A Portal on Sustainability

Climate change

04.05.2005 · Research Group on the Global Future

The warming of just a few degrees over the course of thousands of years brought the end to the last ice age. Now we might face a rise in global temperature of some degrees more over the next century. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says: "Global mean surface temperatures have increased 0.5-1.0°F (0.3-0.6°C) since the late 19th century. The 20th century's 10 warmest years all occurred in the last 15 years of the century. Of these, 1998 was the warmest year on record. The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Globally, sea level has risen 4-8 inches (10-20 cm) over the past century. Worldwide precipitation over land has increased by about one percent. Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate of climate change. Scientists expect that the average global surface temperature could rise 1-4.5°F (0.6-2.5°C) in the next fifty years, and 2.2-10°F (1.4-5.8°C) in the next century, with significant regional variation. Evaporation will increase as the climate warms, which will increase average global precipitation. Soil moisture is likely to decline in many regions, and intense rainstorms are likely to become more frequent." 
What impact will the change in climate and the greenhouse effect have on human living conditions? And what are we to do about it?

Yet the position of the Cooler Heads Coalition is: "The risks of global warming are speculative; the risks of global warming policies are all too real." Hence they reject projects like the Kyoto-Protocol.

This UN Portal is a central source for substantive work and information resources regarding climate change. Use the navigation on the left to find information based on the key issues within climate change or select a specific type of resource.

Read UNEP's (UN Environmental Programme) magazine Our Planet and look up the organization’s annually released statistics on the environment, in general, and climate change, in particular, to learn more about global warming and international efforts such as, e.g. the 1997 Kyoto Climate Convention. The protocol was negotiated and adopted in 1997 at the Conference on Climate Change in the Japanese city of Kyoto. It is a treaty binding under international law through which countries commit themselves to concrete reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the period up until 2012. An overall reduction of at least five per cent should be achieved from 2008 to 2012, as compared with the 1990 level.

For more information and news on the Kyoto-Protocol refer to the site of the German Federal Government.

"Our Planet" addresses a variety of environmental issues of concern that require collective and systematic action by the international community. For example, the 1998 issue of the magazine informs the reader specifically about climate and action, including information about the Fourth Conference on the Convention on Climate Change in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a statement by Great Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, on positive effects of reusing greenhouse gas emissions. Another back issue deals with the atmosphere and gives a description of the risks from climate change and ozone depletion, and how the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) addresses the protection of the atmosphere.

Under the direction of Warwick J. McKibbin, the Brookings Institution features a project on global climate change that focuses on the analysis of U.S. and international policies to control environmental problems. Visit the project's page to learn more about Brookings' model of world economy and explore the consequences of environmental policies. Of particular interest is the policy brief A Better Way to Slow Global Climate Change, which deals with the Kyoto Conference, tradable emissions, and the U.S. government's attitude on this question.

The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)'s mission is to develop and establish a new scientific field which could be described as Earth System Analysis (ESA). A profound understanding of natural and socioeconomic processes and their interactions is needed to describe the dynamics of global change, such as climate change and changes in human land use, based on ESA methods. Methods and concepts of various traditional scientific disciplines have to be integrated under the umbrella of ESA to improve the quality and evidence of scientific knowledge about the dynamics of the complex Earth system. In addition to this basic research an aspect of applied science is involved: the results should be relevant to providing advice for policy makers with respect to measures to avoid the causes, mitigate the effects, and to adapt to the unavoidable consequences of global change.

The Pew Center on Global Climate Change's objective is to educate the public and key policy makers about the causes and potential consequences of climate change, and to encourage the domestic and international community to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The Pew Center is focusing on three areas, including the release of reports on environmental impacts, economics and policy issues; the education of the public through advertising, public-speaking events and conferences; and the advance of international negotiations on climate change by coordinating cross-country policy, industry and government discussions.

The World Resources Institute is concerned with climate change and tries to find and demonstrate ways to reduce emissions and protect the climate system that will equally ensure a sound business future for industry. Visit their climate change site to order or download reports and information on, e.g., what a climate commitment might look like from developing countries. A global warming map regarding the relative area of countries and regions of the world using historical carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption illustrates recent changes and serves as a basis for climate forecasting.

This science-based Canadian government department The Green Lane works to make sustainability a reality in Canada. You can choose among a variety of issues ranging from climate change, air and water issues, toxins, and wildlife to pollution prevention.

The US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) acts as a clearinghouse for key documents and reports generated or sponsored by the U.S. Government that pertain to global change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change related educational resources. GCRIO provides for an on-line, searchable bibliographic data base and links to other Agency and commercial bibliographic systems. Selected documents are placed entirely on-line.