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IPCC Synthesis Report
Part V
• Summary and relationship to other
environmental issues
Robert Watson
Agricultural practices are affecting the
environment and environmental degradation
threatens food availability
Climate change and other environmental
issues are inter-linked
Underlying causes of change
• The primary factors underlying environmental degradation
include: economic growth, broad technological changes,
demographic shifts and governance structures. These can give
rise to:
– Increased demand for natural resources and energy
– Market imperfections, e.g., subsidies that lead to the inefficient use of
resources and act as a barrier to the market penetration of climate sound
technologies; the lack of recognition of the true value of natural
resources; failure to appropriate the global values of natural resources to
the local level; and the failure to internalize the social costs of
environmental degradation into the market price of a resource
– Limited availability and transfer of technology, inefficient use of
technologies, and inadequate investment in research and development for
the technologies of the future
– Failure to manage adequately the use of natural resources and energy
Climate Change is an Integral Element of Sustainable Development
Major Conclusions
• The Earth’s climate is warming -- human activities are
primarily responsible -- further climate change is
inevitable without actions to reduce GHG emissions
• Most socio-economic sectors, ecological systems and
human health will be adversely affected by climate change,
with developing countries being the most vulnerable
• Technologies are available to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions but policies and measures are needed to realize
the technological potential
Projected concentrations of CO2 during the 21st
century are two to four times the pre-industrial level
2
700
Projected
(2100)
Projected (2100)
650
600
550
500
450
400
Current
(2001)
Current
(2001)
350
300
250
200
150
400,000
300,000
200,000
Years Before Present (BP 1950)
(B.P. -- 1950)
100,000
0
CO
Concentration(ppmv)
(ppmv)
CO
2 2Concentration
in Ice Core Samples and
Projected levels COofConcentration
Projections for Next 100 Years
atmospheric CO2
during the next 100
years Vostok
would
Record be
IPCC IS92a Scenario
higher
at
Law than
Dome Record
Mauna Loa Record
anytime in the last
440,000 yrs
Projected Temperatures During the 21st Century Are Significantly
Higher Than at Any Time During the Last 1000 Years
The Challenge: Sustainable Management of an Ever-Changing Planet