Climate change
35
The primary footprint is determined relatively easily through bills and simple
calculation. The secondary footprint, however, involves calculating along the supply
chain of materials, both upstream to the product origins and downstream to the
product use and disposal. As the boundaries of the secondary footprint are widened
to include the assessment of other products along the supply chain, about which
information is hard to obtain, the more complicated it becomes to assess and gather
data; and the less accurate the final figure can be.
4.6 responses to climate change
There are two options available for coping with climate change:
• mitigation through reduced emissions
• adaptation to the climatic effects.
Mitigation
Mitigation might seem a straightforward solution. We can make lifestyles lower carbon
through reducing GHG emissions, but in practice both global and local economies
hinge upon the combustion of fossil fuel to produce energy for heating and electricity,
for domestic, agricultural, industrial and transport use. Replacing this supply is fraught
with complications. Mitigation techniques currently available fall into four broad
categories:
• Reduce consumption dramatically.
• Replace existing sources with alternatives, such as renewables, and nuclear
power.
• Sequester or store CO
2
from the atmosphere.
• Use radiative forcing – alter the amount of solar radiation hitting the earth.
There is no magic formula for success, but it seems that thermodynamic, cost and
engineering technologies provide the constraints. The notion of reducing consumption
is still politically unpopular, with individuals as well as with governments. However, it
seems inevitable that such measures are going to have to become part of the solution,
and sooner rather than later.
adaptation
In the light of these problems, the other option, adaptation, is set to take a central
role in ensuring that societies remain able to function. However, it is important to note
that adaptation alone is not a solution. Without consciously reducing GHG emissions,
no level of adaptation will be sufficient to combat the level of climate change already
forecast.
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76