sowing the seeds of change

A N E N V I R O N M E N TA L T E A C H I N G PA C K F O R T H E H O S P I TA L I T Y I N D U S T R Y

SOWING THE SEEDS OF CHANGE

AN ENVIRONMENTAL TEACHING PACK FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Paris, 2001

Copyright 2001 EUHOFA, IH&RA, UNEP ISBN 92 - 807 2062 - 7 All rights reserved. This document may be freely reviewed and quoted provided the source is acknowledge. The IH&RA would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. Apart from quotes, the publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form without special permission from the copyright holders. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from EUHOFA, IH&RA and UNEP. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of EUHOFA, the IH&RA or UNEP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Moreover, the views expressed do not necessarily represent the decision or the stated policy of EUHOFA, IH&RA or UNEP, nor does citing of trade names or commercial processes constitute endorsement.

Printed on paper which is made from Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) pulp Novatech, Collection Club is Certied ISO 9002 and AFAQ. Collection Club is a member of Contrat Vert, for the protection of forests, and Contrat Bleu, for the preservation of water.

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Foreword
It is with great pleasure that we present Sowing the Seeds of Change An Environmental Teaching Pack for the Hospitality Industry. This is a joint initiative of the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), the United Nations Environment Programme, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP DTIE) and the International Association of Hotel Schools (EUHOFA International). The IH&RA and UNEP have an ongoing partnership to promote environmental awareness and good practice in the hospitality industry. A survey conducted by the two organisations identied a lack of information, expertise and practical teaching tools as the major concern when introducing environmental issues into the hospitality curricula. EUHOFA International endorsed these ndings. This Environmental Teaching Pack is designed to ll this gap. Both comprehensive and user-friendly, it includes detailed information for teachers and trainers, exercises and case studies for practical demonstration purposes, and identies industry best practice. It is intended to help hospitality education centers develop and expand their environmental curricula, thereby introducing environmental issues into the education and training agendas of tomorrows hospitality and tourism professionals. Hospitality professionals wishing to develop in-house training programmes to support environmental initiatives in their hotels will nd this pack an invaluable resource. The IH&RA, UNEP DTIE and EUHOFA would like to thank all those people and organisations without whose support the publication of this manual would not have been possible.

John J. Bowen, President, EUHOFA Ejnar Sder, President, IH&RA Jacqueline Aloisi de Lardarel, Director, UNEP DTIE

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About the Partners

The United Nations Environment Programme
The mission of the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics is to help decision-makers in government, local authorities, and industry develop and adopt policies and practices that:
are cleaner and safer; make efcient use of natural resources; ensure adequate management of chemicals; incorporate environmental costs; reduce pollution and risks for humans and the environment.
UNEP, DTIE 39-43 quai Andr Citron 75739 Paris Cedex 15 France Tel 33 1 44 37 14 50 Fax 33 1 44 37 14 74 E-mail unep.tie@unep.fr Web www.uneptie.org

UNEP TIE activities focus on raising awareness, improving the transfer of information, building capacity, fostering technology cooperation, partnerships and transfer, improving understanding of environmental impacts of trade issues, promoting integration of environmental considerations into economic policies, and catalysing global chemical safety.

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is a global network representing over 750,000 hospitality operators, associations and suppliers in more than 150 countries. Its mission is to protect, promote and inform the hospitality industry, which it estimates to comprise over 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants world-wide, employ 60 million people and contribute US$950 billion to the global economy. Previous joint environmental initiatives include:
Publication of the Environmental Action Pack for Hotels (1995, updated 1998), jointly produced with the International Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI) and UNEP DTIE, - a practical, step-by-step guide to setting up an environmental programme in a hotel. Launch of the IH&RAs annual Environmental Award in 1990 to promote environmental awareness among hotels, to recognise the efforts being made to green the industry from within, and to identify industry best practice. The award is judged by UNEP DTIE and IHEI, and sponsored by American Express. Joint publication of Environmental Good Practice in Hotels (1996) by the IH&RA and UNEP a compilation of case studies of environmental good practice based on the entries of the IH&RA Environmental Award.
IH&RA 251 rue du Faubourg St-Martin 75010 Paris France Tel 33 (0) 1 44 89 94 00 Fax 33 (0) 1 40 36 73 30 Email infos@ih-ra.com Web www.ih-ra.com

The International Association of Hotel Schools (EUHOFA International)

