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Other books by Vijay Mehta

The Fortune Forum Code: For a Sustainable Future

The United Nations and its Future in the 21st Century

Arms No More

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VIJAY MEHTA

CLIMATE CHANGE

IQ

What we should do to save the planet from global

warming

For individuals, NGOs, Civil Society, Businesses, Governments, the United Nations and Charities.

E-book published by

www.vmpeace.org

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Copyright ISBN number

Publisher’s details CIP catalogue is available from the British Library

‘in process’

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Shanti, Sanjay, Ajay, Renu, Ritika, Sheetal, Mahir, Vandika, Shivika, Dhairya - you are a source of joy

and reason for my living

May our beautiful planet always be a safer place for you and future generations.

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Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction

Part 1 Climate Change – an overview

1) Threats and challenges 2) Climate tipping points - how much it will cost to stop global

warming? 3) Major polluters 4) Global warming and how it’s affecting our world

Part 2

The Climate Change IQ Solutions

What we should do to save the planet from global warming 5) Governments / countries / cities

Putting the right policies and initiatives to solve global warming.

6) United Nations and international institutions Coordination, disseminating information, providing framework for negotiations, effective monitoring of global agreements.

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7) Businesses/ industry/ technology Putting technology, renewable energy generation, research and innovations on the forefront. Leading the green economy revolution.

8) NGOs/ civil society Campaign to make it happen. Bringing new ideas and information to the forefront.

9) Individuals Changing lifestyles, conservation, adaptation and mitigation. Taking charge of planet earth and turning the situation around.

10) Charities / foundations / trusts Giving support to innovations, ideas, grassroot projects where funding is restricted. Investing in long-term planning.

Part 3

A roadmap for sustainable development by the year 2020 11) Sustainable development is the key to saving our planet,

humanity and civilization A-Z Climate Change Dictionary Further Reading Useful websites

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About the author - Vijay Mehta VM Centre for Peace Action for UN Renewal Fortune Forum Ice Circle

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Acknowledgements

The idea of Climate Change IQ came from the book, ‘The Fortune Forum Code: For a Sustainable Future’, which also deals with environmental sustainability. It highlights the links between climate change and other interdependent issues of security, global poverty, diseases, and conflict. The book ‘Climate Change IQ’ considers the above interlinked issues and seeks solutions to mitigate the climate change crisis. I am indebted to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) lead by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri. United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), World Health Organisation (WHO), and several websites from where some facts, figures and material has been accessed to highlight the problems and solutions of global warming and environmental sustainability. I am also grateful to the various publications, organisations, and networks from where facts, figures, materials and photos have been taken. I would like to thank Abdul Muhib of SOAS University, Tim Boothman of Oxford University, Carolyn Smith of the International Clean Energy Circle (ICE) and Jessica Grande from the VM Centre for Peace for their research materials, photos and unfailing support to bring the book to fruition. Additional work and backup support was done by Roy Chowdhury and Mohammed Miah. The book, and its ideas and solutions, is a humble attempt to raise awareness and be a catalyst for action to mitigate the looming climate change crisis. I am confident that if the initiatives outlined in the book are followed, the ideal of living in a cleaner and safer planet can become a reality.

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Vijay Mehta

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Introduction

The rationale for the Climate Change IQ is to start a climate change movement for saving the planet for all. The moment has come in the life’s cycle of a planet when it is facing possible extinction. That moment is here and has been brought on by none others than ourselves. It’s a combination of human activity, forces of nature and atmosphere, and the interaction of other planets in the cosmos with earth. With our frantic lifestyles, we are speeding up the demise of the planet earth. We have enjoyed air, fresh water and natural surroundings for a long time in an unsustainable way and failed to understand that we are living the last years of life on planet earth. This will need to be addressed urgently before its too late. Annual world greenhouse gas emissions from human activities -- mainly from fossil fuels burnt in power plants, vehicles and factories -- exceed 25 billion tonnes. About a quarter is from the United States. The one

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billion tonne mark in emission reductions corresponds to the present (annual) emissions of Spain and the United Kingdom combined. Britain emits about 650 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, Spain 350 million. One of the most important events in the climate change calendar was the publication of reports in 2007 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). Around 2,500 scientists made a consensus judgement that our planet is increasing its temperature towards perilous levels due to global warming. Some of their key findings and conclusions state:

The Earth’s surface is warming. This is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level. Other major impacts include; changes in water availability, land degradation, food security, and loss of biodiversity. The projected increase in frequency and intensity of heat waves, storms, floods and droughts would dramatically affect many millions of people including those in small island states and Polar Regions.

More than 2 million people globally die prematurely every year due to outdoor and indoor air pollution.

The “hole” in the stratospheric ozone layer over the Antarctic – the layer that protects people from harmful ultraviolet radiation – is now the largest it has ever been.

Unsustainable land use and climate change are driving land degradation, including soil erosion, nutrient depletion, water scarcity, salinity, desertification, and the disruption of biological cycles.

Poor people suffer disproportionately from the effects of land degradation, especially in the dry lands, which support some 2 billion people, 90 per cent of whom live in developing countries.

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The per capita availability of freshwater is declining globally, and contaminated water remains the greatest single environmental cause of human sickness and death. If present trends continue, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity by 2025.

Aquatic ecosystems continue to be heavily exploited, putting at risk sustainability of food supplies and biodiversity. Global marine and freshwater fish catches show large-scale declines, caused mostly by persistent over fishing.

Reduction of the biological diversity on Earth: 20 to 30 percent of all species are expected to be extinguished by the end of the century. This will have severe consequences on the respective food chains.

Deforestation in the tropics continues at a huge scale. More than 16,000 species have been identified as threatened with extinction.

Rising migration and refugees threaten security and risk destabilising nations across the world.

A 2005 study by the World Health Organization indicated that global climate change is directly tied to increased rates of malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhoea. It estimated that climate change contributes to 150,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses each year. These changes are unprecedented and due to human activities in an increasingly globalised, industrialised and interconnected world, driven by expanding flows of goods, services, capital, people, technologies, information, ideas and labour, even affecting isolated populations. Environmental change is affecting human development options, with poor people being the most vulnerable as more than 90 percent of the people exposed to disasters live in the developing world. For example, in the period between 1992 and 2001, floods were the most frequent

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natural disaster, killing nearly 100,000 people and affecting more than 1.2 billion people. The Human Development Report 2007/2008 shows that climate change is not just a future scenario. Increased exposure to droughts, floods and storms is already destroying opportunity and reinforcing inequality. As the Human Development Report argues, climate change poses challenges at many levels. In a divided but ecologically interdependent world, it challenges all people to reflect upon how we manage the environment of the one thing that we share in common: planet Earth. It challenges us to reflect on social justice and human rights across countries and generations. It challenges political leaders and people in rich nations to acknowledge their historic responsibility for the problem, and to initiate deep and early cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Above all, it challenges the entire human community to undertake prompt and strong collective action based on shared values and a shared vision. Clearly, we have a climate change crisis on the same footing as when we faced fascism in the World War II and terrorism at present. The mitigation will only be considered a success if we were to save the planet for all – poor and rich, birds and animals, rivers and oceans, cities and villages, forests and nature, sky and cosmos. Afflicted by poverty, hunger and disease, the people of the developing countries are least prepared and will be hit the hardest. They are not capable of salvaging themselves from this huge catastrophe looming at their doorstep. They will need urgent and substantial help in the form of aid, technology and know-how to fend global warming. If we have to save the planet, we have to act now, and fast. Facing the reality & coming to terms with the issue of global warming is the key to finding solutions.

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There is a window of opportunity for avoiding the most damaging climate change impacts, but that window is closing: the world has less than a decade to change course. The world lacks neither the financial resources nor the technological capabilities to act. What is missing is a sense of urgency, human solidarity and collective interest. We have outlined here in this book, solutions by mitigation, adaptation and conservation to save the planet from global warming. It includes dealing with the biggest polluters: oil, gas, coal, aviation, car, cement and building industry producing large emissions of carbon dioxide, causing irreparable damage to the planet. Climate Change Solutions includes ways to raise public awareness of stopping climate change. The initiatives explore educational programmes, finding creative solutions, for ways of stopping ozone depletion, protecting soil erosion and deforestation. It lays down the solutions for developing cleaner energy and climate security by exploring innovations, renewable and low carbon initiatives. The suggestion to replicate the successful model of Montreal Protocol for the depletion of the ozone layer as a way forward for agreeing to a new treaty under the United Nations framework for climate change for replacement to the Kyoto Protocol in cutting greenhouse gases which expires in 2012 is a plausible one. The future Kyoto agreement should be mandatory on all nations for global CO2 reductions. In this respect, it is vital that developed countries, especially the EU, US, Canada, Japan and Australia accept ambitious and binding emissions targets of 80% as part of a post 2012 agreement, negotiated under auspicious of UN to be completed by 2020. A powerful message conveyed is that developed countries should not only cut greenhouse gases by 80 per cent but also assist developing countries with aid, technology and know-how, to lessen the impact of

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global warming - a practical solution to follow if the world is to meet its targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The overall goal of responding to the challenge of climate change is that while adapting to global warming, we must not set limits to growth, but rather help achieve sustainable development. The treaty should address threats posed by climate change in areas of peace, security, conflict, poverty , diseases, food, water, mass migration, biodiversity and natural disasters. The treaty charts the case for new political momentum for streamlining operations, creating a global treaty with a global perspective and global fund to find solutions for environmental challenges we face today. A transition towards sustainable development needs to be pursued more intensively by nations and the international community, by capacity building and technological support to developing countries. Environment and development are interdependent and interconnected issues and world community need to tackle them both at the same time. The treaty should follow the report of the world commission 1987 also known as the Brundtland report notes, about sustainable development that “It should meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The book Climate Change IQ presents ideas to save the planet from global warming by mitigation, adaptation and conservation. The ideas are divided into different categories into governments, United Nations, private sector, NGOs, individuals and philanthropy. Governments / countries / cities should put the right policies and initiatives to solve global warming. United Nations and international organisations should bring all

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countries together for promoting a universal framework and agreeing a timetable for the replacement of Kyoto, post-2012. Private sector/ industry should put technology and renewable energy generation at the forefront, leading to a clean and green revolution. NGOs/ civil societies should set the agenda and campaigns to make it happen. Making leaders, government and industry to act and challenge them on the ‘business as usual’ approach to climate change. Each one of us as individuals can make a huge difference. We can make lifestyle changes and turn the situation around by reducing our carbon footprint. Philanthropy – charities / foundations / trusts can change the world through acts of giving and supporting new ideas and grassroot projects where conventional funding is not readily available. The book also includes A-Z climate change dictionary which defines the environmental terminology in simply down to earth style. It also includes photographs of devastation caused by global warming depicting melting ice, droughts, hurricanes and floods. The ideas show ways to live in harmony with nature, preserving and cherishing the beauty and diversity of the planet, encouraging sustainable living within the earth’s finite resources. The book explores the potential and opportunities for a greener, cleaner and safer future. It commits us to take bold actions to fend climate change, the greatest threat of the 21st century facing humanity.

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Part 1

Climate change – an overview

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Threats and challenges

The threat of global warming is so grave it has the potential of destroying our civilisation. The effects of climate change are already apparent with increased incidence of floods, storms, droughts, water shortage and rising sea levels; phenomena that are expected to grow in severity over the course of the century, which is likely to hit the world’s poorest, the hardest. Most scientists now agree that world average temperatures may rise by between 2-6 degrees Celsius this century due to carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. The collapse of the Greenland ice sheet and the disruption of the Gulf Stream Ocean current are two very real threats that could cause mayhem long before 2100. The Arctic may become entirely free of sea ice within 3-4 decades. The melting Siberian permafrost is now pumping millions of extra tonnes of methane and carbon dioxide leaking into the atmosphere. The principal reason for the mounting rising temperature is a century

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and a half of industrialisation, the burning of ever greater quantities of oil, gasoline, and coal, the cutting of forests, the practice of certain farming methods, impact of the wars and military on the environment. These activities have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Industry, power, transport, buildings, construction and deforestation are the main polluters and culprits. According to NASA scientists, 2007 is the second warmest year ever after the record warmth of 2005. They reckon the trend will continue till 2010 and beyond. As a result of these major polluters, adding greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, the world is confronting the serious problem of climate change crisis. Not enough progress has been made in curbing C02 emissions, as major countries are not taking the threat of global warming seriously. The USA is not a signatory to the Kyoto Treaty, and the rapid industrialisation of India, China and other developing countries is adding to the problem. Another obstacle is the fact that developed countries are not implementing their commitments to cut carbon emissions under the United Nations Convention Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC). They are not supplying enough funding and technology to developing countries for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, which were part of the Kyoto agreement. The world has woken up to the seriousness of the problem and from 1990’s onward convened the Earth Summit in Rio (1992) and Earth + 10 Summit in Johannesburg (2002). In between, in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that contains legally binding emission targets were agreed. The

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Kyoto Protocol entered into force on 16 February 2005. It lays down the international response to climate change, reduction of greenhouse gases, an implementation plan of adaptation, mitigation and conservation including clean development mechanism (CDM), promotion of technology transfer, research, public awareness, education and training. It focuses on the obstacles and hazards for launching a green revolution and how different countries, rich and poor, are trying to cope with the adverse effects of climate change. The obstacles in the way of progress can be termed as lack of political will and coordination among individuals, corporations and countries with vested interests, financial constraints and the lack of universal agreement. There is an urgent need to negotiate and agree to a global treaty for curbing greenhouse gases. As a result of climate change, the gravest challenge is to save billions of poor people of the world from food and water shortages, hurricanes and typhoons. The extra burden of climate change cannot be placed on developing countries while they are struggling to feed their populations, develop their economies and complete the UN Millennium Development Goals. These address climate change, extreme poverty, disease, gender inequality, primary education, maternal health, and child mortality. The pursuit of achieving environmentally sustainable development in an unequal world is the defining challenge of this century. To achieve this aim, the developed and developing countries should work in tandem. The rich countries need to urgently lead the world in shifting to a low-carbon economy and taking effective action to curb emissions globally, or face the wrath of nature. The poor are suffering the impact of climate change for which they are the least responsible, and it makes a huge case of moral inequality against which the rich nation-states must take responsibility. The wealth of the industrialised nations has been built in the last 150 years by the

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excessive use of carbon emissions and exploitation of resources from poorer countries. So they have a duty to take immediate actions to reduce greenhouse gases and help poor countries with aid and technology to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. This is what the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, April 2007, has to say about the worst effects of climate change: Humanity will be divided as never before by climate change, with the world's poor its disproportionate victims, the latest United Nations report on the coming effects of global warming made it clear. Existing divisions between rich and poor countries will be sharply exacerbated by the pattern of climate-change impacts in the coming years, predicted in the study from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). How the planet will go haywire if we do not limit the global temperature from rising is the subject of the next chapter.

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2

Climate tipping points

Limit global average temperature to no more than 20

Celsius or 450 parts per million in the short term and aim at reducing to 350 ppm in the future

It will cost 1 per cent of the global GDP per year

to stop global warming if we act now

Scientists are warning that the tipping points, when the global warming will culminate into chaos, are much closer to little more than a decade. The risks today are much greater than those predicted before by scientists. If the Greenland ice sheet melted completely it would raise the global sea level at 7 metres and the breakup could happen more quickly than thought before. A global average temperature rise of just 1C would be enough to slip the Greenland ice over the edge. Therefore, the loss of the massive Greenland ice sheet may now be unstoppable and lead to catastrophic sea level rises around the world.

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There are several tipping points that could be passed by the end of this century. They include the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, the melting of the west Antarctic ice sheet, and a collapse of the global ocean current known as the ocean conveyor belt. If that circulation stopped, the Indian monsoons and the gulf stream could be shut down. If we could stabilise the greenhouse gas levels to today's level, we will still get some further warming by 2100. The IPCC's prediction for 2100 is a rise of 1.1C-6.4C. If that is the scenario predicted, the best thing is to act and limit the temperature to these two famous benchmarks, 2°C and 450 ppm (parts per million- energy trapped in a narrow envelope of atmosphere). These are targets above which global average surface temperatures should not rise. If it increases beyond 2.5 or more, it will risk crossing a climate ‘tipping point’ that could lead to intolerable impacts on human well being, in spite of visible attempts at adaptation. Stabilisation of atmosphere at 450 ppm should be the maximum level and any rise above that will be catastrophic. Before the Industrial Revolution, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the atmosphere concentration of carbon dioxide was roughly 280 ppm rising to 379ppm in 2005, as we burn more coal, gas and oil which accumulate in the atmosphere. The increase of CO2 are at their highest at present in the long history of earth. Scientists now tend to put the red line around 450ppm where we need to stop. If not, mayhem and catastrophe will follow. In the end, these are the only two numbers (2C, 450ppm), which will matter if we have to save the world from the tragedy of the climate change crisis. We have to contain the global average temperature below these numbers. Any higher level of concentration could lead to a

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reduction in average annual GDP growth rate drastically. An increase in temperature beyond two degrees Celsius will cause sea levels to rise, risking coastal flooding and salt-water infiltration into drinking water. Infrastructure damage will rise sharply in a warmer world, because of the combined effects of increasing potency of storms from warmer ocean waters and the increasing vulnerability of infrastructure to rising windspeed. This combined with droughts are likely to affect agricultural production leading to a low level of development and lower growth in GDP. How much it will cost to address climate change is the topic discussed next? It will cost 1 per cent of the global GDP per year to stop global warming (British government report 2006 or also known as Stern report) ‘Climate change will affect the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food production, health, and the environment. Hundreds of millions of people could suffer hunger, water shortages and coastal flooding as the world warms.’ Adding up the costs of a narrow range of the effects, based on the assessment of the science carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001, the Stern Review calculates that the dangers of unabated climate change would be equivalent to at least 5% of GDP each year. The Stern Report goes on to consider more recent scientific evidence (for example, of the risks that greenhouse gases will be released naturally as the permafrost melts), the economic effects on human life and the environment, and approaches to modelling that ensure the impacts that affect poor people are weighted appropriately. Taking

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these together, the Review estimates that the dangers could be equivalent to 20% of GDP or more. In contrast, the costs of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change can be limited to around 1% of global GDP each year. People would pay a little more for carbon-intensive goods, but our economies could continue to grow strongly. According to one measure, the benefits over time of actions to shift the world onto a low-carbon path could be in the order of $2.5 trillion each year. The shift to a low-carbon economy will also bring huge opportunities. Markets for low-carbon technologies will be worth at least $500bn, and perhaps much more, by 2050 if the world acts on the scale required. Tackling climate change is the pro-growth strategy; ignoring it will ultimately undermine economic growth.’ The Stern Report examines the national and international policy challenges of moving to a low-carbon global economy. Speaking at the launch of the carbon rating agency in 2008 (the world’s first ratings agency for carbon offsetting projects) Stern warned that owing to the inaction of governments all around the world to act quickly, the cost of mitigation will now be around 2% estimated and not 1% which he predicted in 2006. This is because of the fact that climate was happening faster than previously thought which means emissions needed to be reduced more sharply. This also means the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would have to be kept below or in the middle range of 500 parts per million and not for 450 – 550 which he said in 2006. Hence to get below 500 ppm it would cost around 2% of GDP Three elements of policy are required for an effective response are ; the first is carbon pricing, through taxation, emissions trading or regulation, so that people are faced with the full social costs of their actions. The aim should be to build a common global carbon price across countries

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and sectors. The second is technology policy, to drive the development and deployment at scale of a range of low-carbon and high-efficiency products. And the third is action to remove barriers to energy efficiency, and to inform, educate and persuade individuals about what they can do to respond to climate change. Fostering a shared understanding of the nature of climate change, and its consequences, is critical in shaping behaviors, as well as in underpinning both national and international action. Effective action requires a global policy response, guided by a common international understanding of the long-term goals for climate policy and strong frameworks for co-operation. Key elements of future international frameworks should include emissions trading, technology co-operation, action to reduce deforestation and adaptation. To address climate change, we believe that we should have a Marshall Plan similar to the one in the post- Second World War reconstruction of Europe. Furthermore, we should negotiate a global treaty to mitigate climate change otherwise rising temperature and rising sea levels will result in water and food shortages leading to the ultimate destruction of our planet. How the planet is polluted by coal, oil and gas is the subject of the next chapter.

