Greenhouse Effect
Global climate change roots in the enhanced greenhouse effect caused by human activity. Human activities, in particular the development of industry over the last 200 years, have caused an increase in the emission and atmospheric concentration of certain gases, called “greenhouse gases” - primarily carbon dioxide and methane. These gases intensify the natural greenhouse effect that occurs on Earth, which in itself allows life to exist. The man-induced enhanced greenhouse effect leads to an increase in the average temperature of the planet that, if left unchecked, would potentially cause increasingly severe and perhaps even catastrophic disruptions to the Earth’s climate, and consequently human activity.
Consensus scientific projections estimate that the average global temperature will rise by between 1.4°C and 5.8°C by the year 2100 if the current rate of increase in emissions is not curbed. Moreover, state of the art climate modelling projects that even a small rise in temperature will be accompanied by changes in climate, with potentially very damaging environmental consequences, such as:
- Sea Level Rise: possible rise in the average global sea level of between 20cm and 88cm by 2100, leading to a greater risk of flooding in low-lying and deltaic regions.
- Increase in the incidence of variable and severe weather conditions such as storms and monsoons.
- Harmful consequences for human health from more frequent heat-waves, vector-borne diseases and reduced availability of drinking water.
- Eco-System damage to sensitive environments such as, inter alios, glaciers, coral reefs and atolls, mangroves and prairie wetlands.
- Extreme events such as cyclones, hurricanes, ice storms, blizzards and rain storms may increase in frequency.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
