Bristol University Press
Two Global Warming: The Essential Cause Is Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions
-
Anne Hessel
Abstract
Beating climate change can work only if we identify its causes accurately. This is the second difficulty to overcome if we want to win the race against climate change. After explaining the seriousness of what is coming, we need to clarify the origins of the problem.
A number of citizens (including economic and political decision-makers) are now aware of the gravity of the situation, but they cannot see how to tackle the problem because they think there are doubts about the causes of climate change. On 1 August 2018, a major article published in the New York Times Magazine showed that although for the vast majority of scientists, ‘the debate on the causes of global warming had already been decided since the early 1980s’, very powerful lobbies have done everything to sow doubt, provoke confusion and thus maintain the status quo.
As early as 1979, the Charney Report commissioned by the White House had already announced global warming and stressed the possible impact of human activities on the climate. Nothing in all the new knowledge acquired in the nearly 40 years since contradicts the conclusions of the Charney Report. The IPCC’s work only confirmed and refined the analysis, and most of the key points were made in 1979. Unfortunately, with the election of Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980, the Charney Report was very quickly buried by US leaders. US diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks show that the first warning messages date from the early 1970s! As stated in a telegram dated 8 May 1974, referring to the 6th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, during which Henry Kissinger took up the problem officially: ‘Leaders around the world have expressed concern about indications of possible long-term climate change.
Abstract
Beating climate change can work only if we identify its causes accurately. This is the second difficulty to overcome if we want to win the race against climate change. After explaining the seriousness of what is coming, we need to clarify the origins of the problem.
A number of citizens (including economic and political decision-makers) are now aware of the gravity of the situation, but they cannot see how to tackle the problem because they think there are doubts about the causes of climate change. On 1 August 2018, a major article published in the New York Times Magazine showed that although for the vast majority of scientists, ‘the debate on the causes of global warming had already been decided since the early 1980s’, very powerful lobbies have done everything to sow doubt, provoke confusion and thus maintain the status quo.
As early as 1979, the Charney Report commissioned by the White House had already announced global warming and stressed the possible impact of human activities on the climate. Nothing in all the new knowledge acquired in the nearly 40 years since contradicts the conclusions of the Charney Report. The IPCC’s work only confirmed and refined the analysis, and most of the key points were made in 1979. Unfortunately, with the election of Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980, the Charney Report was very quickly buried by US leaders. US diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks show that the first warning messages date from the early 1970s! As stated in a telegram dated 8 May 1974, referring to the 6th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, during which Henry Kissinger took up the problem officially: ‘Leaders around the world have expressed concern about indications of possible long-term climate change.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Tables, Figures and Boxes v
- Acknowledgements: The English Translation viii
- How We Can Win the Battle by Nicolas Hulot ix
- 2020: A Warning Shot by Anne Hessel x
- Foreword xiii
- ‘Our Home Is Burning and We Are Looking Elsewhere’ 1
- Global Warming: The Essential Cause Is Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 14
- ‘Soon It Will Be Too Late…’, Say 15,000 Scientists 24
- The UN Environment Programme Denounces ‘This Catastrophic Climate Gap’ between the Reductions Needed and the National Pledges 35
- Zero Net Carbon Emissions? Yes, It Is Possible 40
- Can We Make a Colossal Development Programme Work? We Can Do It! 50
- ‘€1,000 Billion for the Climate?’ If It Is Really Needed, Yes, We Can Do It! 56
- Putting Finance Back at the Service of the Common Good: The European Climate Finance Pact 78
- Save the Climate and Save Europe? It Is Now or Never! 97
- Conclusion: Creating a New Development Model 110
- Notes 112
- Index 119
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Tables, Figures and Boxes v
- Acknowledgements: The English Translation viii
- How We Can Win the Battle by Nicolas Hulot ix
- 2020: A Warning Shot by Anne Hessel x
- Foreword xiii
- ‘Our Home Is Burning and We Are Looking Elsewhere’ 1
- Global Warming: The Essential Cause Is Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 14
- ‘Soon It Will Be Too Late…’, Say 15,000 Scientists 24
- The UN Environment Programme Denounces ‘This Catastrophic Climate Gap’ between the Reductions Needed and the National Pledges 35
- Zero Net Carbon Emissions? Yes, It Is Possible 40
- Can We Make a Colossal Development Programme Work? We Can Do It! 50
- ‘€1,000 Billion for the Climate?’ If It Is Really Needed, Yes, We Can Do It! 56
- Putting Finance Back at the Service of the Common Good: The European Climate Finance Pact 78
- Save the Climate and Save Europe? It Is Now or Never! 97
- Conclusion: Creating a New Development Model 110
- Notes 112
- Index 119
