Top 5 questions about climate change greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations.

1. Why is climate change happening and is it not too late to fix? But much deeper cuts in CO2 emissions are necessary in order to
Climate change is probably the biggest challenge the world is facing, keep global warming below the danger threshold of 2°C.
but it’s not too late to fix it.
3. If climate change is unavoidable, could we not adapt to it?
First of all, it is important to clarify that climate change is happening WWF’s main priority is mitigating climate change.
because of human interference. This fact that has been confirmed
by the Nobel Peace Price-winning Intergovernmental Panel on And we are optimistic that if we manage to achieve deep cuts in
Climate Change (IPCC). CO2emissions to keep global warming below 2°C, we might also be
able to keep the impacts of climate change within tolerable limits.
If you don't believe us, take a look at this and see if we can convince
you. However, climate change is already happening and affecting people
and nature all over the world. Extreme weather events, rainstorms
Each year we release almost 30 billion tons of CO2 into the and heat waves are affecting biodiversity and threatening precious
atmosphere, mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels like coal, oil ecosystems, thus putting decades of hard work and massive
and natural gas. investments in nature conservation and sustainable development at
risk.
The main sectors responsible for fossil fuel consumption and climate
polluting CO2 emissions are: The poor usually suffer most because they often live in heavily
 energy generation exposed regions, have limited ways to protect their livelihoods and
 transport face brutal challenges in the wake of natural disasters.
 industry
This is why, apart from mitigation to prevent things from getting
 households
worse, WWF also promotes adaptation and resilience.
This means that we need political action to make changes happen.
One of the most important steps is a global agreement once the
From tropical forests to arctic glaciers and coral reefs, WWF focuses
current Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
on understanding climate change impacts and developing solutions
and strategies to build resistance and resilience in highly exposed
We need to ask our leaders to agree on a more ambitious post-
ecosystems and communities.
Kyoto regime, with CO2 emission reduction targets in the order of
80% by the middle of the century.
Building resistance and resilience are management tools to help
limit pollution, prevent habitat loss or invasive species, and establish
But this does not only rely on politics and leaders, there's also a
protected areas.
lot we can do to fight climate change on our daily lives.
But, again, only swift action to reduce CO2 emissions will bring about
2. Sure, but how serious do governments really take the Kyoto
a long-term solution to the problems caused by climate change.
Protocol and how will any new agreement help stop climate
change?
4. How can carbon offsets meaningfully contribute to solve climate
First, we need to go back in history a little bit. In 1992 the United
change?
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was
Offsetting emissions is only the second option. The best is always to
established and, to date, 189 countries have ratified it, giving it legal
avoid emissions altogether.
force at the national level. A couple of years later, in 1997, the
convetion led to the creation of the Kyoto Protocol.
Offsetting through financing clean energy projects has become
popular and gaining support from small and large emitting
The famous protocol is the main mechanism by which the UNFCCC
companies. A company avoids net carbon emissions through five
plans to reach its aim to: stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in
important steps:
the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
1. Assess current emissions (from production, heating, lighting or
travel.
In plain English, this means that the Kyoto Protocol tries to minimize
2. Avoid CO2 emissions by identifying all carbon-intensive activities
the human impact on climate change. The protocol entered into
which are not necessary (e.g. replace some business travel by
force in 2005 as the only mandatory and legally binding global treaty
video conferencing).
for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Improve energy-saving measures and ensure the efficient use of
energy to stop the energy waste (e.g. replace inefficient office
A few countries have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. These
appliances).
countries, such as the United States, demand more effective
4. Offset unavoidable emissions through investment in clean
mechanisms, but fail to present an environmentally effective and
energy projects that are certified with the Gold Standard,
economically feasible alternative.
initiated and supported by WWF.
5. Review the strategy annually to avoid more emissions and
Governments of developed countries that have ratified the protocol
become more efficient every year, and decrease the amount of
are referred to as Annex I countries. These countries have agreed to
CO2emissions that need to be offset step by step. The target
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by a collective average of 5%
should be to reduce offset to zero over time.
below their 1990 levels.

