Assignment

BIOL-1340

A01

Prof: Dr. Michael Shaw

Topic: Global Warming: Actions Taken

One of the major problems of the modern world is global warming. Therefore, it

comes as no surprise that almost all governments have taken some steps to help

reduce global warming. So, what is global warming and why is it so dangerous for the

planet?

Global warming is the gradual heating up of the earth’s atmosphere due to

greenhouse gases, burning of fossil fuels and various other activities. Global warming

basically heats up the earth’s atmosphere which leads to various climatic issues

which is harmful for the planet.

Steps taken by governments to help control global warming.

Many countries have taken various steps to control global warming, many countries

attended the climate action summit in 2019.but only a few was able to control global

warming by controlling their emission levels.

India is a huge country and ranks third in greenhouse gas emissions. But it has

manged to reduce it emissions greatly. Most of it was possible due to it embracing

the used of solar energy. In 2010, the country established the national solar mission,

which set out to add 20 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2022. The country surpassed

that goal back in 2018 and is now set to exceed its Paris pledge to supply 40% of the

nation’s energy needs with non-fossil-fuel power by 2030. India accomplished this by

implementing a range of pro-solar policies, like mandating that utilities purchase

solar energy, and by launching programs to expand off-the-grid solar power, bringing

electricity to many villages in the process. The low cost of labor along with the

decreasing price of solar panels made the cost of India’s solar power the cheapest in

the world.

Norway takes climate change seriously. It has committed to reducing its emissions

40% by 2030 and aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But Norway’s biggest

claim is its aggressive effort to clean up its transportation sector. As of 2017, electric

cars and plug-in hybrids accounted for half of the new cars sold in the country. And

in March of this year, electric cars alone made up almost 60% of the car sales. By

2025, the government wants that number to be 100%. The government provides

generous incentives for electric vehicles, such as waiving some of its famously high

taxes and providing owners with many benefits, like electric-only parking lots in

cities. Norway has also invested in vehicle charging infrastructure and supplies most

of its electricity with clean hydropower. China has also invested heavily in low-carbon

transportation. It is the largest electric car market in the world, and it owns 99% of
the world’s electric buses. The motivation is partly to clean up urban air quality and

spur domestic innovation. In 2008, the U.K. passed the climate change act, a

sweeping law that set the country on a path toward decarbonizing its economy. It

included a suite of policies, from phasing out coal to strengthening efficiency

standards for buildings. the country passed a measure requiring its emissions to

reach net zero by 2050, making it the first nation with a legally binding commitment

to do so. Gambia is a small country, and it has played almost no role in contributing

to climate change. But like many poor countries, the West African nation stands to

suffer in a

warming world because of sea level rise, drought and other stresses.  Gambia has

committed to slowing the rate at which its emissions will rise. By 2030, they will be

2.7% lower than they would have been in a business-as-usual scenario. A 20-

megawatt solar power facility is currently under development, which will increase

the country’s electricity supply by 20%. the government rolled out a plan to restore

large areas of forest, mangroves and savanna that will suck up carbon dioxide. 

Switzerland consistently ranks highly for its efforts to address climate change. Its

emissions have been declining since the 1970s. Switzerland was an early adopter of a

carbon tax (Sweden was first in 1990). The Levy, as the Swiss prefer to call it, was

imposed in 2008, and as of 2018, it charged $96 per ton of carbon dioxide. Most of
the carbon tax revenue, which totals $300 million, is returned to citizens, including as

subsidies to workers in industries that are negatively affected by climate policies.

About a third goes to improving the efficiency of buildings and to R&D for clean

technologies.

Costa Rica has committed to reaching net zero emissions by the middle of the

century. The country has already tackled some of its biggest emissions sectors. It gets

80% of its energy from hydro power. It has also managed to reverse the trend of

deforestation that plagued the country in the 1960s and ’70s. Since that time, Costa

Rica has more than doubled its forest cover. Most of its emissions now come from

transportation. By 2035, it wants a bus fleet made up of 70% electric vehicles and an

electric train system to ferry people between cities. Costa Rica also plans to promote

sustainable building and implement a national compost strategy. It aims to increase

its forest cover even further.

