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CLIMATE CHANGE: A BASIC GUIDE

A New Commons publication

What are the challenges we face?


The impacts of global warming are likely to be "severe, pervasive and irreversible"
according to a major report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)i in their most comprehensive assessment to date. The mass of evidence on
which the report lies points to human activity such as the burning of fossil fuels and
de-forestation as fundamentally altering the climate system.
2014, the year in which the report was released, was also the hottest year on recordii. While there is
always year-to-year variance in weather patterns, the 10 warmest years - with the exception of 1998
- have now occurred since 2000. This trend continues a long-term warming of the planet, according
to an analysis of surface temperature measurements by scientists at NASAs Goddard Institute of
Space Studies (GISS) in New Yorkiii. Nor has there been any slowdown or hiatus claimed by climate
change sceptics: the most recent data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
confirms the rate of global warming during the last 15 years has been as fast as or faster than that
seen during the latter half of the 20th Centuryiv.
The warming of the atmosphere and oceans has already had observable effects on the environment:
the oceans are more acidic, the sea level is rising and glaciers have shrunk. Plant and animal ranges
have shifted and species are vanishing at an alarming rate as most plants, small mammals and
ocean organisms cannot adapt fast enough to keep up with the changes.
Ocean acidification has been described by the U.S. Natural Resources Defence Council as "the final
warning that we are fundamentally changing the way the planet works. It points to growing
evidence that acidification may already be impacting marine life around the world; from the
diminished reproduction of pacific oysters to the decline in calcification essential to coral reefsv. If
allowed to continue, the projected impacts could see the collapse of food webs and fish stocks.
Oceans create half the oxygen we use to breathe, and one-fifth of the animal protein consumed by
more than 1.5 billion peoplevi. They also provide shore protection in the form of coral reefs and
mangroves.
Projected impacts also include ocean related tourism, a multi-billion dollar industry. The NDRC
estimates that ocean related tourism, recreation and fishing are responsible for more than 2 million
jobs in the US alone.
The economic and human cost of climate change is already mounting. According to a report by the
UK Royal Society, between 1980 and 2004 the economic cost is estimated to be US$1.4 trillion. As
the current warming trend continues, the number and frequency of extreme weather events will
increase with heat waves occuring more often and lasting longervii while heavy rainstorms and
snowstorms will become more intense and frequent. Overall, precipitation will rise in high latitudes
and the equatorial Pacific. In mid-latitudes, dry areas will get drier, wet areas will get wetterviii.
A global temperature rise greater than 2 degrees Celsius will compromise food supplies globally and
Human health problems will get worse. Risks to poorer people are greater than for others, in all
countriesix.

CLIMATE CHANGE: A BASIC GUIDE

A New Commons publication

What are the causes of climate change


CO2 is important to life on earth
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that warms the lower atmosphere. Naturally produced CO2 is an
important atmospheric gas that traps heat and without it Earth would be frozen solid and lifeless at
an average temperature of -18 Degrees centigradex.

but human activity is increasing carbon emissions beyond what can be absorbed
by the earth
Human produced greenhouse gases are small compared to natural emissions: around 23 billion
tonnes of CO2 compared to 776 billion tonnes of CO2, a point often made by climate change
sceptics; however equally large amounts of CO2 are re-absorbed as part of the natural carbon cycle
around 788 billion tonnes a yearxi. Natural absorptions roughly balance natural emissions. What
human activity is doing is adding an extra layer of carbon emissions, only some of which are
absorbed by the oceans and land plants but around half of which remains in the air, trapping heat
and leading to global warming.
or the oceans
Rate of ocean acidification unpredented. CO2 dissolves in water to form a weak acid, and the oceans
have absorbed about a third of the CO2 resulting from human activitiesxii. Carbonic acid makes the
ocean's chemistry less hospitable for many forms of marine life. Ocean acidification is now
happening at an unprecedented speed, one far greater than previous mass extinctions in Earth's
history as a result of ocean acidificationxiii.
Climate change and mass extinctions have happened before but that leaves
leaves no room for complacency.
Detailed scientific evidence based on geological records shows that major climate change has
occurred in the past leading to mass extinctions of species (for example in the miocene period 16-14

CLIMATE CHANGE: A BASIC GUIDE

A New Commons publication

million years agoxiv). The same evidence shows that this time round, it is human activity which is
responsible for climate change and it is happening at an unprecedented speedxv. Moreover,
references to past climate change and mass extinctions by sceptics is hardly re-assuring given that
current climate change poses an existential threat to humanity and other forms of life on earth.
The Royal Society of Science sets out human produced greenhouse gases which
includexvi:

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) the biggest contributor to global warming resulting from the
burning of fossil fuels, cement production, and deforestation
Nitrous oxide from agricultural fertilisers: Nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations have risen
primarily because of agricultural activities such as the use of nitrogen-based fertilisers and
land use changes.
Halocarbons, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) While Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were
banned because of their impact on the Ozone layer, their replacements, along with other
halocarbons are also potent green house gases
Methane (CH4) levels have risen significantly since pre-industrial times due to human
activities such as raising livestock, growing paddy rice, filling landfills, and using natural gas