Developing countries, known as Non-Annex I countries, have no

 5. What else can realistically be done by WWF, companies,
communities and you?
We can all help in different ways to tackle this global problem. Here
you'll find some ideas on what you can do to help.
As an organizaion, WWF works to keep global warming well below
2°C. This is the danger threshold beyond which climate change is
predicted to become uncontrollable.
WWF offers Climate Solutions, an energy vision for 2050 that shows
how we can meet a global demand for energy while achieving the
necessary drop of about 80% in global CO2 emissions to stay below
2°C.
The Climate Solutions report identifies six key solutions to the
challenge of meeting global energy demand without damaging the
global climate:
 Improving energy efficiency
 Stopping forest loss
 Accelerating the development of low-emissions technologies
 Developing flexible fuels
 Replacing high-carbon coal with low-carbon gas
 Equipping fossil fuel plants with carbon capture and storage
technology
The impacts of global warming
It's nearly impossible to overstate the threat of climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions are rising more rapidly than predicted
and the world is warming more quickly in response.
Global warming will have catastrophic effects such as accelerating
sea level rise, droughts, floods, storms and heat waves. These will
impact some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people,
disrupting food production, and threatening vitally important
species, habitats and ecosystems.
Despite compelling scientific evidence, governments and businesses
have responded with painful slowness. Even if countries fulfill all
current mitigation pledges, the world will still face between 2.6 and
4 ºC of warming.
As we work to reduce emissions, we must simultaneously begin to
adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change.
WWF's vision
WWF's goal is for the world to develop an equitable low carbon
economy by 2050, which is resilient to that level of climate change
which is unavoidable. All efforts should be undertaken to keep
warming of global average temperature below 1.5°C (compared to
1850).
WWF works on low carbon development and climate policy, clean
andsmart energy, forests and climate, climate finance, and climate
business engagement.
Our work to achieve a "climate-safe" future includes:
 Advocating a new international climate agreement – one that is
just and legally binding
 Promoting energy efficiency – the most rapid and cost-effective way
to reduce CO2 emissions
 Promoting renewable energy sources – like wind, solar, and
geothermal power
 Preventing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation –
currently responsible for 20% of all emissions
 Developing and promoting climate change adaptation strategies–
to safeguard the most vulnerable people and the most exposed
ecosystems.
When you change the climate you change everything
The climate plays such a major part in our planet's environmental
system that even minor changes have impacts that are large and
complex.
Climate change affects people and nature in countless ways, and it
often increases existing threats that have already put pressure on
the environment.
But it is not a problem which has appeared overnight – it's 30 years
since scientists first alerted the world to the dangers of climate
change. How much longer are we going to allow it to continue?
The change in nature has serious implications for people and our
economic system. The insurance industry puts potential economic
damage caused by global warming impacts at hundreds of billions of
dollars each year.
Climate change impacts on water
Rivers and lakes supply drinking water for people and animals, as
well as being vital for agriculture and industry. Oceans and seas
provide food for billions of people.
Climate change will have major and unpredictable effects on the
world's water systems, including more floods and droughts.
Extremes of drought and flooding will become more common,
causing displacement and conflict and less fresh water means less
agriculture, food and income.
Climate change impacts on forests
Forests do so much: they purify our air, improve water quality, keep
soils intact, provide us with food, wood products and medicines, and
are home to many of the world’s most endangered wildlife.
In fact, an estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide rely on forests for
their livelihoods, including 60 million indigenous people who depend
on forests for their subsistence.
Forests also help protect the planet from climate change by
absorbing massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), a major source
of pollution that causes climate change.
Unfortunately, forests are being destroyed or damaged at an
alarming rate by logging and burning to clear land for agriculture or
livestock. These activities release huge amounts of carbon dioxide
