Global Warming What is the background of global warming and what are the solutions and measures being implemented by the international community to address the problem?

In this article, we’ll cover the background and triggers of global warming, then we’ll discuss the progress and severity of the current situation, and finally, we’ll discuss the solutions and measures being implemented by the international community.

 

According to climatology, global warming is an increase in the temperature of the Earth’s surface. The current use of the term global warming refers to the increase in temperature due to the increase in greenhouse gases caused by the effects of industrialization that began in the 1970s.
The causes of global warming can be broadly categorized into natural reasons and human industrial activities. Let’s take a look at the natural causes of warming first. Natural causes require a long period of research and observation, which is difficult to determine since it has been less than 40 years since the international community became aware of global warming. Despite this short period of time, studies have shown that the earth’s axis changes over time, which affects the orbit of the Earth, changing the area that receives the sun’s energy and contributing to warming. Volcanic eruptions can also have an impact, as can the type of gases that come with them and the size of the eruption. It has also been suggested that changes in solar activity are increasing the average global temperature, although the jury is still out.
The causes described in the previous paragraph are only secondary, and research so far suggests that human activity is the most likely cause. Anthropogenic factors include the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations due to industrial development and the slowing of the greenhouse gas sequestration process due to indiscriminate deforestation. First, let’s look at how greenhouse gases have increased with the development of industry. After the Industrial Revolution, the rapid increase in the use of fossil fuels led to an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, which accelerated global warming. The process of burning fossil fuels to obtain energy is used to run engines and obtain other energy through electricity generation. Fossil fuels contain carbon, and when burned, they undergo a chemical reaction with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the rapid increase in the use of automobiles, along with the development of other modes of transportation, has also contributed significantly to the increase in greenhouse gases. Although greenhouse gases are necessary to keep the Earth’s temperature warm, the rapid increase in their concentration is preventing some of the sun’s radiant energy from escaping back into the atmosphere and raising the Earth’s average temperature to an unhealthy level.
In addition, our land use has changed dramatically since the 70s. The change in land use from primarily agricultural up until the 60s to industrial development has resulted in the removal of forests. In fact, much of the Amazon forest, which we call the “lungs of the earth,” has already been lost. This land use change is of great concern because plants and trees rely on a process called photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and turn it into oxygen. The loss of forests is serious because they don’t just remove carbon dioxide, they convert it to oxygen, which reduces the absolute amount of greenhouse gases, but also reduces the concentrations that matter to us.
As mentioned in the paragraph above, rapid industrialization and reckless land development have contributed to global warming. Global warming threatens human life in three main ways, and not just in the form of rising temperatures and uncomfortable living conditions. First, I would like to explain the geographical changes. So far, global warming has progressed more rapidly at high latitudes than at low latitudes. We should be interested in the fact that high latitudes are warming faster. Glaciers are concentrated at high latitudes, so as the average global temperature rises, the glaciers melt more and more, causing sea levels to rise. This could result in the submergence of one-third of the many coral reef islands in the Pacific Ocean. In fact, two islands in India’s Sunderbans Nature Park, a world heritage site, have been inundated by rising sea levels.
Secondly, natural disasters caused by global warming are also a big problem. As the average global temperature rises, the temperature of the sea surface naturally rises, which increases the potential energy in the ocean. According to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the intensity of typhoons and hurricanes has increased by nearly 50% since the 1970s. In 2005, Katrina killed 1,500 people and displaced 800,000 in New Orleans, and in South Korea, Typhoon Rusa in 2002 caused over $3.6 billion in property damage and Typhoon Mae-mi in 2003 caused property damage equal to 1% of South Korea’s GDP. In fact, sea surface temperature is the most important factor affecting the intensity of typhoons, and as the temperature of the Korean coast is rising, there is a general expectation of more large-scale typhoons in the future. Global warming has increased precipitation overall, but there are large regional differences. As mentioned earlier, one side of the globe is flooded, while the Sahel region and Mediterranean South Africa have seen a significant decrease, and Lake Chad in the center of Africa has actually dried up. As you can see from these examples, rising temperatures can evaporate ocean water, which can lead to more rain, but it can also evaporate moisture from the soil, which can lead to desertification.
Finally, beyond the loss of islands due to desertification or sea level rise, there are also significant impacts on ecosystems and human health. As the average global temperature rises, plants and animals are increasingly migrating to higher latitudes, and the rapid environmental changes are pushing wildlife to the brink of extinction. The loss of a species doesn’t just end with its disappearance; it affects the food chain, which in turn affects humans. Furthermore, rapid temperature changes have a direct impact on humans, not just animals. According to the WHO, the number of people killed by heat-related droughts and heat waves is steadily rising and will continue to increase as water becomes scarcer. Higher temperatures are also expected to increase the range of disease-causing bacteria and insects that carry them, leading to more and more deaths. In fact, in Africa, the steady rise in temperature over the past 30 years has led to an increase in mosquito populations, which in turn has led to malaria outbreaks.
As you can see, the current state of global warming is much more serious than we’re realizing. To combat this, the international community has made agreements with each other to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change is an international environmental agreement in which countries have made mutual commitments to curb the emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change. The main focus of the agreement is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations and was formally adopted in June 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. However, because it was simply a mutual commitment, it was not binding, leading to the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and its specific content stipulates an average reduction of 5.2% from 1990 emissions for industrialized countries that led the industrial revolution. In order to stabilize the temperature increase within 2 degrees Celsius, the international climate change negotiations have set reduction targets of 25-40% below 1990 levels for developed countries and 15-30% below BAU, or business as usual, for developing countries.
Given the severity of global warming, we need immediate mitigation policies, but I believe that we also need adaptation policies for what has already happened and for what will happen in the future. The environment is not just for humans, and we must solve the problem of global warming for our future generations!