scholarly journals A Global Deal For Nature: Guiding principles, milestones, and targets

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. eaaw2869 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Dinerstein ◽  
C. Vynne ◽  
E. Sala ◽  
A. R. Joshi ◽  
S. Fernando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Average Global Temperature ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement ◽  
Life On Earth

The Global Deal for Nature (GDN) is a time-bound, science-driven plan to save the diversity and abundance of life on Earth. Pairing the GDN and the Paris Climate Agreement would avoid catastrophic climate change, conserve species, and secure essential ecosystem services. New findings give urgency to this union: Less than half of the terrestrial realm is intact, yet conserving all native ecosystems—coupled with energy transition measures—will be required to remain below a 1.5°C rise in average global temperature. The GDN targets 30% of Earth to be formally protected and an additional 20% designated as climate stabilization areas, by 2030, to stay below 1.5°C. We highlight the 67% of terrestrial ecoregions that can meet 30% protection, thereby reducing extinction threats and carbon emissions from natural reservoirs. Freshwater and marine targets included here extend the GDN to all realms and provide a pathway to ensuring a more livable biosphere.

scholarly journals A Mathematical Description of Selected Energy Transition Scenarios in the 21st Century, Intended to Realize the Main Goals of the Paris Climate Agreement

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2558
Author(s):  
Askar A. Akaev ◽  
Olga I. Davydova
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Mathematical Description ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Hydrocarbon Fuels ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement ◽  
Great Energy

On 4 November 2016, the historic Paris Climate Agreement of the United Nations entered into force, requiring signatory countries to maintain global warming at the level of 1.5–2 °C. According to the calculations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to achieve this goal, a 2/3 reduction in greenhouse gas energy emissions into the atmosphere compared with gaseous energy-related emissions in 2019 (33.3 Gt) by about 2050 (1.5 °C) or by 2070 (2 °C) is required. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), this is only possible with the implementation of a great energy transition from the use of currently dominant fossil hydrocarbon fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—to the predominant use of renewable energy sources (RES) by 2040–2050, when the share of renewable energy in the total energy balance will reach 40% and above. In this work, mathematical description of an upcoming energy transition has been carried out, including long-term scenario writing of the world’s demographic dynamics and global energy demand, calculation of the dynamics of industrial CO2 emissions and CO2 accumulation in the Earth’s atmosphere, as well as the corresponding changes in the average global temperature of the Earth’s surface in the 21st century. A mathematical description of the impact of energy consumption on climate change was carried out taking into account long-term trends in the dynamics of energy consumption. Using the performed mathematically-oriented scenario writing, it is suggested that a great energy transition with the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement is possible only by 2060. Renewable energy could sufficiently displace and replace hydrocarbon fuels to achieve climate safety without compromising economic development. As a result, humanity will receive an environmentally friendly decentralized distributed energy system, connected by «smart» grids, controlled by intelligent digital technologies.

scholarly journals Cumulative carbon as a policy framework for achieving climate stabilization

2012 ◽  
Vol 370 (1974) ◽  
pp. 4365-4379 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Damon Matthews ◽  
Susan Solomon ◽  
Raymond Pierrehumbert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Temperature Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Global Temperature Change

The primary objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that will avoid dangerous climate impacts. However, greenhouse gas concentration stabilization is an awkward framework within which to assess dangerous climate change on account of the significant lag between a given concentration level and the eventual equilibrium temperature change. By contrast, recent research has shown that global temperature change can be well described by a given cumulative carbon emissions budget. Here, we propose that cumulative carbon emissions represent an alternative framework that is applicable both as a tool for climate mitigation as well as for the assessment of potential climate impacts. We show first that both atmospheric CO 2 concentration at a given year and the associated temperature change are generally associated with a unique cumulative carbon emissions budget that is largely independent of the emissions scenario. The rate of global temperature change can therefore be related to first order to the rate of increase of cumulative carbon emissions. However, transient warming over the next century will also be strongly affected by emissions of shorter lived forcing agents such as aerosols and methane. Non-CO 2 emissions therefore contribute to uncertainty in the cumulative carbon budget associated with near-term temperature targets, and may suggest the need for a mitigation approach that considers separately short- and long-lived gas emissions. By contrast, long-term temperature change remains primarily associated with total cumulative carbon emissions owing to the much longer atmospheric residence time of CO 2 relative to other major climate forcing agents.

