An introduction to the debate



This figure depicts CO₂ increases over the past six years.
Perhaps the most striking part of this graph is that up until
August, 2016 shows the largest CO₂ increases.

On 22^nd April 2016, otherwise known as international ‘Earth Day’, the Paris Agreement was signed by nations across the world symbolising their commitment to the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). The quintessential intention of this agreement is to force governments to adapt new policies to eventually limit global temperatures below 2ᵒC above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century in an attempt to avoid irreversible environmental impacts to the planet.



Firstly, when analysing the current environmental trends caused by human activities, it becomes apparent that in order to achieve the targets set out by the Paris Agreement, fundamental energy policies and technologies must be rapidly adapted. As depicted in figure 1, atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels have moved past 400ppm and are constantly rising, principally caused by the incomplete combustion of Carboniferous fossil fuels to feed mankind’s ridiculous energy requirement.







This figure shoes the exponential increases in energy
usage respective to different energy sources. Here we
can identify that world energy consumption is incredibly
 reliant on unsustainable resources (Coal, Oil and Natural Gas)
www.financialsense.com/node/7827

When analysing the uptake of our most common fossil fuels (Coal, Oil and Natural Gas), an inevitable issue is exposed. Our fossil fuel consumption is increasing at a frighteningly unsustainable level leaving nations increasingly dependent on sources of energy that are becoming ever more sparse. Figure 2 represents the surreal energy gaps between fossil fuels and more sustainable energy sources such as Hydro-electric and Biofuels as a total of world energy consumption.



Subsequently, the issues raised at the start of this blog lead us to the principal theme of my future blog posts. In a world where sudden changes are required to not only meet international frameworks, but to ensure that irreversible and deadly changes to our planet do not occur, what choices are humans, effectively the navigators of the modern earth left with? Do we immediately invest mass financial support into the development of renewable energies whilst risking a threatening energy gap between production and consumption? Or do we look to new innovations in an attempt to micromanage the perplexing systems of the Earth i.e. Geoengineering? Geoengineering is  described by scientist W. Burns as the “deliberate large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change". Fundamentally, geoengineering breaks down into two paths, either removing Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere, or by the use of Solar Radiation Management (SRM). Following blog posts will examine scientific reports on key examples of geoengineering, evaluating whether these innovations are both practical and an appropriate allocation of funds to ensure that we can effectively fight climate change.

Personally, at this stage I hold a hesitant view of Geoengineering and am a firm believer that the British government should be investing significantly more into renewable industries today. However, my natural scientific curiosity ensures that I am amenable to the idea of other measures of controlling the planet as it is clear that due to climate change being such a problematic issue, there will not be one sole cure and therefore we must show adaptability to new ideas and cunning concepts to save the Earth.