Climate Change

In the mid 1980’s the climate issue first emerged as an issue, primarily due to the publication of the “Bruntland Report” by the United Nations. This report claimed that the rising amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane emitted into the earth’s atmosphere through human activity would lead in time to severe climatic changes, with unknown but possibly far reaching consequences for human life and the environment. These possible changes include, rising sea levels, changes in rainfall patterns, more incidents of natural disasters such as strong storms, floods, and the dislocation of large numbers of human beings from their natural homelands.

By 1997 most countries had moved to develop, sign, and subsequently ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The signatory governments were committed to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% by 2008-12, with 1990 as the reference year. This international agreement, ratified by more than 160 nations, still lacked the support of the USA, Australia, and some developing Asian countries. The Protocol eventually came into force on 16th February 2005.

Environmental concern about the impacts of global warming and increased dependence on imports of oil and gas has now entered the political agenda of all Western countries. The same issues have also influenced debate in many developing countries, which see themselves as being the most vulnerable in case of climate disasters or lack of supply of fossil fuels.

The Stern Review issued on 30 October 2006 by the British government is a 600 page assessment of the economics of global warming based on the most recent international scientific knowledge. The report quantifies the likely cost of global warming by 2020 if the increase in emissions of greenhouse gases continues on a ‘business as usual’ basis. It also calculates the cost to global society of taking action to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2°C, considered to be the critical limit to avoid unacceptable effects. The report concludes with this message “There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong action now”. The report states that the cost of action taken now to avoid the worst effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions would cost no more than 1% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year, the report also states that the cost of no action to be between 5% and up to 20% of global GDP in the future.