11 Key Questions about climate change answered

24 November 2015 - 20:00 By Tmg Digital

Experts have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions about climate change. Here are 11 of them with answers given in a non-technical language. 1. Why has so little been accomplished on climate change?Partly‚ ignorance. Climate science is complex and has been poorly explained. Findings are written up in technical language and are extremely difficult to comprehend. Policymakers don't read these reports in their entirety.With the new Paris Agreement on climate change all countries will have to take action to combat and adapt to climate change. Negotiators are confused or uninformed on the science and the current situation.2. Can you simply explain the climate change problem? The climate is changing because the Earth's global temperature is increasing - mainly because of the way energy (electricity‚ natural gas and fuel) is produced and used. About 85 percent of the total energy in the world is obtained by burning fossil fuels -coal‚ gas and oil.The burning of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide (CO2)‚ which accounts for 65 percent of total annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.The problem: about half of the CO2 generated every day ends up in the atmosphere where it remains for more than 1‚000 years.3. Is climate change accelerating?Yes and much faster than anticipated.In 2015‚ some changes have already been experienced as weather events‚ such as 50 percent of the average rainfall for an entire month recorded in a couple of hours in Calgary‚ Canada; a doubling of the average rainfall for an entire month in Calcutta‚ India; unprecedented droughts in Brazil‚ South Africa‚ Portugal and Spain.4. Is a 2ºC increase in global temperature dangerous?A 2ºC increase in global temperature was considered as the “upper limit beyond which the risks of grave damage to ecosystems are expected to increase rapidly”. This means that the impacts of climate change will be more abrupt as global temperature increases.Extreme heat events are occurring more frequently.Since the Climate Change Convention was adopted in 1992‚ climate-related events have doubled in number.5. When will global temperature reach 2ºC?There is a 95 percent probability of reaching 2ºC above pre-industrial times by the 2040s. This is due to the rapid increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere.6. Isn't climate change going to happen only by the end of the century?No. It is happening now.The end of the century is the timeframe used by scientists to analyse changes in the climate‚ because changes in climate are assessed over a long period of time (usually‚ 30 years).7. What are Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)?As part of the negotiations towards the Paris Agreement‚ all countries were invited to submit Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).The INDCs include an overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target and describe how each country intends to contribute to tackling climate change.8. Are developed countries the greatest GHG emitters?Not anymore. Middle income counties have taken the lead in the share of global GHG emissions‚ contributing 56 percent of global GHG emissions in 2014.High income countries emitted 48 percent of global GHG emissions in 1990‚ but contributed 36 percent in 2014.Low income countries also decreased their share of emissions‚ from nine percent in 1990 to six percent in 2014.9. Are these middle income countries that are huge emitters working on the problem?Yes‚ but not enough. Some middle income countries are using their status as developing countries in the Climate Change Convention as an excuse to delay action and continue emitting. One of the reasons argued is that they also have the right to develop and that they should be able to do so in the same way developed countries did -by burning fossil fuels.10. Is the deliberate removal of CO2 from the atmosphere at large scale realistic?Some options analysed by climate scientists use intentional measures and technologies for the deliberate removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. These “negative emissions” technologies rely on carbon capture and storage (CCS). These CCS plants are currently extremely expensive and pose significant risks‚ such as leakage of CO2 to water‚ soil or back into the atmosphere.11. How many carbon capture and storage plants will be needed to hold temperature increase below 2ºC?The International Energy Agency concluded that‚ to hold temperature increase below 2ºC‚ an average of more than 1‚000 CCS plants would need to be built and in full operation between 2015 and 2050 to capture 3.5 Gt CO2 a year (or a cumulative 120 Gt CO2)...

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