A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN OUR HANDS - To Parent Directory

Sustainable Development Climate changeClimate changeLimiting the damage1CHAPTERClimate change is no longer a distant threat, it’s here nowand it’s speeding up. Around the world, many areas arealready struggling to cope with rising temperatures. So far,we’re talking about a global average of 0.76°C comparedwith the beginning of the industrial revolution. But the trendlooks set to continue and its impact to get worse.Europeans are feeling the effects of global warming:droughts, floods, heat waves and forest fires are all becomingmore and more frequent. This is just a taste of what’s instore. Climatologists at the UN’s Intergovernmental Panelfor Climate Change (IPCC) warn us of a further rise of asmuch as 4°C between 1990 and 2100.What we’re seeing now is largely the result of billions oftonnes of CO 2released into the atmosphere each dayfrom burning coal, oil and natural gas. These fossil fuelsprovide us with the energy we need to run our cars, heatour homes and light up our offices. But we’re sitting on atime bomb. Not only is our environment going to suffer,but our economy and society too.© Corbis013