What is Climate Change?
Our global climate has been gradually changing over many thousands of years, but over the past two centuries scientists have noticed a dramatic change and trend on our climate caused by humans, hence the common term “man made climate change”.
Whilst there are many causes of climate change, one cause is carbon dioxide, and that is why we are told to reduce our carbon emissions, or our "carbon footprint".
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a common Greenhouse Gas that is emitted in many ways, such as the burning of firewood and the fuel used to power our cars. There has always been carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, but it is the huge rise in emissions due to our massive increase in burning fossil fuels that has been the main cause in climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) co-ordinates the review and assessment of the science of climate change. In its fourth assessment report (2007), the IPCC concluded that:
"We can be very confident that the net effect of human activity since 1750 has been one of warming."
Consequences of climate change
Current climate models suggest that global temperatures could warm from between 1.4 to 5.8°C over the next 100 years. The potential social, environmental and economic costs associated with this are huge.
- More extreme weather, including prolonged dry spells, flooding, severe storms, extreme heat and cold and the consequences that these weather patterns have for agriculture, human habitation and property damage in the UK and abroad
- Increase in desertification
- Spread of tropical diseases to previously unaffected areas.
- Food and water shortages
Action we can take
There is direct action we can take straight away through the three steps of calculation, reduction and offsetting:
Reduction is key in this, but equally so is carbon offsetting, as it gives organisations the ability to take responsibility of their carbon footprint from day one.
We run a range of carbon offset projects in Africa based around energy efficiency that prevents carbon from being released. By investing in these project you can balance out your carbon emissions and take part in the global effort to combat climate change
