Global Warming - Coursework Example

Global warming What is global warming? And have you ever wondered which country is mostly responsible for it? Well global warming refers to the increase in the overall temperature of the earths climate which is usually accelerated by anthropogenic activities. There has been a blame game from one country to another to whom has caused this. Some might put the blame on the developing countries, while others might state it is the developed countries that are causing global warming. It is agreeable though that every human being somehow contributes to global warming by their daily activities. In addition to this it is also known that both the developing and the developed countries have an effect on global warming. However people are still debating on who is affecting the environment the most. Global warming was first affected by the rise of the developed countries; and even today the developed countries still have a major effect on this crisis more than the developing countries ever had. For this argument to suffice, it is necessary to establish what exactly contributes to global warming, these being the activities that are likely to cause it. Global warming is as a result of human activity that causes the atmosphere to be overloaded with the harmful gases such as carbon dioxide. The harmful gases trap heat which steadily causes the planet’s temperature to rise. These harmful gases comes from the fossil fuels burnt for energy such as coal, oil and natural gas as well as the loss of the forest covers due to increased deforestation more so in the tropics (Zedillo 10). Developed countries are heavily industrialized as compared to developing countries. As such, they release more green house emissions per capita than the developing world. Industrialization was first introduced by the developed nations and it is only decades later that the developing nations began to industrialize. Therefore, it can be argued that the developed nations should take the first blame for introducing industrialization through a revolution that is today responsible for global warming. From this point of view, developed nations should bear a greater responsibility when combating this vice. This view is supported to a large extent by the signing of the Kyoto protocol in 1992, which exempted developing countries such as India and China from the same obligations as the developed world on matters to do with green house emissions reduction (Zedillo 13). The underlying principle is, common but differentiated responsibilities, which serves as a centerpiece for those who are of the view that developed nations should assume greater responsibilities than the developing ones. However, developed countries argue that developed nations such as China have started to rapidly industrialize and therefore and therefore the conditions have changed as these industrializing countries are contributing even much more to green house gas emissions in recent years (Rogers et al 2). This is hypocritical since it is exactly what developed nations did decades ago to achieve their wealth. Critics assert that developed countries are very witty with approving protocols, delivering powerful speeches on the need to avoid deforestation when they already practiced deforestation in their own countries. It is also worth noting that heavy industrialization in developed countries is what caused them to be in the position they are in at the moment in terms of wealth, which allows them the luxury to go green. The long lying history of emissions in the developed nations has also contributed to global warming. But does this blame game help in solving the global crisis? It is of essence to point out that developed nations were not always aware of the fact that industrialization could bring about global warming. The burning of fossil fuels and emitting green house gases was not an obvious fact of global warming at the time to developed nations. This awareness came about decades later, to be specific, in the 1980’s and 1990’s (National Research Council 3). This is more than a century from the advent of industrialization. As such, it is inappropriate to hold these countries morally responsible for starting global warming. They at the time and for many years to come were not aware of the serious consequences industrialization would bring to the environment. Also of equal significance is that once these countries became dependent on fossil fuels, it was not easy for them to act on their knowledge immediately and stop using fossil fuels and especially with a raging debate on what really was behind global warming. Not every scientist agreed that fossil fuels could cause such results. Therefore, it would be unfair to charge developed countries with a greater responsibility and to saddle them with a greater punishment as a result of history. It could be true however that some countries are more to blame than others but this will likely not solve the crisis as this debate only distracts people from the important and just cause of combating climate change. Greater obligation for developed countries Will greater obligation by the developed countries help to solve the crisis of global warming? A UN report on global warming in 2007 confirms that, rich nations are the biggest carbon emitters. As such, countries such as the US have to take the lead in reducing global warming by cutting green house gas emissions by 2050 and also contribute to a global fund aimed at helping poor countries adapt to changes in climate. The report indicated that 19 million people in New York alone have a higher carbon footprint than over 700 million people inhabiting 50 least developed countries. It is therefore in order for developed countries to take a greater obligation to cut emissions as such cuts will have a huge impact to solving climate change. Those of contrary opinion say that it does not matter of whether a country is developed or developing. This should not play as a determinant of the amount of obligation a country should take up to combat global warming, rather, the amount of emissions regardless of whether it is a developed or developing nation (National Research Council 4). Those countries that contribute to global warming today