EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES 1

MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION-II

Report on
Emerging Global Climate Change Challenges

Submitted to Submitted by:

Professor Vijay Vancheswar PGDM Sec A
Group 5
Ansh Chopra
Ayush Sureka
Manisha Jain
Sahil Arora
Shivani Pandey
Vrinda Nagpal
2 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES

Contents

What is Global Climate Change? .............................................................................................................................................................. 2

Is the climate changing? ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Physical and human drivers of climate change:........................................................................................................................... 3
Human Causes are:................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Climate Changes in India ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Challenges faced............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Carbon Sinks, Forests and Climate Change .................................................................................................................................... 5
Biodiversity ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Population Growth ................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Global Dimming ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Strategies to curb the effect of climate change ................................................................................................................................. 7
Paris Agreement ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES 3

What is Global Climate Change

Climate change is a variation in the statistical weather patterns when that change lasts for an
extended period (i.e., lets say for a period of more than 10 years or so). Climate change may also
refer to a transition in average weather conditions. Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter
than a few decades, such as El Nio, do not represent climate change. Climate change is caused by
factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and
volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have been identified as primary causes of ongoing
climate change, often referred to as global warming, greenhouse effect, etc.

Is the climate changing?

Scientists and met departments have been actively working to understand past and future climate by
using explanations and theoretical models. The world is set to be on course to warm at least 3
degrees Celsius every year, which carries far greater risks of threatening ice sheets in Greenland and
Antarctica, drastic sea-level rise and more extreme heat waves and droughts. As explained by
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an US agency, there are 7 indicators that
would contribute to an increase in a warming world; humidity, temperature over oceans, sea levels,
ocean heat content, sea surface temperature, temperature over lands, tropospheric temperature and
3 indicators would be expected to decrease; sea ice, glaciers, snow covers. Climate change (noun),
became an issue rather than the technical description of changing weather. The following report
shows how the temperature and the CO2 has changed over years.

Physical and human drivers of climate change:

There is enough evidence to prove that the global climate is changing. This is due to a combination of
physical and human factors. Physical causes are
Solar energy changes- sunspot activity raises global temperature.
Volcanic eruptions - large quantities of volcanic dust in the atmosphere shield the Earth
from incoming insolation, lowering global temperature. For example, the eruption of
Mount Pinatubo in 1991 caused a dip in global temperatures. On the other hand, some
4 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES

scientists would claim that large eruptions could aggravate the greenhouse effect and
lead to global warming.
Changing oceanic circulation such as the periodic warming (El Nino) and cooling (La Nina)
of areas of the tropical Pacific Ocean.
Melting permafrost releasing large quantities of methane gas.

Human Causes are:

The burning of fossil fuels for transport, industry and power, producing carbon dioxide.
Worldwide deforestation, sometimes involving rainforest burning, which also produces
carbon dioxide.
Car exhausts and nitrogen fertilisers, producing nitrous oxide.
CFCs found in fridges, air conditioning and aerosols and as a bi-product of the production of
polystyrene packaging, like pizza and burger boxes.
Methane, produced from rice fields, landfill sites and from both ends of cattle.
Atom bomb testing.
Increasing industrialisation leading to air pollution.
Traffic pollution.
Rubbish dumps.

Climate Changes in India

Monsoon trends from 1961 to 2016 analyzed by scientists show that the amount of rainfall received
has increased in the months of May and June across India. In northwest India where Uttarakhand
lies, this amount has increased by 22.4 percent. The data also shows a decrease in rainfall in July and
August. The northwest region receives 6.7 percent less rain than before in these two months. In
terms of temperature, In January-February, the maximum temperature recorded was 24.82 degree
Celsius in the year 2000. It increased to 24.9 degree Celsius in the year 2014 recording a growth of
0.8 Celsius. During the period March-May, the maximum temperature recorded was 32.22 degree
Celsius in the year 2000. It decreased to 31.82 degree Celsius.
During the period June- September, the maximum temperature recorded was 31.25 degree Celsius in
the year 2000. It increased to 32 degree Celsius in the year 2014 recording a growth of 0.75 degree
Celsius. During the period October December, the maximum temperature recorded was 28.53
degree Celsius in the year 2000. It decreased to 27.81 degree Celsius in the year 2014 recording a
decline of -0.72 degree Celsius.
Climate change has made monsoons unpredictable. As a result, rain-fed wheat cultivation in India
suffers in a big way. Total cereal production has gone down. The crop yield per hectare is hit badly,
causing food insecurity and loss of livelihood.
The rising levels of the sea in the coastal areas (The peninsular region) have damaged nursery areas
for fisheries, causing coastal erosion and flooding. It is estimated that a rise of 0.5-degree Celsius in
winter temperatures could cause a 0.45 tonne per hectare fall in India's wheat production. The
average per hectare production in India is 2.6 tonnes.
There is huge coastal erosion due to a rise in sea levels of about 40 cm resulting from the faster
melting of glaciers in the Himalayan and Hindukush ranges. The implications of a changing climate
are particularly severe for India. In 2016, the country reported the highest number of deaths due to
extreme weather (2,119 fatalities) and suffered losses of more than INR 1.4 trillion (USD 21 billion)
 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES 5