and other harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Scientists estimate up to 20 percent of global carbon emissions
come from deforestation – greater than emissions from every car,
truck and plane on the planet combined. So instead of forests
helping us to solve the climate crisis, deforestation is making the
situation even worse.
Climate change impacts on food security
Climate change will have a significant impact on food availability,
food accessibility, food utilization and food systems stability in many
parts of the world. Climate change poses a significant risk of
increased crop failure, loss of livestock and impact on local food
security.
In some areas drier and warmer conditions are predicted, elsewhere
wetter conditions are expected and will affect agriculture practices.
It will affect human health and livelihoods, as well as people’s
purchasing power, food markets and food security on a household
level.
Climate change impacts on agriculture
Many people throught the world rely on rain-fed agriculture. As a
result, it is highly vulnerable to changes in climate variability,
seasonal shifts, and precipitation patterns. Any amount of
warming will result in increased water stress. Roughly 70 percent of
the population lives by farming, and 40 percent of all exports are
agricultural products (WRI 1996). One-third of the income in Africa is
generated by agriculture. Crop production and livestock husbandry
account for about half of household income. The poorest members
of society are those who are most dependent on agriculture for jobs
and income. (Odingo 1990; FAO 1999).
What causes climate change?
Earth is a very special planet – it is close enough to the sun to
receive a lot of energy, but far enough not to be scorched.
It is in what you might call the "goldilocks zone", where the
conditions are just right for life as we know it.
To help keep these conditions just right, our planet is wrapped in a
layer of greenhouse gases.
This layer keeps the globe warm like a blanket, shielding it from the
cold universe – commonly referred to as the greenhouse effect.
While not being the most potent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide
(CO2) is the main driver for the greenhouse effect.
And this is where we have a problem.
The cause of climate change is the unlimited burning of fossil fuels
- coal, oil and natural gas - releasing CO2 in the atmosphere at an
ever increasing rate.
Because of this the layer of greenhouse gas gets thicker, which in
turn makes the Earth warmer.
The reason we do this is to satisfy our hunger for energy. But thanks
to human ingenuity there are now smarter ways to make energy.
Culprit coal
The biggest climate polluter is the global power sector, and it
generates around 40% of all global electricity from coal. We need
electricity - but when you take into account the true cost of coal
there are much better ways to get it!
According to the International Energy Agency the power sector is
responsible for 37% of all man-made Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
emissions. It creates about 23 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per
year – in excess of 700 tonnes a second.
In turn, this CO2 continues to heat up our planet and pose an
unprecedented threat to us and the environment. Read more here
on the impacts of climate change.
Generating electricity through the burning of fossil fuels, in
particular carbon-heavy coal, has a greater impact on the
atmosphere than any other single human activity.
Coal is the world's most widely available fossil fuel
Weaning humanity off coal will not be easy. There is an estimated 2
billion people with no access to domestic electricity, and recoverable
reserves of coal exist in about 70 countries, according to the World
Coal Institute, an industry lobby group (the largest are in the United
States, Russia and China). It is considered a cheap form of energy.
But coal is not cheap - if you have to pay for it all
The true cost of coal cannot be found on any balance sheet, but in
the lives and health of people and ecosystems. If the global power
sector could be made fully accountable for the true costs of
pollution and climate change, it would probably turn away from
fossil fuel overnight.
Too many governments still subsidize coal production and this
distorts the energy market. OECD countries support their coal
industry with a whopping $30 billion USD annually.
Much cleaner renewable energies are hampered in their ability to
compete with a dirty fuel that is subsidized. Politicians have the
power to remove fossil-fuel subsidies or, better still, transfer them
to renewable energy.
When the true cost is taken into account, renewable energy begins
to look by far the best option for a healthy and sustainable future.
Top 5 questions about forests
1. What is deforestation?
Deforestation is the "action or process of clearing of forests"
(Merriam-Webster). In other words, it is a general term that refers
to the destruction of our forests.

