Global Warming: Causes, Effects and Policies

Global warming has become one of the major problems in the continent today. The scientist has been researching for many decades about global warming and possible solutions which has been difficult for the world to implement because, human beings are the source of the problem. There are two major causes of global warming which includes, natural causes and anthropogenic. According to anthropogenic theory, the use of fossil fuel by a human being has resulted to generation and release of “a large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (Cazenave 1255)”. Too much CO2 is the major cause of greenhouse effect because it creates a layer that prevents heat from escaping into space which helps to cool the earth.

The natural theory in the other hands, perceive global
warming as being caused by changes and peaks that the earth goes through.
Therefore, they refer this period to a peak of warm temperatures which it will
end one day even though it does not explain when the peak will end. The natural
theory attempt to answer “to what extent is the warming? Has this phenomenon
happened before? Could the excess in greenhouse gases be a symptom of climate
change?” (Lau 34). For instance, since the revolution of industries, the
quantity of “carbon dioxide” being released to the atmosphere has gone up by 30%.
There are millions of industries coming up every year which contributes to
increasing carbon dioxide in the air. The global warming is causing the polar
ice to shrink and the amount of rainfall that is expected every year is
decreasing. A study that was conducted by Sam Dewdney indicated there has been
an increase of greenhouse gases since the time of industrial revolution.

Global warming is a detrimental issue that our environment has been faced with. Some people feel as if humans cause global warming, some feel it is a naturally occurring phenomenon and in fact, some do not believe in the concept of warming and ignore the fact that it exists. Regardless of one’s opinion whether or not global warming exists, facts show that global warming does exist due to the changes that are taking place in our environment. Global warming’s causes and effects are a direct contributor to today’s controversies. Most people have heard the term “global warming,” but lack education on what it is. “Global warming” can be defined as, “the increase of Earth’s average surface temperature due to the effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth (Huber 32)”. One can compare global warming’s activities to those of a greenhouse. Greenhouses capture heat for plants during the cold winter months. This effect is commonly regarded as the “greenhouse effect.” As a result of this, our environment is constantly changing at a rapid pace, and it is only getting worse.

Get Help With Your Assignment

If you need assistance with writing your assignment, our professional assignment writing service is here to help!
Find out more about our Assignment Writing Service

Global warming is the most important issue because it will
affect everyone’s lives, those currently living and those not yet born and
therefore have to change their way of life to change the condition. This change
could be as simple as finding alternate energy supplies that won’t harm the
environment, or in a worse case, it could be as extreme as people having to
move to a new planet or anything in between. In the worst-case scenario, people
have nowhere to go, and the earth becomes uninhabitable, which could cause the
human race to become extinct. Global warming is currently starting to change
people’s lives. This can be seen in the first chapter (“Meltdown”), written by
Bill Mckibben, of the book What Matters by David Cohen. In his chapter,
Mckibben lists about five or six the natural disasters that have happened just
in America recently as a result of the changing climate (Melillo 841). Some of
the examples he uses are hurricane Katrina and the massive flooding of the
Mississippi River.

According to many scientists and researchers, global warming
is a real threat to humanity and if we all do not begin to fix the problem over
time, humanity will probably no longer exist. Many people believe “global
warming” need to be looked into, but some don’t see the need to waste resources
on global warming since they believe it’s just another weather pattern. Then
there are others that know global warming is a real threat but due to the
finances that fossil fuel brings they are not interested in any change that
will cause them to lose their financial advantage if we eliminate fossil fuels
and move to cleaner forms of energy.

Human activity has impacted global warming in many ways. One
of the main ways we impact global warming is by burning fossil fuels. Consuming
large amounts of fossil fuel means we are generating more carbon dioxide and
other gasses that affect the earth. A few examples of activity we perform using
fossil fuel is driving cars, boats, planes and anything else that needs fuel.
Other things that burn fossil fuel is commercial buildings, power plants,
schools, and our homes. Another human activity that plays a part into global
warming is the destruction of forests around the world, an action which this is
referred to as deforestation; all the trees are chopped down to create more
land to build on, planting crops, fuel, and household items. As stated by
“National Geographic, Trees also play a critical role in absorbing the
greenhouse gases that fuel global warming. Fewer forests means larger amounts
of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere—and increased speed and severity of
global warming”. One environmental problem “related to global warming that
experts expect to occur in coming decades are” rising temperatures that have
the potential to be dangerous to people, animals, and the earth (Jackson and
Jenkins 67). The solution need to be found by combined efforts by the whole
continents. For example, there has been increased pressure from
environmentalist on the reduction of toxic gases, especially from fuel-powered
cars, to reduce greenhouse effect since it causes global warming, use of
electric car can be one of the best solution of reducing amount of carbon
dioxide emitted by fuel-driven cars. 
This pressure will definitely force people to choose electric cars since
they do not harm the environment much. The governments in the world should
encourage use of electric vehicles as a measure to reduce the extent of gas
emission and air pollution.