Founded in 1955, the International Association of Hotel Schools (EUHOFA International) is a non-prot, worldwide association of more than 140 renowned hotel schools, colleges and universities from thirty countries of the ve continents. EUHOFA contributes to the exchange of ideas and experience in the eld of professional training and education in the hotel and tourism industries, as well as the constant improvement and progress of hospitality training. It undertakes appropriate action to promote and improve professional education, and maintains regular contact with organisations connected to the industry.
EUHOFA International Centrum De Veste Komvest 34 B-8000 Brugge Belgium Tel 32 50 33 52 19 Fax 32 50 33 90 79 Email secretary@euhofa.org Web www.euhofa.org

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About the Sponsors

Le Ministre de lAmnagement du Territoire et de lEnvironnement (French Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment)
The French Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environments mission is to evaluate the problems affecting our environment, to implement research projects and develop concerted action at both the national and international levels.

Fondation Nestl Pro Gastronomia

Nestl has been a leading food manufacturer and major purchaser of agricultural raw materials for over 130 years. Food and agriculture are an integral part of the social, cultural, economic and political context of every community. Today, Nestl is the worlds largest and most diversied food company, with nearly 500 factories around the globe, producing healthy, enjoyable food products for every stage of life. The Companys primary function is the transformation of perishable raw materials into nished products that meet consumers expectations for safety, quality, convenience and value. Nestl has always recognised the need to protect the environment in its business activities, a commitment embodied in The Nestl Policy on the Environment. Nestl carries out its global social responsibility, rstly, by taking a long term approach to strategic decision making which recognises the interests of its consumers, shareholders, business partners, and the worldwide economies in which it operates. Secondly, the Groups responsibilities and values are reected by the commitment of management and employees at all levels, to its Corporate Business Principles, which dene standards of behaviour for all companies in the Nestl Group, and are intended to complement applicable legislation and international recommendations. P. Brabeck-Letmathe, Chief Executive Ofcer, Nestl S.A.

Golden Tulip Hotels

Golden Tulip Hotels is a Dutch-owned international chain of hotels involved in the development, management and marketing of three, four and ve star hotels. The chains portfolio now contains over sixty-ve hotels, and more than 400 hotels in over 50 countries are associated with the licensing organisation, Golden Tulip Worldwide. Recently Golden Tulip Hotels merged with the Spanish company NH Hoteles to create a leading European urban business hotel group. Golden Tulip Hotels mission is to combine consistent international standards of quality with the individual character inherent in each hotel. Focusing on this refreshing approach, the chain treats its guests as individuals, all of whom are served by friendly, well-motivated and properly trained staff under the direction of highly-skilled management teams. The perception of hotel guests remains central to the companys philosophy, and is the starting point for every activity. And that is just one reason why Golden Tulip Hotels strongly supports the implementation of a sound environmental policy in hotels.

Hotel Nikko, Hong Kong

The 461-room, deluxe Hotel Nikko Hong Kong is situated on the beautiful Victoria Harbour waterfront on the Kowloon Peninsula. Hotel facilities include the Nikko oors with private lounge for VIPs, business centre, swimming pool, health club, shopping arcade, banquet rooms, seven restaurants, bars and lounges, serving international cuisine. Hotel Nikko was the corporate winner of the IH&RAs Environmental Award in 1995. Hotel Nikko, Hong Kong, was also instrumental in developing the Hong Kong Polytechnic Universitys Environmental Management Manual for Hotels in Hong Kong. This manual is a template for use by hotels in Hong Kong. It forms part of the output from the project Keeping Hong Kongs Hotel Industry Competitive Environmental Management Systems for Hotels, funded by the Services Support Fund administered by the Industry Department, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and supported by the Hong Kong Hotels Association. Copies of the CD-ROM format of this publication are included in the pack. The Coordinators would like to thank Hotel Nikko Hong Kong for this generous addition to the Teaching Pack.

The Orchid, Mumbai, India

The Orchid Hotel, the Kamat Groups eco-sensitive property, is the rst ve-star hotel in Asia to be accredited with ECOTEL certication from the worlds leading hospitality valuation organisation, HVS International. Designed from the outset with preservation of the environment in mind, the Orchid is committed to enhancing the guest experience while setting a new standard of corporate responsibility through the conservation of natural resources, education, motivation of staff and cultivation of community relationships. The Orchid was the corporate winner of the IH&RA Environmental Award in 1999.

