A new study show that by 2050, the United States must cut
its emissions by at least 80% below those created in the year
2000 if the world is to avoid potentially dangerous impacts of
human-induced climate change.
To avoid the most severe effects of climate change, the
world must stabilize the concentration of heat trapping gases
in the atmosphere at no more than 450 parts per million. This
450-parts-per-million limit aims to avoid a temperature
increase exceeding 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit in a global
average temperature above pre-industrial levels?a
benchmark which geoscientist Katharine Hayhoe thinks could
wreak increasing havoc on the environment as it is exceeded.
Hayhoe says that the new study "assumes both developing
and industrialized countries would have to converge to
equitable per-capita emissions to stabilize the world's climate.
However, even with other countries taking aggressive action,
since the United States is responsible for nearly one-quarter
of global emissions, it must act now to achieve the deep cuts
in its energy consumption that will be required to meet this
target."
While an 80% reduction sounds daunting now, Hayhoe
reminds us that the sooner we start, the greater our chances
of successfully meeting that target. Her associate Michael D.
Mastrandrea says, "If we wait until 2020 to start emission
reductions, we'll have to cut twice as fast than if we start in
2010 to meet the same target."
"We've got 40 years to radically increase the efficiency of the
way we use energy,? Hayhoe says. "It's also time to start
considering more extensive ways to harness renewable
energy sources through solar panel arrays and wind farms, for
example. It's worth it to put in the effort now to reduce our
emissions. If we don't, there will be a lot more work to do just
to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the future."
"This report makes clear that the United States must make
meaningful cuts in global warming pollution, and soon, to
reduce the risk of severe climate impacts," says Alden Meyer,
director of Strategy and Policy at the Union of Concerned
Scientists. "President Bush should drop his opposition to
mandatory emissions limits, and put forward a specific
proposal to aggressively reduce U.S. emissions."
Can we do it with the
governmen
t we have or are likely to have in the future? Can we get
the cooperation of major new polluters like
China
and Russia? Only time will tell, but we don't have much time
left!
Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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