For
a long time, climate change has posed great problems to the global societies.
The increased risk of famine taking place, destruction of infrastructures and
houses and increased cases of social violence due to gradual changes in the
ecosystem and extreme weather events (Heffron pg. 1). To curb these challenges
from extending further or taking place in the future, global bodies and
international governments have joined hands to fight against cases connected to
global warming. As climatic change is a transnational event, the states of the
United States are relying on the Intergovernmental Organizations to work
together to address climate security challenges. These organizations include “NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization), European Union (EU) and the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP)” (UNFCCC pg. 1-3). Similarly, the general
body of the United Nations organization has taken the issue of climatic change
with a lot of seriousness and each country which is part of the organization is
playing its part in protecting its environment from destruction and pollution
which are some of the factors that encourage or rather bring about global
warming.

            The
global climate has always experienced changes, but unfortunately, the changes
are negative and are making the earth an unbearable place for humans to live
in. Some of these climate changes are influenced by natural factors while
others are facilitated by human activities such as deforestation, and
atmospheric emissions which originate from industries and transport sectors
that release untreated gases to the atmosphere which has resulted to higher
concentration of gases and aerosols accumulating in the atmospheric air,
trapping heat, an action which results to raised temperatures near the earth.
These gases are regarded as greenhouse gases (GHGs). In the years around the
1990s, the effects of global warming increased and resulted to international
bodies responding to counter these changes brought about global warming effect.
In the year 2001, “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)” on its
third assessment reflected on the issues of climate changes in the period from
1990 to 2001, and also reflected on the expected future outcomes (UNFCCC pg.
17). According to the report, the 1990s was the warmest decade ever witnessed
over the past 50 years, and increased human activities facilitated this.
Forecasting the future, the report explained that industrial activities were
expected to increase in the next 10 to 20 years from 2001 and this will in
return increase the amount of emitted gases into the atmosphere (UNFCCC pg.
17). This has been evidenced by the increased temperatures on the earth surface
which have resulted to increased draught cases like in Northern part of Kenya
and the Sahara region in the northern part of Africa.

 In the same period of the 1990s, the UNFCC
realized that provisions were needed to control the number of emissions. “In
the year 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was agreed on which introduced legally
binding emission reduction targets for developed countries.” (UNFCCC pg. 16)
The 2nd commitment of the “protocol” began in the year 2013and is expected to
end in 2020. 38 developed countries and the EU are part of the group committed
to reducing emission by 18% below 1990s level (UNFCCC pg. 16-17). However,
countries like the United States refused to sign up for the protocol, Canada,
Russia, Japan and New Zealand are not taking part in the agreement. These are
some of the countries that have a higher number of populations, and they harbor
a lot of industries which emit gases into the atmosphere. 

The
European Union from 30th November to 12th December 2015, held a climate
conference in France where on the 12th of December, the parties agreed on
working together to limit global warming well below 2°C (United Nations para
9-11). “The final decision was to be implemented when 55 countries which
together represents 55% of the global greenhouse effect. In the year 2016, 174
countries signed the agreement and began adopting it in their legal systems.”
(United Nations para 9-11). Similarly, the United Nations report: “The
Emissions Gap Report 2017” reported that in the year 2017, the global emissions
were 30% higher than the 2030 target but the sign that the world will move away
from the fossil fuels is giving hope of restoring the green environment that we
once had.  Since coal industries in China
and United States reduced their activities, the world has experienced low
carbon dioxide emission, and the global climate is expected to change in the
positive direction. The “United Nations Climate Change Conference” which took
place in Bonn advanced the agreements of the Paris Conference. The report from
the conference reported that since 1880 to 2012, the global temperatures
increased by an average of 0.85 degrees Celsius; oceans have warmed, and the
quantities of ice and snow have decreased hugely resulting to the rising of the
sea level (United Nations para 9-11). “Given the current condition, the
on-going greenhouse gases emission is expected to raise the temperature by an
average of 1.5 degrees Celsius as compared to the 1990s temperatures” (United
Nations para 9-11). The sea level is also expected to rise by more than 26cm by
2065 (United Nations para 9-11). The forecasting
done on climate changes reflects greater and higher risks which will in a
negative way affect the lives of humans. 

