The Problem

What is global warming?

Is the world heating up? Are all the claims about greenhouse gas emissions just empty talk? Or are there figures to support arguments that global warming, the world's greatest environmental threat, is happening...right now?

The year 2005 was the warmest on record, jointly with 1998.

Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that the 10 warmest years globally since 1856 have occurred in the last 15 years. Figures compiled by the UK Meteorological Office and the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia for the World Meteorological Organisation, show that, in descending order, the 11 warmest years ever measured have been: 1998 & 2005 (joint), 2002 & 2003 (joint), 2001, 1997, 1995, 1990 & 1999 (joint), 1991 & 2000 (joint).

We all contribute to global warming in some way. Every bit of coal, every litre of oil or gas that humans burn adds to the load of gases in the atmosphere that engulf the planet like an ever thicker blanket, trapping heat, smothering people and nature.

CO2: the main global warming gas

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant of the global warming gases, accounting for over 80% of global warming pollution. Atmospheric levels of CO2 are now higher than at any time in the past 420,000 years. And this is all due to human action.

CO2 mainly from coal, oil and gas

Around 97% of the CO2 emitted by western industrialised countries comes from burning coal, oil and gas for energy. We spew approximately 25 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. That's about 800 tonnes every second! Not surprisingly, a global temperature build-up on this scale is seriously disrupting the natural balance of the world's climate.

About carbon dioxide (CO2):

it remains in the atmosphere for a long time;

the main sources of emissions are well-known and accurately documented;

there are many commercially available technologies for cutting emissions.

Sources: Climatic Research Unit and the UK Meteorological Office Hadley Centre for the World Meteorological Organization. NOAA - United States National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Impacts from the equator to the poles

The impacts of global warming are evident from the equator to the poles. Coral reefs bleached by increasing sea temperatures... forests struggling to move to higher, cooler locations...polar bears under pressure as polar ice shrinks...glaciers melting on every continent ....the list goes on and on. All around the world people can see evidence of areas and species harmed by global warming. But this is not a problem which has appeared overnight - it's 30 years since scientists first alerted the world to the dangers of climate change. How much longer are we going to allow it to continue?

The change in nature starts to have serious impacts on people and economics. The insurance industry puts potential economic damage caused by global warming impacts at hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

Immediate reductions needed to stabilise concentrations

According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it would take an immediate reduction in CO2 emissions of at least 60% just to stabilise concentrations in the atmosphere at their present level. Whilst this kind of immediate reduction simply isn't possible, the IPCC's figures show how much needs to be done to put the brakes on global warming.

Without the introduction of effective climate protection policies, carbon emissions will continue to rise making it nigh impossible for mankind to correct the damage it has caused.

We need to stay below 2°C

WWF believes that temperature rise should stay well below 2°C in order to avoid dangerous climate change. It has already been shown that 2°C would bring with it a set of devastating impacts to coral reefs, arctic systems and local communities. The Earth cannot afford to go above this.

What can we do?

We must start reducing emissions now and stay on a low emissions track to avoid loading the atmosphere with too much CO2. In scientific terms this means staying well below a concentration level of 450ppm (parts per million) in the atmosphere. This means cutting emissions rapidly and deeply far below current levels.

What is the cause?

Earth is a very special planet - it is close enough to the sun to receive a lot of energy, but far enough not to be scorched.

In addition, our atmosphere has a very special device - a layer of greenhouse gases that spread all around the planet. This layer keeps the globe warm like a blanket, shielding it from the cold universe.

While not being the most potent greenhouse gas, CO2 is the main driver for the greenhouse effect. And this is where the problem starts.

To satisfy our hunger for energy, we are burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas. These are in essence plant matters from many millions of years ago. They did not take part anymore in the natural cycle and were in fact completely withdrawn from it.

Now the CO2 contained in this fossilised matter is being released because we burn fossil fuels.

The effect is that the 'blanket' or greenhouse gas layer gets thicker. And consequently Earth is warming up.

The cause of climate change is the unlimited burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas.

Burning these carbon-based materials produces carbon dioxide (CO2), the main pollutant causing climate change.

CO2 can be harmless enough when dissolved in a drink - it adds sparkle to mineral water, soft drinks and champagne. However, when excess amounts are released into the atmosphere it can cause untold damage.

Where does the CO2 come from?

In terms of fuels, the main problem is coal. The other key reason is waste - inefficient use of energy.

And in terms of industries, the main culprit is electricity production - the power industry.

Weather chaos: Our climate at risk

What's happening to our world?

Hurricanes in the Caribbean and the United States.

Extensive droughts in eastern Africa, Australia, southern Europe and parts of China and India.

