Global Warming, Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Abstract

In recent years fossil fuels, smog, carbon monoxide, particulates, free radicals and toxic chlorofluorocarbons and deforestations have increased significantly mainly due to anthropogenic activities. Urbanization is a global trend and is associated with increases in income, and higher urban incomes are correlated with higher consumption of energy and GHG emissions. This has resulted in increasing levels of greenhouse gases which absorb heat mainly infrared radiation, emitted from the Earth’s surface. Increases in the atmospheric concentrations of these gases cause Earth to warm by trapping more of this heat. The CO₂ level in 2012 was about 40% higher than it was in the nineteenth century. During Conference of the Parties (COP21), at Paris Climate Conference, (2015) a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change was achieved, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2 °C. Substantial cuts in anthropogenic GHG emissions by mid-century through large-scale changes in energy systems and altered land use can be achieved. Biofuels, according to the IEA, could displace enough petroleum to avoid the equivalent of 2.1 Gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide emission each year if produced sustainably – about as much as net carbon dioxide absorbed by the oceans. Currently, second-generation cellulosic biofuels and third-generation algal biodiesels are prominent biological approaches to sequester and convert CO₂. The race is on to optimize the technology that can produce biofuels from lignocellulose sources, and it is expected that biotechnological advancement is expected to make this happen in the near future for the benefit of mankind. This review is supported by various publications from the United Nations, and citations are acknowledged.

"Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems. Limiting climate change would require substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which, together with adaptation, can limit climate change risks."

(Source IPCC 2014)