2. So how much of a problem is deforestation?
Well, here are some interesting facts and figures:
 we have already lost nearly 50% of the world's original forests
 each year, we lose 13 million hectares of forests, the equivalent of
36 football fields per minute
 deforestation is the source of 15-20% of global carbon emissions
 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates
that at least 1/3 of the world’s remaining forests may be affected by
climate change
3. What are the main causes for the destruction of our forests?
Forests around the globe are being destroyed mainly by:
 clearing of land for agriculture and other land use
 illegal logging
 forest fires
 climate change
The World Bank estimates that governments lose US$5 billion a year
in tax revenue from illegal logging. This is money that could be used
for economic and social development, such as building schools and
hospitals.
Taking so many trees out of the forest contributes to climate
change. That, in turn, causes extreme weather patterns such as
drought and frequent fires that destroy forests.
So you see, this is a cycle of destruction that is damaging beautiful
places where many endangered species live.
Forests are also home to some of the most culturally rich indigenous
communities in the world, whose livelihood depends on the
sustainability of the environment around them.
4. That's a lot of problems, but can we do something to stop the
destruction?
Of course!
We still have a lot to save and a lot do, but we must start now.
One of the first things you can do to help protect our forests is to
use your power as a consumer. Simple actions such as choosing FSC-
certifiedwood products and saving paper is already a great start.
5. What is WWF doing to address these threats?
Besides relying on the support of people like you, WWF is also
working with governements, business and industry in a joint effort
to protect our forests.
To date, WWF has helped establish nearly 80 million hectares of
forestprotected areas.
And through projects such as the Global Forest and Trade Network
(GFTN), we are helping to bring together over 300 companies that
sell more than US$44.6 billion worth of responsible forestry
products per year and employ over 1.3 million people.
Top 5 questions about oceans, seas & coasts
1. Oceans are so big and vast, can they really be threatened by
human action?
True, we once considered our oceans inexhaustible. But there was
also a time when people thought you could sail the seas and fall off
the edges of the world.
The truth today is that we cannot fall off the edges of our planet, but
our oceans are in a state of global crisis.
And the main cause for this is ... guess what? Humans and our
destructive fishing techniques, or more simply put, a result
of overfishing.
Today's industrialized fishing practices exceed nature's ability to
replenish the ocean's fish stocks. As a result, more than 70% of the
world’s commercial marine fish stocks are either fully exploited,
overfished or recovering from overfishing.
Scientists have recently discovered that 90% of the big predatory
fish are already lost – species like bluefin tuna, swordfish and sharks
all stripped from our oceans by industrialized fishing.
This is the single biggest threat to our marine waters. Unless the
current situation improves, scientists predict that stocks of all
species currently fished for food will collapse by 2048.
2. But overfishing is just about fish. Isn't it going too far to say that
it is "devastating our oceans"?
Well, not really.
The problem is not at all just about the fish that we eat, but how it
was caught.
Some of the worst fishing techniques threaten not only the fish we
target for food. Other species – such as marine mammals and
seabirds – are caught incidentally in fishing gear and then discarded
overboard dead or dying.
This ruthless process of "non-target species" is called bycatch and
occurs wherever there is fishing.
Here are some facts and figures about it:
 over 300,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises die from
entanglement in fishing nets each year
 more then 250,000 endangered loggerhead turtles and critically
endangered leatherback turtles drown annually on longlines set for
tuna, swordfish and other fish
 around 40 tonnes of cold-water corals are destroyed by fishing boats
every year
 100 million sharks are caught in hooks
 as much as 150,000 tonnes of invertebrates are discarded annually
in North Sea fisheries alone
3. How about if we eat only farmed fish? Is that a better option?
Farmed fish, or aquaculture, has the potential to provide food
security, revenue and an alternative food source to that derived
from wild caught fish. But we have to be extremely cautious with
this option.
Why? Well, fish farming can cause other undesirable side effects to
