What is climate change?

The single largest environmental challenge of our time is climate change. The carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels for energy is thought to contribute to a global rise in temperature - global warming.

Global emissions of carbon dioxide are increasing rapidly and leading scientists believe that this will result in an increase in the average global ground-level temperature by up to nine degrees by the year 2100. Such an increase in global temperature could lead to major physical, ecological, social and economical changes as a result of different climate effects such as rising sea level and an increasing frequency of extreme weather events, drought and flooding.

To avoid the potentially damaging effects of climate change we need to stop the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from rising indefinitely.

What is CO₂?

Carbon dioxide is a colourless gas at normal temperature and pressure. It is a by-product of our own respiration process and is essential to plant growth. Carbon dioxide is considered harmless as a normal constituent of the atmosphere, where it is present in low concentrations. The problem is not the gas itself but the rate at which it is produced by human activities, resulting in an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide represents a few hundred parts per million of the air surrounding us. The carbon dioxide functions as the ceiling of a greenhouse, allowing sunlight in but preventing much of the heat from radiating back to the universe. Since the industrial revolution the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has risen from 280 parts per million to 381 parts per million.

Studies show that an acceptable temperature increase and long-term temperature stability could be achieved at a concentration of 550 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalents in the atmosphere. To do this we need to significantly reduce the amounts of carbon dioxide emitted over the next hundred years.

Is there a future for coal?

Today almost 65 per cent of the world's electricity supply is generated by fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Renewable energy sources and means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions are developing rapidly. Nevertheless, Europe and the rest of the world, will remain dependent on fossil fuels for a long time.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that renewable energy sources will continue to represent less than 15 per cent of world consumption for another 20 to 30 years. In the EU-25 the use of fossil fuels is forseen to increase. According to the IEA reference scenarios, 50-60 per cent of the electricity and heat generation will be based on fossil fuels in 2030, compared to 55 per cent in 2002.