Market fundamentalism: the real driver of climate change


Any truthful discussion of the causes of climate change cannot be confined to a technical and
scientific explanation of green house gases resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. It needs to
examine the over-arching cultural, economic and political context in which runaway greenhouse gas
emissions take place.
According to Naomi Klein, we are all complicit in a highly exploitive form of capitalism: market
fundamentalism is killing the planet and we need to come out of denial. Polite incremental change
that attempts to bend the needs of the planet to an economic model of constant growth has failed
and we need radical actionxvii.
The biggest source of planetary-boundary stress today including climate change and threatened
ecosystem collapse, is excessive resource consumption by roughly the wealthiest 10 per cent of the
worlds population, and the production patterns of the companies producing the goods and services
that they buyxviii. Around 50 per cent of global carbon emissions are generated by just 11 percent of
people and around 57 per cent of global income is in the hands of just 10 per cent of people. Adding
to the pressure created by the worlds wealthiest consumers is a growing global middle class,
aspiring to emulate todays high-income lifestyles based on an inefficient and exploitive use of
natural resources reliance on oilxix.

What can we do about it?


There are two main policy responses to climate change: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation
addresses the root causes, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while adaptation seeks to lower

CLIMATE CHANGE: A BASIC GUIDE

A New Commons publication

the risks posed by the consequences of climatic changes. Both approaches will be necessary,
because even if emissions of greenhouse gases were to suddenly stop, Earths surface temperature
would not cool and return to the level in the pre-industrial era for thousands of yearsxx.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stresses the need reduce human emissions by 4070% by the year 2050 compared to year 2010 levels if we are to keep global warming within the 2
degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels and avoid severe damage to natural and human
systems. Without more mitigation than is being done today, the temperature is more likely than not
to rise by 4 degrees C by 2100.
Adaptation measures include large-scale infrastructure changes such as building defences to
protect against sea-level rise or improving the quality of road surfaces to withstand hotter
temperatures as well behavioural shifts such as individuals using less water, farmers planting
different crops and more households and businesses buying flood insurance.
The Royal Society urges a co-ordinated response at the international level. Governments will be
more effective when they act together to build resilience; sharing expertise, co-ordinating policy
and pooling resources to confront common risks. To limit the need for costly disaster responses,
more national and international funds will need to be directed to measures that build resilience to
extreme weatherxxi.
Cultural change and political will
According to Naomi Klein, reliance on technical innovation and hoped-for low carbon technologies
as a solution to global warming and ecosystem collapse is a distraction: it will not happen while the
politics of human power and ideological road blocks of the free market stall any genuine attempt to
leverage low carbon technologies and ensure the much needed transition to a low carbon world.
The solution then is political and social and only mass social movements can save us now; from the
divestment movement and bold court challenges by Indigenous groups, to the hundreds of cities
and towns in Germany who are part of the renewable energy movementxxii.
What the climate change movement cannot do is isolate itself from what she calls the unfinished
liberation movements of both past and present that seek to tackle head on, the deep inequalities of
wealth that scar our societies and drive the destruction of the planet. Dangerous climate change,
ecosystem collapse and economic exploitation of people and planet all emerge out of the same
coherent world view and it is that world view that must be delegitimised.

CLIMATE CHANGE: A BASIC GUIDE

A New Commons publication

IPCC: Climate Change 2014, Synthesis Report


New Economics Foundation : Climate Change: The Forecasts are Accurate Unfortunately Jan 20 2015
iii
NASA, NOAA Find 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record Jan 16 2015
iv
NOAA: Science publishes new NOAA analysis: Data show no recent slowdown in global warming (June 2015)
v
U.S. Natural Resources Defence Council: Ocean Acidification The Other CO2 Problem
vi
Greenpeace: What does the IPCC WGII report say on oceans? March 2014
vii
The Royal Society website: Resilience to Extreme Weather
viii
29 Bullet Points tell all about Climate Change, article by Mark Fischetti ,Scientific American Nov 3 2014
ix
29 Bullet Points tell all about Climate Change, article by Mark Fischetti ,Scientific American Nov 3 2014
x
Sceptical Science: What does past Climate Change tell us about Global Warming?
xi
Sceptical Science: The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Scepticism
xii
The Royal Society: What is ocean acidification and why does it matter?
xiii
Greenpeace: What does the IPCC WGII report say on oceans? March 2014
xiv
David Spratt: RECOUNT: Do the Maths again
xv
Sceptical Science: What does past Climate Change tell us about Global Warming?
xvi
The Royal Society: Learn about the sources of human-emitted greenhouse gases
xvii
Naomi Klein: This Changes Everything, Capitalism vs The Climate
xviii
Kate Raworth, Oxfam: A Safe and Just Space for Humanity yr 2012
xix
Kate Raworth, Oxfam: A Safe and Just Space for Humanity yr 2012
xx
The Royal Society: If emissions of greenhouse gases were stopped, would the climate return to the
conditions of 200 years ago?
xxi
The Royal Society report: Resilience to Extreme Weather
xxii
Naomi Klein: This Changes Everything, Capitalism vs The Climate(pg 451)
ii

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