1 / 28

CLIMATE CHANGE A Christian Challenge & Opportunity

CLIMATE CHANGE A Christian Challenge & Opportunity. A presentation by Sir John Houghton to the National Association of Evangelicals Washington DC March 2005. Stewardship of the Earth. “We have a full repairing lease on the Earth.

lynn
Download Presentation

CLIMATE CHANGE A Christian Challenge & Opportunity

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. CLIMATE CHANGEA Christian Challenge & Opportunity A presentation by Sir John Houghton to the National Association of Evangelicals Washington DC March 2005

  2. Stewardship of the Earth “We have a full repairing lease on the Earth. With the work of the IPCC, we can say we have the surveyor’s report; and it shows … the repair work needs to start without delay.” Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at the opening of the Hadley Centre 1990

  3. www.ipcc.ch

  4. What is Global Warming?

  5. The Greenhouse Effect Long-wave radiation Solar radiation

  6. Past and future CO2 atmospheric concentrations

  7. The Impacts ofGlobal Warming

  8. Sea-level transgression scenarios for Bangladesh Adapted from Milliman et al. (1989).

  9. Exceptional European Heat Wave: Summer 2003 Temperature Anomaly ºC, June-August 2003 Deviation from 1961-1990 mean Based on ECMWF and ERA-40 Color: temperature anomaly Contours: normalized by standard deviation ºC (Schär et al. 2004, Nature, 427, 332-336)

  10. Irrigated cropland appears red in this satellite photograph, made over the Nile where it flows through the Sudan. In the past 70 years, a variety of irrigation projects have increased the agricultural productivity of this dry region. More than half of the increase in the world’s agricultural productivity during the past few decades has come from irrigation. From PR Crosson and NJ Rosenberg, 1989

  11. Major floods in 1990s • 1991, 1994-5, 1998 - China, average disaster cost 1989-96, 4% of GDP • 1993 - Mississipi & Missouri, flooding area equal to one of great lakes • 1997 - Europe, 162,000 evacuated and > 5bn $ loss • 1998 - Hurricane Mitch, 9000 deaths, economic loss in Honduras &Nicaragua 70% & 45% of GDP • 1999 - Venezuela, led to landslide, 30,000 deaths • 2000-1 - two in Mozambique, >1/2 million homeless

  12. Global Warming & Climate Change • The earth is warming • Sea level will rise • More floods and more droughts • Poor nations worst affected • Many environmental refugees

  13. IPCC Synthesis Report

  14. What can we do aboutGlobal Warming?

  15. FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE signed at Earth Summit at Rio by 160 nations in 1992The FCCC OBJECTIVE is to achieve, .…stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

  16. Global carbon emissions from fossil fuel (in billions of tonnes Carbon) Global carbon emissions from fossil fuel use, 1850 to 1990, and for scenarios to 2100, in GtC. For each scenario, the range shows the difference between gross and net emissions. From IIASA/WEC Global Energy Perspectives 1998. green curve would lead to CO2 stabilisation at ~450 ppm

  17. Carbon dioxide emissions in 2000, per capita versus population (after M Grubb 2003).

  18. COST OF EMISSIONS REDUCTIONSEstimated Cost to UK economy of 60% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 On assumption of average economic growth at historic annual rate of 2.25%,estimated loss of 0.02% from the growth rateequivalent to loss of 6 months’ GDP growth over 50 yrs UK govt Policy Innovation Unit Energy Review 2002 para 7.115

  19. A view from industry • “A sober strategy would ensure any increase in the world’s temperature is limited to 2-3deg C….. in the long run. Focused on that goal, …..policy should aim to stabilize CO2 concentrations in the range 500-550 ppm over the next century.” • Lord John Browne, CEO, BP, July 2004

  20. What Action? • Stop Deforestation; more Aforestation • More efficient energy generation & use • Move to non-fossil fuel sources of energy

  21. Reasons for optimism - Commitment of scientific community - Necessary technology available - God’s commitment to his creation

  22. Climate Change linked with otherGlobal Sustainability Issues • Population • Water - 1 bn - no clean water • Energy -2 bn - no commercial energy • Consumption • Trade • Poverty and growing rich/poor divide

  23. The Christian Steward For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required Luke 12 v 48

  24. What Can I Do? • choose fuel efficient vehicles & appliances • ensure your home is energy efficient • travel sensibly • support renewable energy sources • support leaders in government or industry in advocacy of the necessary solutions.

  25. “Noone made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do so little”Edmund Burke

  26. Celtic cross Celtic Cross -the cross of Jesus surrounded by the world

More Related