A Look At Climate Change

A LOOK AT CLIMATE CHANGE By Penny Cooper

What is Climate Change?

The BBC says ‘Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. Climate change is a shift in those average conditions’. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of 1,300 independent scientific experts from countries all over the world under the auspices of the United Nations, concluded that there is more than 95 percent probability that ballooning human activities over the past 50 years have warmed our planet.

How Serious is it?

‘Everybody seems to realise that climate change is something that needs to be taken seriously,’ says Lisa Schipper from the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. CO2 emissions have risen from 40 million tonnes per day to more than 100 million tonnes per day, in the last 50 years. The question now is, are we on a temperature rise of 1.5oC, 2oC, 3oC or 4oC or higher? People are being forced from their homes because of flooding, the reduction of wildlife habitat due to deforestation and wildfires, the impact on agriculture due to drought. Moreover, the World Health Organisation predicts an increase in child mortality. More and more people are working towards their own climate solutions, for example, through building flood defences, but many people will end up being relocated. Hurricanes - In 2021 there have been 6 hurricanes in the Atlantic area, at a cost of $53.5 billion in damage so far. Hurricane Ida reached wind speeds of 150 miles per hour. A category 4 storm, making landfall over Louisiana. The storm moved over the Gulf of Mexico whose waters were particularly warm due to climate change, creating a fierce monster. Not caused by climate change but made worse by climate change. The shipping sector is a larger contributor to climate change than the aviation sector, Cruise ships emit more carbon per passenger kilometre than flying. Increasing sea level has been noted since 1992, with the world’s great ice sheets reducing rapidly, observed by NASA. China in 2019 was the largest contributor of fossil fuel CO2 emissions. With a share of almost 27.9% of the world’s total CO2 emissions that year, this was roughly twice the amount emitted by the second largest contributor the United States at 14.5%. During the pandemic, during Government restrictions, the aviation industry saw a reduction of 60% in emissions.

Good News

Emissions trading scheme - this is an environmental policy that seeks to reduce air pollution efficiently by putting a limit on emissions, giving polluters a certain number of allowances consistent with those limits, and then permitting the polluters to buy and sell the allowances. It is a way of putting a cap on emissions. Apart from China and India, other participating countries are European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, and Kazakhstan. Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced at the UN General Assembly in New York that his country will end its contribution to global heating and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Operating an emissions trading system (ETS), China has set up a trade-off facility between organisations to keep emissions down. India is at 7.2% emissions contributor. Under ETS, it pays for companies to install pollutionreducing technology. Australian Wildfires - A new study suggests that the ash from the fires in Australia entering the ocean, caused an algal bloom which sucked the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere caused by the fires, negating the CO2 effects. Maersk, a Danish Company - among the world’s largest container shipping companies has ordered 8 ships which can run on ‘carbon neutral Methanol’. These ships are a big beginning to making change. The way they are sourcing Methanol is clean, and CO2 emissions would be vastly reduced in the shipping sector as a result. Each ship will hold up to 16,000 containers. Breadfruit - a food which grows in the tropics and is thought to be a food of the future. Nutritionally, 100g or half a cup provides 25% of the recommended daily allowance of fibre and provides a percentage of protein, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, thiamine, and niacin, it is low in fat and a good option for diabetics.

North Sea - National Grid is looking at building an energy island in the North Sea to power British homes and businesses with renewable electricity. The UK so far has installed about 10 gigawatts of wind power capacity, sufficient to power about 7 million homes, and presently we have the world’s largest offshore wind energy market. Boris Johnson says, ‘we can get to complete clean energy production by 2035’. Solar Panels in Space - solar panels in space could come as soon as 2039. It has been suggested that £16.3 billion could make it happen, and it is considered that the benefits outweigh the costs, especially with new technology being developed all the time. COP26 - the climate summit held

in Glasgow in October/November 2021; the aim is to act to keep warming below 1.5oC. Decisions are being made, more than 100 countries have pledged to plant trees and cut back on deforestation, curb methane emissions and put a stop to investment in coal power. Now we need them to act.

Concrete alternative to present - Researchers from the University of Tokyo, Japan, have found a way to take waste concrete and captured carbon dioxide, and combine them, using a novel process, into a usable form of concrete called calcium carbonate concrete. At present the production of concrete uses a lot of CO2, this new product would neutralise the CO2. Electric cars - if you can’t do without a car, then the best thing you could do is to buy electric. Walk instead of driving, use public transport, or if you have to use a car, use one that does not require diesel. Children - This is a long-term plan, and the immediate effect will not be felt, but reducing the number of children you have reduces the carbon footprint. Fly less - this is significant in reducing the carbon footprint. Go Vegetarian - this is significant in reducing the carbon footprint. The production of steak and cooking it are significant contributors. If you can’t go vegetarian cut back on your meat intake, as Prince Charles stated, he eats less meat a week. Be energy conscious at home/work - use energy efficient appliances, cut down the temperature of your hot water, switch off rather than using stand by, maybe even downsizing to a smaller home. Turn off lights when not at work, switch off phone chargers not in use, close down your workstations. Investments/Pension/MP - push for transparency in finances, reducing the carbon footprint with a change in your investment practices. Polls/Surveys - take part and express your views, the bigger picture lies with those we have voted into office, and you should make them aware of your views.