Uncontrollable floods in many parts of the world, sometimes preceded by a long drought.

Is this all perfectly normal? Or is the increased intensity of these extraordinary events something we should be worried about?

Fish moving from the Irish Sea to the north Atlantic around Shetland, in search of cooler waters.

Forests in Alaska dying off because of swarms of pests which thrive in the warm winters.

Coral reefs unable to cope with warming seas, bleaching and dying more rapidly.

The impacts of a warming world are scary enough when considered one by one. The view becomes apocalyptic when one looks at them together.

It's urgent!

How do you grow crops in the snow? Rising sea levels are not the only problem caused by melting ice. It can also change the Gulf Stream.

"If the Great Conveyor Belt suddenly stops, the cause might not matter," said a 2004 press release by NASA scientists. "Europeans will have other things on their minds - like how do you grow crops in snow."

Planet Earth cannot bear higher temperatures - we must act NOW!

We don't need to look into the future to get a feeling for the urgency: coral reefs are bleaching today, polar bears are under pressure as their ice habitat is shrinking, heat waves have killed masses of people, droughts and forest fires are becoming more frequent.

Global warming is exactly that - global.

Climate change affects our homes, our lives, our world. It is the result of billions of human decisions every day: from far-reaching acts of government policy to an individual householder wasting electricity by leaving a TV in standby mode.

Temperature rises and extreme weather - Heating up

Fever is an early and usually reliable sign of illness - one of the first things any doctor looks for when a person is not feeling well.

Our planet has a fever

Specialist researchers at Britain's University of East Anglia have put together all the available data to produce a temperature chart for the last millennium. The warmest year on record was 1998, while the ten warmest years globally have all occurred in the last decade and half.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also said that most of the observed warming over the last 50 years "is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations."

The most significant of these gases is carbon dioxide (CO2). And the single biggest source of it - 37% of all emissions worldwide - is the carbon-rich coal burnt in power plants.

The global average temperature has increased by about 0.7°C in the last hundred years, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) in a recent 2004 report Impacts of Europe's changing climate.

The IPCC has predicted that temperatures will rise by up to 5.8°C globally by the end of this century.

These, clearly, are temperature changes that can be felt - and way too much for safety.

"The main feature...is the dramatic rise in temperatures during the 20th century, making it the warmest of the millennium."
Phil Jones, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia

The trend is relentlessly upwards. But what are the consequences?

The impacts of global warming are evident even now - from the poles to the equator.

Coral reefs are bleached due to increasing sea temperatures; alpine forests struggle to spread to higher, cooler locations; polar bears are under pressure as ice shrinks; glaciers melt all over the world.

WWF believes that the future temperature rise should be kept well below 2°C to avoid dangerous climate change.

Heatwaves kill more people, faster

At first glance, the effect of global warming seems chaotic: storms and floods as well as drought; even actual cooling in some locations. But nothing could be more stark or more alarming or more intuitive than the warnings being given about heatwaves.

Heatwaves can kill more people in a shorter time than almost any other climate event.

In Paris - not a city thought of as vulnerable to the elements - 3,500 people are estimated to have died directly from heat in August 2003. In total, the heat wave claimed close to 15,000 lives across France.

The 2004 EEA report, one of the first of its kind about the impact of global warming in Europe, says the average number of climate-related disasters each year doubled over the 1990s compared to the previous decade.

The estimated cost of the increasing climate-related disasters has now reached: $11 billion a year. It's not just the mercury that's rising.

Nature at risk - the impacts of Global Warming

What do a tiger and a turtle have in common? Both of them are severely threatened by climate change.

Animals and plants are under increasing threat from climate change.

Human-induced climate change has already sounded the death knell for its first victims. The golden toad (Bufo periglenes) and the harlequin frog (Atelopus varius) of Costa Rica have disappeared as a direct result of global warming. Species are under threat in more than one way.

Irreversible changes to ecosystems and animals

As climate change wreaks its havoc across the globe, ecosystems could disappear altogether, or they may undergo serious and irreversible changes, such as those happening to coral reefs.

Warming affects cold seas and polar communities as well: Polar bears in the Hudson Bay area of Canada are losing weight and getting less fit because the ice breaks up 2 weeks earlier in spring, robbing them of 2 weeks' hunting. Fish stocks that used to stay in Cornwall in south England have moved as far north as the Shetland Islands.

As average temperature increases, optimum habitat for many species will move higher up mountains or further towards the Poles. Where there is no higher ground or where changes are taking place too quickly for ecosystems and species to adjust, local losses or even global extinctions will occur.

