Question

Discuss the causes and consequences of global warming and climate change. Compare carbon taxes versus emissions trading for greenhouse gases reduction policy. Illustrate how global problems present more complex management issues

Answer 1

The causes of global warming may be natural or may be caused by human interference. Natural Causes Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Carbon dioxide is commonly known as the greenhouse gas. It is responsible for about half of the atmospheric heat retained by trace gases and also for 50% of the greenhouse effect. Methane (CH4 ) is 20-30 times more effective than CO2 in trapping heat. The potential of a greenhouse gas to cause greenhouse warming is expressed by “Global Warming Potential” (GWP). The rate and duration of the warming of the 20th century is larger than any other time during the last 1,000 years. The 1990s are likely to have been the warmest decade of the millennium in the Northern Hemisphere, and 1998 is likely to have been the warmest year (Houghton et al., 2001). Volcanic Eruptions Mount Etna, an active but at present a relatively subdued volcano in Sicily, is a case in point. It is one of the most potent natural sources of carbondioxide. Every year it adds about 25 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The entire region around the volcano is, therefore, enriched in carbon dioxide

CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING

• The effects of global warming have taken its role on people, animals, birds and habitat. In fact no continent has been spared.

• At Antarctica, shrinking sea ice has reduced the population of the Adelie penguin by 33% in 25 years. • In Canadian Arctic, the Peary caribou population has decreased due to heavy rainfall from 24,000 in 1961 to 1100 in 1997.

• Developing countries are twice as at risk to climate change as industrialized countries, and small islands states are thrice as at risk, according to a group of UN scientists. U.S is the fourth country in the world responsible for CO2 emission

. • Estimates drawn from reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) projects increase in average global temperatures ranging from 1.4 0C to 5.8 0C by the year 2100

• A slight rise in temperature even by 1 0 C, can have adverse effect on the Sea levels. This sea level rise would threaten coastal cities (Calcutta, Mumbai, Chennai, etc.) and some 60-odd island nations such as Maldives, Bangladesh, etc. Anil Kumar De and Arnab Kumar De (2008)

• Global warming increases the desert. It increases temperature in North America, South Africa, Mexico, India and other countries. Changes of hurricanes, cyclones and floods will be more which will damage the lagoons, estuaries and coral reefs. Global warming may cause extinction of more than one million species of animals and plants by 2050 AD.

• Change in climate can also bring several other problems, such as Drying of surface water bodies, fall in ground water table, serious watershortage, desertification of vast areas which were hitherto fertile and productive lands, crop pattern change and reduced agricultural yieldsshortage of food, growth in micro-organisms and spread of diseases, etc.

• In the United States, Chicago experienced one of the worst weather-related disasters in Illinois history when a heat wave resulted in 525 deaths during a 5-day period in July of 1995

Carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs share several major advantages over alternative policies. Both reduce emissions by encouraging the lowest-cost emissions reductions, and they do so without anyone needing to know beforehand when and where these emissions reductions will occur. Both policies encourage investors and entrepreneurs to develop new low-carbon technologies. And both policies generate government revenue (assuming emissions allowances are auctioned under cap-and-trade) that can be used in productive ways.

Real differences exist among carbon taxes and cap-and-trade policies, and each has distinct advantages. The United States has made commitments to the international community that it will reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. By setting an emissions cap that declines over time, a cap-and-trade policy can increase certainty that emissions will fall below the predetermined emissions targets.

A carbon tax offers stable carbon prices, so energy producers and entrepreneurs can make investment decisions without fear of fluctuating regulatory costs. In addition, if emissions reductions are cheaper than expected—which might occur if, for example, an economic downturn causes emissions to fall—then a tax provides a continuing price signal whereas cap-and-trade does not encourage reductions beyond the emissions target.