Climate change key facts

• Greenhouse Gases make up 1% of the atmosphere, and they act like a ‘blanket’ around the earth, trapping and storing heat, which keeps the planet on average warmer than it would otherwise be.
  
  
• Human activity, specifically the burning of fossil fuels, and subsequent emissions of greenhouse gases, is making this ‘blanket’ thicker, this has led to increased warming of the planet’s surface and lower atmosphere.
  
  
• Concentrations of the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (Co2) and methane have continued to increase as a result of human activities.
  
  
• Climate change is real. Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, one of the main causes of climate change, have risen by more than a third since the industrial revolution and are now rising faster than ever before.
  
  
• The 1990s were the warmest decade since records began. In this century, without action to reduce emissions, the earth’s temperature is likely to rise at a faster rate than any time in the last 10,000 years.
  
  
• Scientists are concerned that global warming will have a serious effect on the earth’s climate. Increased melting polar ice caps will cause sea levels across the planet to rise, potentially causing widespread floods to the low coastal regions of the planet, including many major cities and population centres, such as the US east coast, the Asian sub-continent and the UK’s east coast including London.
  
  
• In the UK, the risks of droughts and flooding are likely to increase. Sea levels will rise. Worldwide, the consequences of climate change could be devastating, especially in the developing world where many millions more people are likely to be exposed to the risk of disease, hunger and flooding.
  
  
• A recent report written by Sir Nicholas Stern recognises ‘that the scientific evidence for climate change is overwhelming, which demands an urgent global response. The report focuses on the impact that climate change will have on global economics, and it is reported that the cost to the global economy would be enormous, and outweighs the cost of mitigating the effects of climate change.
  
  To read the executive summary of the Stern Report please click here >>

• The generation of energy from fossil fuel sources accounts for almost 24% of the total greenhouse gas emissions, therefore identifying and delivering renewable sources of energy, which do not cause greenhouse gas emissions is a key priority if climate change is to be tackled.
  
  
• In addition to this new alternative sources of energy are being sought as the UK’s indigenous energy supplies are declining. We already import nearly half the coal we use. Much of the UK’s economically viable deep mined coal is likely to be exhausted within 10 years. By around 2006 we will also be a net importer of gas and by around 2010 of oil. By 2020 the UK could be dependent on imported energy for three quarters of our total primary energy needs.