Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change (Part-II)

The Arctic and Greenland ice sheet are the most fragile ecosystem that will be first affected by global warming. The melting of ice in this area will also affect the entire earth.

According to a report of "Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change" published by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if the increase in global temperature exceeds 2 °C above pre-industrial level then Coral mortality will occur around the globe. It will also result in the transformation of 1/6th of the earth's ecosystem and lead to the extinction of 1/4th known species of the earth. If the earth's temperature increases more than 3°C above the pre-industrial level, the terrestrial biosphere will head towards a net carbon source and 1/5th of the ecosystem will get transformed. This will lead to the extinction of 30% of the earth's known species.

Global warming is an aspect of climate change, referring to the long-term rise of the earth's temperatures. It is caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, and farming. The main greenhouse gases whose concentrations are rising are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and ozone in the lower atmosphere. Measuring instruments show that water temperatures at the ocean's surface are going up. To some extent, this is a normal pattern: the ocean surface warms as it absorbs sunlight. The ocean then releases some of its heat into the atmosphere, creating wind and rain clouds. However, as the ocean's surface temperature continues to increase over time, more and more heat is released into the atmosphere. This additional heat can lead to stronger and more frequent storms like tropical cyclones and hurricanes.

The average increase in earth's temperature during the last century was approx 1°C.

Earth's average surface air temperature has increased by about 1 °C (1.8 °F) since 1900, with over half of the increase occurring since the mid-1970s. A wide range of other observations (such as reduced Arctic sea ice extent and increased ocean heat content) and indications from the natural world (such as pole ward shifts of temperature-sensitive species of fish, mammals, insects, etc.) together provide incontrovertible evidence of planetary-scale warming.

Without green house effect, the average temperature of earth surface would be about-18°C. The main green house gasses are Methane, Carbon dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, Water vapor and Ozone.

If phytoplankton of an ocean is completely destroyed for some reason then the ocean as a carbon sink would be adversely affected. Phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, are similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight to live and grow. Hence food chains in the ocean would be adversely affected and if it is completely destroyed then the density of ocean water would not decrease drastically.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a rise in temperature between 1.4-5.8°C has been estimated between 1990 to 2100 A.D. This would result in melting polar ice caps and subsequent rise in sea level. As per IPCC, the sea level is expected to rise from 0.33 m to 0.45m from 1990 to 2100 A.D. Hence statement (1) is correct while (2) is not correct. The rise in sea level is estimated to be 3 mm per year. At Fiji, its 0.15 meter per year. Hence by 2044, Fiji is likely to be submerged.

According to the astronomical theory of climate change, Earth's movement produces an effect on climate change. In 1920s, Serbian geophysicist and astronomer Milutin Milankovic theorized that variation in eccentricity, axial tilt and precession of the earth's orbit results in cyclical variation in the solar radiation reaching the earth. This orbital forcing influences climatic pattern on earth.

An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet, most commonly from the polar ice caps of Antarctica- Greenland or from high mountain glaciers elsewhere. As the ice forms the incremental building of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper and an ice core contains ice formed over a range of years. The properties of the ice and the recrystallized clarification needed inclusions within the ice can then be used to reconstruct a climatic record over the age range of the core, normally through isotopic analysis. This enables the reconstruction of local temperature records and the history of atmospheric composition.

Any method which helps the soil to retain more organic matter so that it may work as an effective Carbon sink would be helpful in Carbon sequestration or storage. Contour bunding is one of the extensively used soil and water conservation technique in several rainfed areas. Contour bunding is a Mechanical measure which minimizes the soil erosion. Relay cropping means that a new crop is planted or sown before the previous one is harvested. This can provide advantages for both crops as one of them may provide nitrogen, shade, support or may discourage pests. The obvious benefit of Relay cropping is soil conservation. Zero tillage is also based on the premise of soil conservation, the basic premise is to minimize the disturbances to the soil leading to an increase in retention of water, nutrients and topsoil itself. Zero tillage has carbon sequestration potential through storage of soil organic matter in the soil of crop fields. Thus all the three help in carbon sequestration.

