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We hear the time period “climate change” usually as of late: what’s it, and what do greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions need to do with it?
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Climate Dictionary:
- Climate “is the average of weather patterns in a specific area over a longer period of time, usually 30 or more years. Human activity in the industrial age, and particularly during the last century, is significantly altering our planet’s climate through the release of harmful [GHGs].”
- GHGs “are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming and climate change. The main [GHGs] released by human activity are carbon dioxide [CO2], methane, and nitrous oxide, as well as fluorinated gases used for cooling and refrigeration. To prevent catastrophic climate change, the world’s governments must work together to significantly reduce [GHG] emissions and keep global warming below the dangerous threshold of 1.5°C.”
- Global warming “is an increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature that occurs when the concentration of [GHGs] in the atmosphere increases. These gases absorb more solar radiation and trap more heat, thus causing the planet to get hotter. Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, and farming livestock are some human activities that release [GHGs] and contribute to global warming.”
- Climate change “refers to the long-term changes in the Earth’s climate, beyond the increase in average surface temperature. Climate change causes weather patterns to be less predictable, affecting the balance of ecosystems that support life and biodiversity. It also causes more extreme weather events, such as more intense hurricanes, floods, heat waves, and droughts, and leads to sea level rise and coastal erosion by accelerating the melting of glaciers.”
The historical past of local weather change
According to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), many of the local weather adjustments now we have seen all through historical past have been “attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.” The mid-1800s marked a shift in these historic cooling and warming traits at about the identical time because the onset of industrialization.
According to the UN, “The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature.” According to NASA, Earth’s “average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities.”
How GHG emissions could cause world warming and local weather change
CO2 is the prevalent GHG, however there are others, akin to methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. These GHGs lure warmth in Earth’s environment. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), “When sunlight strikes the earth’s surface, some of it radiates back toward space as infrared radiation (heat).” The EIA goes on to clarify that GHGs soak up infrared radiation and lure its warmth within the environment, making a GHG impact that ends in world warming and local weather change.
The UN is a superb useful resource on this difficulty, and, in accordance with its Climate Action web site, burning fossil fuels, like coal, pure fuel, and oil, for producing energy, manufacturing items, and fueling transportation accounts for over 75 p.c of world GHG emissions and practically 90 p.c of all CO2 emissions. Some different actions that create emissions embrace: deforestation or wildfires (as a result of bushes soak up carbon from the environment and launch it when they’re destroyed) and meals manufacturing (producing meals causes emissions of CO2, methane, and different GHGs in varied methods).
As society continues to launch GHGs into the environment, the Earth’s temperature can proceed to rise. Estimates present that if we don’t take deliberate actions to scale back GHGs, world temperature is on observe to extend by 2.5 °C to 4.5 °C by 2100 (4.5 °F to eight °F).
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), local weather science says we should restrict warming to not more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial ranges to keep away from the worst impacts of local weather change. And, in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), “In order to limit warming to 1.5°C and avoid the worst effects of climate breakdown, global emissions must be halved by 2030.”
The impression on life
According to the UN’s Climate Action web site, there are a number of results on life attributable to local weather change; and 13 million individuals lose their lives yearly attributable to environmental components. Rising temperatures from local weather change results in ice and snow melting quicker, oceans rising and warming, and extra excessive climate like warmth waves, flooding, fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Climate change will increase the chance of meals shortages from much less productive fisheries, crops, and livestock. There are additionally elevated well being dangers by way of air air pollution and illness. Climate change additionally will increase the components that put and hold individuals in poverty, with an estimated 23.1 million individuals displaced on common every year by weather-related occasions over the previous decade (2010–2019).
These speedy adjustments are detrimental to human life, and negatively impression organic range — or biodiversity (the number of life on Earth, in all its kinds, from genes and micro organism to total ecosystems akin to forests or coral reefs).
According to the UN, “exacerbated by climate change, the world is losing species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded human history,” with a million species susceptible to extinction inside the subsequent few many years. Moreover, in accordance with the UN, biodiversity “forms the web of life that we depend on for so many things – food, water, medicine, a stable climate, economic growth, among others” and “is interconnected, intertwined, and indivisible with human life on Earth. Our societies and our economies depend on healthy and functioning ecosystems. There is no sustainable development without biodiversity. There can be no stable climate without biodiversity.”
Working collectively to scale back GHG emissions
Individuals, corporations, and governments are taking a look at how they will cut back GHG emissions.
Certain actions are obligatory, like decreasing use of fossil fuels, and shifting to low-carbon and renewable vitality sources, like wind and photo voltaic. And, individuals are making particular person steps, like utilizing light-emitting diode (LED) lightbulbs and switching to electrical autos (EVs).
At Cisco, our firm’s function is to Power an Inclusive Future for All. Climate change presents a long-term strategic crucial, and we’re doing our half by decarbonizing our worth chain by way of energy-efficiency initiatives, investments in renewable vitality, engagement with our provide chain companions, and enhancements to the effectivity of our merchandise. This consists of our aim to achieve internet zero GHG emissions throughout our worth chain by 2040, and near-term targets, which have been validated by the SBTi underneath its Net-Zero Standard.
Information concerning Cisco’s initiatives, objectives and/or commitments, our newest impression, in addition to insurance policies and extra disclosures for specialised audiences, might be present in our 2022 Cisco Purpose Report and supplemental data in our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting Hub.
Willing to be taught and interact extra on environmental sustainability? In the following weblog in our collection, we’ll share extra about internet zero and what it means.
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