Climate Change : The Global North And Global South

Global climate change is more than just raising the concentration of GHG’s in the atmosphere, it’s a serious health threat. Dr. Howard Koh, of the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, has stated that global warming is a threat to human health because of an increase in respiratory and allergy aggravation,

In the recent years, global warming has taken an increasingly prominent role in the international society. Today, the great debate over the existence of global warming is over; almost everyone believes that global warming is a real issue that must be addressed. The world is now at the step in which it must take action to combat climate change. In the push to do this, many countries report their carbon emissions. However, in reporting our carbon emissions, many people are jumping to conclusions by wrongly pointing at China as most responsible for climate change.

Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.

Regardless of the people who do and do not believe in global warming, climate change is a pressing issue that has been accepted scientifically and politically for the past few decades. Although seemingly insignificant, a global temperature increase of 2°C is enough for worldwide pandemonium. To mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, nation leaders have gathered to settle and promise a fixed reduction in their country’s carbon emissions; the target emission level will cause an increase of only 1.5°C. Prominent examples include the Kyoto Protocol and Copenhagen Accord, with the most recent being the Paris Agreement. Nevertheless, disappointing carbon emission results from the Kyoto Protocol

Climate change is important because it affect everyone around the world. Scientist has said that during the twenty-century the average temperature has increased 0.6 Celsius. There are several warning that have been linked to people and the things we do to the environment like: factories, cutting down forest, driving cars and releasing toxic gases in the atmosphere. In the Artic glaciers are melting faster than the snow can freeze and restore them. All these things contribute to the warning signs we see today in global warming and climate change.

Because developing countries are less prepared and often located in tropical regions, these poor countries are hit hard by climate change in the form of droughts, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters. Also, poor, developing countries do not have the means to invest in modern energy. In the article, “A Paris Climate Deal Must Address Global Inequality,” Singh argues that developed countries must take responsibility for their contribution to climate change and pledge to do more to improve the conditions. She says that high-income countries not only have the finances to support a transition to clean energy, but also a moral and legal obligation to fix the problem they have created (Singh 1-5).

The issue of global climate change is one of the most popular debates in modern day society. For decades, scientists have been battling to find the source of our global climate change. This matter brings to us whether or not humans are accelerating the process of global climate change. Scientists have provided solid evidence of global climate change by humans in multiple studies, but others believe that climate change is caused solely by nature and the naturalness of the Earth’s cycle. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also known as NASA, over 97% of climate scientists agree that global warming is mostly likely caused by human activities. In our society today, there is a lot of misconception of the definition of weather and climate. As these two terms are often associated with each other, they are not the same. Mark Twain simply summed up the definition for us: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get”. According to Andrew Dessler, a science politician, climate is the behavior of the environment throughout a long period of time, usually a decade or so, whereas weather refers to the actual temperature of the atmosphere at a particular period of time. “Climate change”, however, is “any systematic change in the long-term statistics of climate elements (such as temperature, pressure, or winds) sustained over several decades or longer” (Dessler). Our society often forgets that our current projects are not always necessarily benefiting us,

For centuries the United States Military has addressed the many challenges of national security, from fighting for the foundation of America in the Revolutionary war, to the containment of terrorism and Islamic extremism in recent years, but now global climate change presents a new and very different type of challenge to national security. The stability of the world’s climate that has enabled human civilizations to grow and flourish over the last five thousand years is changing, causing environmental conditions deteriorate, and worldwide instability that threatens national security. The sobering truth is that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are greater now than at any time in the past 650,000 years . If the average global

