During the process of rapid global industrialization, human beings have been using such fossil fuels as coal and oil, which, despite bringing huge wealth, produce tremendous pollution and greenhouse gas and lead to the climate change problem.
As early as in 1979 at the First World Climate Conference in Geneva, scientists warned the increase of carbon dioxide in the air would cause the rise of the temperature on Earth. It was the first time that the climate change issue was on the agenda of a major international conference.
Since then the international community has adopted a series of measures to tackle the climate change problem, including the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which evaluates climate change and its consequences, and the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, which map out an international framework for dealing with climate change and set a timetable for developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, up to now the climate change problem is still serious, and mankind is facing daunting challenges caused by it.
A report released by the IPCC in 2007 said human beings' activities are the main source for climate change. It said the thickness of greenhouse gas in the air has increased markedly since 1750, and is much higher than that during hundreds of thousands of years before the industrial era. The current thickness of carbon dioxide has reached its peak of the past 650,000 years, it added.
The report also said with the warming up of the Earth, icebergs and icecaps have lessened globally, causing the rise of sea levels and endangering many coastal areas.
Moreover, droughts have become more frequent and sustained globally since the 1970s, especially in tropical zones and semi-tropical zones, due to less rain, it said.
Extreme weather like critical heat has occurred more frequently, while cyclones and hurricanes have also hit more frequently, it added.
The report said the global average temperature is expected to rise 2 to 4 degrees centigrade during the 2007-2080 period. A total of 1.1 to 3.2 billion people possibly will lack drinking water during the period, and some 200 million to 600 million people will suffer food shortages, it said, adding some 200 million to 700 million people in coastal areas perhaps will be affected by floods.
Source:Xinhua
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