PA Consulting Group, USA

PA Consulting Group is a leading management, systems and technology consulting rm, with a unique combination of capabilities. Established almost 60 years ago, and operating worldwide from over 40 ofces in more than 20 countries, PA draws on the knowledge and experience of some 3,700 people, whose skills span the initial generation of ideas and insights all the way through to detailed implementation. PAs tourism group is considered a global leader in environmental sustainability and through its in-house staff and extensive network of consultants, offers a wide range of sustainable tourism services to local and national governments, international development agencies and private companies. The groups sustainable tourism work spans the globe and involves creating public and private partnerships for successful execution and draws on their experience in environmental management programmes, environmental market analysis and policy and institutional development. PA has ongoing sustainable tourism projects in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacic.

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Bass Hotels & Resorts

Bass Hotels & Resorts is the most widely distributed hotel business in the world. It owns, manages and franchises more than 3,200 hotels in over 90 countries worldwide. The groups impressive portfolio of brands includes InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites, which offer a variety of services, amenities and lodging experiences catering to virtually every travel occasion and guest need.

Ecole de Savignac, France

Founded in 1988 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Prigueux, France, the Ecole de Savignac prepares its students for careers in the elds of hospitality and tourism. The programme runs for two years, after which graduates are awarded the prestigious Diploma of International Management Studies. The partners are especially grateful to the school for translating the pack into French.

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Acknowledgements
Project lead and co-ordinated by:
Hlne Genot, Senior Consultant, UNEP DTIE and Project Leader Nicola Pogson, Director of Programme Development, IH&RA Philippe Franois, Elected Board Member, Chairman of Recruitment & Membership Committee, EUHOFA International Giulia Carbone, Associate Programme Ofcer, UNEP DTIE The Coordinators are especially grateful to Kevin McMahon and David P. Ashen for their valuable input and guidance in all sections of the Teaching Pack.

Teaching Pack also reviewed by:

Ibrahim Birkam, General Manager, Club Alda, Turkey Ecole de Savignac, France, Post-Graduate Diploma in International Management Studies Karen Fletcher, Director, International Hotels Environmental Initiative (IHEI) Jean-Marie Leclercq, General Manager, Hotel Nikko Hong Kong Yohann Robert, Tourism and Environment Consultant, Franois-Tourisme-Consultants, France Wei Zhao, Programme Ofcer, UNEP DTIE The case studies were selected from applicants for the IH&RAs annual Green Hotelier and Restaurateur Environmental Award. We would like to thank all those who participated.

Primer developed and written by:

Oshani Perera, Consultant, UNEP DTIE

Text edited by:

Michael Woosnam-Mills, Freelance Writer, Translator and Journalist

Translated into French by:

Ecole de Savignac Special thanks to Yohann Robert, Tourism and Environment Consultant, Franois-Tourisme-Consultants, France

Funding partners: Support on case studies, exercises, editing and project co-ordination:
Michelle Fawcett, IH&RA, Special Project Coordinator Kirsti Hyvonen, UNEP DTIE, Special Project Coordinator Nicole van den Dool, IH&RA, Special Project Coordinator The project was made possible thanks to funding from the Ministre de lAmnagement du Territoire et de lEnvironnement (French Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment).

Additional nancial support was provided by:

Bass Hotels & Resorts Fondation Nestl Pro Gastronomia Golden Tulip International Hotel Nikko, Hong Kong The Orchid Hotel, India PA Consulting Group, USA

Members of the EUHOFA review group:

Philippe Franois, France, Coordinator of Pedagogical Content Mayo Abdala, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico, who also provided input on exercises and case studies David P Ashen, Plymouth College of Further Education, UK, who also provided input on exercises and case studies Sybil Hoffman, Alpine Center for Hotel & Tourism Management Studies, Greece Carlos Lima, Centro Escolar Turistico e Hoteleiro do Estoril, Portugal Kevin McMahon, Swiss Hotel Association International College of Hotel Management, Australia, who also provided input on exercises and case studies Herman Nijhuis, Deltion College, The Netherlands Marakai K. Sio, Utali College, Kenya, who also provided input on exercises and case studies Ian White, Swiss Hotel Association International College of Hotel Management, Australia

Design and layout:

Shelton Creative, Paris, France as@shelton-creative.com

Printed in France:
IPP, Nemours, France ipp@infonie.fr

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Table of Contents
USERS GUIDE 1

Unit 1: Where Do We Stand? The State of The Global Environment

UNIT OUTLINE Section 1: The State of The Environment: An Overview 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Global Warming and Climate Change The Depletion of the Ozone Layer Water Scarcities and Pollution Biodiversity Loss Land Degradation Acid Deposition Air Pollution 3 5 6 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 30 32 32 33 34

Section 2: Introducing Sustainable Development 2.1 2.2 2.3 Exercises Glossary Illustrations Gdp Per Capita Annual Average Growth of Per Capital Gdp (1975-95) Measures of Poverty Human Development Index Anthropogenic Sources of Greenhouse Gases Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Carbon Dioxide Emissions Per Capita Natural Disasters, 1993-97 Total and Per Capita Energy Consumption, 1995 Numbers of Motor Vehicles Global CFC Production Current Ozone Losses and UVB Increases Known and Estimated Total Numbers of Species Threatened Animal Species Calorie Intake Per Capita Change on Forest Extent, 1990-1995 Sources of Global Sulphur Emissions So2 Emissions from Fossil Fuel Burning Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Carbon Dioxide Emissions Per Capita Environmental Factors Affecting Health An Outline of Agenda 21 Broad Implications for Sustainable Development What Does Sustainable Development Mean for tourism and Hospitality?

5 5 6 6 7 7 7 9 9 10 13 13 19 19 22 23 24 25 27 27 29

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Unit 2: Tourism, Hospitality and the Environment Impacts and Solutions

UNIT OUTLINE Section 1: The Impacts of tourism and Hospitality on the Environment 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Impacts of Tourism on Air Impacts of Tourism on Land Impacts of Tourism on Water Other Related Issues 35 37 38 38 41 42 43 45 46 46 51

Section 2: An Introduction to the Social and Cultural Impacts of Tourism Section 3: Tourism and the Environment The Other Side of the Argument Section 4: The Need for Environmentally-sound Tourism 4.1 Exercises The Framework for Environmentally-sound Tourism

Unit 3: Environment Law, Voluntary Initiatives and Principles For Sustainable Development
UNIT OUTLINE Section 1: An Introduction to Environmental Law Section 2: Voluntary Initiatives and Partnerships Section 3: Principles for Sustainable Development Exercises Glossary Illustrations Iso Guidelines 60 55 57 59 64 67 68

Unit 4: Environment Management Systems

UNIT OUTLINE Section 1: An Introduction to Environment Management Systems 1.1 1.2 Section 2: What is an Environment Management System (EMS) The Origins of EMS Developing and Implementing EMS 69 71 71 71 73 73 89 94 123 123 124 126 129 129 131 134 136 138 142 145 146 148 150 150 150 150 152 154 155 164

EMS Stage 1: Assign Responsibility and Conduct Environment Status Review EMS Stage 2: Establish Environment Policy and Set Environment Objectives and Targets EMS Stage 3: Implementing the Environment Management Programme EMS Stage 4: Conducting The Ems Audit and Reporting on Environment Performance 4.1 4.2 Section 3: Section 4: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Section 5: 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Section 6: Exercises Glossary Illustrations Four Stages of EMS Estimates of Energy Intensity and Costs in the UK Energy Conversion Carbon Dioxide Estimates Sound Intensity Maximum Permissible Industrial Workday Noise Levels Environmentally-preferable Alternatives to Toxic Products Environment Management System (EMS) Audit Reporting on Environment Performance Department Checklists on Environment Management Case Studies on EMS In Hospitality Businesses Turtle Island, Yasawas, Fiji The Orchid Hotel, Mumbai, India Hotel Madhuban, Dehra Dun, India Hotel Mocking Bird Hill, Port Antonio, Jamaica Saunders Hotel Group, The Lennox and Copely Square Hotels, Boston USA Hotel Kurrajong, Australia The Severin Sea Lodge, Mombasa, Kenya Bass Hotels & Resorts (BHR) Golden Tulip Hotels Introducing the Core Concepts of Environment Management Cleaner Production Eco-efciency Industrial Ecology (Systems Thinking) Life Cycle Assessment EMS in the Future

73 77 78 78 86 86 110

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Unit 5: The Sustainable Siting, Design and Construction of Tourism Facilities