Glaciers

Some of the most intense climate change-related habitat alterations are those that affect glaciers and ice-fields. Glaciers are retreating at an unprecedented rate, changing the entire ecology of mountain habitats. Conservation managers are powerless to prevent this loss and have to stand by as the ecology transforms before their eyes.

Seasons are changing

Rapid temperature changes affect the seasons, causing variations in season length. Changes such as shorter winters can lead to mismatches between key elements in an ecosystem, such as feeding periods for young birds and availability of worms or insects for food. It also impacts on farmers' growing seasons.

Climatic records put together with long-term records of flowering and nesting times show clear warming trends.

In Britain flowering time and leaf-break records date back to 1736, thus providing solid evidence of climate-related changes. Long-term trends towards earlier bird breeding, earlier spring migrant arrival and later autumn departure dates have been observed in North America, along with changes in migratory patterns in Europe.

Threatened Species

Climate change and global warming impacts on species in a number of ways.

Animals and plants that are suited to cooler climates will need to move polewards or uphill when the climate becomes even just that little bit warmer.

This process has been observed in many places - in the Alps, in mountainous Queensland in Australia, and in the misty forests of Costa Rica.

Fish in the North Sea have been observed moving northwards too - fish stocks that used to be common around Cornwall have moved as far north as the Shetland and Orkney Islands.

The impacts on species are becoming so significant that their movements can be used as on indicator of a warming world. They are the silent witnesses of the rapid changes being inflicted on the Earth.

Species endangered by global warming

Scientists predict that global warming could contribute to the mass extinction of wild animals in the near future.

An overheating world is creating a big change in climatic conditions and this can harm the delicate ecosystems in which species live. Threatened species can already be found all over the world - see the examples below.

What you can do to help switch off global warming

Take Action!

To save our climate we have to clean up the power sector - now. We may not have decades to bring global warming under control, but only be a few years. We need you to join the campaign and help switch off global warming.

You can take action right now in the following ways:

Make the PowerSwitch at home!

You can help to switch off global warming and start today - by using clean energy and cutting down on wasted energy.

10 good ideas for a start

1. Switch to renewable energy
   Buy non-polluting green electricity from your electricity company. If they don't sell it, can you change power companies to one that does? Get your school, company or community to buy renewable energy, too.
   
   
2. Buy energy efficient appliances
   If you're buying a washing machine, refrigerator, dish washer or oven, buy the most energy-efficient model you can afford. They might be more expensive but they pay for themselves through lower energy bills. The same is true for office equipment like computers, copiers, printers.
   
   
3. Fluorescent lamps are cheaper in the long run
   Replace the lights you use most with compact fluorescent lamps. They cost more than ordinary lamps but you end up saving money because they use only around one-quarter of the electricity to prove the same light. And they last four times as long as a normal light bulb!
   
   
4. Avoid stand-by and turn off lights
   Turn off televisions, videos, stereos and computers when they are not in use - they can use between 10 and 60% of the power they use when on "stand by". Turn off lights when you don't need them - it saves energy already after a minute or two. Turn off computer screens when you take a break.
   
   
5. Wash economically
   Use the washing machine or dish washer only when you have a full load. Use washing powder suitable for low temperature washes and use economy programmes.
   
   
6. About your fridge
   Don't leave fridge doors open for longer than necessary, let food cool down fully before putting it in the fridge or freezer, defrost regularly and keep at the right temperature. Where possible don't stand cookers and fridges/freezers next to each other.
   
   
7. Getting around and on your way to work and school
   When you want to make short journeys, try walking! Use a bicycle for short trips and local shopping. It keeps you fit too and is fun too! Make more use of public transport, such as buses and trains, for longer journeys. Share care journeys with work colleagues or friends - up to a third of car mileage is accounted for by the drive to work.
   
   
8. About your car
   If you have to buy a car, buy a fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly one. This will save you money and keep more CO2 from going into the atmosphere. Make sure that your tires are inflated correctly - this can save you 5% on the cost of your petrol. Turn off your engine when waiting in your car.
   
   
9. Reduce your air travel
   When you travel to your holiday destination by plane you are contributing to significant emissions of climate change causing carbon dioxide. So take vacations nearer to home, or get there by other forms of transport such as train, bus or boat. If you have to fly, consider buying carbon offsets to compensate for the emissions caused by your flight.
   
   
10. Enjoy the sun! :-)
    Fit solar panels on the roof of your home. Turn your own home into a clean power station!

We can all do something right away. And if we all do, something will undoubtedly change.

Spread the word

Recruit your family and friends for the struggle to save our climate, our planet and our health. We must enlist other people - many thousands of them - if we're to win the fight.