CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change and sustainable development.

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ÁFRICA GRAÑERAS MENCÍA.

INDEX

1. CLIMATE CHANGE, GLOBAL WARMING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
2. CAUSES.
3. HISTORY ON THE THEORY OF GLOBAL WARMING.
4. CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
5. CURRENT SITUATION.
6. PROTOCOLS AND CLIMATE AGREEMENTS.
7. PROJECTIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
8. CLIMATE JUSTICE.
9. CONCLUSION.

Firstly, I have chosen to talk about Climate Change because it is one of the most important problems that humanity has today, since it affects us and it will affect us all equally, as it will affect all ecosystems and all species of existing living beings on Earth.

Climate change is a very complex phenomenon and represents one of the challenges of this century due to tis characteristics, causes and consequences at the global level.

In addition, all people are responsible for climate change and, therefore, we should be aware of the consequences that can bring this problem in the near future.

1. CLIMATE CHANGE, GLOBAL WARMING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

Climate change is defined as the global alteration of Earth’s climate. This is due as much to the different natural causes as to the action of the human being. These variations occur at different natural causes as to the action of the human being. There variations occur at different time scales and in relation to all climatic parameters.

Global warming refers to the progressive increase in temperatures that have now been revealed both in the atmosphere and in the Earth’s oceans, and that a future increase in these temperatures is also projected.

Sustainable development is a resource use model, which aims to meet the needs of human beings while preserving the environment so that these human needs can be met by future generations.

1.  CAUSES.

•        Natural causes:

The main cause of climate change is the movement of the Earth. The movements of rotation and translation change for long periods of time, that is, these movements do not follow a constant rhythm. These causes alterations in the climate due to the variations in the seasonal and latitudinal distributions of the radiation of the Sun that enters the Earth.

Solar variability also affects global warming, as the energy it emits changes over time and, if there is an increase in social radiation, there will be a warming in the terrestrial system.

Another cause is the plate tectonics that stems from the continual movement of the continents.

• Human activity.

The main activity is the high consumption of fossil fuels, specifically coal and oil, because it emits carbon dioxide. This gas, along with others, is what produce global warming, called the greenhouse effect.

On the other hand, large concentrations of animal farms also harm the environment because cows and sheep emit digested methane as well as landfills. In addition, the use of fertilizers in the plantations creates nitrous oxide.

Deforestation caused by deforestation is also another cause, as trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere helping to regulate the climate and, if cut, this beneficial effect is lost.

Finally, the fluorinated gases produce a great heating effect. Luckily, EU legislation wants to eliminate this use.

1. HISTORY ON THE THEORY OF GLOBAL WARMING.

Scientist Svante Arrhenius, in 1896, was the first man to proclaim that fossil fuels could contribute to the acceleration of global warming. He demonstrated this by relating the concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide to the temperature. It also determined the natural greenhouse effect without human intervention. This man suggested that between the natural greenhouse effect and the burning of fossil fuels made by us, would lead to an increase in temperature around 5 degrees Celsius.

Arrehenius and another scientist, Chamberlin, estimated that human activities would cause rising temperatures in the coming years. From this research emerged the question of whether this effect would explain the process of thawing on Earth. Indeed, this theory would be verified later, in the year 1987.

Over the next few years, this issue remained oblivious, as people were aware that human activities were insignificant compared to natural forces.

Later years, Glibert Plass re-investigates this issue by concluding that the addition of CO2 to the atmosphere captures an infrared radiation that is lost in the outer atmosphere, thus causing a terrestrial overheating.

In the 1960s, Keeling began testing the most advanced technology by analyzing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, demonstrating some drop-in temperatures from the 1940s to the 1970s. Several scientists and the media ignored this data that showed some cycles of heat-cold.

Then, in the 1980s, the annual average terrestrial temperature began to increase progressively, jumping to a heat cycle. It is from this moment when people begin to question the veracity of the theories that arose in previous years.

At the moment, environmental NGOs are taking action, publishing the need for protectionist measures towards the environment to prevent this phenomenon of global warming. The media also begin to intervene. In 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was created and the theory of the greenhouse effect was finally recognized. It establishes a plan carried out by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization, its purpose being to ascertain the impact of the gases having bibliographical information. This group reports on climate change in the years 1992, 1996 and 2007, verifying more and more global warming and the greenhouse effect, in addition, new research projects are emerging and theories are updated. Research is constantly being debated, adapted and updated.

In 1998, with a little more awareness on this issue, the Kyoto protocol was established in Japan. It was a measure for the participation of the signatory countries that were committed to reduce the emissions of gases greenhouse. The problem is that this agreement is freely chosen and countries such as the United States or Russia do not bet on it, causing inefficiency. In 2001, agreements were adopted specifying the rules for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, as well as establishing new financing instruments. It is in 2005, when this protocol comes into force. Later, in 2012, new commitments from the Parties are agreed to reduce emissions by the year 2013 to 2020.

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