Global Warming Solutions - Climate Hot Map

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Global warming solutions include energy efficiency, greening transportation, promoting renewable energy, phasing out fossil fuels, and managing forests and ... GlobalWarmingCauses GlobalWarmingGlossary AboutClimateHotMap GlobalWarmingEffectsAroundtheWorld Tweet HotSpots HotMap Impacts Solutions SolutionstoGlobalWarming Thereisnosinglesolutiontoglobalwarming,whichisprimarilyaproblemoftoomuchheat-trappingcarbondioxide(CO2),methaneandnitrousoxideintheatmosphere.(Learnmoreaboutthecausesofglobalwarming.)Thetechnologiesandapproachesoutlinedbelowareallneededtobringdowntheemissionsofthesegasesbyatleast80percentbymid-century.Toseehowtheyarebestdeployedineachregionoftheworld,usethemenuatleft. Boostingenergyefficiency:Theenergyusedtopower,heat,andcoolourhomes,businesses,andindustriesisthesinglelargestcontributortoglobalwarming.Energyefficiencytechnologiesallowustouselessenergytogetthesame—orhigher—levelofproduction,service,andcomfort.Thisapproachhasvastpotentialtosavebothenergyandmoney,andcanbedeployedquickly. Greeningtransportation:Thetransportationsector'semissionshaveincreasedatafasterratethananyotherenergy-usingsectoroverthepastdecade.Avarietyofsolutionsareathand,includingimprovingefficiency(milespergallon)inallmodesoftransport,switchingtolow-carbonfuels,andreducingvehiclemilestraveledthroughsmartgrowthandmoreefficientmasstransportationsystems. Revvinguprenewables:Renewableenergysourcessuchassolar,wind,geothermalandbioenergyareavailablearoundtheworld.Multiplestudieshaveshownthatrenewableenergyhasthetechnicalpotentialtomeetthevastmajorityofourenergyneeds.Renewabletechnologiescanbedeployedquickly,areincreasinglycost-effective,andcreatejobswhilereducingpollution. Phasingoutfossilfuelelectricity:Dramaticallyreducingouruseoffossilfuels—especiallycarbon-intensivecoal—isessentialtotackleclimatechange.Therearemanywaystobeginthisprocess.Keyactionstepsinclude:notbuildinganynewcoal-burningpowerplants,initiatingaphasedshutdownofcoalplantsstartingwiththeoldestanddirtiest,andcapturingandstoringcarbonemissionsfrompowerplants.Whileitmaysoundlikesciencefiction,thetechnologyexiststostorecarbonemissionsunderground.Thetechnologyhasnotbeendeployedonalargescaleorproventobesafeandpermanent,butithasbeendemonstratedinothercontextssuchasoilandnaturalgasrecovery.Demonstrationprojectstotesttheviabilityandcostsofthistechnologyforpowerplantemissionsareworthpursuing. Managingforestsandagriculture:Takentogether,tropicaldeforestationandemissionsfromagriculturerepresentnearly30percentoftheworld'sheat-trappingemissions.Wecanfightglobalwarmingbyreducingemissionsfromdeforestationandforestdegradationandbymakingourfoodproductionpracticesmoresustainable. Exploringnuclear:Becausenuclearpowerresultsinfewglobalwarmingemissions,anincreasedshareofnuclearpowerintheenergymixcouldhelpreduceglobalwarming—butnucleartechnologyposesseriousthreatstooursecurityand,astheaccidentattheFukushimaDiaichiplantinJapanillustratestoourhealthandtheenvironmentaswell.Thequestionremains:canthesafety,proliferation,wastedisposal,andcostbarriersofnuclearpowerbeovercome? Developinganddeployingnewlow-carbonandzero-carbontechnologies:Researchintoanddevelopmentofthenextgenerationoflow-carbontechnologieswillbecriticaltodeepmid-centuryreductionsinglobalemissions.Currentresearchonbatterytechnology,newmaterialsforsolarcells,harnessingenergyfromnovelsourceslikebacteriaandalgae,andotherinnovativeareascouldprovideimportantbreakthroughs. Ensuringsustainabledevelopment:Thecountriesoftheworld—fromthemosttotheleastdeveloped—varydramaticallyintheircontributionstotheproblemofclimatechangeandintheirresponsibilitiesandcapacitiestoconfrontit.Asuccessfulglobalcompactonclimatechangemustincludefinancialassistancefromrichercountriestopoorercountriestohelpmakethetransitiontolow-carbondevelopmentpathwaysandtohelpadapttotheimpactsofclimatechange. Adaptingtochangesalreadyunderway:AstheClimateHotMapdemonstrates,theimpactsofawarmingworldarealreadybeingfeltbypeoplearoundtheglobe.Ifclimatechangecontinuesunchecked,theseimpactsarealmostcertaintogetworse.Fromsealevelrisetoheatwaves,fromextremeweathertodiseaseoutbreaks,eachuniquechallengerequireslocally-suitablesolutionstoprepareforandrespondtotheimpactsofglobalwarming.Unfortunately,thosewhowillbehithardestandfirstbytheimpactsofachangingclimatearelikelytobethepoorandvulnerable,especiallythoseintheleastdevelopedcountries.Developedcountriesmusttakealeadershiproleinprovidingfinancialandtechnicalhelpforadaptation. SolutionstoGlobalWarming Africa Asia Australia&NewZealand Europe LatinAmerica NorthAmerica PolarRegions SmallIslands WhyYouNeedtoActNow Substantialscientificevidenceindicatesthatanincreaseintheglobalaveragetemperatureofmorethan2°Fabovewherewearetodayposessevereriskstonaturalsystemsandhumanhealth.Toavoidthislevelofwarming,theU.S.needstoreduceheat-trappingemissionsbyatleast80percentbelow2000levelsby2050.Delayintakingsuchactiontodaywillmeanfacingtheneedformuchsteepercutslater,whichwilllikelybemoredifficultandcostly. UnionofConcernedScientists NationalHeadquarters 2BrattleSquare,Cambridge,MA02138-3780 ©2011UnionofConcernedScientists GlobalWarmingEffects|GlobalWarmingSolutions|StopGlobalWarming ContactUs|PrivacyStatement|AboutUnionofConcernedScientists Sitedesignby



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