the environment and be economically unsustainable.
The main concerns about the impacts of farmed fish are:
 intrusion of fish farms into vulnerable marine and coastal areas
 increased pressure on species exploited on wild caught species used
as fish feed
 diseases which can infect wild stocks
 interbreeding of escaped fish with wild stock
So, before any aquaculture development takes place, we have to be
extremely careful!
4. Are you saying that fishing should be stopped? Won't fishermen
lose their jobs?
We are not at all saying that we should stop fishing altogether. By no
means!
But we must have better practices and management of how we fish.
In fact, fishermen and coastal communities are the first to feel the
impacts of depleting fish stock.
Newfoundland in Canada provides a sobering example of what
happens to communities when fish populations are fished to
commercial extinction.
For centuries cod stocks of the Grand Banks seemed inexhaustible.
In the early 1990s, 110,000 people were employed in the fishing and
fish processing industry. But in 1992, the cod fishery collapsed and
some 40,000 people lost their jobs overnight, including 10,000
fishermen.
More than 10 years later, the cod have still not recovered. And the
latest science indicates that the ecosystem has now substantially
changed, meaning that the cod may never make a comeback.
Similarly, in Senegal fishermen no longer catch prized barracudas
and red carp. Instead they must go after smaller and less appetizing
kobos (a small coastal pelagic fish) because most of the time there is
nothing else.
This means that the jobs and livelihoods of thousands and
thousands of people around the world depend on the maintenance
of fish stocks worldwide.
5. Is there something we can do to help solve this probem? Or is it
too late?
The good news is that, yes, there's still a lot we can do if we start to
act now!
WWF's marine conservation work focuses on finding solutions to:
 make fishing sustainable
 improve marine habitats
 mitigate effects of climate change
 promote sustainable use of marine areas
 promote sustainable seafood choices
Helping marine life is also one of the challenges where our power as
a consumer and our every day choices can make the greatest
impact!
Top 5 questions about species
1. Why should I be concerned about the extinction of species? Is it
not all part of a natural process?
Our planet is in a state of constant change in which species evolve;
some disappear.
But this process is something that happens over hundreds of
thousands and even millions of years.
The current speed at which species are disappearing, however, is
directly connected to the way we are over-exploiting our planet. This
is leading to what scientists call: the 6th wave of extinction.
The rapid loss of species that we are witnessing today is estimated
by some experts to be between 100 and 1,000 times higher than the
expected natural extinction rate!
And this is even a conservative estimate. Some studies estimate
current extinction rates as 1,000–11,000 times higher than what
would happen naturally.
Unlike mass extinction events, which involve major geological
events, the current extinction phenomenon is caused by a single
species: humans.
2. But why and how are we causing species to decline so fast?
The greatest threats to species and the places where they live are:
 habitat loss
 human-animal conflict
 unsustainable trade
 climate change
 bycatch
 invasive species
 pollution
Some species are impacted by only one of these factors, while
others are hit by a combination of them.
3. What species are most endangered?
We get asked this a lot. And we sometimes answer: the one that just
went extinct while you were reading this text.
And we say this because species conservation is not just about
saving a single individual species. It is about thinking about the
broader context.
For example, when we seek your help to save marine turtles, we
need to:
 secure the beaches where they lay eggs
 protect the oceans where they feed
 guarantee the livelihood of people who depend on them
All of WWF's work on species focus on the "bigger picture" - their
habitat, local communities, populations and reducing threats.
Everything in nature is connected and so are the solutions to
environmental problems.
4. Is there any good news about species?
In fact, yes! WWF's field experience has proven that many species
can rebound if provided adequate protection and habitat.
Some major success examples are:
 Pandas in China
 African rhinos
We can also list tigers in the Russian Far East, the bald eagle in North
America and many others.
Some whale populations, such as the blue whale, nearly hunted to
extinction at the turn of the 20th century, are slowly rebounding
after the global hunting ban in 1986.

