Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Essay Example

According to the IPCC 2007 climate change synthesis report, there are many indications that our environment has becoming significantly warmer since 2000 and we can expect a continued trend unless we lessen our use of greenhouse gasses. Specifically, the report says “The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES, 2000) projects an increase of global GHG emissions by 25 to 90% (CO2-eq) between 2000 and 2030 (Figure SPM.5), with fossil fuels maintaining their dominant position in the global energy mix to 2030 and beyond” (IPCC, 2007). Since specialists believe that this kind of increase in release of carbon dioxide and fossil fuels will result in a greater temperature change in this century than has been observed previously, we need to enact legislation in our country that will ensure the reduction of use of products that cause these harmful effects. In addition, a similar international policy should be adapted to ensure optimal effect.

The most useful legislation to prevent further atmospheric exposure to greenhouse gasses would be to enact policy that promotes the development of alternative fuel sources. An unfortunate aspect of our government is that many policymakers have stake in the fossil fuel industry and as a consequence would be less likely to promote the development of alternative fuel. However, it is important to counter this belief with lobbyists who believe that fossil fuel is an outdated and limited resource that we should stop investing money in. Once this occurs, the government should be encouraged to pass laws that provides a research subsidy to companies who are developing this kind of alternative energy project in addition to providing companies who manufacture machinery tax breaks for adapting this kind of fuel to power their products.

The most dire consequence of global warming reported by the IPCC is the fact that many areas will suffer from water shortages as a result of precipitation decrease in most subtropical land regions that will occur as a result of climate change. Although we are not feeling the full effects of this consequence yet, there is clearly a trend indicating that water availability in these areas are slowly decreasing over time. The IPCC report demonstrates that a water shortage becomes more of an issue that just the availability of drinking water due to the impacted environment/ecosystems, food, coasts, and health of the people in the area with the shortage. It is therefore necessary to prevent and/or reverse this process at all costs.

Although it has seemed historically impossible to be able to reverse the detrimental effects of global warming, scientists have recently indicated that carbon farms may have the ability to do so. The theory behind this method is that plants require carbon dioxide to live and therefore having large gardens will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide present in the environment. Researchers specifically recommend planting large amounts of a shrub known as Jatropha curcasin dry coastal areas. Although critics of this plan believe that the plant may have a difficult time growing in these areas due to its nutritional needs, this general concept is a novel way to reduce carbon dioxide levels. In addition to modifying this technique in a manner that finds a plant that grows best in this climate and absorbs an optimal amount of carbon dioxide, we need to convince people to plant more trees and bushes and to lessen urbanization and clearing fields for farming purposes for a better overall reduction effect.

Ultimately, if we are able to enact appropriate legislation and grow more plants, we will not see the projected increase in carbon dioxide levels that the IPCC expects by 2030.

References

IPCC. (2007). IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007. Retrieved from http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spms3.html