity of storms and other
severe weather events.
Causes of Global Warming
O Global warming is primarily a problem of too
much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere—
which acts as a blanket, trapping heat and warming
the planet.
O As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural
gas for energy or cut down and burn forests to create
pastures and plantations, carbon accumulates and
overloads our atmosphere.
O Certain
waste
management
and
agricultural practices aggravate the
problem by releasing other potent global
warming gases, such as methane and
nitrous oxide.
O See the pie chart for a breakdown of heat-
trapping global warming emissions by
economic sector.
Fig: Global Warming Emissions by Economic Sector
O CO2 survives in the atmosphere for a
long time up to many centuries so its
heat-trapping effects are compounded
over time.
O Of the many heat-trapping gases, CO2
puts us at the greatest risk of irreversible
changes if it continues to accumulate
unabated in the atmosphere.
Impacts of Global Warming
O Global
warming is already underway with
consequences that must be faced today as well as
tomorrow. Evidence of changes to the Earth's physical,
chemical and biological processes is now evident on
every continent.
O To fully appreciate the urgency of climate change, it's
important to understand the ways it affects society and
the natural environment. Sea levels are rising and glaciers
are shrinking;
O High record of temperatures and severe rainstorms and
droughts are becoming increasingly common.
O Changes in temperatures and rainfall patterns alter
plant and animal behavior
implications for humans.
and
have
significant
O These will impact some of the world's poorest and most
vulnerable people, disrupting food production, and
threatening vitally important species, habitats and
ecosystems.
O Not
only are global warming-induced
changes currently underway, but scientists also
expecting additional effects on human society
and natural environments around the world.
O Some
further
warming
is
already
unavoidable due to past heat-trapping
emissions; unless we aggressively reduce
today's emissions, scientist’s project extra
warming and thus additional impacts.
O The Climate Hot Map arranges current
and future climate impacts into five main
groupings:

People

Freshwater

Oceans

Ecosystems

Temperature
Solutions to Global Warming
O There is no single solution to global warming,
which is primarily a problem of too much heattrapping carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and
nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
O The technologies and approaches outlined
below are all needed to bring down the
emissions of these gases by at least 80 percent by
mid-century. To see how they are best deployed
in each region of the world.



Boosting energy efficiency
The energy used to power, heat, and cool our
homes, businesses, and industries is the single
largest contributor to global warming.
Energy efficiency technologies allow us to use
less energy to get the same or higher level of
production, service, and comfort. This approach
has vast potential to save both energy and
money, and can be deployed quickly.
•Greening transportation:
O The
transportation sector's emissions have
increased at a faster rate than any other energyusing sector over the past decade.
O A variety of solutions are at hand, including
improving efficiency (miles per gallon) in all
modes of transport, switching to low-carbon
fuels, and reducing vehicle miles traveled
through smart growth and more efficient mass
transportation systems.
•Revving up renewables:
O Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind,
geothermal and bioenergy are available around the
world.
O Multiple studies have shown that renewable energy
has the technical potential to meet the vast majority
of our energy needs.
O Renewable technologies can be deployed quickly, are
increasingly cost-effective, and create jobs while
reducing pollution.
•
Phasing out fossil fuel electricity:
O Dramatically reducing our use of fossil fuels
especially carbon-intensive coal is essential to
tackle climate change. There are many ways to
begin this process.
O Key action steps include: not building any new
coal-burning power plants, initiating a phased
shutdown of coal plants starting with the oldest
and dirtiest, and capturing and storing carbon
emissions from power plants.
O While it may sound like science fiction, the
technology exists to store carbon emissions
underground. The technology has not been
deployed on a large scale or proven to be safe
and permanent, but it has been demonstrated in
other contexts such as oil and natural gas
recovery.
O Demonstration projects to test the viability and
costs of this technology for power plant
emissions are worth pursuing.
•Managing forests and agriculture:
O Taken together, tropical deforestation and
emissions from agriculture represent
nearly 30 percent of the world's heattrapping emissions.
O We can fight global warming by reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation and by making our food
production practices more sustainable.
•Exploring nuclear:
O Because nuclear power results in few
global warming emissions, an
increased share of nuclear power in
the energy mix could help reduce
global
warming
but
nuclear
technology poses serious threats to
our security.
•Developing and deploying new lowcarbon and zero-carbon technologies:
O Research into and development of the next generation
of low-carbon technologies will be critical to deep
mid-century reductions in global emissions.
O Current research on battery technology, new materials
for solar cells, harnessing energy from novel sources
like bacteria and algae, and other innovative areas
could provide important breakthroughs.
•Ensuring sustainable development:
O The countries of the world from the most to the least
developed vary dramatically in their contributions to
the problem of climate change and in their
responsibilities and capacities to confront it.
O A successful global compact on climate change must
include financial assistance from richer countries to
poorer countries to help make the transition to lowcarbon development pathways and to help adapt to the
impacts of climate change.
Solutions to Global Warming
in Asia
O Solutions to global warming across the varied
countries of the Asian region include providing
cleaner cook stoves to rural families, improving
rice cultivation to decrease methane emissions,
reducing emissions from deforestation, cutting a
deepening dependence on carbon-emitting coal,
and tackling emissions from a growing number
of cars, trucks, and buses.
O Encompassing
Indonesia, which faces significant
pressures on its tropical forest resources; the oil-rich
countries of the Middle East; and the rapidly developing
nations of China and India (currently the world's number
one and four annual emitters of CO2 respectively, (using
2008 data),
O Asia currently contributes the most global warming
emissions annually. The Asian region also faces a range
of climate impacts, including extreme heat, imperiled
drinking water resources, and accelerated sea-level rise,
which can lead to widespread population displacement,
food insecurity, and costly damage to coastal cities and
towns.
O This region's diversity is also apparent in its
solutions. From providing cleaner cook stoves to
rural families and improving rice cultivation to
reduce methane emissions to reducing emissions
from deforestation and cutting deepening
dependence on carbon-emitting coal, the
solutions to global warming pursued by
countries across Asia are specific to their unique
needs and opportunities.
Presented by
ANUP KUMAR
MANDAL
PSTU
THANKS