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Information Analysis and Repackaging

Notes earth. An energy cycle with the lowest possible CO emission is called for wherever possible to
2
combat climate change.

European Science Foundation
There is now convincing evidence that since the industrial revolution, human activities, resulting in
increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases have become a major agent of climate change. These
greenhouse gases affect the global climate by retaining heat in the troposphere, thus raising the average
temperature of the planet and altering global atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns.
While on-going national and international actions to curtail and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
are essential, the levels of greenhouse gases currently in the atmosphere, and their impact, are likely
to persist for several decades. On-going and increased efforts to mitigate climate change through
reduction in greenhouse gases are therefore crucial.

Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies
In 2008, the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) issued a policy
statement on climate change: Global climate change is real and measurable. Since the start of the 20th
century, the global mean surface temperature of the Earth has increased by more than 0.7°C and the
rate of warming has been largest in the last 30 years.
Key vulnerabilities arising from climate change include water resources, food supply, health, coastal
settlements, biodiversity and some key ecosystems such as coral reefs and alpine regions. As the
atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases, impacts become more severe and
widespread. To reduce the global net economic, environmental and social losses in the face of these
impacts, the policy objective must remain squarely focused on returning greenhouse gas
concentrations to near pre-industrial levels through the reduction of emissions.
The spatial and temporal fingerprint of warming can be traced to increasing greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere, which are a direct result of burning fossil fuels, broad-scale
deforestation and other human activity.

American Geophysical Union

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) statement, adopted by the society in 2003 and revised in
2007, affirms that rising levels of greenhouse gases have caused and will continue to cause the global
surface temperature to be warmer.
The Earth’s climate is now clearly out of balance and is warming. Many components of the climate
system—including the temperatures of the atmosphere, land and ocean, the extent of sea ice and
mountain glaciers, the sea level, the distribution of precipitation, and the length of seasons—are
now changing at rates and in patterns that are not natural and are best explained by the increased
atmospheric abundances of greenhouse gases and aerosols generated by human activity during the
20th century.
Global average surface temperatures increased on average by about 0.6°C over the period 1956–
2006. As of 2006, eleven of the previous twelve years were warmer than any others since 1850. The
observed rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice is expected to continue and lead to the disappearance of
summertime ice within this century. Evidence from most oceans and all continents except Antarctica
shows warming attributable to human activities. Recent changes in many physical and biological
systems are linked with this regional climate change. A sustained research effort, involving many
AGU members and summarized in the 2007 assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, continues to improve our scientific understanding of the climate.

72 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY