Climate change Essay Example for Free

Climate change Essay In this era of industrialization there is no doubt that countries are developing in terms of resources and technology but there are repercussions as well. Scientists are of the view that human activities are contributing to not only a rise in world temperatures but also to the extreme climatic occurrences. Such climatic induced natural disasters have displaced many people from the shelter of their homes, have turned fertile lands into barren parts and have caused a depletion of fresh water resources (China tells rich nations to pay up on climate change, 2008). â€Å"It is predicted that the average global temperature will rise from between 1. 5 and 5 degrees Celsius over the next 100 years leading to a rise in sea level by one meter or more along with other disastrous climatic changes† (Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies, 2002). But the world today is so engrossed in reaching the top most position amongst industrialized countries that there is absolute ignorance about the causes of climatic disasters. Although there are people who believe that the drastic temperature increase over the last 100 years is a natural phenomenon, but the wide majority of the scientists argue that human activities are the root cause. â€Å"When it was realized that the radical climatic changes are an important issue and need to be tackled, the first milestone was launched in 2005, termed as the Kyoto protocol which aimed at reducing the gas emissions from industrialized countries† (Pettifor, 2008). But the main problem regarding this protocol is that some of the world’s biggest current and future polluters are not a signatory to this agreement as a result of which this protocol is unlikely to have any impact on the climatic changes (Climate Change, 2008). Population growth in such countries is allowing for the set up of more industries which will eventually accelerate the problem on hand. If technologies which cause less pollution and are comparatively cheaper are created and adopted then even countries which are not committed to the climatic change improvement will adopt them for their own economic self interest. Such technologies can be implemented in electricity production and transportation because these are the two factors which contribute to environmental pollution in all developing countries. In many countries carbon free alternatives have already been implemented for energy production and transport purposes and the added costs have been considered to be meager when compared to the benefits. Emission trading is a phenomenon that allows for the achievement of pollution reduction at reduced costs whereby a country which is able to meet its target of reducing emissions sells its pollution permit to another country which is unable to meet the target set (Howden, 2007). Policies are required both in developing and the developed countries to finance the regime of saving the planet. These policies include certain incentives and subsidies for the innovator who adopts the carbon free technologies in his production plant , taxes and charges enforced on those who fail to follow the reduced emission target and also government regulations that allow remove the barrier to entry for new entrants willing to adopt the lower carbon alternatives. In January 2007 the EU set out proposals for a global agreement on saving the planet from further climatic deterioration (Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies, 2002). Two key targets to be met by 2020 were set which included a 20% reduction in energy consumption and use of renewable energy resources to be increased by 20%. The EU countries also committed to cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions by 30% given that other developed countries also commit to reductions in gas emissions under a global agreement (Climate Change, 2008). It is the rich countries that need to be pressurized to take steps in the mitigation of climatic changes and provide finance for the poorer countries that may be reluctant to cut down on emissions since it would have adverse affects on their economy (Climate Change, 2008). In spite of the current economic turmoil which the entire world is facing, the U. S has promised to provide subsidies to the car industry to help them develop green cars which will help in creating a cleaner and less polluted environment. This step taken by the U. S motivated the EU member states to do the same. Similarly the German government is thinking of offering tax incentives to the general public to install energy efficient heating systems in their homes and to purchase the carbon free, environmentally friendly green cars. And the list goes not stop here, governments of different countries are thinking of providing subsidies to industries to produce green appliances, green airplanes, efficient lighting equipment, and better insulation and so on (Howden, 2007). To implement all this money is required which is expected to come from private investors. In the future years it is predicted that a vast portion of government spending will be directed towards saving the environment from climatic changes (Pettifor, 2008). China, one of the most enthusiastic country in dealing with the climatic change crisis has emphasized on the need for rich nations to contribute 1% of their GDP to help poorer nations counter the effects of the drastic climatic changes, to enable them to adopt the ‘green technologies’ and to simply assist them in tackling disasters like earthquakes, floods, heat waves and droughts (China tells rich nations to pay up on climate change, 2008). A main human activity which