When will politicians and leaders around the world come to their senses and actually "do" something to address climate change, the causes for it and the ramifications we are all experiencing?
Another call has gone out to those politicians attending a UN Conference in New York this week.
"World leaders must commit themselves to holding current rises in global temperatures to 2C. That is the stark message of experts and campaigners in the runup to the United Nations climate summit that will be held in New York later this week.
They say that 2C is the maximum temperature increase that the world can tolerate without causing environmental mayhem, and they insist that politicians attending the meeting, including Barack Obama and David Cameron, must agree to that upper limit."
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"Scientists say that humans have now poured around 1,950bn tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – by burning fossil fuels – over the last 200 years. If that total reaches 3,670bn tonnes, they add, it will be hard to avoid a 2C rise in global temperatures and that would trigger a host of devastating changes to the climate. These would include major rises in sea levels, the melting of ice-caps, droughts in Africa, America and Asia, storms and ocean acidification.
The trouble is that, at present rates of fossil fuel consumption, that 3,670bn-tonne limit will be reached in less than three decades. The aim of the New York meeting – which will be marked by a people's climate march in several cities, including London on Sunday – is to give new impetus to climate change negotiations which have stalled over the past two or three years. "The United Nations has run up against governments and leaders of industry who have until now put short-term economic and political goals ahead of our collective long-term survival," writes Tutu. "We can no longer tinker about the edges."
Observers at the meeting will look for a strong lead from Obama. According to Stern, it is critically important that the US president announce his commitment to limit global temperatures to a rise of no more than 2C. It is also hoped that the Chinese leadership will play a more active role in talks, he added.
The New York meeting takes place amid increasing worries about climate change and in particular about surging carbon dioxide levels, the major cause of global warming. These levels rose at their fastest rate for 30 years in 2013, according to figures released this month by the World Meteorological Organisation.
The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere now stands at 142% of what it did before the industrial revolution, with concentrations reaching 396 parts per million last year, an increase on the previous year of 2.9ppm. At this rate, annual concentrations are likely to pass the symbolic 400ppm level by 2015, say scientists."
Another call has gone out to those politicians attending a UN Conference in New York this week.
"World leaders must commit themselves to holding current rises in global temperatures to 2C. That is the stark message of experts and campaigners in the runup to the United Nations climate summit that will be held in New York later this week.
They say that 2C is the maximum temperature increase that the world can tolerate without causing environmental mayhem, and they insist that politicians attending the meeting, including Barack Obama and David Cameron, must agree to that upper limit."
****
"Scientists say that humans have now poured around 1,950bn tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – by burning fossil fuels – over the last 200 years. If that total reaches 3,670bn tonnes, they add, it will be hard to avoid a 2C rise in global temperatures and that would trigger a host of devastating changes to the climate. These would include major rises in sea levels, the melting of ice-caps, droughts in Africa, America and Asia, storms and ocean acidification.
The trouble is that, at present rates of fossil fuel consumption, that 3,670bn-tonne limit will be reached in less than three decades. The aim of the New York meeting – which will be marked by a people's climate march in several cities, including London on Sunday – is to give new impetus to climate change negotiations which have stalled over the past two or three years. "The United Nations has run up against governments and leaders of industry who have until now put short-term economic and political goals ahead of our collective long-term survival," writes Tutu. "We can no longer tinker about the edges."
Observers at the meeting will look for a strong lead from Obama. According to Stern, it is critically important that the US president announce his commitment to limit global temperatures to a rise of no more than 2C. It is also hoped that the Chinese leadership will play a more active role in talks, he added.
The New York meeting takes place amid increasing worries about climate change and in particular about surging carbon dioxide levels, the major cause of global warming. These levels rose at their fastest rate for 30 years in 2013, according to figures released this month by the World Meteorological Organisation.
The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere now stands at 142% of what it did before the industrial revolution, with concentrations reaching 396 parts per million last year, an increase on the previous year of 2.9ppm. At this rate, annual concentrations are likely to pass the symbolic 400ppm level by 2015, say scientists."
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