A Climate-Smart Village (CSV) is a part of a project led by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Built on the principles of CSA (Climate smart agriculture), this program provides technological, organizational and systemic support to farmers in association with institutions to help them cope with climate change, in different sites across various countries.immi The governance and management of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) are based on lessons learned by CGIAR headquartered in France. The International crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been awarded the 2021 Africa food Prize. ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Centre, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon in plants, geologic structures and sea. In the context of mitigating the impending global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, abandoned and uneconomical coal seams, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and subterranean deep saline formations could be the potential sites for carbon sequestration.

In rural road construction, the use of copper slag, cold mix asphalt technology and Geo-textiles are preferred for ensuring environmental sustainability or to reduce carbon footprint.

The population of Asia Pacific Partnership countries is approximately 41% of the world's population. They approximately consume the world's 48% of energy and contribute nearly 48% of the world's greenhouse gases. They intend to support the Kyoto Protocol however some of the countries have not ratified it.

Greenhouse gas in an atmosphere is a gas that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in earth's atmosphere are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Hence, (d) is the correct answer.

According to the latest data available in the 2020, largest contributor to carbon dioxide emission is China. It emits about 28% of the world's total carbon emission. The United States is in second place with 15% and India is in third place with 7%. Russia is in fourth place with 5% and Japan is in fifth place in terms of carbon emission with 3% of the world's total CO2 emission.

China is the largest emitter of carbon globally.

Bhutan is known as the world's top 'carbon negative country'.

In the year of 2021 the International Energy Agency's (IEA) released its Net Zero Emissions (NZE) Road map-named 'Net Zero by 2050'. It is the World's first comprehensive energy road map which came ahead of the United Nations November 2021. 'Net zero emissions' refers to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere.
What is Net Zero?
Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero. Rather, net-zero is a state in which as country's emissions are compensated be absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Absorption of the emissions can be increased by creating more carbon sinks such as forests, while the removal of gases from the atmosphere requires futuristic technologies such as carbon capture and storage. This way, it is even possible for a country to have negative emissions, if the absorption and removal exceed the actual emissions. A good example is Bhutan which is often described as carbon- negative because it absorbs more than it emits. Significantly, India pledges net zero by 2070 while China has targeted this by 2060.

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Adding crushed volcanic rock to cropland could play a key role in removing carbon from the air. In a field study, scientists at the University of Cali- fornia, Davis, and Cornell University found the technology stored carbon in the soil even during an extreme drought in California. Hence statement 1 is correct. The end use of the captured CO2 can be either utilization or permanent storage. Utilization can be done in various areas such as urea manufacturing, conversion to other chemicals (methane, methanol, ethanol), and evolving applications like aggregates. An alternative is the permanent storage of the captured CO2 in deep underground geological reser- voirs like depleted oil and gas reservoirs (for enhanced oil production or EOR), deep saline aquifers, and in basaltic rock formations. Hence statement 3 is also correct.

Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is a report which is published by German Watch, New Climate institute and climate Action Network International based in Germany. It measures performance of various countries on 4 parameters: GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy, Energy Use and Climate Policy. In its 2022 edition India achieved 10th position. India jumps 2 spots higher, and is now ranked 8th as per Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), 2023 (Update 2024 7th Rank).

Agriculture is most affected by climate change. Changes in climate may also impact the water availability and water needs for agriculture. Due to the increase in temperature, the humidity of soil and its productivity is affected. It also raises the salinity of soil and its productivity is affected. It also raises the salinity of soil and reduces productivity.

Climate change is increasing the pressure on resources. There are many evidences available which prove that climate change has an adverse impact on both production and productivity of agriculture and forestry. Therefore, the possibility of a more complex situation in the future cannot be denied. The agriculture sector is most affected by the extreme weather conditions which raise the question of food security. In the case of food insecurity, there is a tendency for control over unnecessary food storage which ultimately leads to social stress. Thus food insecurity is also a major factor of social stress. In this way assertion and reason both are correct and the reason is also making the correct interpretation of the assertion.

Astronomical theory of climate change was propounded in 1920s by astronomer Milutin Milankovitch. It states that the variation in eccentricity, axial tilt and precession of the Earth's orbit determines climatic patterns on Earth through orbital forcing. Hence, solar irradiance is not concerned with this theory.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was negotiated at the Earth Summit in Rio-de-Janeiro from 3 to 14 June, 1992, and came into force on 21 March, 1994. Currently, it has been ratified by 198 countries.

