Climate Change Today

Climate change is the term used to describe changing patterns in the weather over a period of time. Today, it is used more frequently in relation to environmental issues and in the same breath as global warming, which refers to the rising temperature of the Earth’s surface.

It is the sudden rise of temperature over the last century that governments are concerned about, with scientists claiming that industrialization being the biggest single cause, ie, deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. And alarmingly, the prediction is for further temperature rises this century.

According to the Carbon Trust some 80% of emissions are carbon dioxide, released into the atmosphere mainly from burning oil, petrol and natural gas. Other greenhouse gases are: methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

The result, says the Trust, is that greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation in the atmosphere and change the dynamic balance between energy arriving from the sun and energy escaping.

Options under consideration on how the world tackles this global warming are: a) reduce future emissions of greenhouse gases ( this is the option put forward and ratified by most governments under the Kyoto agreement); b) reduce the damage caused by global warming, for example researching the ways all life forms can adapt to rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather patterns; and c) geoengineering in which scientists are currently investigating different technologies for cooling down the Earth, such as reflecting sunlight and sucking carbon dioxide from the air.