in property damage. This is almost 1% of Indias GDP of USD 2.5 trillion, and almost equivalent to the
countrys budget. The implications of a changing climate are particularly severe for India. In 2016,
the country reported the highest number of deaths due to extreme weather (2,119 fatalities) and
suffered losses of more than INR 1.4 trillion (USD 21 billion) in property damage. This is almost 1%
of Indias GDP of USD 2.5 trillion, and almost equivalent to the countrys whole health budget
The rapidly changing climate and the challenges arising have always had its implications on the
planet, be it drought, floods, sea-level rise, changes in land-cover and biochemistry or the recently erupted
smog which has made its way from New York, London and Los Angeles in 19th and mid 20th century to Delhi in
2017. All these are the natural hazards causing great sequel effects on the mankind and are a consequence of
the continuously changing and deteriorating climate due to various activities.

When the precipitation of an area or region falls below the average value of 1.75 inches due to
various activities such as deforestation, reduction in levels of water etc, it causes a dry season having
a serious impact on the agriculture, local economy and the ecosystem as a whole ranging for a time
duration of a few months to decades. Approximately 30% of the population of the world was affected
by droughts in 2000s out of which 15% of it comprises of the Indian population only involving
around 130 million people of India. The drought condition will increase exponentially by 2030s as
forecasted by the U.S. National Centre for the Atmospheric Research if major control precautions are
not taken.
Similar is the case for floods, sea-level rise, changes in land-cover and biochemistry. The floods have
always taken a toll of huge number of lives and are caused due to greenhouse effect which in turn
causes the melting of glaciers thereby causing a rise in the sea-level. Considering the year of 2000
more than 30million people were affected by floods in India and North-Eastern India only let apart
the population of the world which rose to 45 million people of the said region in 2017.
Talking about smog, the recently seen air condition in Delhi had similar health effects as would
smoking 44 cigarettes in a day have had. The Air Pollution Index has peaked to both PM 2.5 and PM
10 levels. This scenario is a cause of Alzheimer risk, premature deaths, cancer, respiratory diseases
and various other health hazards.

Challenges faced

Carbon Sinks, Forests and Climate Change

It is a well-known fact that approximately 80% of the forests around the world have been cleared,
fragmented, or otherwise degraded.
The forests and oceans act as regulators of the carbon-dioxide (a green house gas) content in the
atmosphere. If the forests are increasingly being cut down, gradually there will be nothing left to
soak up the increasing content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere Also forests provide a natural
barrier to disasters such as over-flowing rivers. Thereby reducing the chances of flooding.
There have been many instances of massive forest fires in the past due to climate change and global
warming. Such instances cause an enormous pollution and breathing-related illnesses. Also, such
ecological disasters have lead to starvation and death.
6 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES

Biodiversity
A rapid climate change is affecting the ability of the species to
adapt to the changes and leading in a loss of life and extinction of
many species. This biodiversity loss directly impacts humans as it
leads to a major change in the food chain.
Warming temperature, more frequent extreme weather events and
changing patterns of rainfall and drought have a significant impact
on the biodiversity.
For example, in the Arctic Ocean, the thickness of the ice is
reducing, because of which the sunlight reaches more the species
in that area. The major implication of this is the loss of life as the
animals there are not able to adapt to such warm temperatures.

Oceans and Coral Reefs

Most of the Global Warming goes into the oceans because
of which a lot of ecosystem changes are occurring. As the
green house gas concentrations are rapidly rising, they are
driving the ocean system towards associated risks of
fundamental and irreversible ecological transformations
such as death, extinction and habitat loss.
Also, the changes in the chemistry of the oceans disrupt the
ability of the plants and animals in the sea to make shells
and skeletons thereby threatening their existence.

Coral Reefs are equivalent to undersea rain-forest trees.

Coral reefs serve as a vital input of food into the tropical marine food chain. They also assist in
recycling the nutrients too. They provide a home and shelter to over two million marine species. But
the coral reefs are dying around the world due to climate change conditions. This poses a serious
threat to many marine species around the world.