UNIT OUTLINE Section 1: An Introduction to Sustainable Design Section 2: Sustainable Siting of Buildings 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Site Selection Carrying Capacity Considerations Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Building Placement 165 167 169 169 170 171 174 175 175 175 176 178 190 193 195 196 198 199 200 200 201 208 209

Section 3: The Sustainable Design of Buildings 3.1 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 3.1.5 3.2 3.3 Architectural Features of Buildings Passive Solar Design Daylighting Renewable Energy Use Architectural Features to Reduce and Reuse Water Landscaping Environment Considerations for the Building Shell The Use of Environment Management During Occupation

Section 4: Reuse of Existing Buildings Section 5: The Sustainable Construction of Buildings Section 6: Case Studies 1. 2. Exercises Glossary Illustrations Active Solar Heating The Main Components of the PV System Geothermal Heat Pumps Ecowatt Micro Hydro-electric System Small-scale Hydro System Wind Turbines Composting Toilet Coefcient of Embodied Energy of Building Materials Floor Plans PCFE Environment-exemplary Building Parting Thoughts Resources Ing Bank, The Netherlands Plymouth College for Further Education, UK

179 181 182 182 183 185 193 196 203 211 213

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001

USERS GUIDE
What can you Expect from this Pack?
This is a complete information pack for developing and expanding the environmental curriculum in hotel schools.
The pack will enable education professionals to develop a tailor-made environmental curriculum to suit the needs and objectives of each school and education system; For students of hospitality management, this pack will serve as an environmental information and resource handbook; For hospitality professionals, this pack provides all the necessary information for raising environmental awareness and for developing and implementing Environment Management Systems.

The pack is most suitable for developing syllabuses at the degree and postgraduate level. Sections of the pack, especially unit 2 and unit 4, can be adapted for lower level studies.
The pack covers a minimum of 45 hours of teaching time a halfsemester module; The pack can be used to develop an independent environmental curriculum, or to incorporate environment information into syllabuses such as Front Ofce and Rooms, Back Ofce and Administration, Food and Beverage, Kitchen and Tourism Management; The pack can also be used by hotel and tourism schools to develop: - Environment training programmes for hospitality professionals - Short courses on environment management - Distance learning programmes on environment management; Examples of good practice and case studies have been included to demonstrate theory in practice. It is strongly recommended that teaching be supplemented with additional information, and with examples relevant to the national and local context. Site visits and guest lectures by environment and hospitality professionals will also provide value input.

How is the Pack Organised?

The pack is organised into 5 units; Each unit begins with a unit outline and teaching objectives, and ends with a glossary and exercises; Units 2, 4 and 5 include examples of good practice and case studies; A short list of resources is provided at the end of the publication.

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WHERE DO WE STAND? THE STATE OF THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

U N I T

00 3

UNIT 1 WHERE DO WE STAND? THE STATE OF THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Unit Outline
The objective of this unit is to provide an overview of the global environment eld as it stands today. It is divided into 2 sections:

Section 1 The state of the environment an overview

To give readers an impression of the seriousness of environmental threats facing the world today, this section outlines and discusses:
Climate change; Depletion of the ozone layer; Water scarcities and pollution; Biodiversity loss; Land degradation; Acid deposition; Air pollution.
The environmental impacts of tourism and hospitality are discussed in Unit 2.

The discussion explains why these threats are important to tourism, and outlines international action being taken to combat them.

Section 2 Introducing sustainable development

If readers are to appreciate the importance of environment management in tourism and hospitality, they need to be rst introduced to the concept and implications of sustainable development. The framework and principles for sustainable tourism are covered in Unit 2. Given the diversity and continuous evolvement of the environment eld, it is recommended that the information in this unit be:
Applied to national environment issues; Supplemented with news and views of topical environment issues at the time of teaching.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
Gain an overall appreciation of global environment issues; Link global environment threats to national environment issues and appreciate that global environment threats are caused by environment degradation, pollution and resource depletion at the national level; Dene and discuss sustainable development.

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SECTION 1:

THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT: AN OVERVIEW

005

Healthy economies and societies cannot continue to develop in a world with so much degradation of the environment and such large inequalities in the distribution of wealth and resources. Degradation of the environment is the biggest threat facing the world today. The excessive damage we are causing to the earth is threatening our very existence. To understand this phenomenon better, let us draw a simple analogy between the human body and the earth. If a person continuously works too hard and too fast, he or she will have a physical and mental breakdown, as the body cannot maintain the level of activity demanded of it. Similarly, the rate at which human economic activity extracts resources and emits pollution and waste is growing to be intolerable: the earth can no longer sustain it. The following tables highlight some of the major threats to the world environment today which are then discussed in further detail.