For centuries the United States Military has addressed the many challenges of national security, from fighting for the foundation of America in the Revolutionary war, to the containment of terrorism and Islamic extremism in recent years, but now global climate change presents a new and very different type of challenge to national security. The stability of the world’s climate that has enabled human civilizations to grow and flourish over the last five thousand years is changing, causing environmental conditions deteriorate, and worldwide instability that threatens national security. The sobering truth is that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are greater now than at any time in the past 650,000 years . If the average global temperature continues to rise, necessary resources for sustaining global stability, such as food and clean water, will become scarce and or unavailable. While uncertainty may exist regarding the science and future extent of projected climate changes, the trends are clear. Climate change is happening, sea levels are rising, weather patterns are intensifying, essential provisions are decreasing, and instability is spreading. Climate change has already begun to put stress on the security and stability of society, but the worst effects on both the developed and developing world have yet to be felt. The United States has always strived to maintain stability where it exists, and instill it where it does not, now U.S. security forces must prepare for the

It is known climate change is occurring because of multiple factors, including greenhouse gases, human activity, and some scientists say solar irradiance. What most people do not know or simply have not thought of is how far back in history was climate change a problem or if it was an issue for early civilizations. It is apparent that early civilizations weakened for several reasons, but one reason in particular is affecting the world today. One particular civilization that is popular for their agriculture are the Mayans. The Maya empire occupied land that is now Guatemala. They were the most dominant native people before the 16th century and were intelligent in the way they did agriculture. With new research available, it is plausible to

Climate change is one of the defining environmental concerns facing our globe today. Certain scientific reports have shown that industrialization and deforestation spurted climatic change and triggered the melting of ice glaciers around the Arctic Ocean at a rapid rate. In 2012, the area of ice covering the Arctic Ocean was estimated to be diminished by half; the condition that was not experienced over the last 30 years. Rise in the sea levels by 15-20 centimeters, on average, are also been recorded over the last century and the rate of increase has accelerated over the last decade. Recent scientific reports suggest that melting of ice glaciers around the oceans have the potential to influence tectonic activities in many parts of the world. As ice melts and water runs off, tremendous amount of weight will be lifted off from the Earth’s crust, which causes seismic plates to slip and stimulate earthquakes. The Great Sendai Earthquake or Great Tohoku Earthquake, which occurred in north-eastern Japan on March 11, 2011, provides clear illustration for severe tectonic natural disaster. The endless creeping, slipping, locking up and jolting actions of the seismic plates of Earth’s crust resulted in 8.9 magnitude earthquake and spawned a powerful tsunami with waves up to 30 feet high. The event devastated large swaths of the Japan’s coastal region and thousands were dead in the immediate aftermath of the quake and tsunami. In addition to this, human interferences with the nature

In just under fifty years, a topic that was once considered controversial, causing people to avoid discussions on it for reasons ranging from denial to discomfort, has evolved from those unpleasant debates to today’s friendly conversations. The topic is climate change, and the controversy surrounding it has been rooted in disagreement on what exactly causes it. Some say that climate change is a hoax and the changes are part of a natural cycle of the Earth’s climate system. Others are positive that it is the direct result of human activities and without immediate action, the planet will become inhospitable to human life. Then, there are those who are in-between, not sure which side to take, but are aware that something is happening to the global climate system.

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level”

Development is a key priority in developing countries, and climate change mitigation comes a very distant second. South Africa has numerous mechanisms in place to tackle its developmental problems such as poverty and inequality (Rennkamp & Wlokas, 2012). In addition South Africa has pledged to reduce GHG emissions through mitigations actions by 34% relative to business-as-usual by 2020, and 42% by 2025 (Rennkamp & Wlokas, 2012; RSA, 2011).

As we all known, there was a series of intense conversations between developed countries and developing countries about the carbon dioxide emission cup for each country. On one hand, BASIC countries, the representative of developing countries, held that they were developing and needed large amount of carbon dioxide emission in industrial development. On the other hand, the American and European Union, the representative of developed countries, argued that developing countries cannot take the risk of pollution in order to develop its own science and economy; therefore they should take a large part of responsibility of global climate change. The purposed changed of absolute emission for America is 4% but for China or Indian is 20% even 40% reduction for 2005-2020. From my perspective, this is too hard and tough for developing countries to complete. And developed countries should do better than 4% or 5%.