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Major Polluters

Coal, oil, gas, nuclear Industry/manufacturing, building / construction, Aviation, road, rail, shipping Agriculture, forestry, land degradation Waste Military use.

The effects of global warming, the scale of the climate change problem is owing to the dangerous interference of human activity. Some of the polluters include energy, industry and land use sectors using fossil fuels which are causing untold damage to the planet. The assessment of the climate changes science from 1990 onwards till today states it is man-made and has done extensive damage to biodiversity, habitat, clean water supplies, forests and desert loss, and threats to coastal and marine environment. The threats to security, sustainable development, rising migration and refugees are also part of the global warming problem.

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The pollution on the planet is caused by various factors which are discussed below: Coal Coal fired powered plants contribute 40% of the world’s sulphur and mercury, thereby polluting the air quality of our planet. Coal has two important features – it is found in abundance in the United States, China, India and many other places. Firstly, it is the cheapest source of energy as currently it is excluded from the Kyoto market calculations of what it costs. Secondly, it is one of the dirtiest sources of energy which produces far more CO2s for each unit of output than oil or gas. One of the great environmental challenges lies in coal in the energy sector. India sits on vast coal deposits, as does China and it would drastically exacerbate the ongoing spiral of man-made climate change. With India, China and the rest of Asia, set to rival the size of the economies of the West, hence the global leadership in alternative energy solution becomes urgent and critical. Oil In 2006, global oil demand grew 0.9%, because of the steady growth in China, India and the Middle East. The world used 82.5 million barrels of oil per day last year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That is nearly 31 billion barrels, and the most oil used in a year in the history of humankind. World demand is forecast to rise 1.6% this year to nearly 86 million barrels a day. Burning oil releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. Per energy unit, oil produces less CO2 than coal, but more than natural gas. Oil's role as a transportation fuel makes reducing its CO2 emissions a particularly thorny problem. At the present rate of production and consumption, we have reserves of oil

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which will last just over 3 decades. With the expansion of the modern global economy and industrialisaton, demand for oil remains very high and is a cause of regional and global conflict for its procurement. Gas There are environmental concerns with the use of gas. As with other fossil fuels, burning natural gas produces carbon dioxide, which is the most important greenhouse gas polluting the atmosphere. At the present rate of production and consumption, we have reserves of gas which will last just over 7 decades. Gas is made in the same way as petroleum and is also trapped between layers of rock. Natural gas is tapped, compressed and piped into homes to be used in stoves and hot water systems. Nuclear Nuclear materials are responsible for radiation, leaks and polluting the atmosphere. The danger of a radiation via leak owing to operational error has lasting repercussions for health and environmental degradation. This is evident from numerous accidents like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Generating energy from nuclear power energy generation has so many negative and dangerous connotations that it is a no-go area and is not the answer to energy requirements. Waste disposal and decommissioning are very costly and not commercially viable. Nuclear power stations can only be build with government support owing to the large costs of building nuclear power stations. Also nuclear plants increase the danger of terrorist attacks. It also increases the chances of nuclear weapons proliferation. The dangerous weapons programme in North Korea are linked with building civilian nuclear reactors.

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There are 440+ nuclear plants operating in the world and more in the process of being built. This is going to stoke up demand just as new uranium supply increments are not forthcoming. To date, the extra nuclear fuel requirements have been satisfied by releasing national stock piles and the decommissioning of nuclear weapons. Production from existing mines is gradually declining and opening new mines is fraught with political controversy in many countries such as Australia, one of the biggest sources of mined uranium. The only reasonable course of action is to decommission existing power plants, not build new ones and dispose of the waste safely. Industry / manufacturing Industry is one of the most polluting sectors adding to greenhouse gases. It includes all power plants, steel mills, cement plants and other factories. A factory with inefficient designs adds more carbon to the atmosphere and exacerbates the demand for coal-fired plants. Manufacturing and construction accounts for a major part of global GHG emissions worldwide. This comes from power plants, farms, construction of industrial buildings and houses. The UK emissions from heavy industry account for 40 per cent of total UK C02 emissions. The rapid urbanisation of the world’s population is leading to the prospective development of more manufacturing units, and new urban buildings. The industry and manufacturing sector has a diverse range of businesses, including petroleum refining, automobile production, cement, chemicals and metals smelting. Taken as a whole, this sector makes up 32% of the world’s total energy consumption today. Buildings / construction – residential and commercial

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In the next 30 years there will be more new urban buildings built than in all previous human history. Buildings – both commercial and residential – represent a larger source of global warming pollution than cars and trucks. Typical building construction, use, and demolition, as well as the manufacturing of building materials, contribute significantly to environmental problems. The construction sector accounts for 30-40 per cent of global energy use. As it is a large contributor to CO2, building "green" is an opportunity to use our resources efficiently while creating healthier buildings that improve human health, build a better environment, and provide cost savings. Aviation

Exhaust trails from a commercial airliner. Carbon dioxide is the principle GHG emission from aircraft, however, planes also release water vapour and nitrous oxide. It is estimated that the world’s 16 000 commercial jet aircraft produce 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, nearly equal to the amount produced by all human activities in Africa per year Aviation, estimated to be about 3% of the global carbon dioxide

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emissions, have been at the forefront of the climate change debate because of the sharp increase in cheap flights. Aviation is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy. Its impact on climate change is more significant than its proportionate responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, as emissions from international aviation are not included in the Kyoto Protocol. Moreover, the overall impact of the aviation sector on climate change is in fact between 2 - 4 times greater than its carbon dioxide emissions alone, since it has significant non-CO2 emissions including nitrogen oxides and condensation trails. The growth in demand for passenger and freight air travel is assisted by a generous taxation and fiscal support regime. Aviation is heavily subsidised by the taxpayer and by those who do not fly. The growth also presents policy makers with significant challenges. In the UK, official forecasts of passenger air travel over the next 30 years have assumed a tripling of passenger trips from 180 million to 500 million per annum (pa). The world’s airlines currently carry over 1.6 billion passengers and 30 million tonnes of freight annually and this is predicted to increase over the next 20 years as global consumption of goods and tourism expands. The rate of growth of aviation is far outstripping the rate of technological progress and improvements in efficiency and is of greatest worry for the environment.

Road The transport sector – excluding international aviation – is currently responsible for about a quarter of total UK carbon dioxide emissions, 80 per cent of this is contributed by road users. The annual global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by transport stand at 13 per cent of the total. In the UK, the central projection is for traffic to grow by 26 per cent between 2000-10, implying an annual average increase of 2.3 per cent over the decade. Overall, there are 33 million vehicles registered for use on UK roads in

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2006, including cars, vans, taxis, buses and trucks. Globally, the market for new passenger cars is increasing by some 3.8% to 50.7m units annually. The biggest contribution comes from developing regions like Asia, in particular, from China and India. Rail Environment problems from railway transportation are noise, vibrations and negative effects on the landscape. Influences on the landscape can be similar to that from roads, but railway tracks have important barrier effects (normally higher than roads, except motorways). There are also important emissions from railway transportation; one reason is that 13% of all rail traffic in the EU is diesel-powered. Another is that, both for diesel-powered and electric-powered locomotives, the loading rate is rather low (percentage of total loading capacity). An average loading factor is approx. 40-50% for the railway (for lorries 70-80% on average), since it is hard to balance the flows of goods in both directions for the railway. This is important to consider because we calculate environmental impacts in g/km in both directions. Best use of railways is crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating sustainable transport systems. Railways offer the most energy efficient performance both according to passenger/km and tonne/km. A shift of 3% from road to rail transport corresponds to 10% decrease in GHG-emissions. Moving from road to rail is key to achieving the Kyoto Protocol targets and beyond - and, at the same time, a sustainable global transport policy for the future. Shipping The annual emissions from shipping range between 600 and 800m tonnes of carbon dioxide, or up to 5% of the global total. This is nearly double Britain's total emissions and more than all African countries combined. 90 per cent of the world’s goods are carried by sea and world trade is increasing all the time. Carbon dioxide emissions from ships do

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not come under the Kyoto agreement or any proposed European legislation and few studies have been made of them, even though they are set to increase. The significance of shipping to the EU is reflected in the number of vessels that travel through its waters, estimated to exceed 30,000 different vessels weighing in excess of 500 gross tonnes each year. Shipping emissions have been rising for the past 20 years largely due to the fact that it uses bunker oil which is unrefined and more polluting. Shipping is responsible for transporting 90% of world trade which has doubled in 25 years. Agriculture Globally about one-third of the total human-induced warming effect due to GHGs comes from agriculture, land-use change and forestry. The impact of human activities on the atmosphere and the accompanying risks of long-term global climate change arises mostly from the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations due to emissions from agricultural productivity. The IPCC Third Assessment Report concluded that the poorest countries would be hardest hit by climate change, with reductions in crop yields in most tropical and sub-tropical regions due to decreased water availability, and new or changed insect pest incidence. In Africa and Latin America many rainfed crops are near their maximum temperature tolerance, so that yields are likely to fall sharply for even small climate changes; falls in agricultural productivity of up to 30% over the 21st century are projected. Marine life and the fishing industry will also be severely affected in some places. Forestry This forest loss contributes around 20% of global carbon dioxide

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emissions annually when cleared, overused or degraded. The climate change crisis has brought the plight of the remaining intact forests back into the spotlight. The world’s forests are under pressure as tropical forests are disappearing fast due to commercial logging, mining, hydropower, and the hunger for land. The last temperate and northern old growth forests are being destroyed by the timber, paper and oil industries. The livelihoods of forest peoples are being undermined and every year thousands of plant and animal species are disappearing. The forests react sensitively to a changing climate when managed sustainably, they produce wood fuel as a benign alternative to fossil fuels. Also, they have the potential to absorb one tenth of global carbon emissions into bio-mass, soils and products and store them in. Over the last four centuries half of the world’s forest have been cleared. Local and indigenous people directly depend on forest resources for their livelihoods. Over the past 20 years, governments everywhere have been turning over forested areas to local communities. To help local communities to develop sustainable practices and earn a living from the wood they harvest. Land degradation Human-induced land degradation adversely affects the livelihood of close to one billion of the poorest people and disrupts the structural and functional integrity of ecosystems, leading to loss of biodiversity and carbon sinks of global value. Inappropriate land use leads to degradation of land, and an associated decline of the quality of productivity of soil, water and vegetation. Land degradation affects 23% of the landscape under human use, including about 60% of the area of Africa and Asia. Each year an

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additional 20 million hectares of agricultural land becomes too degraded for crop production or is lost to others uses. Waste Waste does not just create an environmental impact: it also costs money. This waste is exacerbated as a result of over-consumption and unsustainable lifestyles. If it is not treated properly it can be very hazardous for the planet and health. The EU produces 1.3 billion tonnes of waste each year. In other words, 3.5 tonnes of refuse and lIQuid or solid waste per European citizen. It is estimated that 40 - 45 million tonnes of this are classed as hazardous, or particularly dangerous. Among other things it can be Ecotoxic, which causes damage to the environment and Carcinogenic, which causes cancer. Of the 3.5 tonnes of total waste per person per year, 535kg is domestic waste, i.e. what individuals put in their bins. This has increased from around 325kg twenty years ago, and is still on the way up in many countries. This figure is much less in any developing country, and is significantly higher for the developed countries. Military use Global warming aside, the military are responsible for widespread water, land and air pollution. Sonar radar systems underwater harm marine life. Depleted uranium munitions contaminate war-zones, troops, and especially production sites, with unnecessary radiation. RDX (widely used for military and industrial applications) and other toxic and/or carcinogenic waste litters military bases and war-zones. Military and its use of weapons pollute the atmosphere irresponsibly. The military, in its quest for ever more destructive weapons, uses highly energy-intensive equipment. If we eventually have to alter our economic model, would we rather sacrifice the ability to heat our homes and

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family, or machines of death? Military expenditures have long downgraded living standards for the civilian economy as government resources are diverted for purposes of destruction. Now the argument takes on a further element, as energy resources also become scarce – and clearly the only reasonable conclusion is that the armed forces are the least deserving of the limited supply we have. How global warming is affecting our world is the discussion in the next chapter.

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4

Global warming and how it’s affecting our world

We are witnessing global tragedies on a huge scale, as the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions increase in the atmosphere. In 2007, Australia had the biggest drought in living memory. The UK witnessed flash floods when 3 months of rain fell in 1 hour. The disaster struck and some towns were affected by floods and were out of electricity, food or water for days – a phenomenon, which hasn’t happened in the UK in the last 200 years of history. India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia witnessed one of the biggest floods in which 200 million people have been displaced in different parts of the continent. In Greece, owing to extreme heat, fires were raging for days at 170 locations in the country. Several thousand tourists and local residents were forced to flee a huge forest fire in northern Greece. Hurricanes in the Atlantic have grown more fierce and in intensity, pounding even harder the coast and lands of the Caribbean, Mexico and the USA. The last few vicious storms; Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Dean and Hurricane Felix have completely ravaged regions displacing inhabitants.

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Climate refugees have migrated into areas already inhabited by people with different cultures, religions, and traditions, increasing the potential for conflict. Stronger storms in the Pacific and Atlantic have threatened whole cities. Massive flooding in South Asia, Mexico, and countries in Africa has displaced millions. As temperature extremes have increased, tens of thousands have lost their lives. We are recklessly burning and clearing our forests and driving more and more species into extinction. The very web of life on which we depend is being ripped and frayed and the poorest are the worst hit by this tragedy. There is a shortage of food and land to grow crops. Owing to that, global food and energy prices are soaring all over the world making life difficult for the majority of the people on this earth. Climate change is dislodging large number of migrants who are vulnerable to rising sea levels and worsening droughts. At the time of writing this book, the world total carbon emissions stand at 28.9 billion tonnes of CO2 which is a growth of 28 per cent from 1995-2005 period. With the rapid industrialisation in the developed and developing world, these numbers will climb higher. Even if we were to stop emitting carbon now, the emissions would go on increasing in the atmosphere. The climate change threat is affecting different parts of the world in different ways: Africa At present, Africa emits 1.04 billion tonnes of CO2 – a growth rate of 28 percent in carbon emissions from 1995-2005. Its emissions are small but the continent is most vulnerable to climate change. By 2020, between 75 million and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to an increase in water stress due to climate change. Agricultural production,

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including access to food, is projected to be severely compromised by climate variability and change. This would further adversely affect food security and exacerbate malnutrition in the continent. In some African countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 per cent by 2020. Towards the end of the twenty-first century, projected sea-level rise will affect low-lying coastal areas with large populations. Asia At present, Asia emits 10.36 billion tonnes of CO2 – a growth rate of 58 percent carbon emissions from 1995-2005. China, India and Japan are among the top 5 emitters of carbon dioxide. Freshwater availability in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia, particularly in large river basins is projected to decrease due to climate change, which could affect more than a billion people by the 2050s. Coastal areas, especially the heavily-populated megadelta regions in South, East and Southeast Asia will be at greatest risk due to increased flooding from the sea and rivers. Climate change is projected to impinge on sustainable development of most developing countries of Asia, with the region’s rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and economic development. Australia and New Zealand Australia emits 4.06 billion tonnes of carbon emissions from 1995 – 2005. Significant loss of biodiversity is projected to occur by 2020 in some ecologically rich sites, including the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland Wet Tropics. Production from agriculture and forestry by 2030 is projected to decline over much of southern and eastern Australia and over parts of eastern New Zealand due to increased drought and fire. Europe At present, Europe emits 4.67 billion tonnes of CO2 – a growth rate of 9 percent carbon emissions from 1995-2005. In Southern Europe, climate change is projected to worsen conditions due to reduced water

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availability, hydropower potential, summer tourism and crop productivity. Mountain areas will face glacier retreat, reduced snow cover, winter tourism and extensive special losses. In Central and Eastern Europe, summer precipitation is projected to decrease, causing higher water stress. Russia alone is the third biggest emitter of carbon emissions in the world, emitting 1.696 billion tonnes of CO2. Freak weather events, such as the heat wave of 2003, and flash floods of UK in 2007, will become ever more common. Middle East At present, the Middle East emits 1.45 billion tonnes of CO2 – a growth rate of 62 percent carbon emissions from 1995-2005. The region is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, through an oil and gas industry which produces over 30 per cent of world oil supply and over 10 per cent of its gas. Central and South America At present, it emits 1.10 billion tonnes of CO2 – a growth rate of 29 percent carbon emissions from 1995-2005. There is a risk of significant biodiversity loss in many areas of tropical Latin America due to extensive deforestation. In drier areas, climate change is expected to lead to salinisation and desertification of agriculture lands. Sea-level rise is projected to cause increased risk of flooding in low-lying areas. North America At present, America, Canada and Mexico emits 6.99 billion tonnes of CO2 – a growth rate of 14 per cent carbon emissions from 1995-2005. Warming is western mountain ranges in projected to cause decreased snowpack, more winter flooding and reduced summer flows. Cities that currently experience heatwaves are expected to be further challenged by an increased number, intensity and duration of heatwaves. Coastal communities and habitats will be increasingly stressed by climate change impacts interacting with development and pollution.

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Polar Regions In the Arctic, additional impacts include reductions in the extent of sea ice and permafrost, increased coastal erosion and increased depth of permafrost seasonal thawing. In both polar regions, specific ecosystems and habitat are projected to be vulnerable, as climate barriers to species invasions are lowered. Small Islands Small Islands, whether located in the tropics or higher latitudes, have characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea-level rise and extreme events. Climate change is projected by mid-century to reduce water resources in many small inlands such as the Caribbean and the Pacific. Deterioration in coastal bleaching is expected to affect local resources. These are the latest UN figures for climate change emissions, up to 2005 but are already dated. Reliable but provisional estimates from Dutch government research estimates China’s CO2 emissions increased by 9 per cent in 2006 and had now overtaken the US emissions. BRIC Countries The effect of global warming will be severe on the largest emerging market economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China - the so-called BRICs. It is now some time since Goldman Sachs introduced the acronym, with the suggestion that global economic policymaking needed a radical overhaul to better represent the current and future economic order. Since then, a modest change to the International Monetary Fund's structure has been agreed and China and the other BRIC countries have been invited to fringe meetings of the Group of Seven advanced

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industrialised countries and the Group of Eight; but otherwise, very little has changed. Luckily, the rapid growth of the BRIC economies has helped strengthen the world economy in that time, both directly and indirectly. Nonetheless, the challenges that have arisen from the growing importance of these economies cannot be met under the current global governance structure. Among the main challenges to consider are the availability - and security of - energy and other resource supplies; a better balance of global capital flows; a meaningful reduction in global imbalances; the shared acceptance of globalisation; and of course, a credible plan for reduction in global greenhouse gases. The last issue in particular, highlighted recently in the UK in Sir Nicholas Stern's report on climate change, has little chance of having enduring impact unless leading developed and developing countries think seriously about global warming, alongside the other critical economic issues. .