5. How can I help save species?
The examples above demonstrate how we can work together to find
alternative and more sustainable ways of living.
This is how WWF works and we believe that a global effort where
everyone has a role to play is the best approach on how we can
protect and recover species and their habitats.
There is a lot you can do even without leaving your home.
Top 5 questions about water
1. How bad is the global water crisis?
 1.1 billion people lack access to water and 2.6 billion lack adequate
sanitation; most of these populations are in developing countries
 Over 50% of the world’s wetlands have been lost in the last century
alone
 Most of the world’s largest rivers are losing their connection to the
sea and nearly a quarter of those left risk being disconnected in the
next 15 years
 Only one-third of the world’s 177 large rivers (1,000km and longer)
remain free-flowing, unimpeded by dams or other barriers
 There has been more than a 50% decline in freshwater species
populations over the last 30 years, making species loss in freshwater
ecosystems faster than any other biome
2. Where is the water crisis the most serious?
Most developing countries face serious problems. In Africa, almost
half of the population suffers from one of the six major water-
related diseases, such as diarrhoea, which kills millions of children
worldwide millions every year.
But many developed nations such as Spain and Australia are also
having water problems due to pollution, overuse or
mismanagement.
3. What are some of the major factors contributing to the water
crisis?
Unchecked dam building and excessive irrigation are among the
main reasons. On average, agriculture uses up to 70% of all water
diverted from river basins.
Dams have already fragmented 60% of major rivers worldwide and
displaced up to 80 million people.
Hundreds of dams are under construction worldwide and even more
are being planned.
4. Ok, this is a lot of bad news, but is there anything we can do
to fix the problem?
Yes, there's still a lot we can do. If we work hard to conserve our
wetlands and rivers - the source of our drinking water - there's hope
for a brighter future.
Important actions include:
 saving water currently wasted in irrigation
 fixing leaking pipes
 improving existing infrastructure
 stopping the construction of massive dams
Another important step is to work with local communities to help
them value and defend their water resources by:
 establishing river basin committees to manage shared resources
where rivers cross borders
 channelling aid to the countries in greatest need
5. What is WWF doing?
In the last eight years, WWF has helped conserve up to 92 million
hectares of wetlands critical to water, food and aquatic life
throughout the world.
WWF is pioneering integrated river basin management (IRBM) or
conserving nature “from source to sea.” along the Yangtze and
Danube rivers. This means taking the whole river basin into account
and involving stakeholders from countries who share a river basin.
WWF brings together local and national government officials to
suport river management groups, such as the Lake Chad River Basin
Commission for the benefit of five African countries.
WWF assists local and indigenous communities in building their
capacity to establish watershed management projects. In South
Africa, for example, the Working for Wetlands programme employs
thousands of people to rehabilitate the country's remaining
wetlands.
Other water-saving projects are being developed to improve the
way we grow cotton, sugar and rice - three of the world’s thirstiest
crops. For more information, visit our freshwater section.
Climate change is happening
Our Earth is warming. Earth's average temperature has risen by
1.4°F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 2 to
11.5°F over the next hundred years. Small changes in the average
temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially
dangerous shifts in climate and weather.
The evidence is clear. Rising global temperatures have been
accompanied by changes in weather and climate. Many places have
seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, droughts, or
intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. The
planet's oceans and glaciers have also experienced some big
changes - oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, ice caps
are melting, and sea levels are rising. As these and other changes
become more pronounced in the coming decades, they will likely
present challenges to our society and our environment.
We can make a difference
You can take action. You can take steps at home, on the road, and in
your office to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the risks
associated with climate change. Many of these steps can save you
money; some, such as walking or biking to work can even improve
your health! You can also get involved on a local or state level to
support energy efficiency, clean energy programs, or other climate
programs.
What is a carbon footprint?

Your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide that enters

the atmosphere because of the electricity and fuel you use. It's
measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Your carbon footprint mostly depends on:

how much energy you use to heat your home

the electronics and appliances you use

what kind of transport you use day-to-day

how often you fly.

How to reduce your carbon footprint

You'll find throughout this site many ways to reduce your carbon
footprint. You might do things like:

insulating your home

buying energy-efficient appliances

switching off electronics at the wall

walking, cycling or using public transport

holidaying closer to home.

The UK aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent

below 1990 levels by 2050. To help make that happen, we should all
aim to achieve a low carbon footprint.