Population Growth
With the increasing population of world, especially Indian and China, along with the economic
growth, the demand for energy and materials is increasing. This has resulted in outstripping of
resources. This has resulted in greenhouse gases to accumulate in the atmosphere and be persistent
throughout. The per-capita emission of such gases is on a rise. This rise in the greenhouse gas in the
atmosphere is a major reason for the climate change conditions. If this course in followed, a global
disaster is not far behind.
 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES 7

Global Dimming
The production of fossil fuels as well as greenhouse gases creates other by products. These by-
products such as Sulphur dioxide, soot and ash also contribute to pollution. These pollutants change
the properties of cloud and atmosphere. Therefore, polluted clouds are formed. This makes the cloud
more reflective. More of suns heat and energy is reflected back into the space and doesnt reach the
earth. The reduction of heat reaching the earth is known as Global Dimming.
Global Dimming leads to various human and
environmental problems such as smog,
respiratory problems and acid rain. The
impacts of global dimming itself, however, can
be devastating.

Strategies to curb the effect of

climate change

Economic studies have consistently shown

that cost of inaction on the climate change is
far higher than the cost of action (mitigating
the damages caused by climate change).
Following are several ways which may help mitigating the effects of climate change-
1. It is becoming increasingly difficult to control the
pollution level in the environment because of the clearing
and degrading of forests. Moreover, because of industrial
greed and mismanagement, forests are being sold at
throwaway prices to the pulp and the paper industry.
Therefore, first strategy would be to aid reforestation or
planting of new trees because forests are the natural
regulators of carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere.
2. Climate change has a direct impact on the water
resources in terms of its availability. To tackle this, one approach is development of Water
Smart Communities. Water Smart Communities facilitates the constructing conservation
ponds, irrigation ponds, and drinking water reservoirs that collect rainwater in the wet
season to be used in the dry season.
3. Implementing a carbon tax and let
polluters pay. Carbon taxes will make polluting
activities more expensive and thereby
discouraging them. This will also make green
solutions more affordable allowing energy
efficient businesses and households to save
money. Carbon tax is also known as carbon
pricing systems.
8 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES

4. In the developing countries, cities are growing fast. There will be more infrastructure built in
next 20 years than in past 6000 years. The aim is to build low-carbon, resilient cities with
careful planning of transportation and land use, and the establishment of energy efficiency
standards. This will help in the development of poor and reduce damaging air pollution.

5. Support and choose those utility companies that generates at least half of their power from
renewable sources (solar and wind) and has been certified Green-e Energy. This will support
these companies to continue using the cleaner source of energy and also encourage other
companies to vet renewable energy options.

6. Investing in energy-efficient appliances. Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost way to reduce

the emissions. Therefore, when shopping for refrigerators, washing machines and other
appliances, one must look for efficiency star label. Efficiency star labels tell you which one is
more efficient.

Paris Agreement
Under the Paris agreement, nearly every country submitted a voluntary pledge for constraining its
emissions. Recently, Trumps administration vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris
agreement by 2020. Everyone at the recent Bonn conference in Germany acknowledged that the
worlds nations are still failing to prevent drastic global warming in the decades ahead. We need
more action, more ambition, and we need it now, said Patricia Espinosa, the United Nations climate
chief. Negotiators sought this year to write a rule book that will govern this process, laying out
guidelines for how emissions from each country should be measured or how financial aid from rich
countries to poor ones should be tracked. Most of the hard decisions about what this rule book
should look like were put off until next year.
However, the biggest unknown is whether this whole process will translate into meaningful further
action to cut emissions or not.
 EMERGING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES 9

Summary

Climate change is one of the most serious environmental threats the world is facing today. Global
temperature increase is likely to trigger serious consequences for humanity and other life forms.
There are now serious evidences that climate change is happening and man-made emissions are the
cause. Through this report we have seen the effects that climate change might have on a global,
national, local and personal level. Immediate environmental effects would include more extreme
weather (floods, storms, cyclones, droughts and landslips) and impacts on ecosystems (cropping,
biodiversity, pests and diseases). It is the responsibility of all of us now, before its too late.

References
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/climate/un-bonn-climate-
talks.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&regio
n=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront
Report Links-
https://www.unocha.org/sites/unocha/files/Climate%20Change%20and%20Humanitarian%20Action%202
009_0.pdf

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/178/climate-change-and-global-warming

https://file.scirp.org/pdf/JEP20110900013_29684149.pdf

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/3/06-039503/en/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-drought/drought-could-hit-worlds-populous-areas-study-
idUSTRE69I3MD20101019
https://reliefweb.int/report/india/unicef-report-drought-and-floods-india
https://reliefweb.int/report/india/india-floods-appeal-no-192000-final-report
http://aqicn.org/map/india/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smog