Some countries contribute more to global warming than others.
The unfortunate thing is that countries that are responsible for raising
greenhouse effects are reluctant to take effective measures to curb this
problem. The fewer contributor countries are the one who are facing the most
effects of air pollution caused by industrialized countries. The most
industrialized countries such as U.S, China, Japan, India, and Russia
contribute more than 15% of the world’s emission of carbon dioxide (Jackson and
Jenkins 67). United State is leading in the emission of carbon from its high
use of fossil fuels, but it has been showing no interest to deal with this
crisis. Currently, it withdrew itself from Paris agreement that entailed to
reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released by industries and fossil fuels,
yet its leading contributor to global warming.

China has been reported to be second from U. S in release of
carbon dioxide in the air. Some of the countries that have shown great interest
to deal with global warming in recent past includes Sweden, Morocco, and UK.
Sweden has managed to lessen significantly the amount of carbon dioxide
released into the atmosphere. This country is trying to embrace the use of
renewable energy as an alternatives source of energy. Sweden has been held as
the role model country in efforts toward reducing the effect of the greenhouse
effect in the world. Similarly, Morocco has managed to initiate one of the
biggest solar-energy project in the world with an aim of reducing the use of
fossil fuel which contribute greatly to global warming. Morocco is one of the
fewer contributors to global warming in the world, but it’s taking necessary
measures to reduce its use of fossil fuel. Britain has also done a lot in
reducing emissions by moving from coal power to low-carbon energy sources. Most
of the contributors of global warming in the world are lacking political will
to priorities on reduction of emissions. In regard to research done by
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the leading emitters of carbon dioxide
includes; “China: 9697 million tons (MT) or 28.6%, US: 5420 MT or 16.0%, India:
1967 MT or 5.8% and Russia: 1829 MT or 5.4%” (Weart 45). The most of these
countries rely on burning “fossil fuels” such as: “coal, oil, and gas”, which
all are extremely injurious to our environment. The burning of the fossil fuels
creates pollution within our environment, resulting in the aforementioned
greenhouse effect. Pollution is also caused by overpopulation and the rapid
rate of industrial pollution within those countries, such as China. These
countries also have many cars which release fossil fuels when running. In
addition, many people in industrialized countries relies on personal
transportation to get to and from work, recreational activities, sports,
concerts and more. With the increased rate in which people are driving their
cars, pollution is happening faster “as a result of the burning fossil fuels.”
Along with personal means of transportation, factories in these countries are
pouring their pollution into the atmosphere. Pollution is occurring as such a
rapid pace with more than one contributing factors.

 In the recent past, the global has witnessed
wars which are not necessarily military but war of words, especially on issues
connected to climate change and the rules and regulations that countries are
supposed to adhere to so as to reduce emissions. The realism theory provides
explanation on international relations, putting more emphasis on the behaviors
of various countries and why they go to war (Goodin pg. 133). On the issue of
climate changes, the issue doesn’t discriminate against state boundaries as it
is a global issue that affects every state and every individual. This statement
can be supported by various climatic changes experiences witnessed in various
parts of the globe. Starting with floods experienced in Bangladesh and Brazil,
the melting of huge amounts of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic and ending with
the agricultural crisis in Italy, the climate change effects are undeniable. A
huge number of scientists have reported that the earth’s climates are changing
due to various human activities (Stern pg. 3). Burning of fossil fuel and
extensive deforestation are some of the factors that in a big way, result to
global warming. The realism theory explains that countries exist in an anarchy,
and every individual country has its main concerns, being security and
survival. Unfortunately, on the issue of climate changes, there exist no
country which is not affected. But according to an evaluation done, the
countries most affected by climate changes are based in Africa and the Asian
continent, but they are not as much involved in emissions as countries in
Europe and North America. In this relation, realist view that within the
anarchy, some superior countries want to gain more power in expense of others.
This is evidenced where major countries like Japan, the United States, Canada
and New Zealand are not part of the group executing the regulations under the
Kyoto Protocol. From this perspective of the realists on the climate change,
one of the individuals reflected in the United States President Donald Trump
who has refused to go by the regulations introduced by Kyoto Protocol. As per
the argument of Machiavelli on realism, if any country behaved morally with the
wellbeing of other states in mind, then there will be no success. This goes
hand in hand with how the current states behave in relation to climate change.
Superior countries are introducing policies and regulations which favors them
and can move out of them anytime they want to.

