Greenpeace - Globe Saving Plan

Scientists agree humans cause global warming, offer path to solve it

Feb 1, 2007

Environmental activists are boosting a plan they say is a blueprint to staving off future climate change and therefore averting catastrophe.

Greenpeace released a report earlier this week charting a plan for the world's carbon dioxide emissions to halved by 2050. Their strategy focuses on improving energy efficiency and switching from fossil fuels and nuclear power to renewable energy sources.

The group's report comes the same week a major policy report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is to be made public. The UN group of over 1,000 scientists is expected to urge quick action to stop human-produced global warming.

The panel's chair, Dr. R. K. Pachauri writes the introduction for the Greenpeace report as well. Focus on renewable energy technology is critical in the future, he says.

Renewable and efficient technology

Smaller and decentralized energy systems should be used, states the report. This would boost energy efficiency by providing heat and power because it avoids the power lost due to traveling.

Governments should phase out subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy and set legally binding targets for renewable energy production, says Greenpeace.

Technology to deliver this pollution-free power includes wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, biomass power plants and solar thermal collectors.

But even a full-on switch to these new technologies won't deliver the amount of power required by humans in 2050. The world-wide energy demand is projected to double by then, according to the report.

Beyond Kyoto

To make it work, energy production will have to be twice as efficient. Efficiency standards for energy consuming appliances would accomplish this.

Greenpeace says the Kyoto Protocol framework can be used to help achieve their goals.

Currently, nations who penned Kyoto must reduce their emissions compared to 1990 by five per cent in 2012.

Those nations should now agree to cut the emissions by 18 per cent by 2017, and by 30 per cent by 2022.

Even having met their goals, Greenpeace still predicts a global average temperature rise of 2 C by 2050.

The copyright of the article Greenpeace - Globe Saving Plan in Climate Change is owned by Brian Jackson. Permission to republish Greenpeace - Globe Saving Plan in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.