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In the second part of the book, we will chart out ideas to save the planet from global warming.

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Part 2 Climate Change IQ Solutions

What we should do to save the planet from global

warming

The ideas and initiatives are divided into 6 headings for different sections of society to act in a united, concerted way to implement Climate Change IQ solutions. The ideas are highlighted at the beginning of each initiative and then explained in more detail.

a. Governments/ countries/ cities b. United Nations and its agencies c. Private sector / industry/ corporations d. NGOs/ civil society e. Individuals

f. Charities/ foundations/ trusts

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5

Governments/ countries and cities

Putting the right policies and initiatives to solve global warming.

Countries to have ambitious targets to become carbon neutral, exchange web based information and agree to a universal carbon tax

Countries should follow Costa Rica’s example of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. It plans to be the cleanest nation by offsetting all of its carbon emissions before any other nation in the world – attaining carbon neutral status by 2030. The tiny Central American nation is cleaning up its fossil fuel-fired power plants, promote hybrid vehicles and increase tree planting to balance its emissions. Costa Rica is a leader on green issues, with protected areas like national parks and biological reserves covering more than a quarter of its territory. The country generates 78 percent of its energy with hydroelectric power and another 18 percent by wind or geothermal.

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All countries should follow the Costa Rican Model. One third of its country is parks, biological reserves and protected areas where no forest can be exploited and trees cut. It now plans to cut emissions from transport, farming and industry. Costa Rica has a head start. According to the United Nations, in 2003 the country produced roughly 1.5 tonnes of carbon per person, Protected forests of Costa Rica compared to close to 10 tonnes in Norway. At the heart of the Costa Rica's anti-carbon efforts are payments that compensate landowners for growing trees to capture carbon and protect watersheds. The government also plans payments to protect wildlife habitat and scenic beauty. The program, launched in 1997 and funded by a 3.5 percent tax on gas and by loans and grants, now pays out about $15 million a year to nearly 8,000 property owners. Like Costa Rice, Colombia is one of the top ten environmentally friendly countries, ranking in excellence.

The ranking is called the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) which is conducted by US universities Yale and Colombia; they rate success on the protection and reduction of environmental stress on human health, and promoting strong ecosystems with sound natural resource management. The top ranking nations are Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, which were shortly followed by Costa Rica in fifth place and Colombia in ninth. Costa Rica has gained its position by allocating its countries strength, which is forestry. Colombia has spearheaded the same

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objectives and more by also reducing national consumption of ozone depleting substances that are emitted from appliances such as freezers. Between 1995 and 2007 Colombia reduced consumption by an astounding 86%. Another example is Norway’s ambitious drive to become carbon neutral by 2030. The agreement outlines a planned reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions of 15-17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. These will be implemented by using incentives for the public and considerable funding for public transport and renewable energy resources. Norway is the fifth largest oil exporter and the biggest exporter of natural gas in Western Europe, making Norway aware of its environmental responsibility. Electricity is the main contributor to the countries CO2 emissions and the countries political parties are now making continuous efforts in order to please the public. To assist to become carbon neutral, government should agree to a universal carbon tax to reduce emissions around the world. It can be done by a 2 prong approach - cap and trade and imposing a carbon tax. We need both to reduce the demand of carbon usage for a better environment. With cap-and-trade programmes, governments limit the level of carbon that can be emitted by an industry. Companies that hold their emissions below the cap can sell their remaining allowance on a carbon market, while companies that exceed their limit must purchase credits on that market. Carbon taxes are more straightforward: a set tax rate is placed on the consumption of carbon in any form – fossil fuel, electricity, gas - with the idea that raising the price will encourage industries and individuals to consume less. At the moment, cap-and-trade has the upper hand, since it serves as the backbone of the current Kyoto Protocol.

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Another initiative for cities and towns to becoming carbon neutral is to use web-based information to radically cut carbon levels in their economies in the coming decades. One such model has been the Climate Neutral Network which has been launched by the UNEP, focussing on global warming. Among the founding nations are Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway and New Zealand. It is designed as an information exchange for nations, local governments and businesses which seek to cut greenhouse emissions to zero. The movement will be driven, not just be the urgent need to address climate change but by the abundant economic opportunities emerging for those willing to embrace a transition to a green economy

Rich and Poor Countries to work together for reducing greenhouse gases

Mandatory CO2 cuts and reductions need to be made by developed and developing countries. A paradigm shift can only be achieved if we think and believe that the climate change threat is as big as the threat of terrorism or nuclear weapons, which can annihilate our world in a matter of minutes by bombing us out of existence. If we can bring it to the same level of importance and urgency, it becomes part of government’s agenda to avert a global warming crisis (which can only be done in cooperation and unity with the rest of the world). The governments in cooperation with the United Nations should in unity agree to a universal binding commitment (successor to Kyoto), for reducing greenhouse gases for saving the planet from global warming. We should work for stabilizing global temperatures to remain at 2 degrees Celsius. It should include different mandatory targets for

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reducing CO2s. 80% for developed countries and 15% for developing countries. It should be done by a universal monitoring body. The governments of the world have the machinery and the mechanisms to put it into practice.

Move climate change issue “top of Agenda”

Governments, in association with the UN, should move climate change to the very top of their national and international agenda. Climate change is now taken seriously as a political issue. It is increasingly becoming a vote winner in Europe and the US. However, it is still not ‘top of the agenda’ in most politicians eyes. Raising it to a level of utmost importance is essential if we are to guarantee our children’s inheritance of this planet in any reasonable state. Broad information dissemination is crucial. Indeed, quite frankly the IPCC summary should become a household read! Perhaps if the IPPC collaborates with relatable personalities/leaders to communicate this to a wider audience. The scientific authority behind the document – which represents thousands of scientists from a range of disciplines – is unprecedented. The public should be made aware of the fact that the evidence is no longer ambiguous. Whilst it is less spectacular and newsworthy, climate change has a much greater potential for human tragedy and physical damage than terrorists could ever wish for.

Change general accounting system to release capital for environmental protection

Fundamentally alter the current approach to accounting in order to balance the priorities of economic growth and environmental protection. One academically respected and interesting idea is to adjust the current system of national income

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calculation to account for losses in “natural capital”. At the moment, sitting in a traffic jam increases global income as the increased consumption of petrol registers as a positive entry in accounts. This of course is absurd, as this causes not only reduced quality of life but also significant environmental damage. Under the proposed system, fossil fuel use would lead to a negative entry in the natural resource base as well as a negative entry in environmental capital due to the damage of the carbon emissions. What we are talking about here is a revolutionary, yet utterly simple, way of ensuring that only sustainable economic growth occurs. The process often accused as having responsibility for environmental damage could thus actually prove to be the most effective way of preventing it, as governments strive to achieve sustainable growth. There have been efforts in industrialised countries to approach such a situation – the “System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounts” (SEEA) already promotes sound decision making by treating natural assets such as coal reserves or the atmosphere as capital stock rather than infinitely exploitable freebies. Western governments should allow such instruments to eventually play a bigger role in policy than the standard GDP accounts of today. Save water to save lives, halt the spread of diseases and have better water management to safeguard from droughts

Water will be one of the most dominant global issues of this century as it will be one of the most important resources. So we need to promote the conservation and management of water. Its availability of supply is threatening the world’s social stability and creating tensions in many parts of the world. The governments have to put in more investment to manage existing water resources and

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make progress in water harvestation, in water recycling schemes and invest in infrastructure to stop waste and leaks of water. In the future, with the growth in global population, conflicts will erupt between water-rich and water-poor nations. Things could get more hostile over the Nile, shared by Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda, and the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra systems (shared by India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh).

We need better water management systems as there is a clear link between global warming and drier conditions in the Northern tropics and subtropics. As climate change continues we are going to have wetter winters and extreme summers. The Australian drought in 2007 has changed the way the Country treats its water resources. Because of the long-term effects of the drought now showing, many state governments are attempting to "drought-proof" their states with more permanent solutions.

Australia in the past hundred years has relied solely on water from dams for agriculture and consumption. Now schemes like desalinated water, water-recycling, government rebates for home-owners to install water tanks, and tougher restrictions on industries have come into effect.

Brisbane is being supplied via larger dams, a pipeline and possibly also recycling. A desalination project has been initiated on the Gold Coast, Queensland. In 2006 Perth completed a seawater desalination plant that will supply the city with 17% of its needs. Drought conditions

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Each and every city & town should have the cleanest water for its citizens and inhabitants. Fresh air and clean water is going to be the most precious commodity of the future. Filthy air is poisonous and leads to respiratory diseases and poisoning. Dirty water can lead to high levels of arsenic leading to diarrhea, cholera and malaria.

The overall picture of water supply will get worse in coming years as global warming brings lower rainfall and increased evaporation of water which will change the pattern of snow melting from mountain areas. Here are seven ways to tackle the problem: Conserve catchments and wetlands Balance conservation and consumption Change attitudes towards the scarcity of water Repair ageing infrastructure Increase charges to farmers for water use Reduce water contamination and Increase R&D of water systems Abolish nuclear weapons for combating climate change Governments should bring an end to the nuclear threat by controlling weapons proliferation and opposing any new generation of nuclear missiles. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction - they indiscriminately incinerate people and contaminate air, soil, and water across national boundaries and across generations. That's why the world agreed to work to eliminate nuclear weapons decades ago and ratified the Non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

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By renewing, replacing or upgrading Trident, the UK would be breaking international law and the use of such a weapon would likely breach international humanitarian law through its indiscriminate and uncontrollable effects. All this comes with an enormous price tag. The government will spend tens of billions of pounds on a new nuclear weapon at a time when the most tanglible threat we face is not a nuclear attack, but climate change. Governments should put a stop to the development of new nuclear weapons in the UK and support nuclear disarmament around the world. What is needed now is global cooperation to combat climate change for any chance of real global security. As the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El Baradei, put it: "You cannot continue to have a cigarette dangling from your mouth and ask everybody else not to smoke."

All of the Mayors of the world to promote greener cities as a priority, promote low carbon zones and provide public transport, introduce congestion charge for clean air and reducing carbon footprint in cities

There are over 3000 cities in the world and collectively, Mayors should have more initiatives to make their cities greener. There is enormous potential for environmental gains in urban areas, especially the mega-cities of the US, EU, China and India. The universal concepts discussed should obviously be implemented, such as water conservation, tree planting, recycling etc. However, the high population density of cities (in which an estimated 60% of this world’s inhabitants will come to live by 2030) gives them further potential for carbon savings. Urban lighting is a priority. Buildings can be constructed to release far less CO2 per person than would be

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The Gherkin, London, one of the less intensive energy consuming buildings

possible in less densely populated areas. Indeed, roofs lined with solar panels and wind turbines, ultra-efficient building materials, water recycling, “intelligent” glass which regulates heat all year round, capturing natural light and ventilation all already mean that a carbon-neutral building is possible. The “Gherkin” in London, designed by Lord Norman Foster, by use of some of these methods is only half as energy-thirsty as other comparable buildings.

Urban transport systems can reap economies of scale too, by having very small levels of emissions of carbon per passenger kilometer. Urban mass transit has always been a significant issue, but with oil becoming permanently expensive, it seems that the railroad and more efficient road use are ever more important. Rail travel should be subsidised so that an equal journey made by car is more expensive thereby incentivising rail travel. The trend in recent times is that of ever decreasing marginal costs for road use, failing to reflect the environmental burden that cars inflict. Furthermore, fast lanes for buses are essential across developed cities, as well as for cars with multiple passengers should be widespread. To encourage car-pooling and congestion charging in major cities.

Residents need to be closer to the city centre in order to: reduce traffic and building inefficiency, free up land for use as green open space, and benefit from

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economies of density in energy distribution. This is the only viable long-term solution, so why delay implementation?

Municipalities and councils should provide bicycles to paddle from home to office especially in the cities where the traffic is always heavy. There should be bike stations like the car parks parked free of charge and bikes can be parked at the end of the journey at a bike park station. Here is an excellent idea which is being practiced in the city of Paris. There is no carbon footprint and it is also good exercise as you cycle to your office, shopping or when visiting a relative. Paris has started a bike service that lets riders take cycles on short trips around the city at very low cost. The scheme has posted more than 10,600 bicycles at 750 stations in the city and is the latest effort to green Paris. Some traffic lanes have been removed, creating a total of 230 miles of bike paths, in an effort to encourage cyclists whose numbers here have risen by 50% over the past 10 years.

Council and municipalities should have a target to obtain two-third of its electricity from renewable sources and work for low carbon zones as part of its redevelopment / regeneration strategy.

This is imperative in larger, decentralized countries such as the USA. The current US federal government has little in the way of CO2 legislation, but cities are taking their own steps. California is perhaps the best example. Local councils should aim to obtain a sizable proportion of their electricity needs from renewable sources, in order to combat disinterested national governments and augment the efforts of cooperative ones. Local councils have the advantage of being more sensitive to local concerns, and are thus more likely to be able to place solar, wind etc. generating facilities in tactful and acceptable places. Using public money to kick-start local renewable energy distribution

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channels will help bring down costs for the private sector and make private adoption of green facilities cheaper and easier.

The cities of the world should follow London’s congestion charge model in reducing pollution and congestion on roads. The implementation of a £8 charge for non-exempt vehicles entering London’s most congested areas in 2003 should be example for metropolises across the world. Recent analysis estimate that: volumes of traffic within the zone have fallen by 21%; that traffic is moving faster; and consequently that congestion has been reduced by a significant 30%. Not only has the scheme provided time saving and road reliability benefits by circumvention and journey time changes, but crucially has reduced air pollution (nitrous oxides and particulate matter less than 2.5 micro metres by diameter) by 12%, as people switch to public transport. Support from the London scheme went from approximately 40% pre-implementation to a solid majority post-implementation. Mayors around the world thus have no excuse – congestion schemes are economical, environmentally sound and political winners. Congestion pricing is an effective way to encourage efficient use of vehicles. Cities around the world - including London and Singapore - have adopted congestion pricing, which seeks to reduce car use by charging drivers to use the most heavily trafficked inner urban streets.

London leads the Way in the World’s Largest Low Emissions Zone. London is one of the most polluted cities in Europe. The levels of particulate matter are well above EU standards. The UK

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should improve the air quality for everyone, especially those who suffer with asthma, cardio-vascular conditions and all other conditions that are exacerbated by particulate matter. The scheme will initially apply to diesel Lorries over 12 tonnes. License plates will be snapped by 75 cameras placed in as many different sites; these will be checked against a central database to ensure all vehicles comply. Should the Lorries not have retro-fitted exhaust scrubbers they will be charged £200 a day to be in the zone. Even foreign Lorries will have to register onto the database otherwise fines will be issued for not complying. This is an example that needs to be followed or lobbied by other countries such as India and China and their cities.

Build Eco-towns for sustainable development

Eco-towns and sustainable communities’ development should take place as they are commercially viable, costing little more than conventional new housing. They will save on car journeys and recycled drain water will be used for most of the household requirements along with natural heating and lighting coming from renewable sources. Urge council / municipalities to plan new homes to be greener and energy friendly. Council and municipalities should have more widespread materials / waste recycling systems to allow householders to put all their recyclables in bins to be collected.

Bring legislation for zero carbon homes Governments should have a nationally agreed framework about which is the best way of ensuring all new homes are zero

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carbon. The improved homes should be sustainable, ensure pioneering technologies that meet customer expectations and should be backed by proper warranties. Councils should include in their local development plans reasonable requirements for higher energy efficiency standards and to promote micro generations of new renewable and low carbon energy. Give more cash for green cars

Governments should provide bigger tax incentive for hybrid vehicles In the United States, many hybrid cars will make up for their premium cost because of higher gas prices and tax credits from the U.S. government on the more fuel efficient vehicles. The example should be followed by the other countries.

Hybrid cars and trucks, which get improved mileage in city driving by running on a combination of gas and electric power, cost between $1,200 and $7,000 more than traditional versions of the same vehicles. High gas prices and generous tax credits now offset the high sales prices of some hybrids, assuming owners keep their hybrids for a few years. Hybrids currently account for 1 percent of new car sales in the United States. But Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., the hybrid market leader, sees its annual hybrid sales topping 1 million units soon after 2010.

Ban logging, patrol forests and parks, plant trees and maintain forests for renewal of life

Governments should ban industrial logging and penalise offenders as the loss from deforestation, logging and felling trees is around 20% of all the CO2 emissions in the universe. In Indonesia, illegal logging is now taking place in 37 out of 41 national parks. At the height of the looting, forest loss reached 2.8 million hectares a

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year, the worst in the world, with satellite images showing 60 million hectares of forests in a severely damaged state. Such wanton destruction has been blamed for a series of ecological disasters, such as floods and landslides, and further threatening a host of endangered species. Traditional livelihoods of forest-dwelling communities are lost forever.

The logging at these scales is not done by individual impoverished people, but by well-organised elusive commercial networks. Governments and the international community should assist countries like Indonesia with the equipment, training and particularly funding needed to enforce and patrol their national parks from illegal loggers. The World Bank has begun raising $250 million for a pilot fund for avoiding deforestation projects. The idea is to slow down deforestation and for rich nations to compensate poorer nations for taking care of their tropical trees. Major timber consuming countries should also enact laws banning the import and sale of timber and wood products obtained illegally in the country of origin.

Reforest, plant trees and maintain existing forests. There should be large-scale plans of re-forestation and planting trees in rural and urban parts of the world. Trees act as vital winds breaks, holding soil together in tropical storms and preventing mudslides. We should help reforest whole areas putting more saplings on slopes, and help prevent storms from washing away people’s homes and livelihoods. We should preserve forests and restore coral reefs, protect the countryside, preserve the parks and greenways and the woodlands. Open tree conservation societies should look after trees forests and woodland. Woodlands and tress play an important part in our life and relationship with nature. Once you plant a tree it takes a number of years before it can mature, can absorb carbon dioxide

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and exude oxygen. In those number of years, when it is just a sapling it needs to be nurtured before it is grown into a beautiful tree – a symbol of renewal and life.

Every country should have a new forestry department or ministry for stopping deforestation, logging and tree cutting. Schemes / initiatives for conserving and preserving vast forests like the Amazon and Congo should be promoted urgently to stop further carbon dioxide emissions. Given that most trees take decades to grow to a decent size, and we need to stabilise greenhouse gas levels right now, destroying established timber would counteract all other valiant efforts at carbon sequestration.

Offset carbon emissions generated by traveling and use Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to offset it.

Governments and international organizations should offset their greenhouse gas emissions, which they generate by traveling. The usage of carbon dioxide emitted while traveling should be calculated annually and the equivalent amount should be invested in a globally managed fund for developing countries to be deployed to combat the effects of climate change. The United Nations has substantially offset the carbon emissions – estimated at approximately 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide – resulting from Bali-Indonesia’s high-level

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climate change conference in December 2007, which brought together heads of State and government as well as other senior officials from over 150 nations.

