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1 - The Earth’s Climate and Ongoing Global Change

from Part I - Comparing Climate Policies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2024

By
Roberto Buizza
Edited by
Ottavio Quirico  and
Walter Baber
Ottavio Quirico
Affiliation:
University of New England, University for Foreigners of Perugia and Australian National University, Canberra
Walter Baber
Affiliation:
California State University, Long Beach
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Summary

Global greenhouse gas emissions linked to human activities continue to increase, and as a result global temperatures keep rising and the impact of climate change is increasingly felt by all communities. This chapter reviews the observed evidence of climate change and analyses greenhouse gas emissions in different countries and/or groups of countries to understand how we reached current concentrations and warming levels. The contribution also discusses the key conclusions of the Summary Report for Policy Makers published by Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in August 2021, and applies a quasi-linear relationship between cumulated greenhouse gases and global warming to illustrate how emission reductions could limit global warming

Keywords

carbon dioxidemethanequasi-linear relationshipglobal warming of 1.5°C over next decade
Type
Chapter
Information
Implementing Climate Change Policy
Designing and Deploying Net Zero Carbon Governance
 , pp. 7 - 20
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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