How do we know that climate change is real?
Carbon emissions are the greatest contributing factor for climate change. The gasses emitted such as CO2 pollutes the air and enhancing global warming. This is called the ‘Greenhouse effect.’
We know that the earth is becoming increasingly warmer due to the increase in global temperature and sea level heights. ‘There are two main reasons for the rise in sea level, one being the ice melt from ice sheets and glaciers and the other being the expansion of sea water when it warms.’ [1]
From the graph, it shows how sea level has risen drastically since the first data collection in 1990 to today 2020 where the average sea height is around 90mm higher than it was 30 years ago.
What is global warming?
‘Global warming is the result of the greenhouse effect where certain gases in the earth’s atmosphere trap in heat from the sun’s radiation.’ [2]
CO2 gas is increasingly being emitted into the earth’s atmosphere due to globalisation (the increase in connections between places and people across the planet.) [3]
The Keeling Curve
This research is carried out by environmental scientists to study the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. It allows them to estimate the levels in history but to also give projections of different scenarios for the future levels of CO2 depending on the changes that occur.
The data is taken from equipment located in a remote location away from human impacts to avoid any interference. The location is Mauna Loa Observatory on the Islands of Hawaii.
‘The graph shows the recent CO2 reading from 2nd March 2020 with a reading of 413.69 ppm.' [4]
From the graph the clear overall pattern is that CO2 levels are increasing and have been increasing since the research first began in the 1960’s.
Future projections for this scenario show a drastic increase sea level which will some effect continents with low land height as the sea will start to engulf the coastal cities and towns.
Carbon Footprint
‘Carbon footprint is the greenhouse gasses that are released into the atmosphere. It is a representation for each individual person or company that is responsible for the release of these gasses.’ [5]
What is my carbon footprint? Every person can calculate their own carbon footprint based on several different factors that represent their living and lifestyle choices.
Factors include:
Travel- the way you travel (Car, bus, bike, walk),
Food- where the food comes from (Food miles) and what type of foodie you are
(Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian)
Housing- the energy that is consumed or wasted within a household e.g. having insulation reduces heat loss
meaning less energy will be required to keep heating the house up continuously.
Other factors that may not be as obvious to individual people but are a huge part to companies and businesses include factory emissions, export and import of goods via shipping or air transport. [6]
Carbon credits
‘Carbon credits is the amount of fossil fuels companies are permitted to burn.’ [7] If companies were to exceed the given amount, they would then have to pay governments and would receive high amount of consequences.
‘The United nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) was set up on the development of the Kyoto Protocol 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015.’ These policies ensure the monitoring and regulation of the carbon emission across the planet and ensure the law is forced and adhered to. [8]
See in this blog of more details on these government policies within ‘The legal bit.’
Summery
From this post you can now understand the basics of climate change and the different factors in which can affect it. It has covered both the scientific and the social aspects that all contribute towards the major factor which is greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, the post has also focused on a greenhouse gas which is Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and how this gas can have the most detrimental effect on the planet.
This included information on carbon footprint, covering factors that individual people can contribute to the emission of CO2 gas into the atmosphere based on lifestyle choices.
Then, it has outlined the concept of carbon credits and began to explain how different government law agreements and policies are in place to help monitor and control the release of CO2 into the atmosphere from countries and from individual companies.
[1] https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/
[2] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-overview/
[3] https://www.rgs.org/schools/teaching-resources/what-is-globalisation/
[5] Shrestha, E. et al., 2012. The carbon footprint of water management policy options. Energy Policy, 42, pp.201–212.
[7] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/carbon-credit
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