is adding to global warming is deforestation which has been occurring worldwide at a large scale. Carbon emissions caused by deforestation cause far more damage then either factories or cars do. Countries are implementing strict regulations regarding deforestation and have imposed penalties on those indulging in this act on lands where it is prohibited. No new technology is required it is just the enforcement policies, political will and incentives that need to be provided to government and individuals alike to make them realize the importance of forests to the environment. But poorer nations are unwilling to cut down on deforestation since it means compromising on their source of income and ultimately compromising on their economy. Forestry experts and policy makers have held meetings in Germany to try and put deforestation on top of the agenda of UN for dealing with climatic changes but Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s poorest nations refused to co-operate when it declared that it can’t cut down on deforestation unless it was offered financial incentives to do so. Natural forestation acts as a thermostat for the earth generating much needed rainfall and stabilizing the amount of harmful gases in the environment yet governments are ignorant or rather choose to stay unaware of this fact and are focusing more on implementing economic policies , encouraging bio-fuel subsidies and carbon capture schemes to tackle the problem of climatic changes (Summary for Policy Makers, 2007). For domestic users of energy, education and training programs need to be implemented to break down the reluctance of adopting environmentally friendly products and to help in creating a carbon free environment. For industries as well staff training, rewards system, awareness programs can reduce energy consumption considerably and reduce the green house gases emissions (Pettifor, 2008). There are certain economic policies which can be implemented to achieve the desired effects like taxes and charges on industries emitting carbon toxicants above a certain given level can be imposed which will induce them to eventually cut down on polluting the environment. Voluntary agreements between the governments and industries as well as between developing countries like the Kyoto protocol can accelerate the adoption of technological advances and cause considerable emission reductions (Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies, 2002). But on the other hand it needs to be kept in mind that although harsh regulations and standards and tax impositions may have the desired effect in the industrial sector but when it comes to domestic households, who are also a major contributor to environment emissions due to car usage and domestic heating, we need to think out of the box and come up with more feasible and practical solutions Individuals need to be convinced of the need to adopt technology and embrace ‘green appliances’ and for that the main motivation is the monetary incentive. Majority of the global population is not an early adopter of technology and for their sake it needs to be kept in mind that they will look for reduced costs rather than being termed the most techno-savvy person of the year (Pettifor, 2008). People need to be educated rather than forced into adopting renewable energy resources. Same goes for the industrial sector of the rich nations though harsher methods to cut down on their emissions can be applied as well by the government. It is the poorer nations that show the maximum reluctance and are unwilling to co-operate in the regime to save the earth from further climatic destruction. These nations are more concerned about their economy since already they are far behind the rich nations and on top of that the international bodies impose restrictions on them to cut down on emissions which eventually mean a restraint on their business operations (Summary for Policy Makers, 2007). The short term efforts that are being done to save the world from global warming and ozone depletion are basically a waste of resources and money since they tend to have little effect. It would be wiser to spend more yet come up with long term viable solutions which promise an improvement in the climatic conditions. Those who are worried that the cost of saving the world from climatic changes need to realize that the atmosphere cannot determine if the reduced carbon emission has come from an expensive decision or a cheap choice because it can only feel if the emissions have reduced or not. Works Cited 1. China tells rich nations to pay up on climate change. (2008, November). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from NewScientist. com: http://environment. newscientist. com/article/dn15148-china-tells-rich-nations-to-pay-up-on-climate-change. html? DCMP=ILC-hmtsnsref=news1_head_dn15148 2. Climate Change. (2008). Retrieved November 6, 2008, from EUROPA Commission: http://ec. europa. eu/environment/climat/home_en. htm 3. Climate Change: Economic Sense and Non-sense of Carbon Mitigation Policies. (2002). Centre for Economic Performance , 2. 4. Howden, D. (2007, May 14). Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from The Independent: http://www. independent. co. uk/environment/climate-change/deforestation-the-hidden-cause-of-global-warming-448734. html 5. Pettifor, A. (2008, October 28). Beyond the triple crisis: a green new deal. Retrieved November 7, 2008, from http://www. opendemocracy. net/article/beyond-the-triple-crisis-a-green-new-deal 6. Summary for Policy Makers. (2007, May 5). Retrieved November 5, 2008, from http://www. globalpolicy. org/socecon/envronmt/climate/2007/0504ipccthree. pdf