Opposite
from the argument developed by realism, the liberalism theory argues that
states can exist in coordination to fight challenges together. On the issue of
global warming, states have coordinated through organizations like the United
Nations, European Union, and African Union. Regulations and policies on how to
use the various resources in our environment and regulating our activities that
increase the emission rate have been discussed. Based on liberal perspective,
small or rather inferior countries have been in the forefront to accept
regulations and policies introduced to reduce emissions. As per my thinking,
considering global warming is a global matter whose degree and effects are not
distinct based on borderlines, all nations should come together and join hands
to fight against environmental pollution. No country should be more superior to
another in this case and the policies introduced should apply to all countries.  But as long as countries are worried about
their wellbeing and global superiority, countries like Canada, Japan, Russia
and the United States will always want to play against the introduced
regulations and policies

Global warming is likely to cause serious problem in future
if effective measures will not be taken. With increased reluctant by major
contributors to global warming to take the initiative to reduce the amount of
carbon dioxide they release, there are high chances the world will experience
higher greenhouse effects. The damage cost of global warming is likely to
increase in future in almost all countries because there are no solid solutions
that have been agreed on by international communities. There is still a lot of
different viewpoints among the countries on how to deal with challenges posed
by global warming. The extent of “climate change” will depend on how the world
will behave in the next decades to come. If the countries will not put effort
to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they emit, there is high chance that
effect of global warming will be felt more in future than today. There will be
increased heat trapped in atmosphere which will translates to rising of sea
level. Some parts of the world will become totally dry while others will
experience floods and hurricanes. There will be increased food insecurity and
health will deteriorate due to increased temperatures. However, if good choices
are made today, the global warming can be reduced in future. For this to
happen, it calls the efforts of entire world community to put their efforts
together to curb this issue. If every country makes efforts to reduce the
amount of carbon gases they emit, the levels of heat trapped in atmosphere will
reduce noticeably, thus, reducing the warming. In future, more solid measures
and regulations should be enacted to save the world from extreme effects
connected to global warming.

Work Cited

• UNFCCC. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Handbook. Bonn, Germany , 2006.
• Cazenave, A. “How fast are the ice sheets melting?” Science, 314, (2006): 1251-1252.
• Goodin, Robert E. The Oxford Handbook of International Relations . Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2010.
• Heffron, Daniel. “What do realists think about climate change?” Centre for Geopolitics & Security in Realism Studies (November 13, 2015): pg 1- 21.
• Huber, M., and R. Knutti,. “Anthropogenic and natural warming inferred from changes in Earth’s energy balance.” Nature Geoscience, 5, , doi:10.1038/ngeo1327. [Available online at http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v5/n1/pdf/ngeo1327.pdf] (2012): 31-36.
• Jackson, R. and A. Jenkins. “Vital signs of the planet: global climate change and global warming: uncertainties.” Earth Science Communications Team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology. (17 November 2012): 67.
• Lau, K. M., and Wu, H. T. ” Detecting trends in tropical rainfall characteristics, 1979-2003. .” International Journal of Climatology, 27, (2007): 34.
• Melillo, Jerry M., Terese (T.C.) Richmond, and Gary W. Yohe, Eds.,. “Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment. U.S.” Global Change Research Program,. doi:10.7930/J0Z31WJ2. Online at: nca2014.globalchange (2014): 841.
• Stern, N. The Economics of Climatic Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge : Cmbridge University Press , 2006.
• United Nations . “Sustainable Development Goals to Transform our World .” (2018 ).
• Weart, Spencer R. “The Discovery of Global Warming; The Public and Climate Change: The Summer of 1988.” American Institute of Physics (February 2014): 45.