A small-scale hydroelectric project in Intibuca, Honduras, near the city of La Esperanza, has offset carbon emissions arising from the travel for Bali-Indonesia’s conference by UN staff. Since 2005, the site has been registered as a clean development mechanism (CDM), a system which allows projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction credits, engage the business world and create low-cost opportunities to cut back emissions. The Honduras project, which is at the site of an abandoned hydropower plant, offers power stability to the electric grid in the surrounding area, and also provides significant local social and environmental benefits, such as supplying electricity to rural areas, reducing dependency on firewood, increasing local employment and bolstering reforestation. It also provides such benefits as roads maintenance and repairs as the project obtains economical stability; provision of water for a few households in the immediate vicinity of the project; first aid training; greater engagement of women in work life and community issues and efforts to engage the communities; and the municipality authorities to better manage the environment and the area as a whole, including waste management. Promote Rail transport

The use of rail transport should be encouraged and the government should follow the recommendations below:

- On the sector level all railway-relevant technology, including

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Rapid transit buses, Mexico City, Mexico

hybrid trains, which can improve energy efficiency should be brought together and assessed for potential to reduce energy consumption.

- Development of a clear set of sustainability outcomes that rail should aim to deliver over the short, medium and long term.

- Government should provide relevant information, support, and where necessary financial assistance, to help the industry achieve these outcomes.

- Sustainability issues (such as climate change) should be considered when determining the ‘fair and efficient allocation of the capacity of railway facilities’ and when reviewing the electricity charging regime.

The rail sector needs to continuously work on how to improve energy efficiency, both on company and sector levels. In 2002 the German Railways reached their aim of reducing their energy consumption by 25% of the 1990 level, three years ahead of schedule, and have already set ambitious aims for reducing energy consumption with a further 15-25% (depending on the framework conditions) by 2020. These results are because of, among others, the ongoing ”EnergieSparen” (Save Energy) project, to reduce energy consumption to 10% by teaching and encouraging drivers to drive in a more energy-efficient way. Several European railways now adapt this method. In the United States, where rail is the leading mode for freight transport with a market share of 40%, fuel efficiency increased by more than 60% between 1980 and 2001.

Promote Buses to ease congestion, improve air quality and cut carbon emissions

Follow the Metro bus, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Mexico

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City which has revolutionised the public transport system. It has had far reaching benefits in the improvement of air quality and congestion. One of lines covers a distance of some 20 kilometres, running in a dedicated bus-lane built against the central reservation of Avenida de los Insurgentes. Avenida Insurgentes is the city's main north-to-south arterial route, constitutes a section of the Pan-American Highway, and is reputed to be the longest urban avenue in the world. The system replaced 372 standard buses and microbuses that served Insurgentes with 80 articulated buses that run at an average speed of 20 km/h. Doing so, travel times along the corridor are reduced by 50%. Besides addressing the bus service problem, the BRT Metrobús project emerged in the context of the city’s Air Quality Program Proaire 2002-2010. According to Metrobús, annual environmental benefits include a reduction of gasses of 35,400 tons of CO2, along with other gasses.

Preserve Peatlands as they act as carbon sinks

Governments should fund to restore peatlands to help absorb carbon dioxide. Peatlands are essentially ecosystems where the production of biomass exceeds its decomposition. The relevant result of this is that they act as carbon sinks – absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere than they give it – and are thus an essential tool in the fight against global warming. They have been historically discarded as unproductive land. However, in Canada they cover an impressive 11% its territory alone. The cultivation of these peatlands and their dominant species,

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sphagnum, should be encouraged and catalysed by government funding in most of the countries.

Save heritage sites from pollution

Governments and UN should save the European and worldwide heritage sites from the impact of gas emissions, heavy traffic, and desertification. The amount of salts deposited on marble and limestone, because of lower humidity in parts of the world, can potentially weaken and break structures such as Taj Mahal in India, the Parthenon in Athens and the Colosseum in Rome. The rising sea level could threaten thousands of monuments across European coastlines and not all monuments can be saved from the threat of climate change. In certain instances, intervention may be necessary. Solutions will have to be tailored to each different cultural heritage site, and societies, not lawmakers, will need to set priorities and decide what's important to their cultural identity. The demise of ancient cities of Angkor, Maya and Mohenjo-Daro is a wakeup call to be more vigilant in our efforts to preserve the sites. The reasons for their decline includes; over exploitation by tourism, and serious ecological problems, such as deforestation, topsoil degradation and erosion. Impoverished Cambodia has relied heavily on the Angkor temples to earn much-needed tourism revenue. But in recent years, conservationists have expressed concerns

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about stress to the monuments, including the famed Angkor Wat, from the ever-increasing number of

The ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro, India

visitors. They also fear that the unrestricted pumping of underground water to meet the rapidly rising demand of hotels, guesthouses and residents in the provincial town may be undermining Angkor's foundations, destabilizing the earth beneath the temples so much that they might sink and collapse. This photo is of Mohenjo-Daro, India. The historic city of Venice, together with its Lagoon - one of the Mediterranean's most important wetlands which is a unique part of the world's common heritage. It should be prevented from flooding and should be declared a heritage site for by UNESCO.

Protect citizen’s health from ill effects of climate change

Ministries of health and environment should work in coordination to address health problems related to climate change and air pollution that cause the death of 7 million people each year. Greenhouse gases, which are linked to global warming, are also responsible for water pollution and hazardous waste which impacts peoples’ health. A 2005 study by the World Health Organization indicated that global climate change is directly tied to increased rates of malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhea. It estimated that climate change contributes to 150,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses each year.

Historic city of Venice

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Bring tough anti global warming laws to reduce carbon dioxide

Copy California – Despite a lack of federal stimulus on the issue, Governor Schwarzenegger has recently proved the power that local government is capable of wielding. Signing a tough anti-global warming bill mandating the state of California’s emissions to be cut by 80% by 2050, the governor has set a bold example to sub-national jurisdictions everywhere. The efforts of Terry Tamminen, his environmental advisor are also crucial – in trying to catalyse the copying of California’s methods in other US States. The two key methods the state looks likely to utilize are the introduction of a carbon trading system with low emitting thresholds, and a continuation of the state’s policy of enforcing vigorous environmental standards upon automobile manufacturers.

Use LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) for lighting streets and public places

Light Up Your City - Campaigning for your lights in the streets to be with Cities can save energy - and money - by illuminating public spaces with LEDs. The new white, brighter fixtures use 40% less electricity than the high-pressure sodium bulbs used and last longer. LEDs can be used at traffic lights, outdoor displays and stadiums; airports even should use LEDs on their taxiways. If your city is still burning tax money on old lights, ask your local mayor why.

Old Colorado City joins a growing list of cities switching to low energy tree and city lights. The city's town

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A worker in a coal plant

managers decided to trade in their inefficient incandescent holiday lights for LED Christmas lights. The city purchased 120 new sets of multi-coloured LED Christmas tree lights. The new LED lights are 80% more efficient than the incandescent mini lights they will replace and are rated to last for more than 200,000 hours.

Governments to assist in building new clean power plants using renewable energy and use technology to capture and store carbon in existing power plants.

Set a Higher Standard for cars and power plants. If cars have to meet energy standards, why not power plants? Carbon-emission standards limiting the amount of CO2 that a new power plant can spew are in place in only a handful of states. California's tough new rules virtually exclude new coal plants until clean-coal technology comes on line, and could establish a national standard - just as they might for auto emissions. It could also spur investment in renewable more rapidly than carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems. Capture the Carbon - Coal is one of the dirtiest fuels around and a major source of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. In many countries, half the electricity generated comes from coal. What

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if coal-fired plants stopped spewing their carbon dioxide fumes into the air and instead sequestered them—pumped them deep into the ground for storage? Carbon sequestration is (despite its name) a simple-sounding idea that's exciting scientists, governments and energy companies as a way to cut emissions without disrupting energy supplies. One coal-fired plant in Denmark is working to trap carbon flue gases and store them in four spots, including an unused oil field off the coast of Spain. A Swedish utility is testing new ways to extract pure carbon dioxide from coal emissions in a lignite plant in eastern Germany. In the biggest test so far, a Norwegian energy firm is injecting 1 million tons of CO2 a year from the Sleipner gas field into a saline aquifer under the North Sea. All the basic technology is already here to be used.

Governments should legislate and subsidise power stations running on alternative energy. They should have universal mandatory agreement on using carbon capture and storage technology, to ease the transition process to clean energy technologies and to permit trading. Whilst we are waiting for a free market system curbing emissions to become truly operative, efforts should be taken to make the sequestering of carbon from the worst fossil-fuel based generators compulsory. These companies may well face bankruptcy if the true cost of their contribution to global warming is factored into decision making. Governments should assist businesses in providing clean energy by assisting them in projects which can offset carbon emissions.

In the future, governments should not approve new coal fire powered stations. The UK government is setting a bad example by approving a new coal fire powered station at Kingsnorth in Kent. The new power station will make a mockery of UK efforts to reduce carbon emissions, increasing climate change, which is already hitting the poor the hardest. This single UK power

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station will release more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere than the whole country of Ghana. 7 more power stations are proposed across the UK from Edinburgh to the Midlands to the South.

Rich and poor to work together for fending global warming

As the world attempts to adjust to global warming in time, richer and poorer countries, with global cooperation and proper organization are likely to see some benefits from climate change as some colder regions will get warmer. Developed countries should provide developing countries with finance assistance, technology and know-how for developing countries to adapt to worst climate change scenarios. Rich countries can also join with poorer countries in taking part in CDM projects whereby the high polluting countries can start CMD projects to offset their extra emissions in developing countries. Build better weather forecasting systems for saving lives and to prevent spread of diseases We need better and detailed forecast of weather from city to city for rainfall, and hurricanes in advance, as global warming continues to affect us in a drastic way. The world is experiencing, in some parts, flooding and downpours while in other parts experiencing extremely hot and dry weather. In the summer of 2007, while parts of Greece, Hungary and Romania had drier conditions, fires and droughts, the UK faced heavy rainfall and flooding. These conditions are the result of human activity and damaging to the economy, infrastructure and contribute to the spread of diseases.

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Governments should give subsidies for renewable projects

Governments should make available environmentally friendly finance for initiating solar panels, wind farms and hydroelectric project. Mass procurement of renewable energy by government departments is one method of kick-starting the renewables market. However, another way, and one which can be used in addition to procurement, is to provide cheap and reliable finance for the privates sector. If capital were provided at an interest rate equal to the rate of inflation, then it would drastically reduce the risk and costs of investment in green energy production, thereby catalysing the expansion of the market. The government will also be making a strong statement that green energy, like higher education, is worth investing in if the private sector refuses to take the risk.

Distribute seeds free of charge to offset global warming

Cities should distribute seeds free of charge to land owners, gardeners and house owners to plant trees which absorb the most carbon dioxide. In essence, trees, as kings of the plant world, have much more “woody biomass” to store CO2 than smaller plants, and as a result are considered nature’s most efficient carbon sinks. Given the choice, foresters interested in maximising the absorption and storage of CO2 (known as “carbon sequestration”)

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usually favour younger trees that grow more quickly than their older cohorts. However, slower growing trees can store much more carbon over their significantly longer lives.

Tree planters should consider the following options.

- Plant the Right Tree for the Right Location. Scientists are busy studying the carbon sequestration potential of different types of trees in various parts of the U.S., including Eucalyptus in Hawaii, loblolly pine in the Southeast, bottomland hardwoods in Mississippi, and poplars in the Great Lakes.

- Choose Low-Maintenance Trees to Maximise Carbon Absorption. Avoid planting trees that require a lot of maintenance, as the burning of fossil fuels to power equipment like trucks and chainsaws will only erase the carbon absorption gains otherwise made.

- Plant Any Tree Appropriate for Region and Climate to Offset Global Warming. Ultimately, trees of any shape, size or genetic origin help absorb CO2. Most scientists agree that the least expensive and perhaps easiest way for individuals to help offset the CO2 that they generate in their everyday lives is to plant a tree…any tree, as long as it is appropriate for the given region and climate.

Provide cash for renewable energy to build sustainable houses

Provide financial incentives for adoption of clean energy solutions and link them to better housing, buildings and renewable energy uses. Governments should have a sustainable building code which should considerably reduce emissions from buildings to include:

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- Tougher standards aimed at major reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from new homes, including

- Reductions in carbon emissions produced by new commercial buildings as well as the refurbishment of existing buildings.

- Making the Code mandatory.

Build defences and barriers to save cities, prevent natural disasters, and protect vulnerable places by adopting a risk management approach Cities and towns need to improve our drainage, flood defences, especially costal defences. In the summer of 2007, there were examples of two extremes of weather in Europe. Floods in Britain and stifling temperatures and forest fires in eastern and southern Europe. Hundreds of lives and an estimated 500 deaths have been attributed to hotter weather. Several hundred acres of woodland have been burned - this can be described as an ecological crime without punishment. Governments of all advanced and less developed countries have to invest in improvement of drainage, flood defences, surface water as well fresh water. Governments should mitigate natural disasters by building coastal defences and other barriers. We are faced with a range of strategies on this topic. Where economically viable, it is preferable to abandon land in a process of managed retreat. It is often cheaper to not engage in futile attempts to battle nature, but rather simply compensate land owners for their loss. Alternatively, limited intervention involves prevention of further building towards rivers or seas, as well as encouraging natural buffers in the space between occupied land and sea. Marshlands

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are ideal for this. Indeed, their removal in low-lying land in New Orleans has been blamed for exacerbating the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Finally, in heavily developed and valuable areas (e.g. Canary Wharf in London) it will be sensible to invest in aggressive defences. Concrete and other heavy material can be placed strategically to absorb wave power, and/or contain excess water flows temporarily. Hopefully the necessity of these investments will be becoming increasingly evident to coastal countries everywhere. Katrina drilled home to the Americans the importance of storm defences, as did recent floods in Britain. Much of the world faces similarly vulnerable coasts and rivers, prone to flooding and intense storms. In the face of global climatic upheaval though, this issue will become more and more pressing. Rich governments tend to face significant domestic political pressure to invest in defences. However, the only option for poorer countries looks likely to be limited to the abandonment of land and valuable assets. Greater multilateral Western support for protection of vulnerable areas in poorer countries is needed.

Experts warn that the rising sea levels due to global warming will soon begin to threaten human habitats. Another consideration is that there is an increasing number of illegal structures that are being built along Mediterranean coastlines such as Spain. Currently there is a 40% cover, and experts believe in twenty years time it could be as much as 50%. The Spanish government plans to develop a list of threatened marine species by 2011 and establish a network of protected coastal areas by 2012.

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Lessons should be learnt from cyclone Nargis in Burma and Hurricane Katrina in America. The impact of widespread devastation caused by natural disasters has left us woefully unprepared for their consequences. We need to put adaptation plans for short term and mitigation in the long run. A risk management based approach of climate change should be taken, where risk is likelihood of some thing happening, times the consequences of that action. Such analysis can indicate what strategies can be put in place to avoid future natural disasters. The response to future disasters can be coordinated in a better way by stockpiling of relief goods, warehouses, contingency planning and applications of engineering solutions to strengthen dams and embankments.

Create unlimited green energy for a healthy planet

Governments can create an unlimited green energy system The figures for global renewable energy resources suggest that they could theoretically supply about 3000 times our current global energy needs. It may not be practical to exploit this in its entirety, but with financial incentives, support schemes, and the endless opportunities there are, it is easy to switch to unlimited, green energy sources. With this we could

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Opportunities for renewable energy sources

A carbon depletion from forest fire

create an energy system that helps to protect the health of the planet’s systems on which we are utterly dependent. Each country could install a mixture of renewable energy technologies reflective of its natural renewables endowment. Some countries are able to exploit geothermal, others solar, some wind and wave, and some biomass. Many have

a good balance of different resources. Stop burning forest fires, deforestation, and start biosequestration schemes

Governments and city authorities need to engage in better fire management techniques in order to stop mass carbon depletions. They should not allow fires for land clearance and stop the deliberate burning of forests. Each year, wildfires, like in Australia and California, wipe out whole forests. For example, large firebreaks should intersperse forests so that fires do not spread uncontrollably. Also, buildings should be fire resistant to try and slow the blaze. Controlled and localised fires will help to avoid the sort of huge fires that severely affect the

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atmosphere’s CO2 concentration. Governments should take responsibility to replant all the missing trees to combat global warming and protect the environment. While degraded tropical forests and peatlands release their stores of carbon over decades, burning releases these stores into the atmosphere rapidly and damages the capacity of the ecosystem to recover. In 1997/98, Indonesia witnessed an abnormally long, El Niño-influenced, dry season. Uncontrollable fires across millions of hectares of degraded peatlands and forest released GHG emissions equivalent to up to 40% of annual global emissions from fossil fuels for the 1990s. Stopping deliberate burning within concession areas would slow the pace of the alarming GHG emissions from the clearing of peat forests, but would not prevent them. This is because the very process of drainage makes entire peatland landscapes dry, volatile and therefore susceptible to fire. Governments need to encourage biosequestration in a large way to stem the tide of large scale deforestation. To encourage biosequestration, promote biodiversity; develop land management practices; support farmers to adopt risk management approaches; encourage plantings in priority areas (such as riparian zones) for biodiversity improvements and permanent carbon sequestration. National governments and businesses also have a part to play. Australia leads the pack here, with its Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme, which has encouraged private investment in

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2.5 million trees in the River Murray forest area alone (thereby sequestering 3500 tons CO2 a year from the atmosphere). One of the quicker ways of addressing the global warming issue is carbon capture/ sequestration and storage. There is an urgent need for rich countries and countries with fast growing economies to cap their emissions and reduce pollution as most of the pollution takes place where heavy industry is employed. Combine energy efficiency and energy capture schemes for energy solutions.

Governments should follow a twin policy of energy efficiency and energy caps for sustainable solution for energy crisis. Any sustainable energy strategy is incomplete without a similar commitment to smarter, more efficient energy use. World energy demand is rising rapidly, and as conventional energy sources decline we must ease the pressure on all sources. Increasing energy efficiency can bring greater output with less input. In electricity production, in transport, and in heating and cooling, less energy could be used if systems, machines, vehicles, appliances and other energy users are more efficient. We also need to introduce stricter, enforceable caps on greenhouse gas emissions. This would mean that polluting energy consumption is legally limited and becomes increasingly expensive with growing demand. With a combined renewables and efficiency approach, the transition to a low or no-carbon energy system can be accelerated immensely, thereby saving costs for generators, distributors and end-users. With global population rising and personal energy use growing around the world, only a combined strategy of renewable technology, consumption efficiency and emission capping will allow us to respond to the reality of

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climate change.

Countries should provide assistance for renewable technology ideas

Governments should pioneer renewable energy technologies across the world. Assistance should be provided for solar, wind & hydro projects as soon as possible to accelerate a carbon neutral society. In Scotland, two new wind farms are expected to generate enough power for over 100,000 homes. Turbines have been built at Braes of Doune, and Farr, in the Highlands, Scotland. Wind energy will be integral in helping to reach a target of 18% of electricity generated in Scotland coming from renewable sources by 2010. Farr wind farm will generate enough clean energy to meet the average electricity needs of 63,000 homes while Braes of Doune will meet the average electricity needs of 55,000 homes.

