The Hot Topic: How To Tackle Global Warming And Still Keep The Lights On by Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King, discusses the problems and solutions of climate change in a clear and straightforward way. The authors explain the science of global warming and describe the possible changes that could take place due to climate change. Despite the serious problem of climate change, the authors believe that this “is neither a time for pessimism nor for denial. It is a time for constructive, determined action.” What we need are a combination of technological and political solutions.

Technological solutions are about using energy more efficiently, reducing carbon emissions from transport and switching to cleaner sources of energy generation. But technological solutions are not enough, what we need too is the political willpower. Political solutions require the involvement of industrialised nations and rapidly developing nations, working together and moving beyond the Kyoto Protocol.

The book ends with how we can change the world through the choices we make to influence companies and politicians to embrace sustainability. As the authors say, “We are all part of the problem, and each of us will need to be part of the solution.”

Borrow it from your local library or buy it from our AsiaIsGreen Bookstore.

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World Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June each year to increase environmental awareness and action. This year’s focus is on climate change, with the theme, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. There will be activities around the world on 5 June to highlight the problem of global warming and climate change, and how we can do our part to reduce carbon emissions. Check out the World Environment Day website for more details and activities.

The message for World Environment Day 2008 by United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, is shown below:

MESSAGE FOR WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2008

KICK THE CARBON HABIT

Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit.

Coal and oil paved the way for the developed world’s industrial progress. Fast-developing countries are now taking the same path in search of equal living standards. Meanwhile, in the least developed countries, even less sustainable energy sources, such as charcoal, remain the only available option for the poor.

Our dependence on carbon-based energy has caused a significant build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put the final nail in the coffin of global warming sceptics. We know that climate change is happening, and we know that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that we emit are the cause.

We don’t just burn carbon in the form of fossil fuels. Throughout the tropics, valuable forests are being felled for timber and making paper, for pasture and arable land and, increasingly, for plantations to supply a growing demand for biofuels. This further manifestation of our carbon habit not only releases vast amounts of CO2; it also destroys a valuable resource for absorbing atmospheric carbon, further contributing to climate change.

The environmental, economic and political implications of global warming are profound. Ecosystems — from mountain to ocean, from the Poles to the tropics — are undergoing rapid change. Low-lying cities face inundation, fertile lands are turning to desert, and weather patterns are becoming ever more unpredictable.

The cost will be borne by all. The poor will be hardest hit by weather-related disasters and by soaring price inflation for staple foods, but even the richest nations face the prospect of economic recession and a world in conflict over diminishing resources. Mitigating climate change, eradicating poverty and promoting economic and political stability all demand the same solution: we must kick the carbon habit. This is the theme for World Environment Day 2008. “Kick the Habit: Towards a Low Carbon Economy”, recognizes the damaging extent of our addiction, and it shows the way forward.

Often we need a crisis to wake us to reality. With the climate crisis upon us, businesses and governments are realizing that, far from costing the Earth, addressing global warming can actually save money and invigorate economies. While the estimated costs of climate change are incalculable, the price tag for fighting it may be less than any of us may have thought. Some estimates put the cost at less than one per cent of global gross domestic product — a cheap price indeed for waging a global war.

Even better news is that technologies already exist or are under development to make our consumption of carbon-based fuels cleaner and more efficient and to harness the renewable power of sun, wind and waves. The private sector, in particular, is competing to capitalize on what they recognize as a massive business opportunity.

Around the world, nations, cities, organizations and businesses are looking afresh at green options. At the United Nations, I have instructed that the plan for renovating our New York headquarters should follow strict environmental guidelines. I have also asked the chief executives of all UN programmes, funds and specialized agencies to move swiftly towards carbon neutrality.

Earlier this year, the UN Environment Programme launched a climate neutral network — CN Net — to energize this growing trend. Its inaugural members, which include countries, cities and companies, are pioneers in a movement that I believe will increasingly define environmental, economic and political discourse and decision making over the coming decades.

The message of World Environment Day 2008 is that we are all part of the solution. Whether you are an individual, an organization, a business or a government, there are many steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. It is message we all must take to heart.

Source: World Environment Day, UNEP. Image: World Environment Day, UNEP.

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Check out Al Gore’s new slideshow on climate change, presented at TED. He gives us new evidence on the climate change problem, and argues persuasively and emotionally about the need for a worldwide global mobilisation to “solve this crisis and lay the basis for a bright and optimistic human future”.

Source: TED.

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Bangkok-Manila-Jakarta-Dhaka - Global warming is set to reverse decades of social and economic progress across Asia, home to more than four billion people or 60 per cent of the world’s population, according to a new multi-agency report published today called ‘Up in Smoke: Asia and the Pacific.’

The report–the fourth in a series, compiled by more than 35 development and environmental groups including Oxfam and Greenpeace–says there is growing consensus about the huge challenges facing Asia. However it notes “reason to hope” that there is now enough knowledge about the causes of climate change, how the world must tackle it, and how people in Asia must continue to adapt to it. Immediate action is vital, it says. Read the rest

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What if we do not presume that global warming and climate change is happening? Is it possible to not believe in global warming and climate change but still take action? Can we look at different future scenarios and choose what to do?

Let us imagine four simple future scenarios.

Scenario One is called ‘Happily Ever After’, where there is no global warming and no early action taken. The sceptics were right. No money was spent to implement useless plans to tackle climate change. Everyone lived happily ever after.

Scenario Two is called ‘Pat On The Back’, where there is global warming and early action was taken. Global warming is happening but with less impact because we took preventive actions. Money was spent but it turned out to be a good investment. We gave ourselves a pat on the back for doing what was necessary and right.

Scenario Three is called ‘No Regrets’ where there is no global warming and early action was taken. The scientists were wrong and money was wasted. Sceptics lambasted that the money could have been used instead to help developing countries.

But the scientists retorted that the sceptics were right with hindsight. The money spent was not wasted, it was used to make buildings and transport energy-efficient; develop alternative energy and reduce reliance on oil; and conserve trees and natural habitats.

We are not short of money, we are short of political will power and foresight. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that stabilising greenhouse gases at 535 to 590 parts per million will reduce the global economy in 2050 by 1.3 per cent. In 2005, global advertising expenditure alone was 1.3 per cent of world GDP and is sufficient to help developing countries meet United Nations millennium development goals.

Scenario Four is called ‘Reap And Sow’, where there is global warming and no action was taken. We see the impact of climate change, and now everyone believes. But it is too late. We reap what we sow.

Which scenario will happen?

If we take action, we either have no regrets or can pat ourselves on the back in the future. Nothing much to lose and everything to gain.

If we do not take action, we either live happily ever after or reap what we sow. Everything to gain or everything to lose.

What is your choice?

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