In the Paris Agreement, the parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC) established a long-term temperature goal for climate

protection of “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below

2 ∘C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase

to 1.5 ∘C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce
the risks and impacts of climate change”

Southeast Asian countries

At present it is noticed that none of the Southeast Asia countries gives penalty to

plants or industries with extra CO2 emission. Furthermore, CO2 capture technologies

are found to be uneconomical to be merged into most of the production plants. The

one and only CO2 capture plant so far in Southeast Asia was built under Petronas

Fertilizer Co., Malaysia and started its operation in 1999. It was an output from

collaboration with Japanese companies, Kansai Electric Power Company

and Mitsubishi heavy industries Ltd. Renewable energy, energy saving and energy

efficiency enhancement can reduce CO2 emission indirectly. All Southeast Asia

countries have their country policies and legislations in enhancing energy efficiency

as well as promoting renewable energy. in order to mitigate CO2 emission, four major

approaches have been taken i.e., alternative vehicles, alternative fuels, fuel efficiency

improvement, and intelligent transport system. Thailand had attempted to promote

the production of eco-cars by giving tax exemption to the industry in 2007. In

Philippines, National Environmentally sustainable transport (EST) Strategy and Action

Plan was launched under the monitoring of Department of Transportation and

Communication (DOTC) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR). Vietnam, the “green building” action, which focuses on the fuel switching

and natural energy utilization, is one of the measures to reduce the CO 2 emission

from commercial and residential sectors. It is expected to eliminate 39% and 48%

CO2 reduction in commercial and residential sectors, respectively. The European

Union has committed itself to a 20-per cent reduction in GHG emissions by 2020, and up

to 30 per cent if others follow. In the United States, there is growing action by cities and

states; for example, the Mayor of New York City has announced a pledge to cut the city's

GHG emissions by 30 per cent. Also, over 460 mayors in the United States have pledged

to cut emissions by 7 per cent below the 1990 levels. California, has announced it will

reduce emissions by 25 per cent by 2020. Rapidly developing economies, such as Brazil,

China and India, are carrying out voluntary actions to decrease the levels of emissions in

comparison to what they would have been without action. The Chinese authorities

estimate that around 7 per cent of China's energy comes from renewable sources,

equivalent to an emission savings of 328 million tons of carbon dioxide. Targets have

been set for an even higher renewable energy use. Brazil, where a significant level of

emissions come from land-use change, has reduced deforestation in the Amazon by

over 50 per cent over the past three years. Some 80 per cent of all new cars sold in the

country is flex-fuel and able to run on petrol or ethanol.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that rapidly

developing economies have reduced emissions by 500 million tonnes over the past three

decades.

In conclusion, many countries have initiated and continue to initiate various laws and

programs than help in controlling the emissions and therefore help reduce global

warming, and most of the countries have been more or less successful. At present the

way the countries and UN are responding to the problems indicates that this major

problem will be solved in the coming future.

References

An overview on global warming in Southeast Asia: CO2 emission status, efforts done,

and barriers (article) –
(https://www-sciencedirect-com.uml.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/
S1364032113005005)

Arctic amplification under global warming of 1.5 and 2 °C (research article) –

(https://esd.copernicus.org/articles/10/569/2019/)

The UN Role in Climate Change Action: Taking the Lead Towards A Global Response
(article)- (https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/un-role-climate-change-action-
taking-lead-towards-global-response)
India is now producing the world’s cheapest solar power- 9 (via
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/india-is-now-producing-the-world-s-
cheapest-solar-power)

Here’s how 6 countries are stepping up to meet the Paris climate

goals(https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-09-22/how-countries-are-
meeting-climate-change-goals)