Follow Australia in recycling waste

Australians are top in recycling and we should follow. An amazing 99% of Australians recycle all the house hold waste and are also frugal with their use of water. However, Australia still relies on fossil fuels for electricity and transport thus making them net high carbon emitters.

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Balance the needs of agriculture with the goals of maintaining ecosystems and biodiversity

Make Agriculture Sustainable. Agriculture is a source of foodstuff, fibres and increasingly fuel. It provides livelihoods and subsistence for a large numbers of people worldwide. Land from the last hundred and fifty years has been cleared to make way for agriculture. This contributes to negative impacts on bio-diversity. The loss of bio-diversity hurts businesses, food, pharmaceutical and textile industries. The biodiversity loss will affect food security, health, energy security, provision of clean water, freedom of choice and action, and basic materials for a good life and sustainable livelihoods. The major challenge today is to secure and increase agriculture yield while conserving equal systems and resources. Agricultural businesses and consumers have a vital role to play in achieving sustainable agriculture. Businesses, particularly those companies in the bio-crop and agricultural sectors, can deliver technology for improved agricultural yields in a sustainable way.

Redirect military spending towards averting

climate change crises

Redirect Military Budget towards Saving Our Planet. The top 15 military spender’s use $840 billion budget for fighting terrorism, and yet the majority of people say that the destabilising wars that have been launched in Afghanistan and Iraq have made the world more insecure. The military is also a high polluter and Wars that continue across the world are

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responsible for high volumes of CO2 emissions. It is testimony to the fact that, as J. K. Galbraith states: “war remains the decisive human failure. We, as affluent and educated Western electorates should not stand for it”. The Stern Review in conjunction with the World Bank predicted that the economic cost of preventing severe climate change would be $444 billion that is almost half the cost of military spending. The international community should divert the resources and funds from military spending to preventing severe climate change crises.

Protect the World’s Vulnerable Areas before they pass climate tipping points. Have a special fund to protect vulnerable areas. Scientists have identified nine critical areas that are in gravest danger of passing “tipping points” beyond which they will not recover. The high-risk areas are Greenland , Amazon rainforests, Boreal forests, West Antarctic ice sheets and the Arctic sheets. Weather patterns that will be affected are; Indian summer monsoons, West African monsoons, and El Nino . Moderate uncertainty areas are; the collapse of Atlantic currents, holes in the ozone layer, Siberian permafrost, and southern ocean changes.

The developed world is deploying resources to guard against potential consequences of weather disasters and global warming that affect their lands. The countries and international community has the responsibility to help to build barriers,

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A cargo ship passing through Los Angles port

levees, and other modes of protection for vulnerable areas in both poor as well as rich countries.

Monitor and regulate space junk

Protect the Outer Space From Unnecessary Satellites. Satellites in low Earth orbit are unlikely of colliding as we can calculate their course to make collision unlikely. But as the number of satellites in orbit increases so does the risk of collision. The issue is known as space junk; over the years abandoned satellites and bits of rockets have been increasing. Government’s of the world should take responsibility to establish a body that will regulate and monitor satellite launches and the collection of waste materials in our Earths orbit.

Charge a Cargo fee to make shipping climate friendly and use clean fuel for shipping

Shipping should be charged a cargo fee when it passes through ports towards improving air quality and to meet 2007 emissions standards. Millions of ships pass through larger ports like Los Angeles and there is no doubt that we have now entered a new era of global interdependence. In today’s world, national boundaries offer little impediment to multi-national corporations: automobiles with far-eastern brands are not only sold but also assembled in Europe, while European brands are assembled and sold in North America. Western energy companies invest millions of dollars in Asia and the far-east and the strategy and investment decisions they make can affect millions of people all over the world. A cargo fee ($20-$30 per entry) will contribute to the shipping industry’s efforts to address climate change

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With the continuous growth of the world’s shipping market, the UK being one of the major benefactors of shipping cargo, it is imperative that we make quickening steps towards lowering its carbon footprint. A current assessment of industrial CO2 emissions, shipping was found to be three times higher in its emissions than first estimated. This new assessment puts shipping as the third highest industrial carbon emitter and above aviation. Ships should be manufactured keeping in mind the most energy efficient way of running which should include recycling its own heat.

Use clean fuel for shipping to make it energy efficient. Shipping uses the world’s cheapest and most polluting “bunker” fuel. It is marine heavy oil, which derives from the residue of the world’s oil refineries. It is so thick that when it is cold it can be walked on. It is the cheapest and dirtiest fuel in the world. This should be replaced with clean, renewable energy. To achieve this investment must be made to modernise the ships to adapt their engines to accept cleaner fuels.

Implement Agenda 21 idea for measuring green GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

Governments and politicians should consider Green GDP instead of the usual measure of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which only looks at the economic wealth of the country including finance and trade. It should consider measuring national progress in environmental, social and health statistics. It should implement agenda 21- from the UN’s Earth Summit in

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Rio, Brazil. It should become the basis of the economic GDP scorecards of green GDP which should include areas like health costs, clean air, clean water and pollution. Governments should also consider giving more funds to social welfare, health education and environment. This will go a long way in mitigating the global warming, epidemics, and resource depletion to poverty gaps and social exclusion.

Preserve crop varieties in the face of climate change catastrophe

Safeguard food security for poor in developing countries by conserving crop varieties and diversity. A new initiative, in the Artic, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, has opened to preserve crops in the face of climate change, wars and natural disasters. The vault is intended as a backup as a network of seeds banks around the world which store, grow and replenish thousands of varieties of crops. A quarter of a million samples totalling around 10 millions seeds from virtually every country in the world is being carried deep into the mountain in Svalbard, Norway. With climate change looming, we cannot lose the diversity of crops currently in existence as the most natural resource on earth. We cannot afford these to be wiped out by natural disasters and wars. Global warming threatens crop failures and increasingly seeds will be needed in aiding agricultural adaptation to them. Around 2.5 billion people in developing countries rely on agriculture for their livelihoods but challenges such as climate change mean that new crop varieties need to be developed.

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Different countries should adopt different mechanisms for curbing green house gasses

Norway’s main challenge is curbing oil and gas related emissions whereas for New Zealand, agriculture (ten of millions of livestock, producers of methane) represent 50 per cent of the country’s greenhouse gases. One of the ways Norway and New Zealand can reduce their carbon emissions is by participating in clean Development Mechanism (CDM), whereby projects can be chosen in developing countries to offset GHGs against the emissions in their own countries. Heavy industries in different countries should move towards cleaner engines and opting for renewable energy sources to curb CO2 emissions.

Make alternative effective policies for continued

supply of energy Runaway energy demand should be curbed with alternative policies. The demand for energy and its price is accelerating. The challenge to security comes from the difficulty of replacing oil as a transport fuel. The second concern is the concentration of oil supply which comes from the Middle East and Europe’s growing reliance on Russian gas leads to all types of energy security problems, including competition of supplies among big consumers. To continue energy supplies across the globe will depend on how we can have increased supply from renewables with efficient and to explore innovation to develop new clean energy technologies.

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Government to provide incentives for the protection of the planet The treaty must successfully incorporate the incentives that national governments have to give for the protection of the environment. In this context, there is an important part to be played by a treaty charter highlighting national incentives for change – the localized risks of climate change, global public opinion, earning the respect and co-operation of poor countries and the inevitable fact that fossil fuel based carbon-rich energy resources will be largely depleted during the 21st century. Government to work with media and communication resources to bring climate change issue to the top of the international agenda. Write to the press and media for bringing the climate change issue at the top of their national and international agenda. For raising environmental concerns, develop effective communication strategies to meet the needs of the public by using Power point presentations, model programs and speaking engagements. It should open a global environment reporting centre which will report on a quarterly basis the progress of countries in emission reduction policies, human rights violations and a research centre for the solutions to climate change. The centre should organise road travelling shows, exhibitions to widen the awareness of climate change issues and highlighting the solutions. Everyone to have a personal carbon allowance to mitigate climate change crisis

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The essential injustice of global warming is that the poor will suffer the worst effects while contributing least to carbon emissions. So here's a radical solution: divide greenhouse-gas emissions by population, and give everyone in the world the right to emit the same amount of carbon—a personal carbon allowance. Essentially, allowances are a cap-and-trade scheme for individuals. They set a clear target and let the market work out the details. Bike to work and live beneath your allowance, and you can sell your carbon credits to energy spendthrifts who refuse to give up their Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). The balance of your allowance might be recorded on a sort of carbon-debit card, so if you buy that SUV, you'll be spending carbon too. Form a new Global Treaty for saving the Planet

The governments of all countries, in cooperation with the United Nations, agree to a universal agreement for providing an institutional framework for international cooperation and agreeing a timetable for the replacement of Kyoto Protocol, post-2012.

The UN should convene Heads of state, and meet more

often to conclude a global treaty on climate change considering that it can take several years to ratify.

The treaty should include an exclusive organisation to carry forward its program with collective leadership which should coordinate urgent action on a global scale and work together for a greener, cleaner, safer future. The Government should galvanise political will for finding and implementing solutions.

There should be a long- term programme of countries

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becoming carbon neutral by 2030 following the example of Costa Rica. (See initiative on Costa Rica)

The Government should formulate a new global treaty based on the successful model of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer - From theory to negotiation to treaty to action.

The new treaty should give assistance to profit and non-profit initiatives and take bold steps and risks for finding solutions to global warming.

A new $100 billion global fund under the auspices of the UN should be established to help poor countries adapt to climate change. The fund should build barriers and coastal defences for low-lying countries. It should work for the poor and vulnerable by providing them housing, shelter and food security. The fund should also deal with disasters and emergency. This universal fund should be used for the protection of low- lying coastal cities, drought areas, and Polar Regions. A small percentage of the trading fund should be set aside for these aims. Richer nations should also build defences with their own capital. We can adopt legally binding greenhouse gas reduction targets for developed and developing countries that are consistent with limiting temperature rise to below 2°C, while taking action in all policy areas (specially energy, transport, agriculture, chemicals and developments)

We should fix targets for CO2 emission reductions of 80 per cent as a target for stabilising the global rising temperature.

We need to ensure that action in all policy areas (especially energy, transport, agriculture, chemicals and development) contributes to the 2°C target.

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Negotiate a international tax regime on aviation as all aviation fuel for international flights remains untaxed worldwide. EU and all other countries have failed to bring international air travel and shipping into its existing carbon trading system. Heathrow, at present, deals with 67.7 million passengers on nearly 470,000 flights a year. The proportion of global carbon emissions accounted for the aviation industry is 2 per cent. However the predicted growth rate in global air travel is a worrying 5000 per cent, and needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency.

We should use market mechanisms and incentives to bring change in the global economy. The two competing systems are a carbon tax or a cap and trade system. In theory, a tax is probably preferable given the degree of uncertainty over the costs of climate change. However, the political reality is that a tax is not feasible in most developed countries. Furthermore, it is important that different jurisdictions all take up the same system so that in the long-run a global price for carbon can be established.

Essentially, we need a universal agreement on carbon trading and a global mechanism to operate it, and it should be implemented soon. The richer countries should have a higher offsetting target as most of the carbon emissions are produced by them. There should be adequate allowances and credits to be given to the poorer counties who contribute to the global warming in a minor way. This scheme should be accountable, transparent and monitored. The European Trading Scheme (ETS), once its current teething troubles have been tackled, should aim to integrate itself with an American equivalent as soon as possible, with the ultimate aim of an UN-administered global market.

In the new treaty, aviation and shipping emissions should have particular emphasis for carbon emission reductions. The international community should find a mechanism for

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domestic and international aviation and shipping emissions to be accounted for within national carbon budgets – maybe by country of registration. A new $50 billion global fund should be established to promote technological breakthroughs and innovations for radical solutions to climate chaos and environmental degradation. New and upcoming advanced technologies - Biotechnology, Information Technology, Nanotechnology, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence - should be harnessed for widespread implementation for the benefit of humanity. The new technology should transform the fossil fuel industry to clean renewable energy sources for bringing the necessary change.

Formulate an Environmental Performance Index under the auspices of the UN which should comprehensively monitor the progress of countries in their efforts to mitigate the climate change crisis. This Index/report will assist the functioning for a global carbon trading system. The index would rate success on the protection and reduction of environmental stress on human health, and promoting strong ecosystems with sound natural resource management

The treaty should ban the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store carbon dioxide.

Sustainable development should be the cornerstone of the new treaty. The urgency of tackling climate change should be part of the treaty. Governments should deploy significant resources to speed up the process of tackling climate change.

The treaty should have a charter of the Universal Declaration of Environmental Rights (UDER) – incorporating all rights pertaining to the effects of environmental degradation to all human beings and rights of nature and species including birds, animals, fish, etc.

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Complete MDGs for environmental sustainability

Governments should adhere to the completion of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which require additional foreign aid between $70 - 80 billion a year. The MDGs are a well-designed set of goals by the UN aiming to thoroughly address the issues of poverty and interrelated issues in the developing world. The goals are:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and empower women 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership for development

Although only one of these goals would appear to be directly related to the environment – number 7 – the rest have importance. Number 8 encourages the kind of global cooperation and network-building that is necessary for tackling climate change. The rest of the goals all address directly the quality of living in poor countries. The historical evidence is that whilst economic growth initially harms the environment, there reaches a point in a given economy where material wants become less important as basic needs are satisfied, and instead people become more concerned with the environment. Increasingly educated and well-off countries tend to have an increasingly strong interest in preserving their natural surroundings. Governments should initiate tax reforms for

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meeting the challenges of climate change and completion of MDGs. There is a vast untapped resource of several billion dollars which can be harnessed every year by governments introducing incentives in the form of tax breaks. It is well known that many countries including the UK are well behind the culture of giving for worthwhile causes than America where the government uses tax as a way of encouraging donations to charities and other good causes. The MM (Mirrlees/Mehta) Proposal for Donations, an initiative of Fortune Forum (a charity to further poverty reduction, elimination of global diseases and environmental sustainability). This proposal will give incentives to individuals and corporations and form the basis to release vast amounts of capital for mitigating climate change crisis and reduce poverty in a meaningful way. Fortune Forum is calling on the Government to implement the MM Proposal for Donations to create a robust match giving structure designed for more giving amongst the ‘super-rich’. Once enacted, this system will divert these 'pledged funds' towards meeting the UN's MDGs in order to meet the UK’s 0.7% on GNI commitment, which will be subject to close monitoring. The funds will be directed to measurable projects. Fortune Forum works with trusted partners who understand the problems on the ground thereby maximising the programs’ life and efficiency.

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6

United Nations and international institutions

The role of the United Nations and its agencies is coordination

Widely Disseminating reliable information Providing framework for negotiations Securing effective monitoring of global agreements

Formulate a global environmental treaty

The United Nations in cooperation with governments of the world should seek a new agreement that is to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.

For a sustainable future, a future global agreement on climate change for working together to preserve the planet should be on a model of sustainable development

The treaty should give assistance to profit and non-profit initiatives.

Leaders should take bold steps and risks for finding solutions to climate change. The governments of all countries in cooperation with the United Nations should agree to a universal agreement for a providing an institutional framework for international cooperation and agreeing a timetable for the replacement of Kyoto Protocol, post-2012.

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The broad basis on which the treaty should be formulated are discussed in the chapter on Governments/Countries/Cities.

Make rights to development and environment interlinked

Form a charter of the Universal Declaration of Environmental Rights (UDER) – Incorporating all rights pertaining to the effects of environmental degradation to all human beings and rights of nature and species including birds, animals, fish, etc. This declaration will be an expression of our common environmental ethics, which will underpin our environmental endeavours.

There should be an international convention on the protection of the global environment designating the place of environment in our value system, as high as human rights have been placed. The link between international human rights and environment was made as early as in 1972 at the Stockholm Declaration:

“Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality, and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations (Principle 1).” UN General Assembly, Resolution 37/7.

Another link is in the World Charter of Nature, which solemnly proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on 28 October 1982, elaborates further on the rights and duties resulting from the necessity to protect the environment. Article 24, African

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Charter of Human and People's Rights (Banjul, 20 June 1981), 21 I.L.M. 58 (1982).

Actions and statements from international bodies continue to shape the emerging customary international right to a clean and healthy environment. Explicit and implicit evidence of such actions and statements can be found in international court decisions, treaties, resolutions, and reports from commissions, committees, secretariats, specialized agencies and similar entities. . The following is a description of some recognized human rights affected by environmental harms – and examples of the failure of governmental and private actors to take adequate measures to protect those rights.

Right to Life Right to Health Right to Water Right to Work Right to Environmental Justice Right to Culture Right to Development Right to Information Right to Participate Right to Shelter and Housing Right to a sound and protected environment Right to peace

Promote the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Roadmap to avoid worst case scenarios

Promote the UN agencies information and findings of the

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(IPCC). This network of thousands of international scientists has been around since the late 1980s, but it was in 2007 that the IPCC — charged with forging a scientific consensus on climate change — really made its mark. In its fourth assessment report on climate change, which comprised a series of reports released throughout the year, the IPCC made the compelling case that global warming is real, and that humans are the main cause. The IPCC also detailed the potential consequences of unchecked warming, and produced a road map for the kind of economic and technological changes needed to avoid the worst-case scenarios. The IPCC’s latest report that the world has to make significant cuts in gas emissions through increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and vehicles, shifting from fossil fuels to renewable fuels, and reforming both the forestry and farming sectors. Under the most stringent scenario, the report said the world must stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 2015 - at 445 parts per million to keep global temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees over preindustrial levels. According to the report, reaching the lowest targets could be done at less than three percent of the global gross domestic product by 2030 or 0.12 annually, which could debunk arguments by sceptics that combating global warming was too costly.

Promote UN Agencies for public awareness and cooperation for mitigation of climate change crisis

Promote the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) The UNFCCC and UNEP are

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two of the most important parts of the United Nations environmental agencies, yet public awareness of global warming is limited. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the underlying basis on which the Kyoto treaty was built. It is essentially a statement of recognition of the climate change phenomenon, and cooperation to mitigate it, by 192 countries (and is thus nearly universal). This involves information sharing, the provision of financial and technological resources to developing countries, and cooperation in preparation for mitigation. It is in fact the fundamental framework for most global agreements- the recent Bali agreement (December 2007) was based on it. The United Nations Environment Programme, on the other hand, is a programme under UN operation, with the mission statement “To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.” It has been described as the “policy pillar” of the UN system, responsible for ensuring that the environment is upheld as one of three international priorities that the new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon identified in 2007. Promoting these largely technocratic organizations is not easy though. It should be the responsibility of national governments and NGOs, as well as the UN itself, to more heavily publicise the important work that they do. This not only provides hope and an example for individuals everywhere to follow, but also may bring in further funding for tackling global warming. Former president of France Jacques Chirac, for example, did a great service to UNEP when he praised the organization, bemoaned its inadequate powers and lack of institutional clout, and suggested its transformation into a fully-fledged UN agency

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– the United Nations Environment Organization.

