Causes of the Climate Disaster

Causes of the climate disaster Climate DisasterDue to the severity of the impacts and the resulting emergency situation, it has become paramount to refer to the…Read on اقرأ المزيد are firstly the burning of fossil fuels Fossil FuelRefers to energy materials extracted from the earth and used for burning. The three main fossil fuels are oil, fossil…Read on اقرأ المزيد and secondly deforestation, cement production and a range of other factors that lead to an increase in average global temperatures to levels that threaten the survival of human beings on Earth. In addition to anthropogenic, i.e., man-made causes, the global climate system has a number of “tipping elements” (subsystems that can get destabilized and “tip over” like a glass of water) that could cause a domino effect known as run-away climate change Run-Away Climate ChangeRun-away climate change is already possible under current levels of global warming. However, beyond certain tipping points, namely the 1.5-2°C…Read on اقرأ المزيد and a potential mass extinction wave. In order to avoid this grave danger, the world needs to implement real solutions Real Climate SolutionsThese solutions are described as game changers because they have the potential to completely alter the trajectory of our world…Read on اقرأ المزيد to end fossil fuel burning, as well as adaptation AdaptationPrecautionary and timely measures taken to address existing or potential impacts of the climate disasterRead on اقرأ المزيد measures to deal with the climate impacts Climate ImpactsThe results and consequences of the climate crisis.Read on اقرأ المزيد that already materialize.

Overview of Climate Change Causes

Climate change Climate ChangeThe most commonly used term to refer to the changes in the climate regionally and globally. It is recommended to…Read on اقرأ المزيد is associated with increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) EmissionsGases that trap infrared rays in the atmosphere, contributing to global heating. Examples include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous…Read on اقرأ المزيد . Besides natural variation in Earth’s climate system, climate change can largely be attributed to several man-made causes, including:

Burning fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are undoubtedly the most impactful man-made cause. GHG emissions are produced along the supply chain, from big extraction projects (also called carbon bombs Carbon BombsRefers to fossil fuel extraction projects (coal mines and oil and gas fields) which generate emissions exceeding a billion tons…Read on اقرأ المزيد ), to transportation networks, to end uses such as carbon intensive industry Carbon Intensive IndustryIndustries that generate high levels of CO2 emissions, such as aviation, land transport, the cement industry, the steel industry, etc.Read on اقرأ المزيد and other aspects of our high-carbon lifestyle. Fossil fuel combustion accounts for over 75% of global GHG emissions and 90% of CO2 emissions.

Livestock production

Livestock production involves a wide array of activities, including land use, waste management, feed production, manure storage, and methane emissions Methane EmissionsMethane (CH4) is the main component of fossil gas, making up 96% of its composition. It is also emitted from…Read on اقرأ المزيد from the animals themselves. It is estimated that these operations account for 14.5% of global GHG emissions, though the exact figure is hard to estimate.

Deforestation

When forests are cleared, the carbon dioxide stored within them is emitted into the atmosphere. Between 1990 and 2020, around 420 hectares of forests were lost, contributing to 12-20% of GHG emissions.

Debate around the Causes of Climate Change

Though the role of man-made activities in global heating Global HeatingThe increase in average global temperatures, which has been primarily driven by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions since the start of…Read on اقرأ المزيد is now abundantly clear and backed up by scientific evidence, the world has witnessed over half a century of climate denialism. As far back as industrial revolution, it was theorized that doubling levels of carbon dioxide emissions Carbon Dioxide (CO2) EmissionsCarbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas found naturally in Earth’s atmosphere. It is also a byproduct of industrial processes…Read on اقرأ المزيد could raise global temperatures by several degrees. And by the seventies, Exxon scientists found out that there was overwhelming evidence that emissions were the leading cause of climate change.

But fossil fuel corporations believed this information could cause harm to their profits (between 1977 and 1985, the industry averaged $33 billion of annual profits in today’s money, now at a record high $219 billion as of 2022). So, they also started a successful media campaign to doubt the scientific research into the causes and impacts of climate change Climate ImpactsThe results and consequences of the climate crisis.Read on اقرأ المزيد  akin to the campaign of the tobacco industry.

Nevertheless, the evidence became so undeniable that international documents that have to be signed off by industrialized countries have adopted strong language regarding the causes of climate change. For instance, the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to…Read on اقرأ المزيد  (AR6), whose synthesis report was published in 2023, states that “human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases Greenhouse Gas (GHG) EmissionsGases that trap infrared rays in the atmosphere, contributing to global heating. Examples include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous…Read on اقرأ المزيد , have unequivocally caused global warming”.

As a result, these corporations have made a strategic shift from climate denial to climate “delayism”, which means focusing on false solutions False SolutionsMeasures, often of technical nature, that have been proposed to deal with the climate crisis, often by fossil fuel corporations…Read on اقرأ المزيد that seem promising but will lead to no substantial change.