scholarly journals Global cooling & the rise of modern grasslands: Revealing cause & effect of environmental change on insect diversification dynamics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie E. Davis ◽  
Adam T. Bakewell ◽  
Jon Hill ◽  
Hojun Song ◽  
Peter Mayhew
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Global Cooling ◽  
Speciation Rates ◽  
Biotic Change ◽  
Life On Earth

AbstractUtilising geo-historical environmental data to disentangle cause and effect in complex natural systems is a major goal in our quest to better understand how climate change has shaped life on Earth. Global temperature is known to drive biotic change over macro-evolutionary time-scales but the mechanisms by which it acts are often unclear. Here, we model speciation rates for Orthoptera within a phylogenetic framework and use this to demonstrate that global cooling is strongly correlated with increased speciation rates. Transfer Entropy analyses reveal the presence of one or more additional processes that are required to explain the information transfer from global temperature to Orthoptera speciation. We identify the rise of C4 grasslands as one such mechanism operating from the Miocene onwards. We therefore demonstrate the value of the geological record in increasing our understanding of climate change on macro-evolutionary and macro-ecological processes.

Gut versichert mit Biodiversität (Essay) | Biodiversity – the insurance policy (essay)

2010 ◽  
Vol 161 (8) ◽  
pp. 299-305
Author(s):  
Sandra Limacher
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Insurance Policy ◽  
Ecological Functions ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Life On Earth

Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth that underpins ecosystem services. The creation of that diversity came slow and hard: 3 billion years of evolution. Many species may have ecological functions man has not yet discovered. Does this fact entitle the society to discard seemingly useless parts? With a view to the oncoming changes such as climate change, the article admonishes the readers that the question should no longer be “how much biodiversity the society can afford”, but rather “whether the society can afford, not to conserve and enhance biodiversity as natural capital”.

Temperature in the Arctic and the Antarctic

2019 ◽  
pp. 416-427
Author(s):  
Valentin Sapunov
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Average Global Temperature ◽  
Temperature Dynamics ◽  
The One ◽  
The Antarctic

This chapter aims at the consideration of world temperature dynamics and its prediction in the polar regions of the planet. The global warming started in the 17th century and has been progressing since then. The decline in average global temperature began in 1997. There exist various factors which affect the process, the abiotic ones being among the major in controlling the climate. The climate is also dependent on the interaction between abiotic, biotic, and social spheres. This system seems rather stable and not very much dependent on human activity. The effects of contemporary cooling are not expected to be significant for the mankind but are definitely important for the polar regions. In the Arctic, the temperature is increasing. The one in the Antarctic declines. The average global temperature thus becomes variable. Modern science is able to predict climate change, but extensive studies free of political and economic pressure have to be conducted.

Technological Approaches to the Threat of Climate Change for Greener Environment in Nigeria

2014 ◽  
Vol 935 ◽  
pp. 302-306
Author(s):  
Musa Ali Jogana ◽  
Jibril Danazumi Jibril ◽  
Bashir Sabo Abubakar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Great Sensitivity ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Average Global Temperature ◽  
Greenhouse Effects ◽  
Greenhouse Emission

Climate change is a phenomenon of great sensitivity which becomes a global issue that requires a concerted solution. This paper is interested in the resultant effects of average global temperature variation leading to greenhouse effects to the global environment particularly in Nigeria. Natural events and human activities are believed to be the major contributing factors that fuelled the increase in average global temperature, as a result, it leads to the greenhouse emission of gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) due to the burning of fossil fuels. This emerged as a challenge to the eco-environment and sustainable development. Technological approaches were drawn from the academic literature to enlighten the polluters to immediately begin to reduce greenhouse gas emission, if the rise in global temperature is to be held in check to avoid drastic consequences later.

scholarly journals Winners and Losers in Energy Transition: Study Case of Wood Biomass Power-Plants Implementation in France