Bring water management under UN control to avoid conflicts and keep fresh water supplies for drinking water for all

A new international water authority under the auspices of the UN will be needed to meet the rising demand for water. The scarcity of water is a breeding ground for potential conflicts, which are brewing between nations who share trans-boundary freshwater reserves. More than 50 countries on five continents might soon be caught up in water disputes unless they move quickly to establish agreements on how to share reservoirs, rivers, and underground water acquifers. International water disputes, civil disturbances caused by water shortages, and potential regulatory solutions to diffuse water conflict will be taken up by this new water authority. UN should protect countries from conflict and wars from climate change. In coming decades, changes in our environment and the resulting upheavals from droughts to inundated coastal areas to loss of arable land are becoming a major driver of war and conflict. Some places like Darfur and Middle-east are facing the brunt of global warming already. Water is a key element of future peace and economic security. We should also safeguard world supplies of water by river waterways and creating a world’s waterways agency to protect and enhance freshwater supplies for drinking. For about a billion people around the world, access to fresh water is not a reality . Obtaining an adequate supply of water is a daily concern. We can change that. Fresh water makes up just 3 percent of the world’s water supply. The UN should take steps to make sure

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that this remaining three percent is protected and available for every person on Earth, today, and in future decades. Nature communicates dangers clearly. We’re paying close attention to the signs. Since millions of unique species depend on Earth’s freshwater supplies, shrinking populations of freshwater-dependent plants and animals is a warning that water supplies for people are dwindling, too. This isn’t just a problem in developing countries. It’s a problem for every one of the 6.6 billion people that live on this planet. Take the páramo ecosystem of the South American Andes region, an alpine grassland of great importance to the entire continent. The páramo is the main watershed for Colombia’s capital city of Bogota, home to 7 million people. Ecuador’s largest city, Quito, also depends on the páramo for half of its water. The ecosystem is a unique one: its plants trap water and fog and mountain glaciers keep the páramo wet by transforming passing moisture from the Amazon rain forests into rain. This fresh water is then used by the region’s residents to take care of their everyday needs. But if regional temperatures continue to rise at the current alarming rates, the glaciers will disappear, and the páramo could become a desert, leaving millions of people without adequate water supplies.

Control flow of migrants to stop violence & economic chaos

Levels of migration flows should be monitored. Environmental degradation can fuel migrations in less developed countries, and these migrations can lead to international political conflict. For example, the large migration from Bangladesh to India is due largely to loss of arable land is owing to environmental factors. This has affected the economy

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and the political situation in the regions of India that absorbed most of this population shift and has resulted in violence between communities.

Some migrations take place within countries, adding to a nation’s political stress, causing economic upheaval—positive and negative. As a developed nation, the U.S. was able to absorb the displacement of people from the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina without suffering economic or political collapse, but not without considerable turmoil. Other forms of migration involve not only crossing international borders but while doing so moving across vast regions. Since the 1960s, Europe has experienced this kind of “south to north” migration, with an influx of immigrants from Africa and Asia. The shift in demographics has created racial and religious tensions in many European countries, as evidenced in the 2005 civil unrest in France.

UN should protect environmental refugees

Pass legislation to protect refugees Work for protecting environmental refugees and forced migrants from draughts and earthquakes. In a world of “man-made natural disasters”, an anti-refugee stance by developed countries becomes morally

Migrants affected by climate change

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Refugees waiting for help on the beach in Yemen

untenable. The West is responsible for the majority of carbon emissions, but will suffer fewest of the consequences. The UN estimates that the number of people displaced due to environmental, climatic and ecological phenomenon – “environmental refugees” – will hit 150 million by 2050. To deny these people assistance would be inhumane. Yet current international law only recognizes socio-political refugees, persecuted for ethnic, political or religious reasons. It is necessary to pass laws and create strong tools for protecting environmental refugees. The recognition of this group as a legal entity, having their human rights violated by those responsible for climate change, is a good starter. Rich countries may have to increase their share of embracing environmental refugees. More politically acceptable given current attitudes to immigration, should be to offer unconditional and instantaneous aid in the aftermath of disasters. This should not just be temporary food and blankets, but also using the West’s financial capital and logistical expertise to reconstruct vast areas of damaged land, and strengthening infrastructure to withstand desertification, flooding and other extreme weather events. Long-term protection of environmental refugees is essential if we are to avoid a global migratory crisis. Therefore it is essential to provide assistance to migrants fleeing from climate change, poverty and violence from their home countries like from Africa and other countries. In this photo there are

survivors of the Gulf of

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Aden crossing wait for help on a beach in Yemen.

UN should safeguard countries from conflicts and war on terror by preventing climate change crisis

Prevent the conditions that will extend the war on terror. There are very real changes in natural systems that are most likely to happen in regions of the world that are already fertile ground for extremism. Droughts, violent weather, ruined agricultural lands -those are the kinds of stresses we’ll see more of under climate change. Those changes in nature will lead to changes in society. More poverty, more forced migrations, higher unemployment are making conditions ripe for extremists and terrorists. Climate change will put half the world's countries at risk of conflict or serious political instability, making the world more unstable. Nations and communities should address these problems now. International Alert, a London-based conflict resolution group, identified 46 countries - home to 2.7 billion people - where it said the effects of climate change would create a high risk of violent conflict. It identified another 56 states where there was a risk of political instability. When people are idle, out of a job and have nothing to do, they can be attracted to radical or fundamental movements which can then become a breeding ground to vent their anger. Perhaps they do this by fighting for a cause for which they have been brainwashed and invariably this leads to further terrorism. The UN should work for resolving conflicts and safeguard vulnerable countries as climate change is going

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Climate change and conflict

to precipitate, intensify and propagate military and political conflict. A highly influential report recently written by retired US Generals and Admirals came to the conclusion that “Projected climate change will … [cause] widespread political instability and [increase] the likelihood of failed states” in volatile regions, posing a serious threat to US National Security. As the public displays a growing unease with foreign troop deployment, hopefully the United States will realise the inter-connectedness of environmental and military planning in the long-run, and hence take federal action to reduce emissions. Political relations between rich and poor countries are likely to deteriorate as unfair restrictions are placed on countries attempting to develop economically. Whilst India and China largely escaped Kyoto restrictions, it is probable that as environmental problems become more acute, rich countries will place ever more iniquitous demands on developing nations, possibly fuelling cultural grievances and contributing to international terrorism. So not only will climate change itself destroy development efforts but the increasingly drastic measures necessary to curb global warming will also halt development, thereby doubly feeding resentment. Thus, it is imperative to act today, while mitigation costs are relatively low. Climate change will affect water suppliers, growing seasons and land use, bringing communities in the poorest and most vulnerable countries into conflict. Near the top of the list are West and Central Africa, with clashes already happening in Northern Ghana between herders and farmers as agricultural patterns change. Bangladesh see dangerous changes while the visible decline in levels of the River Ganges in India in which 400 millions people live, could spark new tensions there.

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Governments, groups and officials should discuss and take steps to mitigate climate change for preventing conflict.

Bring on Marshall Plan to tackle climate change

The world needs a new vision, collective leadership, political momentum and a Marshall Plan - the like of which we had after the Second World War, to tackle climate change. We need to act together on issues such as global warming and pollution along with other big issues; terrorism, poverty reduction protection of human rights international peace and security.

A universal trade and intergovernmental agreement should be put in place bringing all countries and industries for combating climate change. It should be done under the auspicious of United Nations which can shore up global cooperation to find solutions and act together on an interdependent issues.

UN to broker an international agreement for bio energy to limit environmental damage

The UN should broker an international agreement for bio energy to halt escalating poverty. Establish a system for bio-energy environmental standards; and provide more microcredit to farmers in developing countries to develop local biofuels, along with food crops in a balanced way. Such measures would allow developing countries – which generally have ecosystems and climates more suited to biomass production than industrialised nations and often have ample reserves of land and labour – to exploit their comparative advantage. The US, Europe and Brazil last year accounted for almost 95 per cent of the world’s biofuel production. Canada, China and India

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produced most of the rest, according to the International Energy Agency. Forecast show this is set to rise to 4 per cent by 2030. The bioenergy sector has a huge potential to reduce hunger and poverty if production were to shift from rich to poor countries. At the moment, rich countries’ tariffs make it uneconomic for poor countries to grow biofuel crops.

UN should have special funds to build defences for poorer regions and mitigate natural disasters

UN should build defences against the sea for poorer countries in the same way the rich countries are building defences against climate change. Japan has built sea walls. The UK has a barrier in Woolwich and is contemplating making a second Thames barrier at the cost of £20 billion to save London from flooding. The UK has witnessed floods and extreme weather across the world, and the government has made the decision to build a new barrier. People accept that it is a real threat and can happen at any time. However, poorer countries have far too few resources and they will require adaptation funds for costal defenses and for assisting the most vulnerable developing nations. This should be provided by the UN who should seek funds from rich countries for the building of these defences.

UN should have an agency and emergency plans for natural disasters. We should build capacity to cope with the poor exposed to disasters, drought, desertification, and potential economic decline such as melting ice in polar regions, low-lying areas being submerged by flooding and hurricanes.

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Floods in Asia Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, Asia

Oxfam have highlighted the problems with the River Basin Programme – an attempt by Western governments and aid agencies to mitigate for flooding in SE

Asia, especially Bangladesh. The lack of properly formulated emergency plans, right down to the minor details has resulted in the following conclusions:

• Emergency responses are generally delayed • Emergency plans are not widely known and exist only on

paper • National emergency institutions often do not encourage civil

society participation • Emergency interventions reflect political interests • Response favour groups located in accessible places • Aid distribution often favours friends and acquaintances, rather

than reaching those most in need

We need to protect the basic human rights of all people for food, water, shelter and education, as these are likely to be violated as competition for resources heats up. Some people and countries will be disproportionately affected due to two reasons: higher impacts and higher vulnerability. Water stress and flooding, declining agricultural productivity and weakening ecosystem services, crop pests and human diseases are more likely to occur

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in subtropical and tropical countries and in coastal areas. Higher vulnerability, however, derives from the fact that in many places people already live under fragile conditions, economically and health wise. In 1999 there were two to three times more disaster events reported in the US than in India or Bangladesh, but there were 14 times and 34 times more deaths in India and in Bangladesh than in the US (UNEP, 2002). The least we can do is make sure that reactions to disasters are efficiently and equitably carried out. The value of well-prepared emergency plans and coordinated agencies is not in doubt and should be followed.

UN to promote Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG) to achieve sustainable development

Start an initiative promoted by the United Nations where companies are encouraged to use Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) The CDM is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol that allows industrialized countries to invest in emission reduction projects in developing countries as an alternative to making emission reductions in their own countries. The CDM also stipulates that industrialised countries assist developing countries in achieving sustainable development, while contributing to the stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere not rising above 450 parts per million(ppm) as any rise above that will be catastrophic .

Promote CDM to save billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases, including the most lethal, carbon dioxide. A UN scheme promoted by UNEP renewable energy use in poor nations is growing sharply and will axe emissions of greenhouse gases by

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more than a billion tonnes by 2012. The programme, part of the UN's Kyoto Protocol meant to combat global warming by curbing fossil fuel use, has more than 800 projects such as wind farms in India or power plants burning sugar cane waste in Brazil. The first project under the scheme was approved only in late 2004. By giving rich nations incentives to invest in green energy ranging from hydro to solar power, the programme aims to stop a build-up of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fuels such as coal or oil. The known project potential is presently estimated to generate around a billion tonnes of emission reductions by the end of 2012. More than 200 green energy projects had now been approved under the programme, known as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), with about 600 others in the pipeline. Under the CDM, rich nations can invest in renewable energy projects in developing nations -- such as hydroelectric power plants in Guatemala or methane capture scheme in China -- and then claim credits back home for the emissions they save. Those credits can in theory then be sold -- giving the rich nations the incentive to invest. Some experts say that the CDM could eventually channel more than $100 billion to renewable energy schemes from Africa to Latin America. The Kyoto Protocol obliges 35 industrial nations to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. The United States pulled out in 2001, saying Kyoto would cost US jobs and wrongly excluded developing nations from targets under the first round. The growth in the CDM had been lopsided and not evenly distributed. The UNEP should monitor it rigorously so it is transparent, accountable and

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Removing landmines

beneficial to all. Many of the projects have been in Brazil, China, India and South Korea with relatively few, for instance, in Africa. The Netherlands, Britain and Japan have been the leading investors in CDM schemes.

Safeguard environment and agriculture by removing landmines

Removing and banning the use of mines. A recent announcement from the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) makes clear the problem with use of anti-personnel mines (APMs): “Mines and cluster bombs pose a tremendous danger for civilians, years and even decades after wars and conflicts have ended. Children in particular are the repeated and the most liable victims of these

munitions, because they fail to recognize the danger of unexploded bombs. Mines and cluster bombs are a severe obstacle to development in the contaminated regions, because they make it difficult to carry out post-conflict reconstruction and agriculture. The consequences of war, conflict, including landmines and cluster bombs are to have a deliberate and unintentional damage to the environment.

Preserve scarce resources

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Displaced people fishing in Asia

The UN should work to preserve scarce resources which are causes of conflict. Violent conflicts over scarce supplies of food, water and land and conflicts in Darfur & Middle East are example of that. In the second half of this century and later, the effects of further warming will be much more dangerous. Natural resource scarcity will increase with consequences for poverty and global insecurity. The risk of a global catastrophe will increase rapidly as temperatures continue to rise. For keeping peace, the protection of the environment and making the land free for cultivation, we need to get rid of land mines, cluster munitions, depleted uranium among other weapons which are already damaging and threatening lives and arable land. UN to work on interdependent issues of reducing poverty, diseases and promote development for a better environment

Work for the eradication of poverty, hunger and diseases, which will lead to a better environment. Those who will suffer most from climate change will be in the developing world. They have fewer resources for coping with storms, floods, droughts, disease outbreaks, and disruptions to food and water supplies. They are eager for economic development

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themselves, but may find that this already difficult process has become more difficult because of climate change. Climate change will have a graver effect on Africa than any other continent, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. A minimum increase in temperature of 2.5ºC by 2030, and dry areas will expand. Around 600,000 square kilometres of cultivable land may be ruined. Rising sea levels would threaten coastal infrastructure in Egypt, Senegal and the Gulf of Guinea. Another study by the University of Pretoria estimates that $25 billion may be lost in crop failure because of rising temperatures. For the eradication of poverty, hunger and diseases, UN should work for the completion of the Millennium Development goals (MDGs). The implementation of these time-bound goals should be a matter of priority to the international community, leading to a more sustainable future. Address the root causes of conflicts and promote environmental development So the global nature of this problem must be addressed in places where environmental degradation is already bringing about a dangerous deterioration in peoples' lives. Early prevention is required. Darfur is emblematic of the wider difficulties; the international community must look beyond the immediate circumstances and increase efforts to deal with the threats that have played a role in the disaster, such as climate change and environmental degradation. Indeed, the accelerating expansion of deserts would likely lead to a decrease of agricultural yields, less water, and possibly further conflicts. We need to bring strategies for different tribes/fractions in the

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conflict to cooperate and work together for a peaceful resolution. Once peace is established, then the communities need to work together to promote development. That is, stopping desertification and bringing projects to conserve water and stopping environmental degradation.

UNFCCC should work with the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for exploring marketable options for carbon trading

Both the UNFCCC and the EU should work together. The EU's Community Independent Transaction Log (CITL) and Member State registries should be connected to the UN's International Transaction Log (ITL). The link will mean carbon credits issued under the Clean Development Mechanism can be transferred to the registries of EU Member States. That can be a way forward for the successful future outcome of carbon trading. However, there are certain flaws which can be corrected. By working together, they can correct the current flaws in the European Trading Scheme (ETS) and subsequently use it as inspiration for future carbon trading. The EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been operative since 2005, but hardly functioning. The system has resulted in, for example, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre Birmingham losing £93000 whilst Shell made £20.7 million across the EU. Total emissions have risen and the “cap” is still 44 million tones above existing emissions, meaning the system is not achieving anything apart from arbitrary wealth transfers. However, as critics concede, this is no reason for abandonment. The problems with the system are political. No European country was willing to make a sacrifice for the climate change

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movement and impose a genuinely restrictive emissions cap. Thus, only UK, Irish and Austrian firms faced a financial barrier to pollution. As other EU countries were awash with credits, they could just buy from the continent rather than actually offset emissions. We need to change the system. All parameters within the system are now open for review. The scheme is up and running, tolerated by business, and fundamentally sound. To get emissions down now simply requires the political willpower to lower the cap significantly below current emissions, and simultaneously reduce the supply of credits, thus making it cheaper to reduce emissions or offset rather than firms having to buy expensive credits. What we will then witness will be a uniting of political intent, economic theory and the environmental movement, leading to the low-carbon economy becoming the standard model across the Western world. The UN should formulate a new universal carbon tax on individual consumption of carbon or trade pollution permits. Green / carbon tax for reducing emissions, a set rate of tax on consumption of carbon in any form of fossil fuels – coal, gas and oil. Unfortunately altruism alone will not ensure the necessary uptake of environmentally-benign habits and technologies. Economic incentives are imperative. The modern consensus is that there are two market-based options to induce these incentives.

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The first option is a universal carbon tax. This is as simple as it sounds – a per unit tax on all activities generating CO2 emissions. There are several advantages to such a system. As European countries are starting to do, the burden of taxation in the economy can be shifted away from work and investment and towards pollution, thereby reaping macroeconomic gains as well as reducing carbon emissions. A tax is stable too – if it is set too high or low (i.e., not reflecting the true damage of global warming) then it can be corrected relatively quickly. Instability simply means businesses do not face a fixed cost for carbon and so are unlikely to bother investing in cleaner technology. There are political disadvantages to such a plan though. Taxes in any form are never popular and can be seen by many individuals as annoying interference rather than benevolent protection. Pressure from industry too is likely to be intense, meaning the green taxes may be rendered ineffective by exemptions and rebates granted to the most powerful and polluting industries. In a world of imperfect and populist politicians, it might not be best to follow the tax route. The second, and more palatable, option is a system of pollution permits. On climate change we should choose “acceptable” levels of pollution (i.e., those within the capacity of the earth to regenerate itself) and distribute credits towards meeting these limits to companies. Firms with low abatement costs can sell permits for profit to those with higher abatement costs. There is minimal economic disruption in theory, with the level of pollution still being reduced to the pre-determined capped level. If the true cost of a firm’s production to the environment is great, then the permit cost will be high, providing an incentive to invest in clean technology and stop the most polluting activities. Also, if the permits were to be auctioned then the revenue advantages of a tax can be mimicked.

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The theoretical advantage of stability may not exist in reality though. If the number of permits necessary is initially misjudged, the prices can either sink or skyrocket, either causing the scheme to be impotent or extremely disruptive to business. This volatility can be slightly mitigated by governments setting price floors and ceilings. The other problem is that innovation reducing pollution may reduce the price of permits meaning it might not be particularly profitable for a firm to bother investing in cleaner technology. Finally, if permits are auctioned, then they will face the same problem of political opposition as green taxes. The jury is still out on the issue of tax vs. permits. Hopefully this brief overview will provide some understanding as to the most effective solution. The idea in principle revolves around that the most efficient producer will be rewarded for pollution reduction as they can sell excess permits whilst inefficient ones will gradually lose more and more money. If they do not adopt cleaner technology, they will eventually have to shut down as the true cost of pollution is “internalised” in the producers’ investment plans. The public should lend their support to this idea as it offers the least disruptive and expensive option for reducing pollution. It should be noted that the UK sulfur trading system (which has arguably been failing) suffered from a lack of political support for increasing the price of pollution and a degree of regulatory uncertainty. However, with full public and hence political backing, and the concept clear in the regulators heads – using free markets to punish inefficiency – there is great cause for optimism in this front. The UN, in cooperation with ETS should explore the above options for creating a universal carbon trading regime.

