The UN Climate Change Report

Future Temperature Increase (1/10)

The UN’s most likely global warming scenario describes a world of new and more efficient technologies where energy comes from a number of well-balanced sources. Still, at the end of the century, temperatures will have increased by up to six or seven degrees Celsius in the Arctic, about three degrees in Europe, and three to four degrees in Asia and the Americas. (Graphic: UN IPCC)

Image 1 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Local Warming Differences (2/10)

Scientists talk about global warming, but temperature increases are not evenly distributed. Parts of the southern hemisphere have even witnessed cooling, while the Arctic, Greenland, and Alaska went through a period of significant warming. Warming was also strong in Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. (Graphic: IPCC)

Image 2 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Man-made Temperature Increase (3/10)

Temperature increases vary from continent to continent, but one thing is global: the warming is man-made. The graphs are based on climate models that consider only natural phenomena (blue), such as fluctuations in solar activity, and models that also consider man-made causes like fossil fuel consumption (red). The black line is made up of temperature records gathered by scientists worldwide.(Graphic: IPCC)

Image 3 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Future Temperature Increase (4/10)

How could the world look in 2090? The UN IPCC offers various scenarios. The left row depicts temperatures in about twenty years, the right column shows the world at the end of the 21st century.
Temperature increases in North Africa could trigger droughts and famine. In the Himalayas, glaciers that feed some of the world’s biggest rivers might disappear. Further melting in Siberian permafrost could release millions of tons of greenhouse gas. (Graphic: IPCC)

Image 4 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Greenhouse Gas Increase (5/10)

The graph shows the increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) in the Earth’s atmosphere since 1970. Carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important GHG besides water vapor, is marked in red. CO2 emissions have nearly doubled from 15 Gigatons (GT) per year in 1970 to about 30 GT per year in 2004. The biggest chunk of CO2 emissions comes from the widespread use of fossil fuels. Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agriculture have risen as well. (Graphic: IPCC)

Image 5 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Reasons for Global Warming (6/10)

A comparison of economic development, population growth and energy usage helps understand the reasons of global warming. The recent increase in CO2 emissions was fuelled more by economic growth than growing populations. It is not the poor masses, but the new and old rich that fuel global warming. And while energy and emission intensity have steadily decreased since the oil crisis in the 1970s, carbon intensity has not. (Graphic: IPCC).

Image 6 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Temperature, Sea Level and Snow (7/10)

Temperatures influence sea levels and snow coverage. Since the last ice age sea levels have risen more than 100 meters. Figures from the IPCC indicate that the annual increase was about 0.1-0.2 millimetres at the end of the 18th century. Sea levels are now rising more than ten times as fast. Most of this change is due to the fact that water increases in volume when temperatures rise. Melting polar caps might amplify this increase. Earth’s shrinking snow coverage could also further speed up warming, because water and land reflect less of the sun’s heat than snow and ice. (Graphic: IPCC)

Image 7 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Carbon Dioxide Emissions per Capita and Country (8/10)

The Kyoto Protocol forces industrialized countries to reduce their GHG emissions. These countries represent one fifth of mankind but are responsible for about 44 percent of all GHG emissions. People living in Africa and South Asia are the least responsible for global warming. They make up nearly half of the world’s population, but only one fifth of all GHG emissions (Graphic: IPCC).

Image 8 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

CO2-Reduction Potential per Business Sector (9/10)

The UN panel offers a roadmap showing how much GHG emissions (they use the term CO2 equivalent) could be saved at a given price for one ton of GHG emissions in which business sector. GHG emissions could be reduced in buildings – even at the relatively low cost of 20 US dollars per ton of GHG. Agriculture also has a huge potential for GHG reduction, but only if emissions prices rise to a staggering 100 dollars per ton of GHG. (Graphic: IPCC)

Image 9 of 10

The UN Climate Change Report

Average Global Temperatures (10/10)

Global average air temperatures rose 0.74 +/- 0.18 degrees Celsius during the past century. Several climate scenarios illustrate how temperatures might increase depending on how much carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases will be emitted. (Graphic: IPCC)

Image 10 of 10

You might also be interested in this:

GALLERY

A RECIPE for Climate Action

Ten things we have to do by 2050 to save our climate.> more

GALLERY

Best Of 2009 In Pictures

From cannibalistic polar bears to underwater cabinet meetings, have a look at some of the...
> more