GDP per capita

S E C T I O N

US$1990 25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

North America Europe and Central Asia West Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Asia and the Pacic Africa World

Steady growth in global GDP/ capita hides differences both between and within regions

0 1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

Source: compiled by RIVM, the Netherlands, from World Bank and UN data/ Published in Global Environment Outlook 2000, UNEP

Annual average growth of per capita GDP (1975-95)

Africa Asia and the Pacic Europe and Central Asia Latin America and the Caribbean North America West Asia WORLD -0.20% 3.09% 1.54% 0.66% 1.53% -2.93% 1.17%

Source: compiled by RIVM, the Netherlands, from World Bank and UN data/ Published in Global Environment Outlook 2000, UNEP

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UNIT 1: WHERE DO WE STAND? THE STATE OF THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Measures of poverty
Many millions of people still suffer from different forms of poverty; more than 1,300 million are income-poor and have to live on less than US$1/day malnourished children people not expected to survive to age 40 people lacking health services illiterate adults people lacking safe water people who are income-poor millions 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200

Source: UNDP 1997/Published in Global Environment Outlook 2000, UNEP

Human development index

HDI value 1994 0.90 UNDPs Human Development Index is a composite index based on life expectancy, educational attainment and income 0.80 0.70 0.65 0.60 0.50 0.46 0.40 0.38 0.30 SubSaharan Africa East Asia South Asia Southeast Asia and the Pacic Arab States Latin Eastern Industrial America Europe Countries and the and CIS Caribbean World 0.67 0.64 0.83 0.76 0.76 0.91

S E C T I O N

Source: UNDP 1997/Published in Global Environment Outlook 2000, UNEP

1.1 Global Warming and Climate Change

The earths atmosphere is getting warmer. The United Nations Environment Programme reports that the average global temperature, 15C, has increased by 0.3 to 0.6 since the late 19th century, while thermal expansion of the oceans has caused sea levels to rise by 10 to 25cm in the same period. The 11 warmest years of this century have all occurred during the 1990s, with 1997 being the warmest so far. Global warming, or the greenhouse effect, is a natural atmospheric feature. The earths surface absorbs radiation from the sun and re-radiates it into the atmosphere. Radiatively active gases, or greenhouse gases, absorb some of this thermal radiation. If this did not occur, the earths average temperature would be minus 18C. Human industrial activities, however, are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. This enhances the natural greenhouse effect, causing additional warming of the earths atmosphere. This is called global warming. The main gases that absorb thermal radiation and increase global warming are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), the CFCs, ozone (O3) and water vapour.

UNIT 1: WHERE DO WE STAND? THE STATE OF THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

007

Anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases

GASES Carbon dioxide Methane Nitrous oxide CFCs1 ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES Fossil fuel burning for industrial activity, energy generation and vehicles Agriculture, biomass burning, gas drilling and transmission, landll sites, coal mining Fossil fuel burning for industrial activity, energy generation and vehicles Used as refrigerants, propellants, and blowing and cleaning agents
1

CFCs also cause depletion of the ozone layer

The Impacts of Global Warming

Global carbon dioxide emissions
1,000 million tonnes CO2/year 25 20 Global carbon dioxide emissions continue to mount. Average annual increase over the past decade has been 1.3 per cent or nearly 300 million tonnes a year 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

S E C T I O N

15 10 5 0

Source: CDIAC 1999/Published in Global Environment Outlook 2000, UNEP

Carbon dioxide emissions per capita

tonnes/year 19.11 19.93 20 18 16 14 12 10 7.93 8 6 4 2 0 North America Europe and Central Asia West Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Asia and the Pacic Africa 8.78 1975 1995 Only in Europe have per capita emissions of carbon dioxide declined over the past 20 years. Emissions are much higher in North America than in other regions

4.88

7.35

2.03 2.55

1.27

2.23

Source: compiled by UNEP GRID Geneva from CDIAC 1998 and WRI, UNEP, UNDP and WB 1998/ Published in Global Environment Outlook 2000, UNEP

0.94

1.24