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UN should maintain space and security by prohibiting space for weaponisation

Outer space should be safeguarded in the interest of all countries. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) announced that space is not subject to national appropriation. The exploration of outer space shall be conducted in accordance with international law including United Nations Charter in the interest of maintaining the environment, space and security. Creation of debris or excess garbage should not be allowed in space as it leads to the degradation of the environment. There should be monitoring of space and objects launched into outer space should be registered. America is preparing to use space for weaponisation as a part of Pentagon’s defence policy of “full spectrum dominance.” This term is part of the Department of Defence’s Joint Vision 2020, a blueprint the United States will follow in the future, from which this extract is taken. 'The ultimate goal of our military force is to accomplish the objectives directed by the National Command Authorities. For the joint force of the future, this goal will be achieved through full spectrum dominance - the ability of US forces, operating unilaterally or in combination with multinational and interagency partners, to defeat any adversary and control any situation across the full range of military operations.’

UN should protect the natural environment of the Arctic and its exploration

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The mighty Kongsyegen glacier shrinking fast - svalbard

UN, along with politicians and the people should work toward protecting the natural environment of the Arctic region and have a sensible approach to its exploration. If large scale exploration is allowed, irreparable damage will be done to the regions ecosystems and marine life. Despite its pristine appearance, the Arctic atmosphere is filthy. Pollutants are swept to the top of the world by air currents, so levels of mercury and industrial chemicals such as flame retardants can be higher than in the countries further south that produce them. Scientists have long known these substances can work their way up the food chain to the top predators such as the polar bears – who are already suffering from the problem of melting ice. The mighty Kongsvegen glacier - a few miles down the coast from Ny-Alesundv - is shrinking fast. There are signs of change at Ny-Alesund as well. The neighbouring fjord that shimmers in the constant daylight has failed to freeze over during the previous two winters. So, given the plight of the Polar Bears, and the fact that the indigenous tribes of the Arctic Circle are attempting to sue for breaches of human rights, it would seem that the developed nations of this world have a duty to compensate for the damage that global warming has already done as is evident from the

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effect on Inuit culture. Their livelihood and way of life has been affected owing to the increasing melting of ice. The solutions are providing medical aid as communities are more densely packed together, pollutant removal, monitoring of wildlife populations, warning of ice and snow erosion to avoid potential accidents. The UN should work within a target of 2 Celsius above which temperature rise will bring dangerous disruption such as droughts, heatwaves, floods and rising seas

UN agencies, like the IPCC, along with the international community should make substantial reductions in greenhouse gases. More deeply planned reductions are needed if UK is to have an even chance of curbing global warming in line with European Union goals. Even tough long-term curbs foreseen by the EU fall short of reductions needed to avert a 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) temperature rise over pre-industrial times, seen by the EU as a threshold for "dangerous change. If we are to have a 50 percent chance of meeting a 2 Celsius target we would have to cut global emissions on a substantial scale. There would be dangerous disruptions to the climate such as ever more droughts, heatwaves, floods and rising seas beyond a 2 C ceiling. Temperatures have already risen by about 0.7 Celsius in the 20th century. A substantial cut would mean rich nations, responsible for most heat-trapping emissions from fossil fuels burnt by power plants, factories and cars, would have to axe emissions by larger amounts. Developing countries whose emissions are rising sharply in line with energy use to help lift

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millions from poverty, would have to take on less radical reductions. UN should promote developing economic growth and environmental sustainability together at the same time

Promote economic development and environmental sustainability as it is a false choice to suggest that the developing world must either choose between economic development and environmental sustainability. Clean Technologies enable countries to leapfrog industrialised nations and move straight to a low-carbon economy. Our experience in the UK is that high levels of growth are consistent with declining greenhouse gas emissions. Economic growth for today’s citizens is not at the expense of the welfare of future generations. Economic growth and environmental protection can go hand in hand, but it requires all countries to share responsibility, and richer nations to show leadership and commitment to help poorer nations become low-carbon economies. It demands our continued engagement in building a global framework. The UN and the international community should link the agenda of development, security and environment together. The challenges of today are poverty, war, international terrorism, violation of human rights, environmental degradation, waste of resources and diseases; all of the threats encountered at the global level which cannot be solved by nation-states and that require coordination by the United Nations at the national and global level.

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Work together at the local and global level for low carbon future

Encourage the collective action on a global scale that will drive investment in low-carbon development - a very real barrier to tackling climate change is not technologies, or policy tools but working together. The European Union has agreed a binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 and to increase this commitment to a 30% reduction as part of an international agreement. But if we are to tackle climate change, we need to develop an international framework that can follow the end of the first Kyoto commitment period in 2012. It is very difficult to convince the private sector to adopt unilateral measures in any one country. Imposing market solutions that drive investment in low carbon technology force a direct cost upon the process of production. This is only acceptable to most businesses if their competitors are facing similar costs. Thus the serious effort to tackle climate change is unlikely to be feasible in the private sector unless collective action is possible. This is perhaps why we are seeing large multi-national corporations starting to lobbying their own governments for international carbon markets – they are afraid that varying tariffs in 10 years will be worse than setting a harmonised tariff now. Also the attempts of one country or group of countries to reduce energy-intensity provide positive technological externalities to others who can learn from the experience and mistakes. Overall, therefore, collective action catalyses the development of a low-carbon technology market.

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Bring early warning systems to avoid natural disasters and outbreak of diseases

The World Health Organisation (WHO) or governments of countries should install early warning weather systems, for heat waves, colder climates and floods. It will help to mitigate expected outbreaks of infectious diseases and help to adapt to some of the effects of climate change. The World Health Organisation estimates that the warming and precipitation trends due to anthropogenic climate change of the past 30 years already claim over 150,000 lives annually. Many prevalent human diseases are linked to climate fluctuations, from cardiovascular mortality and respiratory illnesses due to heatwaves, to altered transmission of infectious diseases and malnutrition from crop failures.

Don’t destroy biological diversity

Maintain the importance of biological diversity Biodiversity refers to the uncounted variety of living things on the planet. These living organisms, interacting among themselves and with the non-living environment, comprise the ecosystems of the world. They supply food, medicines, timber and fuel, and play a fundamental role in providing breathable air, conserving soils and stabilising climates. These benefits, or ‘ecosystem services’, which are ultimately essential for human life on earth, are the basis of a range of industries, from agriculture and biotechnology to fisheries and ecotourism. Recent estimates suggest that climate change is going to cause large scale extinction of all existing species by the year 2050. Combating climate change thus takes on an even stronger moral importance as we are not just threatening the human condition,

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but literally eliminating thousands of entire species off the planet. Curbing carbon emissions is therefore a pre-requisite to preserving this planet’s wonderful range of life. Local action can be taken such as sustainable farming, reforesting and protecting the country-side and key areas for wild life such as lakes. The Encyclopedia of Life at Eol.org will be the first multi-media catalogue of the Earths 1.8 million species. This will inspire a new generation of scientists, by aggregating all known data about every living species. Ultimately, it will increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity. Start a UN global renewal energy agency for rapid advancement of renewal energy

A big step in advancing renewable energy will be to establish an International Renewable Energy Agency with an international office to encourage adaptation of renewable energy as an alternative to the seemingly indispensability of nuclear and fossil energy. There is no such organisation at present and the introduction and development of renewable energy is urgently needed for its rapid advancement.

The agency should aim to: For climate protection: to rapidly reduce and eliminate

emissions of greenhouse gases, at a pace dictated by the best available climate science and reflecting existing international commitments or targets for same;

For environmental protection: to reduce and eliminate non-greenhouse energy-related pollutants affecting air, water and land;

For equitable access to industrial and energy development: to ensure the equitable global development, distribution and

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widest availability of sustainable energy technologies to member states, in order for each state to reduce to the maximum and ultimately eliminate its dependence on costly and polluting imported fuels, and to benefit the social and economic development of such states, particularly developing ones;

For industrial innovation: to promote the accelerated development of a new range of sustainable energy industries for the 21st century.

Use satellite technology to control deforestation

Set up a UN agency to monitor deforestation. Countries which import forest products should ensure that they are legally sourced. Alternatively, they should refuse to import such products into their country. In Australia, the government has outlined a plan to use satellite technology to monitor deforestation in the Asia Pacific region, namely Indonesia where the illegal logging trade is estimated to be worth $4 billion a year.

Bring climate change to the fore front of global agenda for avoiding lapses of international peace and security

The UN should make combating climate change a central peace policy of the 21st century. A new report by prepared Germany and Swiss academics concludes that it is likely to aggravate old and

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trigger new tensions in parts of the world that may spill over into violence, conflict and war.

Areas at increased risk of insecurity include northern and southern Africa alongside countries in the Sahel region and the Mediterranean. Other potential hot spots are central Asia; India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; China; parts of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico and Andean and Amazonian regions of Latin America.

Climate change, including more extreme weather events; impacts like the melting of glaciers; the drying out of big forest systems and rising numbers of climate refugees is likely to overwhelm the ability of many countries to govern and to cope. Professor Hans Schellnhuber, a lead author of the report, Director of he Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Visiting Professor at Oxford University, said:" Without resolute counteraction, climate change will overstretch many societies' adaptive capacities within coming decades. This could result in destabilization and violence jeopardizing national and international security to a new degree".

Tackle human development problems arising out of climate change

The UN should promote human solidarity by combating climate change and thereby enhancing human development around the world. Climate change is the defining human development challenge of the 21st Century. Failure to respond to that challenge will stall and possibly reverse international efforts to reduce poverty. For promoting human solidarity, there should also be an exclusive fund for poor and vulnerable to be assisted from effects of global

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warming. Give poor countries capital and technology and the know-how needed for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Reduce catastrophes from global warming by providing global leadership on health matters

Support the World Health Organization, which will find its workload expand exponentially as global temperatures rise. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that global warming has killed directly or indirectly 1 million globally since 2000. Rising temperatures are already sparking; more deadly landslides in Nepal, a rise in Dengue fever cases throughout Asia, and increased flooding in India and Bangladesh. People living in low lying coastal areas also face more storms, floods and salt water intrusion into fresh-ground water which is vital for drinking. As is obvious, the fatality count from climate change is not just from deaths during weather catastrophes, but also from the protracted aftermath which facilitates malnutrition and the outbreak of disease. The WHO is responsible for “providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends What this means is that as the climate change crisis unfolds over the next century, the WHO will be responsible for observing and analysing disease outbreaks, and advising and assisting national governments when they arise. This burden of work will clearly grow with time and it should be an integral part of any mitigation strategy to make sure the funding of the WHO is increased proportionately to the scale of its duties.

Double the financial aid to the world food programme for meeting the needs of the poor and

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feeding the hungry

The World Food Programme should make radical changes. It should seek a facility of global fund ready to be used to mitigate short and long term problems of environmental degradation. Permanent drought, or desertification, seems likely in around 600000 km2 in central Africa, causing widespread crop failure. The opposite problem is equally troubling. Excessive precipitation and water imbalances in Nepal, for example, have ruined previously fertile land. Thus, local farmers everywhere will struggle to provide for themselves in the face of ongoing climate change. Furthermore, even established agricultural markets are expected to raise their prices in response to global temperature rises. Therefore , overall, with local agricultural markets failing and global grain prices rising, the very existence of the World Food Programme needs emergency funding to feed hungry people. Stop the deaths arising from climate change crisis

International community should provide adequate facilities and protection to the poor and the vulnerable for health cover. Climate change will have an adverse effect on life expectancy and worsen human health and disease. A study published in Nature claims that regional climatic variation already accounts for 150000 deaths per annum globally due to “cardiovascular mortality and respiratory illnesses due to heat waves, to altered transmission of infectious diseases and malnutrition from crop failures.” Yet it is not just external physical problems that need considering but also the

Child with malnutrition

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political strife that global warming may induce. Rising global temperatures, malnutrition from crop failure and chaos in the aftermath of increasingly common natural disasters will mean a greater number of disease outbreaks across the world. Oxfam explicitly states that under the expected climatic changes “infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue fever could proliferate rapidly.”

Punish countries for violating environmental treaties

A suitable framework should be agreed upon in the UN by which countries can be labeled as “environmental rights abusers”, and thus confronted with the same sort of diplomatic pressure that current human rights abusers face. There should be campaigns and policies for governments to face up to their responsibilities and act to stop environmental abuses.

One should treat countries, which produce goods without regard to environment the same as we deal with countries that violate human rights or like workers in sweat shops. Current perpetrators of environmental crime are abusing the human rights of the unborn, especially in poor countries by polluting the atmosphere irresponsibly. Sea-level rises threaten to completely inundate small islands. This is hardly congruent with upholding the inalienable right to life. Entire arctic and indigenous cultures may be destroyed. Likewise, increased storm intensity, drought, flooding, crop failure, health problems and military conflict, all dictate that current economic development reliant on GHG pollution contravenes the legal conventions guarding human rights, to which we as ‘civilised’ nations supposedly adhere.

It is therefore proposed to treat nations, corporations and individuals to be punished under the new international environmental law where environmental damage has been committed in the same way as

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human rights violators are punished under the law.

Share the resources for saving the planet

Overcome the challenge of climate change by global sharing of vital resources and technologies. The idea is to create jobs in the green industry for reducing carbon emissions and our addiction to oil, in developed and developing countries. The green economy is the new economy, which should be based on harnessing renewable energy sources - solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, etc. It will provide us with energy independence and can transform our energy infrastructure, creating new job opportunities.

This agenda needs to be pursued with the same kind of vigour as the Apollo Programme to send the first man on the moon. There should be large-scale manufacture of solar photo-voltaic panels, wind turbines and other technological advances, to be used immediately. The UN should formulate a mechanism for sharing vital resources and technologies with the developing world for rapid transformation to a new green economy.

Employ renewable energy for sustainable development

Find solutions for climate change and energy security jointly as they are interdependent issues. Energy plays a vital role in our society, underpinning all areas of economic activity. A country’s energy security policy should entail such measures to ensure that a supply of energy is readily available and affordable to meet domestic demand. In today´s world, it is impossible to discuss energy security apart from global climate change and global poverty. Any attempt at true energy security looks not to securing

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the extraction of energy resources from developing countries, but to clean, safe, renewable energy and the reduction of energy demand in the developed world. This will ensure that energy services can be made available to all whilst safeguarding our climate. We have the opportunity today to change how we produce and use energy to create a safer, and more equitable world.

Establish a global fund to help poor prepare for climate change crisis

UN should find a road map for global justice and equity for the poor by increasing aid, debt relief, fairer trade and technology transfer. Assistance with adaptation and mitigation for sustainable development from adverse effects of climate change need to be rigorously followed. Change, at many levels, is needed for developing countries to adapt to climate change. Communities must build their resilience by adopting appropriate technologies and diversifying their livelihoods to cope with the coming climate stress that lies outside the realm of human experience. New and old national infrastructure, such as hospitals, reservoirs, and roads, must be climate-proofed. Funds should be made available for development of poor and vulnerable regions.

Use new energy sources to reduce price of fuel

The UN should promote a new energy source in Africa in the form of Jatropha also known as the Cinderella of the plant world. Throw a seed in the poorest soil on the planet, and up comes a bush that will likely last 50 years. During a drought, jatropha bushes simply drop their leaves and keep pumping out seedpods. In recent years studies have shown that jatropha oil burns with one fifth the carbon emission of fossil fuels, making Africa a potentially fertile source of energy. The result has been a land rush of sorts in

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Jatropha plant in Africa – ideal for making fuel for energy

Africa. Experimental jatropha plantations are now popping up in virtually every corner of the continent, from Kenya, to Ghana, to South Africa. Norwegian, Indian and British companies are racing to buy up or lease enormous swaths of African land for the pupose of expanding jatropha plantations. In addition to harvesting and using it seeds to produce oil, it could be used to fight desertification in dry areas. Unlike corn and sugar cane, which are used for ethanol production, Jatropha requires minimal upkeep and does not require yearly planting and could survive with 50 years with one planting. The absence of diseases is another advantage. The ‘cake’ produced as a by-product after oil extraction is an excellent fertiliser for vegetable and food crops. Because it is a tropical plant, it is a boom, which will lift the livihoods of those living in Africa and Asia, and reduce the price of fossil fuel.

Adopt specific policies for reducing global economic inequalities

Give a lead for protecting the special needs of the poor people and vulnerable areas. We need to ensure climate change does not increase suffering of people already affected by poverty, hunger, diseases and wars in many parts of the world. Global north and south should adopt specific policies for reducing global economic inequalities, keeping in mind the

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urgent development agenda for developing countries along with maintaining sustainable growth. Citizens of the world must remember that the current level of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere was caused by the North and should not be pushed onto the South. We need to bring economic incentives for trade, greener development and environment together for the regeneration of our planet. Forests, biodiversity, clean air, water and food shortages should be protected in vulnerable areas. Further opportunities are need to be created for the 4 billion people earning 1- 5 dollars a day, who are at risk by impending climate change catastrophe. The demographic challenge and an increasing youth population place a huge strain on reducing poverty and tackling climate change. Global warming threatens the lives of 1 billion slum dwellers living in cities. The right to adequate housing and ‘continuous improvement of living conditions’ is recognised by the UN and those governments that ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Initiate economic incentives to greener investments and new commitment to help poor counties in Africa and elsewhere adapt to climate change.

The UN should ecological centres for building relationship with nature and protect our planet

There should be environmental parks throughout the world to educate present and future generations of the value of deep rooted connections of human beings to nature, environment and beauty of the world around us. Scientists tell us that the world of nature is so small and interdependent that a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon

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rainforest can generate a violent storm on the other side of the earth. This principle is known as the “Butterfly Effect”. Today, we realise, perhaps more than ever, that the world of human activity also has its own “Butterfly Effect” -- for better or for worse. That’s why we need collective action. That relationship - between human society and the natural environment - is a deep rooted one.

Make travel environmental friendly

The UN should promote the regulation of the tourism industry and make travel eco-friendly, green and good for the environment. The size of the global tourism industry is the same as the size of the global oil industry. It’s largely unregulated and sidelines the interests of local cultures, communities and environment in favour of trans-national corporations. Environmentally and socially destructive tourist projects are subsidised to the tune of billions of pounds a year by the likes of World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Major players receive tax breaks and soft loans provided by governments. Local people get next to nothing and are turned into tourist attractions for the visitor. The industry is affiliated to the UN, with its own lobby UN body (United Nations World Travel and Tourism Organisation). The business as usual approach, and the quest for a illusory vision of paradise suggests that, we as western consumers can continue to treat the planet as a buffet of experiences for our own enjoyment will only hasten the destruction of environments, cultures and communities.

Protect birds and wildlife through conservation

The UN should help protect birds (especially migratory birds), wildlife and their habitat from global warming. There are many things that you can do in your private or professional life to further

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the conservation of birds and their habitats. Our individual contributions can and do make a real difference. More than any other group of animals, birds have already benefited substantially from the actions of individual citizens through volunteer monitoring, habitat improvement, participation in local and other larger conservation projects, and many other activities.

Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems, deserts, rainforests, plains, and other areas - including the most developed urban sites - all have distinct forms of wildlife around the world which is impacted by human activities. We need to protect birds and wildlife as the rate of extinctions of entire species of plants and animals across the planet has been so high in the last few hundred years.

