On February 2, 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their Fourth Assessment Report “Climate Change 2007” about the cause and effects of global warming. This is the report many politicians are currently referring to and calling (at last!) for actions. A summary of the report can be found on the website of IPCC, see here .
The report does not really reveal new information about the causes and effects of global warming. This report however confirms that mankind through the emission of greenhouse gases (in particular carbon dioxide, CO2) is the cause of global warming. Mitigation of global warming will only be possible with a drastic reduction of the world-wide emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are burned.
The important thing about this report is the fact that its findings and conclusions have been accepted by hundreds of climate experts and governments world-wide. There is no doubt any more that urgent action is needed, nobody can ignore climate change any more and call global warming “an illusion of greens”.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been established by WMO and UNEP to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.
You can find further information about the causes and effects of global warming , statistics and graphs about emissions of carbon dioxide or current and predicted energy consumption on this site. We have also started to inform about potential solutions and warn from pretended solutions like e.g. nuclear energy .
The bottom line is that we all will have to reduce our energy consumption down to a level which can be supplied by renewable energies. A sustainable living is the only long-term solution.