A historic agreement to combat climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient and sustainable future was agreed by 194 nations at UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Paris on 12 December, 2015. Hence statement 1 is not correct. The universal agreement's main aim is to keep global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Hence statement 2 is correct. Governments decided that they will work to define a clear roadmap on raising climate finance to USD 100 billion by 2020. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December, 2015. At the end of 2023 COP 28 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December, 2015. At the end of 2023 COP 28 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) brought together 120 world leaders and over 40,000 registered participants, including 22,274 party delegates, 14,124 observers and 3,886 media representatives.

The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) was held in Paris. It was the 21st yearly session of Conference of Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The COP 27 Summit was held in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh City in Nov., 2022.

By 2030, India will meet 50% of its total energy requirement by renewable energy. Hence option (B) is the correct answer.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio-de-Janeiro from 3 to 14 June, 1992.

The "Momentum for Change: Climate Neutral Now" is an initiative launched by the UNFCCC secretariat. It was launched as a part of larger efforts to showcase successful climate action around the world.

The ultimate objective of all three agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.

Green Climate Fund (GCF) was formally established during the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico. It is a fund within the framework of the UNFCCC founded as a mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. The GCF is based in the Songdo Business district of Incheon, South Korea. It is intended to be the centerpiece of efforts to raise climate finance of $ 100 billion a year by 2020.

Green Climate Fund (GCF) was founded as a mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. The fund is governed by GCF Board. Hence statement (2) is not correct.

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is usually held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8.30 to 9.30 p.m. towards the end of March, as a symbol of their commitment to the planet. It was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. In 2024, Earth Hour was celebrated on March 23.

United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019, was held at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City on 23 September 2019. The summit was convened on the theme, "Climate Action Summit 2019: A Race We can Win. A Race We Must Win."

Scientists of Manchester University have suggested using sea water for creating brightening clouds for maximum reflection of sun rays. This will help control global warming.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which commits its parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which commits its parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto on 11 December, 1997, and entered into force on 16 February, 2005. Hence statement (1) is correct. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hence statement (2) is incorrect. The global warming potential (GWP) of a gas depends on the efficiency of the atoms of that gas and it's environmental life-cycle. The environmental life cycle of carbon dioxide is changeable while its global warming potential remain constant (GWP = 1). The global warming potential of Methane was observed 81.2 in the last twenty years. Therefore, Methane is more dangerous and effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon di-oxide.

In the year 1997, the World Environment Conference was organised in Kyoto, Japan. The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted in this conference which came into existence on 16 February, 2005.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the flexible mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol that provides for emissions reduction projects. The CDM is one of the Protocol's "project-based" mechanisms and designed to promote projects by developed countries among developing countries that reduce emissions. This can help developed countries getting carbon credit. Thus statement (d) is incorrect.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) is the most widely used international accounting tool for Government and business leaders to understand, quantify and manage greenhouse gas emission. A decade-long partnership between the World Resource Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for sustainable development, the GHG Protocol is working with businesses, governments and environmental groups around the world to build a new generation of credible and effective programs for tackling climate change. Hence (a) is the correct answer

The Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change was adopted on 11 December, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. Kyoto Protocol came into effect on 16 February, 2005. It was adopted as a binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emission to the level of 1990. It had provision to reduce by 5.2%. Methane is about 86 times more power as greenhouse than CO2.

Carbon trading is an approach used to control carbon dioxide (CO₂) pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving emissions reductions. In the context of CO, emission and Global warming, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the name of a market-driven device under the UNFCC that allows developing countries to get funds or incentives from the developed countries to adopt better technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), defined in Article 12 of the Protocol, allows a country with an emission reduction or emission limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to implement an emission reduction project in developing countries. Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one ton of CO₂, which can be counted 2 towards meeting Kyoto targets. The CDM was intended to meet two objectives: (1) To assist parties not included in Annex I in achieving sustainable development and in contributing to the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is to prevent dangerous climate change; and (2) To assist parties included in Annex I in achieving compliance with their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments (greenhouse gas (GHG) emission caps). "Annex I" parties are the countries listed in Annex I of the treaty, the industrialized countries. Non-Annex I parties are developing countries. Thus, projects under the clean Development Mechanism are related to 'Annex I' and 'non- Annex-1' countries.