Abstract Global climate change has become one of the most important issues and one of the most highly debated ones of the 21st Century. The scientific community has largely reached an agreement concerning the responsibility of human action for the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and the accompanying changes in the atmosphere, oceans, and on land. Environmental policymakers at the United Nations and from the member countries are working to formulate a plan to combat the progress of climate change, but the current methods rely heavily on technology that is not yet proven effective. Preventing severe climate change will require implementation of a spectrum of long term and immediate strategies, and reaching the ultimate goal of
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The Paris Agreement specifies a minimum goal of limiting global temperature increase to 2°C with a stretch goal of 1.5°C as preferred in order to prevent the most damaging effects of global warming from impacting the most vulnerable populations in the world (Figueres 2016). However, a recent report released by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program states that the arctic climate is already transforming due to current CO2 levels, and sea level rise by the end of the century is likely to be twice as great as previous estimates (AMAP 2017). The AMAP report also states that even with the strategies included in the Paris Agreement, sea levels will still increase by nearly half a meter over the next 80 years (AMAP 2017). These data lead inevitably to the conclusion that current climate change reduction strategies based on reaching a net-zero yearly increase on atmospheric CO2 ¬by 2050 are ultimately insufficient to the stated goals of minimizing the damage of global warming to the populations at the highest …show more content…
It is true that the world must make the transition to renewable energy sources—fossil fuels are a finite energy source, after all. Furthermore, coal mining is historically known as a dangerous industry and the environmental impact of coal burning extends beyond greenhouse gas emission to disposal of hazardous solid waste as well. The use of hydraulic fracturing to produce oil and natural gas is responsible for increases in seismic activity is regions generally considered to be tectonically stable. However, the timeline and effectiveness of negative emission are still an unknown (Anderson 2017), and new contributions to atmospheric carbon must peak soon (Rockström 2017). Simply stated, humanity cannot afford to wait for renewable energy to be fully implemented—greenhouse gas emission must be reduced in the short term as well as eliminated in the long term in order to have any hope of limiting the degree of global temperature increase. Implementation of carbon sequestration techniques should be implemented quickly, and in conjunction with a plan for a timely end to humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels as a source of
The Paris Agreement specifies a minimum goal of limiting global temperature increase to 2°C with a stretch goal of 1.5°C as preferred in order to prevent the most damaging effects of global warming from impacting the most vulnerable populations in the world (Figueres 2016). However, a recent report released by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program states that the arctic climate is already transforming due to current CO2 levels, and sea level rise by the end of the century is likely to be twice as great as previous estimates (AMAP 2017). The AMAP report also states that even with the strategies included in the Paris Agreement, sea levels will still increase by nearly half a meter over the next 80 years (AMAP 2017). These data lead inevitably to the conclusion that current climate change reduction strategies based on reaching a net-zero yearly increase on atmospheric CO2 ¬by 2050 are ultimately insufficient to the stated goals of minimizing the damage of global warming to the populations at the highest …show more content…
It is true that the world must make the transition to renewable energy sources—fossil fuels are a finite energy source, after all. Furthermore, coal mining is historically known as a dangerous industry and the environmental impact of coal burning extends beyond greenhouse gas emission to disposal of hazardous solid waste as well. The use of hydraulic fracturing to produce oil and natural gas is responsible for increases in seismic activity is regions generally considered to be tectonically stable. However, the timeline and effectiveness of negative emission are still an unknown (Anderson 2017), and new contributions to atmospheric carbon must peak soon (Rockström 2017). Simply stated, humanity cannot afford to wait for renewable energy to be fully implemented—greenhouse gas emission must be reduced in the short term as well as eliminated in the long term in order to have any hope of limiting the degree of global temperature increase. Implementation of carbon sequestration techniques should be implemented quickly, and in conjunction with a plan for a timely end to humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels as a source of