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Syed Taha Taimur

Lahore School of Learning
Global Perspective 0457
Sir Ali Waseem

Is global climate change the most severe and damaging problem facing today’s world?

Global climate change is the single biggest environmental threat that humans have faced since
the end of the last ice age. For over the past 150 years we have burned huge amounts of fossil
fuels, bred vast amounts of methane-producing livestock and cut down hordes of forests which
would naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the air all of which has contributed to upsetting the
delicate balance of our global ecosystem. From rising sea levels to intense, prolonged drought
and freak weather patterns, global climate change poses an unprecedented threat to human
civilization and ecosystems on this planet if left unchecked. No matter what we’re passionate
about, something we care about will be affected by climate change (The Effects of Climate
Change).

Fig 1.1 Graph showing rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere (Climate Change: How do
we know?)
This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more
recent direct measurements, provides evidence of the fact that atmospheric carbon dioxide has
increased drastically since the mid-20th century. Carbon dioxide is the main contributor to the
greenhouse effect which is the warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat in
radiating outwards from Earth into space. Over the last century humans have increased the
natural greenhouse effect by burning fossil fuels like coal and oil which according to NASA has
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raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million and
the effects of this increase have been just as drastic (Climate Change: How do we know?).
According to NASA sea levels have risen by about 8 inches in the past century and are predicted
to rise by a further one to four feet by 2100 (How climate is changing). This rise in sea levels is
mainly due to the melting of polar ice caps, caused by global climate change, which is according
to NASA is currently at approximately 413 gigatonnes per year (Global Climate Change Vital
Signs of the Planet). With warmer surface temperatures and warmer oceans, more water will
evaporate increasing the moisture in the atmosphere which will result in an increased number
of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, cyclones, droughts and heat waves causing mass
flooding, desertification and forest fires.
Climate change is playing a huge role in the destruction of ecosystems around the world that
are home to countless plant and animal species. Many of the world’s endangered species live in
areas that are being severely affected by climate change and this change is happening too fast
for many species to adapt resulting in their extinction. According to an article on ocean
acidification our oceans have absorbed an estimated 525 billion tons of carbon dioxide since
the start of the industrial age causing them to become 30% more acidic, a rate not observed in
over 30 million years (Global Warming’s Evil Twin: Ocean Acidification). This puts all ocean life
at risk, especially coral reefs. According to the WWF if global warming remains on increasing, by
2050 just 5% of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef – will remain. It’s
not only a tragedy for wildlife but also for the half a billion people rely on fish from coral reefs
as their main source of protein (The Effects of Climate Change). In his book Global Warning: The
Last Chance for Change, Paul Brown explains the phrase “tipping point” in respect to climate
change (Brown). This is when a small amount of warming sets off unstoppable changes for
example the melting of the ice caps and in many scientists’ view this point is a 2 degree
centigrade rise in average global temperature. In the past 100 years this average has increased
by 0.8 degrees. That still leaves a comfortable 1.2 degrees before the tipping point is reached
but there is a 25- to 30-year time lag between greenhouse gases being released into the
atmosphere and their full heat-trapping potential taking effect. That wipes out any feeling of
comfort. It means that most of the increase of 0.8 degrees seen so far is not caused by current
levels of carbon dioxide but by those already in the atmosphere up to the end of the 1970s. Still
worse, in the last three decades the levels of greenhouse gases have increased significantly. In
this 30-year period the earth has seen the biggest swell in industrial activity and traffic in
history.

On the basis of this evidence it is clear that drastic action against climate change is needed.
Although nations around the world are upping their game in the fight against climate change to
which the recent Paris Agreement is testimony. However we are still not doing enough to abate
climate change and the amount of carbon emissions released grows year by year. To cut down
we must switch to alternative, green sources of energy such as wind farming and solar energy
instead of burning fossil fuels and decrease the deforestation rate. This is not a job for
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governments and organizations but one we must all undertake. By reducing water waste,
powering our homes with renewable energy, making healthier and greener lifestyle choices and
most importantly spreading awareness about this problem we can all help in reducing the
effect of global climate change.

Others say that climate change is not our biggest problem; they say that lack of healthcare,
electricity, mass conflicts, food and water shortages, terrorism and nuclear proliferation are far
bigger threats that need to be addressed first. All of these are dire threats that do need to be
dealt with urgently but even so none of them pose the singular biggest threat of extinction to
humans. Through the evidence provided we can clearly see that we are in a sort of ‘sweet spot’
and that whatever decisions we take in this time will affect our world for millennia to come.
The pledges that governments have made so far to cut emissions are insufficient.
Even if implemented fully, they are consistent with an average global temperature rise of 4
degrees centigrade. If this were to happen sea levels would rise by four feet by 2100 and by
several more meters in the coming centuries flooding most coastal areas and islands. Marine
ecosystems would be devastated by increased ocean acidification this on top of the impacts of
warming, overfishing and habitat destruction and most coral reefs would be long destroyed.
Ecosystems around the world would undergo rapid transitions resulting in mass extinctions of
almost all species on Earth including humans. So in order to prevent such a catastrophe from
occurring we must take the necessary steps to prevent global climate change.
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Work Cited:

Brown, Paul, Global Warning: The Last Chance for Change, The Guardian and A & C Black, 2006,
Print.

Climate Change: How do we know?, NASA Global Climate Change Vital Signs of the Planet,
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/, Website.

Effects of Climate Change, WWF, https://www.wwf.org.uk/effectsofclimatechange, Website.

Global Warming’s Evil Twin: Ocean Acidification, The Climate Reality Project,
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/global-warming-ocean-acidification, Website.

How climate is changing, NASA Global Climate Change Vital Signs of the Planet,
https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/, Website.