such as China and India should bear a higher responsibility. A high human population in developing nations such as China and India is also a big contributor to global warming. In this regard, such highly populated nations have a responsibility of reducing the population growth as it eventually contributes to climate change. Such large nations should also share the responsibility with developed nations due to their size and the economic power they wield. They should play a leading role in their respective regions to act as ambassadors of climate change. If they were to ignore this, weaker surrounding states with the fear of loss of competitiveness will not take steps towards climate change. However, this could be a challenge since most of the developing nations look up to the already developed nations for leadership, and in particular the US. If the developed nations were to take up leadership in this, then it is likely that the developing world would likely emulate them. Developing nations also lack resources and the knowledge to develop a more greener environment (Change 20). As such, developed nations should lead. It is also apparent that developing nations such as China are concerned with their development and their capability to compete with the developed countries. They face higher levels of poverty and instability and fear tampering with their competitiveness on the economic scale. Therefore, they would only go green if developed countries do so. Heavy emissions regulations in developing countries could restrain industrial development which is unfair as developed countries were allowed to do so when they were industrializing. Developing nations need room for the growth of their industries, it can be argued. Going green or moving towards energy efficient products in not a burden to developed countries and should be looked at as an opportunity. These countries should take this as a potential game changer. Increased energy efficiency as well as technical and capital dominance in the green industry could contribute significantly to the economic growth of developed countries. In this regard, they should take more responsibility as they can do so, not as a burden but as an economic growth opportunity. However, opponents could argue that developed countries should not be stuck with a higher responsibility since it will not be economically favorable for the world as their wealth is what runs the global economy creating the demand for work which is carried out by the developing world. Who is more affected by global warming? Developed or developing nations Most people in the developed world are of the opinion that it is the poor countries that contribute highly to global warming. Developing countries today contribute to over half of the total carbon emissions. For example Brazil contributes more carbon dioxide per person than Germany does. What many people fail to realize is that global warming does more damage to poor countries. The rise in temperature costs the world about 1% of the GDP, in Africa and India; this costs them about 5 % of their GDP. This is as per a report done in 2006 Nicholas Stern. This is due to large human population. The poor are more at risk of global warming consequences attributable to their living conditions (Romm 2). Flimsy housing, poor health and lack of enough experts leave them vulnerable to all kinds of disasters. Global warming accelerates the chances of catching life threatening diseases which are prevalent in poor nations such as Africa and parts of Asia. Changes in weather patterns affect poor countries especially in their economic activities such as farming and tourism. Global warming dries out land for farming and contributes to lack of enough rainfall. Eventually, it also affects animal migration in tourist areas which residents highly depend on for their economic gain. Drought and floods caused by the speeding earth’s hydrological cycle reduces the storage capacity of nature which leads farmers in poor countries with no buffer for the changing weather patterns. Towards climate change As it has been established in this essay, everybody regardless of whether in developed or developed countries contributes to some extent to global warming. It should therefore be everybody’s responsibility to ensure that this crisis is dealt with. Rather than encouraging debates and blame games on who should be held more accountable than the other, nations should adopt a more greener move towards the environment. Reduction in fossil fuels use should be encouraged as the world moves to greener solutions and more so towards sustainable energy. It is these small efforts by everybody in the society that will contribute to the larger goal of combating global warming. Some developed countries have already started going green in an effort to counter global warming (Romm 3). People should be educated on the importance of taking the initiative towards activities that will reduce global warming. Such activities include planting trees and discouraging deforestation, recycling and using energy efficient products. Less dependence on fossil fuels or non-renewable energy, governments should place limits on the amount of carbon emissions industries are allowed to emit in the environment, expanding renewable energy and transforming energy to a more cleaner system that is not dependent on fossil fuels. Countries should also invest in efficient energy technologies and industries and approaches. Works cited: Zedillo, Ponce L. E. Global Warming: Looking Beyond Kyoto. New Haven, Conn: Center for the Study of Globalization, Yale University, 2008. Print Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. National Research Council. Advancing the Science of Climate Change. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2010. Roberts, Dexter. "Foreign Investment into China: Wheres the Money Flowing?”. Bloomberg News, 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 May 2014. Rogers, Simon, and Lisa Evans. "World carbon dioxide emissions data by country: China speeds ahead of the rest.” TRENDS Online. Climate changes ask, 31 Jan. 2011.Web. 7 May 2014. Romm, Joseph. "Nature: Hurricanes are getting fiercer." Grist. Nature, 6 Sept. 2008. Web.8 May 2014 Read More