The definition of climate change is a considerable change in weather for certain periods of time that can comprehend decades or even thousands of years. A good example of this type of weather alteration can be encounter in the Ice Age, which lasted approximately 16,000 years.
Nowadays, this term have a new kind of connotation or importance. Indeed, it even has new types of names that make clear the concerns of this type of change, namely global warming and anthropogenic global warming.
Although many people still contest the existence of climate change, it has currently a mainstream recognition, which can be even at the highest levels in Governments and International Institutions and Politics. Undeniably, it has already visible consequences. Higher temperatures, migrations of fauna and flora, rising sea levels, increased ocean acidity, strange weather phenomena, increase of extreme weather events (like hurricanes and heavy rains) and ice melt, are some examples of what we have been experiencing in the past years around the globe.
Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions produced by human activity are known to be the main cause to global warming. Its reduction requires a concerted, international, effort, in order to have a real impact and the capacity to reverse the situation (as well as voluntary actions taken by firms and individuals).
A known fact is that a reduction of 100% is practically impossible, so the remaining emissions must be compensated. The correct way to do it is to support projects that reduce GHG emissions, somewhere else in the Globe.
Knowing this, the international political response for the inevitable global warming was the creation, in 1992, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC. Its main goals were to develop people’s awareness and exchange ideas about the problems brought by climate warming. With those purposes in mind a framework was adopted, which had the main objective of stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of GHGs as a way to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
The international nature of this problem and the necessity to rearrange a global response became real this way. This fact was emphasised by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which involved more than 70 countries and worked as reinforcement to the UNFCCC.
The referred protocol committed developed countries with a considerable level of wealth and progress (known as Annex I countries), to define limits to their own GHG emission to be applied by specific firms and companies. The pretension was to reduce the overall emissions of GHG produced by each signatory country, by at least 5% below the 1990 levels of emission during the period of 2008-2012.
But this formal instrument – the Kyoto Protocol, wasn’t only about defining targets, it also formed financial instruments that could grant the ambition of making developing countries and least developed countries to get involved in climate change mitigation (namely CERs, ERUs and AAUs). By enabling a market-based solution to an environmental problem, the Kyoto Protocol managed to attract the attention of investors looking for profit and to bring the issue of GHGs to the mainstream of clean energy planning. The flexible mechanisms (each one with its financial instruments) are:
The Clean Development Mechanism – CDM:
Represents the opportunity for countries, companies and firms from Annex I (industrialised or developed countries), to acquire CERs (a kind of carbon credit) that can be use to comply with legal emissions shares, which means that by investing in projects being done in developing and least developed countries they will not have to reduce part of their own emissions, rather offset them by purchasing carbon credits.
The principal goals that CDM tries to reach are the reduction of carbon leakage (allocation of polluting industries to countries without that kind of legal obligations), the consideration of GHG as a cost and finally the stimulation of the transference of technology less polluting to developing and least developed countries, that won’t be able to acquire it by their own means.
Joint Implementation – JI:
Represents the opportunity for countries, companies and firms from Annex I to acquire carbon credits – ERUs – that can be use to fulfil legal emissions shares, which means that by investing in projects being developed in countries from Annex B (developing and least developed countries) they will not have to reduce part of their own emissions.
International Emissions Trading Association – IETA:
An auction system that allows countries from Annex I to buy and sell carbon credits known as AAUs.
Besides the mechanisms mentioned there are alternatives to be considered: EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the voluntary markets.
European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS):
EU-ETS was initially a system of ecological politics measures and specifications, independent from any other international politics systems. As a matter of fact it was operational way before the establishment of the Kyoto Protocol. Indeed, only after a while the European Union decided to accept certifications emitted by the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol as financial instruments suitable for EU-ETS. The carbon credits in use are known by the name of EUAs.
This trading scheme functions accordingly to the ordinary market laws, as well as the carbon price depends on the offer and demand of each moment. At each phase of the EU-ETS, the quantity of EUAs distributed by every single State-member is defined at the Member State National Allocation Plan (NAP), which is under the supervision of the European Commission.
The first criteria in this action of allocation carbon credits are to guarantee a relatively reduced quantity (suitable for the Kyoto Protocol) of GHG. Only then each State-member will be able to pursue its own objectives in what concerns the decrease of this kind of pollution.
Voluntary markets:
Voluntary markets function on the assumption that some companies and firms are willing to reduce emissions in a voluntary basis. VERs, the carbon credit unit used in this type of market, can be generated by different kinds of projects than others defined by the previous mechanisms. For voluntary markets there aren’t, yet, formal types of rules and laws or regulation entities that can set and enforce certain quality and technical standards in the development and trading of VERs.
People might ask do we know that climate change is real and what are the consequences of these phenomena. As already had been said, proves are right before our eyes. As a matter of fact no one can deny it. A climate change of great magnitude consists in the rise of the temperature of the entire world at least 15º Celsius, and that already happened (2005 was the warmest year globally in 1200 years of earth history).
Global warming is happening at this exact moment. Otherwise, it will not be a conviction for the majority of the scientists, who think that there are only up to 20 / 30 years left to really make an active effort to achieve a reduction of carbon emissions efficient and fast.
Another main question is that maybe humans are not the responsible for climate change, because they tend to occur chronologically or because the studies and estimations obtained are no wordy of being trusty. Some might even refer the existence of the nacreous clouds that contributes for the Ozone Hole or phenomena in the surface of the sun, such as solar winds.
Well, the biggest scientific experts in the field of climate change accept the fact that the global climate is undergoing dramatic changes, as the direct and almost unique result human activity that emits greenhouse gases. They now agree that the world’s temperature will increase by 2 or 3 degrees this century.
One thing that needs to be clarified is that the real impact might still be uncertain. But what is for sure is that consequences are for everyone on Earth. Knowing that nobody can avoid it, the conclusion is that countries or regions less developed are the ones that will receive more prejudice, because they just don’t have enough means and knowledge to counterpoint the costs of big climate changes.
Some people might think that is too late to do anything. That isn’t true. We do need to realize that the future of the planet depends heavily in the actions that we put in practice today in order to able humanity in evolving to a sustainable way of living. Although individual action might find difficulty in being truly relevant, the fact is that everyone by assuming certain types of responsibility will be spreading the message. And how more and more people get involved, stronger will be the power to make significantly changes.
Even if global warming is not relevant for some, we can always refer to moral responsibilities at the level of the environment and community (for example, the achievement of being able to guarantee a fair and sustainable future for the next generations).
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