Environment and Global Warming Essay

Global warming has been a major problem for the last one decade or so all over the world. The climate is changing and the temperatures on the earth surface are warming up as a result of increase in amount of green house gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Global warming is defined as an increase in the average earth’s temperatures which as result leads to a change in the overall global climate. The impacts of global warming are quite diverse and they include ecosystem instability, a rise in sea level, increase in pests and diseases, health problems, loss of environmental beauty due to extreme weather conditions such as floods, hurricanes and so fourth (Abarbanel et al. , 2002, 22-23, 57-63). Global warming has been found to be mainly caused by human activities resulting from over reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy which increase the green house gases emissions into the atmosphere. Research has also shown another side of global warming whereby, air pollutants emitted by fossil fuels are responsible for making clouds to reflect more sun’s rays back to the space. This effect is known as global dimming and it leads to less light reaching the earth surface. This global dimming is responsible for causing droughts due to lack of rain especially in the Northern Hemisphere and it also camouflages the actual effects of global warming leading to their underestimation (Abbot et al. , 2000, 159-176). The effects of global warming on the environment are very dangerous and expensive and all the governments in the world agree that something must be done. In this respect, the united nations have come up with a framework convention on climate change which is responsible for coming up with agreements such as the Kyoto protocol among others. The Kyoto protocol is an international agreement passed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC) back in 1994 which was aimed at addressing global warming and climate change issues all over the world. This agreement sets targets for all the industrialised nations in the world which they are expected to abide by in order to reduce the amount of green house gases emitted by those industries located in the respective nations. This protocol is considered as the greatest agreement reached by members of the United Nations which is bound to protect the environment and ensure sustainable development. How a national policy can help to address a global problem. National policies have a great role to play in tackling major national and global challenges such as climate change, globalisation, sustainable energy needs and so forth. The solutions to such problems require innovations which are able to see beyond the problem awareness and come up with solutions aimed at lessening their environmental and economic impacts on a long term basis. Such issues more often than not require the implementation of a national policy which will address the problem both nationally and internationally. A policy is meant to ensure that the problem is addressed from a central point of view and that all the concerned parties are speaking in one voice. An example of a global problem which is currently causing major concerns in the whole world is global warming. Although its effects are largely felt in the industrialised countries, the overall effects of climate change are evident in all nations because the pollutions emitted in one part of the globe quickly disperse to all other parts of the globe (Hay 2002). With growing concern on this problem of global warming and carbon pollution, a national policy for sustainable development is essential to address this problem and come up with rules and regulations aimed at controlling the emission of carbon pollutants and other green house gases into the atmosphere. To effectively address the effects of global warming and climate changes, all the world governments must come up with national environmental policies, efficient technological strategies and invent new sources of energy which are cleaner and more sustainable. Unlike common environmental policies such as the ones set by the United Nations and other world organisations, national policies created by individual countries focused towards addressing a certain global problem are bound to be more effective because such measures are bound to achieve abatements which are in line with the national interests at the lowest national costs possible. For instance, to address the issue of global warming, Australia has come up with a three-pillar national policy aimed at reducing the amount of pollutants released to the atmosphere by its industries and as a result, the government has had to make some economic reforms which are favourable to its economic stability in order to accommodate this policy (Miller & Tyler, 1987, 19-23). Australia’s national policy in addressing global warming Australia has been vulnerable to climate changes and severe repercussions of problems associated with poorly designed policies aimed at addressing this issue. An intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report in 2007 indicating that the Australia’s average climate is expected to change by about five degrees by the year 2070 due to the high rate of emission of GHGs in the country unless the government finds a quick and lasting solution to this global threat (Steger et al. , 2004, 33-46). Such a temperature change is bound to affect the ecosystems, energy resources, population health, agriculture, tourism as well as other sectors of the nation’s economy. Some of this effects to human beings and ecosystems are already being felt due to an increase of about 0. 9 degrees in the annual average temperatures. This effects prompted the government to facilitate the Garnaut climate change review in June and ratification of the Kyoto protocol on 3rd Dec 2007 as a way of demonstrating the government’s commitment to addressing the global warming and climate change all over the world. By agreeing to the Kyoto protocol, the Australian government has expressed willingness to pay the price for carbon reduction as a way of dealing with global warming. The Garnaut review focused on examining the climate change and its effect on the nation’s economy and has come up with policies and policy frameworks aimed at improving sustainable development. The draft report produced after this review presented a detailed examination of the climate change and its implications on Australia as a single nation. Following the Garnaut draft report indicating that the impacts of global warming and climate change in Australia are expected to be greater than those experienced in the other developed countries, the government has decided to come up with a climate change policy to ensure a safer society, a more stable economy and less climate changes in the future. This policy is focused on addressing three major issues. That is; †¢ Reducing the amount of green house gases emitted by industries in the country. †¢ Adapting to those impacts of climate changes which can not be reversed or changed. †¢ Contributing to the achievement of a global solution to the problem of global warming. (Milutin, 2003, 42-56) The Australian government using this policy has introduced an emission trading scheme and a framework for carbon reduction which will help to reduce the GHGs emission by up to 60 percent by the year 2050. A reduction in the national GHGs emission will put Australia in a better position to influence the international communities in working towards a low carbon environment (Julian, 2003, 495-503). In addition, the Australian government is committed to promoting an industrial policy aimed at facilitating investment in cleaner, greener and more sustainable energy resources and increasing the economic opportunities in the country. This industry policy has helped to develop comprehensive strategies which include local content rules and purchasing policies to provide long term solutions to climate change (Derek, 2002, 115-120). According to the environmental policies set by the Australian government, the environmental standards for its industries are set very high in order to restrict them from releasing pollutants to the atmosphere (Migeotte, 2002, 519-520). The Australia’s domestic policies are bound to affect the international credibility and the ability to acquire a global solution to global warming. The long term national target which is meant to reduce the emissions by about 60 percent before the year 2050 places the total global effort and carbon pollution schemes in a better position to achieving a solution to the worldwide problem and thus, this national policy is a step in the right direction. Conclusion Global warming presents a great environmental, social and economic challenge which requires urgent attention from governments all over the globe. The Australian government has done a lot to show that it is committed to eliminating this global problem through establishment of an environmental policy and ratification of the Kyoto protocols established by the United nations framework convention on climate change. This has greatly assisted the country to reduce the amount of GHGs emission and carbon pollutants into the atmosphere leading to a cleaner environment and it has helped to address the global problem at large. This shows that the use of well implemented comprehensive national policies can help to adequately address global problems such as global warming. References Abarbanel, Albert, and Thomas McCluskey (2002). â€Å"Is the World Getting Warmer? † Saturday Evening Post, 1 July, pp. 22-23, 57-63. Abbot, Charles G. , and F. E. 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