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1139
Author(s):  
Roxane Sansilvestri ◽  
Mateo Cordier ◽  
Thibault Lescuyer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Production Model ◽  
Mediterranean Forests ◽  
Wood Biomass ◽  
Economic Goods

International policies promote renewable forms of energy to mitigate climate change. In Europe, the production of electricity using wood biomass represents one of the most popular energy alternatives. In 2012, France initiated a large-scale strategy to develop wood biomass energy. The biggest wood biomass power-plant project has been developed in the French Mediterranean area and its huge size raises several issues for the short- and long-term sustainability of local forests and associated economic sectors. The French Mediterranean forests provide four types of economic goods (private, club, common, and public goods) and multiple ecosystem services, which makes them complex to manage under an energy transition policy. In this paper, we applied three qualitative methods, namely interviews, participative workshops, and observant participation, and three conceptual models, namely (i) Ostrom’s (2010) self-organization key conditions, (ii) the types of economic goods classified according to their excludability and rivalry properties, and (iii) the ecosystem service categorization system of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). With our methods, we show that the renewable strategy chosen in France replicates the current centralized production model based on fossil and nuclear fuels. Thus, we demonstrate that European, national, and local authorities fail to consider the multiple ecosystem services that forest management strategies should include to face the energy transition, climate change, and the other ecological challenges of the 21st century.

scholarly journals Wald und Klimawandel – Ansätze für eine ökonomische Bewertung | Forests and climate change – approaches to an economic valuation

2008 ◽  
Vol 159 (10) ◽  
pp. 374-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Olschewski ◽  
Peter Bebi ◽  
Adrienne Grêt-Regamey ◽  
Norbert Kräuchi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Sustainable Resource Use ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
New Findings ◽  
The Impact

The impact of climate change on forest ecosystem services will differ depending on the regional situation. Based on findings of natural sciences the impact on society can be assessed by applying economic valuation methods. We distinguish between cost- and benefit-oriented approaches, both of which necessary to provide a comprehensive basis for decision-making. Aspects of uncertainty that are especially related to protection services are considered by extended approaches, such as Bayesian networks combined with geographic information systems. Following an adaptive management approach these new findings can be integrated in the decision process and thus contribute to a sustainable resource use, while taking climate change as well as society's diverse demands for forest ecosystem services into account.

scholarly journals Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO2emissions scenarios

Science ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 349 (6243) ◽  
pp. aac4722 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Gattuso ◽  
A. Magnan ◽  
R. Billé ◽  
W. W. L. Cheung ◽  
E. L. Howes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Temperature Increase ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Emissions Scenarios ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Emissions Scenario

The ocean moderates anthropogenic climate change at the cost of profound alterations of its physics, chemistry, ecology, and services. Here, we evaluate and compare the risks of impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems—and the goods and services they provide—for growing cumulative carbon emissions under two contrasting emissions scenarios. The current emissions trajectory would rapidly and significantly alter many ecosystems and the associated services on which humans heavily depend. A reduced emissions scenario—consistent with the Copenhagen Accord’s goal of a global temperature increase of less than 2°C—is much more favorable to the ocean but still substantially alters important marine ecosystems and associated goods and services. The management options to address ocean impacts narrow as the ocean warms and acidifies. Consequently, any new climate regime that fails to minimize ocean impacts would be incomplete and inadequate.

scholarly journals What is sustainable agriculture?

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
Leslie Firbank
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Water Quantity ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
The Many

We all want to eat food that is produced sustainably. But it's not at all clear what that means in practice. Fundamentally, agriculture can be regarded as sustainable if it can continue to meet human needs whilst avoiding irreversible harm to the planet. The human needs are not just food, but include employment, leisure, social cohesion and the many ecosystem services provided by agricultural land that benefit people, including regulating water quantity and quality, carbon storage, maintaining landscapes of cultural and spiritual value, and providing homes for wildlife. Agriculture causes harm to the planet from habitat loss, carbon emissions, and pollution of air and water. Meeting these challenges is tough now, but it will only become more difficult as the human population rises and climate change becomes more difficult to cope with.

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