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Global Problem: Climate Change
into consideration, the CO2 concentration since what is considered as the
industrial period, 1750, has increased by 48%, from 280 ppm to 414 ppm,
while the CH4 concentration has increased by 156%, from 720 ppb to 1886
ppb, and the N2O concentration has increased by 23%.
Another warning in the report was about the rate of increase. In this respect,
it is noted that there has been a recent increase in not only the amount
of emissions, but also the rate of increase. Based on the data (GML, 2021)
from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it is
observed that during the decades from 1960 to 2000, an there was an average
of 1,5 ppm increase in CO2 emissions, which was 2 ppm between the years,
2000 and 2010, and 2,5 ppm from 2010 to 2020. Likewise, there was a rapid
increase in temperature as it was emphasized that the period after 1970 has
been the 50-year period that witnessed the most dramatic increase in surface
temperatures in the last 2000 years.
CO2 is the gas that stands out among greenhouse gases as it can stay in the
atmosphere for years in terms of amount as well as carbon cycle. According to
the findings of the Global Carbon Project, implemented by The Future Earth
platform, which is supported by UNEP, since the industrialization process, with
the addition of deforestation and land degradation, there has been 2.475
gigatons, that is, 2,5 trillion tons of carbon emissions. Over half the emissions
(51,2 %) of this emission took place after 1990, that is, in only the last 30 years.
Research shows that (Ritchie and Roser, 2020a) there was a small amount
of carbon emission to the atmosphere before industrialization. In the 1950s,
this amount reached 8 billion tons, still remaining relatively low. However, in
the 1990s, the carbon emissions quadrupled, reaching 22 billion tons. Today,
according to the Global Carbon Project data (2021), there is an annual release
of 3640 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. This means every second,
1,170 tons (1.170.000 kgs) of CO2 is emitted to our atmosphere.
The remaining carbon budget to limit global temperature increase to
+1,50°C is around 440 billion metric tons (gigatons) (Damon Matthews et al,
2021). Taking the existing annual carbon emission of 36-40 billion tons, for a
+1,50°C temperature increase, it can be said that we only have a short period
of 11 years.
On the other hand, due to climate change, there has been a recent increase
in the number of metheorological, climatic, and hydrological disasters and in
the resulting damage. It is certain that these disasters not only cause death,
but also loss of property. According to “Global Climate Risk Index 2021”
(Eckstein, 2021), between 2000 and 2019, there was over 475.000 deaths and a
financial loss of 2,56 trillion US dollars.
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