They say that there are two sides to every story, the same could be said about climate change. On one side we have the climate scientists and climate activists such as Greta Thunberg and groups such as Extinction Rebel and on the other side we have a camp that is either denying climate change completely or denying the fact that climate change is at least in part man-made.
Let’s have a look at some facts about the climate, global surface temperatures have increased by 0.15 degrees centigrade per decade since the 1970’s. Scientists say that this has coincided with an increase in Carbon Dioxide emissions since pre-industrial times. Furthermore 10 of the warmest years on record have been come since 1997. At the same time as these temperature increases, carbon emissions have gone up from 6,500 million metric tons to nearly 10,000 million. Is this a coincidence?
Climate deniers may say that it is difficult to measure carbon emissions or how much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased. Carbon emissions are currently measured by adding up the emissions of major carbon emitters such as power stations, number of vehicles on the road or number of planes in the sky. Critics say that this form of measurement is flawed as it can be perceived as inaccurate. Furthermore, double counting can take place if the source of emissions moves from one place to another, for example, are the emissions from a plane travelling from New York to London counted as US emissions or UK emissions? However, it is also possible to measure atmospheric CO2 from high altitude research laboratories which according to the Earth System Research Laboratory is accurate as these measurements are ‘representative of very large areas’.
Another theory for the denial that climate change is human made is that some experts including experienced and well-renowned scientists believe that we are still in an ice age as there is still currently significant polar ice caps. 10,000 years ago, much of Northern Europe including the UK and much of North America including Boston and New York were covered by ice sheets. The Earth’s rotation was then altered slightly to allow more sunlight to reach the Northern Hemisphere resulting in the melting of these ice sheets to current levels. The Earth warmed by 4 degrees in the space of 5,000 years, allowing modern human beings to invent agriculture and build settlements. Further ‘natural’ fluctuations may also happen in the future which may either hinder or help the progress of humanity. However, it is the pace of current temperature changes that is worrying scientists, an extra 4 degrees increase could significantly affect food production and at the current rate of temperature increase, our planet will be 4 degrees warmer by the beginning of next century.
Whether we believe that climate change is human-made or natural, the facts are there that the Earth is warming, polar ice caps are melting which could threaten our existence in some parts of the globe. Furthermore, an increasing world population and demands of modern lifestyles mean we will have to think carefully about the choices we make.
Global Issues UK 