Help protect eco-systems

Promote a resilient eco-system which can better withstand global warming and deliver what humans need, whether it is abundant tuna from the seas or fresh water tumbling down a mountain side. A healthy ecosystem is a natural system consisting of

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Indigenous people attending a class

all plants, animals and microorganisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment and should be maintained as a matter of priority.

Give indigenous people their right

There should be urgently created a UN or World Agency for Indigenous People to protect them from climate change. The collected voices of the Arctic, Australasian, African, and American indigenous peoples would have greater volume than they currently do as disparate groups. This will prove increasingly important as these populations find their way of life more and more difficult due to the affects of climate change. An effective lobbying group could pressurise rich nations to help pay for mitigation steps for which indigenous peoples are least responsible and most susceptible. Their cultures have much to teach us about the natural world and how to live side by side with it sustainably. A central method of collecting and disseminating this knowledge would be extremely useful to Western cultures.

Follow the United Nations Montreal ozone layer protection treaty

Campaign for safeguarding ozone depletion and full compliance of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone

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Layer, adopted in 1987. Ozone depletion occurs in two forms – a slow decrease of around 4% a decade over the whole planet’s surface, and a more rapid decrease in the “ozone hole” over the Antarctic. It is clear that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and bromofluorocarbons (BFCs) are responsible for the free radical reactions, which convert ozone to oxygen. Whilst much legislation has been passed (Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) have been banned in developed countries since 1996), it still remains to persuade every economy of the harm of ODS. Thankfully China has agreed to phase out production by 2010, but there are others remaining.

The CFCs may not be our immediate concern now though. The damage from them might be stabilising, but there is another concerning link with global warming. Standard climate models predict that global temperature rises will cause the stratosphere to

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cool, causing an increase in the rate of ozone depletion. Not only is this certain to significantly increase the human death toll from skin cancer, but also will kill off vital plankton populations thereby further increasing atmospheric carbon concentrations. This is yet another example of the complicated circular effects that global temperature changes will have.

Cut down on activity which increases waste and damage to the planet

Publish every year a list of the major human activities which are unnecessary and do damage to the worlds environment. It would be certainly be indicative if there were an UN-published list every year of industries and/or firms that are particularly environmentally unfriendly. This would build on existing ideas such as Germany’s Eco-Angel programme, but it would not just be a list of the most energy-intensive ones - like aluminium manufacturing - but a composite index of the most energy-inefficient (so not absolute quantity of energy, but amount of energy per unit of output), those that have not taken environmental advice where it is easy to implement (e.g. Paper manufacturers still not using higher proportions of recycled material), and those whose activities are completely unnecessary (e.g. Excessive plastic packaging in supermarkets). It is not unreasonable to speculate that aviation, oil extraction, and electricity generation from coal would top the list.

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Acid rain from industrial gas emissions

Protect oceans as they are the lungs of the world

Protect oceans - 99 per cent of the planet living room is ocean. Most of the sunlight that powers plant growth is absorbed in the first 150 meters or so of water. Soon, if we don’t look after the ocean, we will lose its uniqueness.

The UN predicts a 1-3 degree Celsius rise in ocean temperatures, which is “enough for a major decline in coral reefs”. These reefs not only ensure a healthy underwater ecosystem, they also act as natural barriers to floods and storms. The problem is compounded … climate change causes extreme weather events and also weakens nature’s defences to these weather events. It is reinforcing loops like these that make climate change so dangerous and unpredictable. Humans can do something other than stand and watch though. Careful use of the ocean’s assets can help us prevent climate change. Phytoplankton are the most important primary producer

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in the ocean as they dominate the bottom layer of the food chain. The size of the phytoplankton population determines whether overall the ocean is a sink or source of carbon emissions. Ensuring the conditions are right for plankton to thrive therefore means the difference between the ocean helping us fight climate change, or exacerbating it. It is crucial to have an exact balance of nutrients in the appropriate waters – reducing industrial pollutants in water, and maybe artificially making up for too little, but also limiting agricultural runoffs and sewage which cause massive overgrowth and destroy the ecosystem’s fine balance.

Highlight awareness of biodiversity

Celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity An UN-sanctioned event; this annual celebration recognises the importance, not only of biodiversity for helping to cope with a changing climate, but also for its own sake. Since it has been estimated that one-half of all current species will be extinct within 100 years, it is imperative that we tackle the problem. Celebrated by over 46 countries in 2007, the day highlights those species most in danger as

The restoration of the bald eagle

well as pointing to how reversal is possible. The US celebrations were happy to report on the restoration of the bald eagle to the top of the food chain.

Help least developed nations to fight climate change

The UN and the international community should readdress the

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imbalances to mitigate the impacts of climate change. According to the UN, 50 countries qualify as the world’s least developed nations, compared to 25 in 1971. Thirty-five are in Africa, 10 in Asia, five in Oceania and one in the Caribbean. Among them are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Sudan and Mauritania. Global warming and its devastation by hurricanes, droughts and floods affect poor countries. We need a plan to foster closer ties and the necessary political will to mitigate the impacts of climate change for the least develop countries.

Manage land in a sensible way for sustainable agriculture

The UN should urge countries to stop land degradation Soil erosion, acidification and salination which depletes the natural wealth and future development potential of nations. Simple land management techniques can overcome these problems, as in the example of through conservation tillage (avoids soil disturbance), contour ploughing (using the natural land slope as a flood defence), mulching (reusing organic waste to protect soil) which can be done at home, planting tree rows as wind breaks, and wider reforestation.

Use renewable energy options instead of crops for producing energy

Explore other fuel options for decarbonising the economy than biofuels. More and more studies are demonstrating that biofuels make global warming worse since a range of biofuel crops release far more carbon dioxide than they absorb. Expansion of biofuels is turning millions of hectares of valuable natural ecosystems, including the grassland and the Amazon into 1 major monoculture. This expansion of corporate controlled industrial agricultural system

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determines access to common natural resources, (land, water, forests, biodiversity, oil and gas) and is at the root of all social and environmental conflicts, in Brazil, as throughout the rest of Latin America.

As more and more land is being cleared for biofuels production, prices of basic food commodities are rising which are becoming more expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people. A viable alternative would be production of biofuels as a global model for a sustainable biomass production including woodchip and stray leaves.

Improve weather forecasting systems and use maps to avoid natural disasters and prevent breakout of diseases

Support the UN agency, World Metrological Organization (WMO), collectively working for combating climate change.

The WMO is a specialised agency for the weather, climate and hydrology.

The WMO helped create the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is a body of 2.500 scientists which evaluate the risk of human-induced climate change.

It is also directly responsible for the creation of the Global Atmosphere Watch.

The WMO Member countries have a Commission for Basic Systems (CBS) meeting every two years, in which new recommended code changes, telecommunication protocol recommendations, and Abbreviated Heading Table updates are approved.

One of the more visible functions of the WMO is the naming of tropical cyclones.

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For achieving environmental protection, we need to significantly reduce deadly diseases which is a threat to global health. In a paper published in the Scientific Journal Nature, scientists have created the first map of global emerging disease hotpots. This map will identify and predict if diseases like HIV/AIDS (affecting 65 million worldwide), Avian influenza, SARS, and other outbreaks will emerge in different parts of the world. This range of new information will assist countries to help prevent future devastating epidemics before they emerge in their country. It is common knowledge that significant peak in vector-borne diseases in the 1990s onwards is related to climate change. From this point of view, we can conclude that for the good health of people, the emerging climate change crisis needs to be addressed. UN should implement MM Proposal for tapping into vast resources for climate change mitigation and the completion of the MDGs The success of a UK tax reform as proposed in the MM Proposal for Donations (a robust match giving structure designed to incentivise more giving amongst the ‘super-rich’) would see a stream of hundreds of millions of pounds annually flowing in to these development areas. Consequently, this model could prove to be the catalyst for other UN member countries to follow suit in meeting their National MDG commitments thus bringing in billions of dollars in additional aid. Fortune Forum’s (a charity to further poverty reduction, elimination of global diseases and environmental sustainability).

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intention is to get this proposal adopted in Britain first and where needed expand implementation. With the success of reforming the UK tax system to transfer tax cuts towards the poor, the goal of ending universal extreme poverty could well be mutually advanced.

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7

Private sector / industry / technology

Putting technology and renewable energy generation on the forefront.

Leading the green revolution. Business playing a key role in the mitigation of global

warming through investment in research and development.

Implementing new energy technologies, energy efficiency measures.

Bring technology and innovation to advance solutions to global warming

Pave the way for technology and innovation to the marketplace as a matter of urgency. For the industry all over the world there should be a renaissance of the use of renewable energy along with universal and mandatory cap and trade system to be used immediately as industry is currently the biggest polluter of carbon dioxide emissions. The developed countries should cut GHG’s by 80 per cent and the developing countries by 15 per cent, including China and India.

However, the proliferation of schemes, targets and laws around the world creates a confused landscape and need to be simplified. The tools to reduce emissions in the necessary

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timescale will come mainly through engineering. But there are no easy answers: renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and solar could all provide low-carbon electricity but are at varying stages of development; biofuels and hydrogen could reduce transport emissions but there are inherent risks; carbon capture and storage could significantly reduce emissions from fossil fuel power plants but there is yet to be a full-scale, commercially viable demonstration. It will still require massive investment in the development and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies

Bring a climate change revolution for a sustainable future

Industry to bring sustainable energy solutions. Business leaders, corporation, entrepreneurs, scientists and philanthropists have the power, the know-how, the skills, guts and backing of money to make revolutionary changes on our planet at the scale of the Industrial Revolution in the 20th Century. What we need is a climate change revolution brought on by the entrepreneurs of this world. The network of multi-national corporations is spread all over the world and for them to take the initiative would have implications in both poor and rich countries. Businesses have the resources and can reach to help avert the climate change disaster. As business people need billions of people around the world to buy their products, so it is logical and in their own self-interest to save the planet from destruction. We need to influence individuals and organizations to face the reality of climate change. Along with it, if we can change public opinion and the actions of governments, that could become the catalyst for collective bold action.

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Stop using coal immediately or use coal with co-generation plants for conservation and reuse of energy

Use coal as little as possible. There is a case for either a global carbon tax on coal to make it more expensive or promoting cheaper alternatives to coal. At present, coal is the cheapest and dirtiest source of energy around and is used in the world’s fastest growing economies. China at present is opening a new coal power plant every week. Getting China and India to stop burning coal is not going to be easy – it is currently the cheapest way to fuel their growth. Although China has the dirtiest air and water in the world, they are highly unlikely to do anything that will significantly undercut economic progress.

Another solution could be to introduce clean coal technology. There is a way of extracting synthetic fuel out of coal which has 40 per cent less sulphur. There is a company called Syntroleum, which is based in Oklahoma, US, which puts coal through Fischer-Tropsch method which creates synthetic fuel. You can make it even less polluting if the extraction of synthetic oil is generated through wind turbine or solar photo-voltaic panels as you are generating energy through a less polluting source. The other is to have a tax on spewing carbon into the atmosphere or an innovative way for an alternative fuel at a cheaper, subsidised price. Whatever the method, the world needs to stop using coal. By 2012, 800 new plants would have emitted 2.5 billion tons of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Another way is to phase out burning coal for producing energy and use co-generation power plants, that excess heat is

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captured and reused for domestic and industrial heating, nearly doubling a plant’s efficiency. The process is similar to what goes on in your car—think of the engine as a mini co-generation plant. When the engine runs, it creates excess heat while driving the car, and in cold weather, that waste product is used to warm the car. Co-generation is a favourite efficiency initiative of fossil fuel companies.

In fossil-fueled China, co-generation is seen as a cutting-edge technology, and enables the country to prevent nearly 100 million tons of CO2 annually. It’s not the ideal solution, but fossil fuels will remain the backbone of our electricity grid for the foreseeable future. If we’re going to burn coal and oil, we might as well make sure all that carbon doesn’t go to waste.

Stop giving harmful subsidies which are polluting the planet

Reduce environmentally harmful subsidies to prevent unnecessary inefficiency, premature depletion of natural resource bases, and avoid emitting unsustainable amounts of pollution. To render a green permit or tax system effective where there must also be a blanket abolition of environmentally harmful subsidies wherever they exist, especially in North America and Europe. These essentially make the already low cost of damaging the planet even lower. Removal of some of these subsidies is essential but is likely to be resisted, such as subsidies for forest clearance, to the fishing industry, which is emptying the world’s oceans, or the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies, which result in

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massive over-production.

Vehicle manufacturers should convert engines for clean and efficient fuel and improving air quality

Improve air quality by phasing out use of most polluting diesel-engined lorries, buses, coaches, large vans and minibuses and convert them to meet low emissions standards. It is not efficient to keep dilapidated and inefficient buses and lorries on the road. However, it is also extremely harmful to human health in urban areas, and to the environment as a whole. Hong Kong is a good example. The concentrations of toxic particles well exceed World Health Organization guidelines. Because of that, they have converted to less polluting engines, with the additional benefits for savings in healthcare. Governments in dense urban areas must be put under pressure to constantly implement the latest and least polluting technologies. They should also ensure that public transport fleets, private commercial vehicles are supplied with fuel meeting strict quality control criteria. These steps should be seen though not as a final solution but rather a transitory stage on the way to the highly efficient fuel cell technology (hybrid, electric and hydrogen). Businesses should also improve vehicle efficiency standards in the car industry. As car ownership continues to expand around the world, especially in the developing world, millions of new cars are bought on the road every year. By 2030, the number of vehicles in China is projected to quintuple to 150 million. In India, a huge increase is also expected. Against this backdrop, to minimise vehicle emissions and greenhouse gases, we should

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have fuel efficiency for vehicles with cleaner engines to go further. The vehicles should run on renewable energy. If this was done for cars, trucks, and SUV’s, it would save millions of barrels of oil per day, reducing dependency on oil and will help the environment.

Start carbon sequestration either organically or artificially

Carbon sequestering is one way to try and undo the damage of pumping CO2 into the atmosphere is to capture and store some of that carbon, either organically or artificially. Organic bio-sequestration is not only mainly reforestation, but also sustainable farming practices that increase the carbon-retention capacity of soil, or even the dumping iron in the oceans encouraging plankton growth and hence biological CO2 absorption. On the artificial front, it is possible to pump carbon underground, into oceanic chasms in liquefied form or to react it with various minerals. It must be stressed though, that all these options have unknown and potentially dangerous consequences, including further environmental damage in the oceans and, for example, increased atmospheric concentrations of other pollutants. If the technology is proven, then Earth has no shortage of places to store the stuff, starting with depleted oil and natural-gas fields as well as the deep ocean. By one estimate, the storage capacity exceeds 545 billion tons of carbon, or 70 years’ worth at current emissions levels. There are three commercial projects already in progress, one off Norway in the North Sea, one in Canada and one in Algeria, each storing 1 to 2 million tons of CO2 a year.

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Construct green buildings for a safe future

All builders and building companies around the globe should be given new guidelines for building regulations, protection of earth and nature. Builders should aim for the following in their work:

Using low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) -emitting compounds in insulation

Use reclaimed materials and architectural salvage where possible

For new materials use readily replenished materials (eg. Bamboo, cork oak)

Construct buildings to take advantage of breezes and natural sunlight

Integrate onsite renewable energy generation Make maximum use of rainwater New buildings should use mix concrete with waste

products like waste from blast furnaces. Buildings should use concrete which is a mix of 55 % concrete, 45 % slag and a mixture of waste products from blast furnace. Mixing slag with concrete saves energy and makes the concrete stronger.

Builders in the long run should ensure the production of cement is under stringent control. There should be a cap on cement production or establish facilities for newer plants with cleaner methods of production. In China the new building called the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai, used cement production and emitted 540,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The manufacturing of cement depends on burning vast

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amounts of cheap coal; this heats the kilns to more than 1,500 degrees Celsius. It also relies on decomposing limestone, which frees carbon dioxide as a by-product.

The construction industry should strike a better balance between environment concerns and making profit. The toughening of international building standards and government incentives will catalyse this process.

Turn food waste into fuel for vehicles.

Waste food from some of Britain's biggest supermarkets and houses could be used for fuel in an experimental biomass plant being planned by Infinis, a renewable power company. According to Infinis, supermarket chains are producing up to 100,000 tonnes a year of waste material that is being buried in the ground, which could be instead processed in biomass plants to create power. This waste could be better used as a feed stock for our generators. It is possible to move down the supply chain so that the waste being produced by food processing companies and the farmers too can also be used. The waste from one supermarket group could provide as much as 5MW of power, enough for 10,000 homes. Food processors produce 10 times as much waste and farmers more again. By converting household waste into biofuels with the help of technology is one of the most innovative ways of producing biofuels. Any non-petroleum fuel source, including corn, soybean, switchgrass, and used cooking oil can be used to turn into biofuels. Municipal waste, wood pulp and leftover grain

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and household waste can produce something called cellulosic ethanol, which contains energy to produce biofuels. So for now there are more expensive than corn-based ethanol to produce. Undeterred, researchers at several cellulosic-ethanol plants are developing innovative enzyme concoctions and heating methods to make the process more economic. We should urge ethanol producers to switch to municipal waste, wood pulp, leftover grain and corn husks to make cellulesic ethanol. Use the above instead of corn, soya and palm as world prices of cereals are becoming higher and unattainable and beyond the reach of poor people.

Find alternative fuel to run aircrafts and reduce noise pollution

Aircrafts should be solar-powered or run on a highly efficient clean fuel. The engines also should be built consuming less fuel per air mile. The GHGs produced by continued growth in airport expansion and air travel will put any plans to cut carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in limbo if fossil fuels are used continuously. Furthermore, the planes should be quieter as the noise level and pollution for homes nearby the airport is far exceeding the limits defined by the WHO, which is 57 decibels or more and is described as a health hazard.

Businesses should pave the way for development, eradicate diseases in poor countries

Businesses and pharmaceutical companies should invest in global technology for better environmental health and reducing poverty, by providing clean energy for rural people

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(who now use wood and dung, high-yielding drought and pest-resistant varieties of food crops such as sorghum, cassava, and lentils). They should provide wide-spread low cost battery operated wireless computers that open communications for rural areas with no electricity and telecommunications infrastructure for easing the access of providing vaccines and treatment for neglected diseases. As global warming worsens and world temperatures rise, increase in malaria and other diseases will happen. Pharmaceutical companies, in partnership with governments and civil society organisations, should provide much needed medicines for HIV / AIDS, malaria, TB in poorer countries at reasonable prices. Without eradicating global disease burden, development in poor countries will be drastically hindered.

Train farmers in producing crops in a sustainable way

Farmers should have access to new and existing products and technology for maintaining sustainable farming. They should be provided with information on sustainable agricultural crops like drought tolerant maize varieties and crops such as virus resistant cassava and sweet potato, and insect resistant cowpea.

Use digital technology for gaining access to the utility market

Employ digital technology and bring the electric power through a smarter grid. This will make it more, efficient, more reliable and better able to draw on renewable energy resources. It should become a national grid like our motorway / highway

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system so that any renewable electricity generated in any part of the country can be transmitted to the market. The main business of utilities should be clean energy and increased government support should become part of it. We should allow utility companies to make profit by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy systems. Furthermore, solar panels and geothermal heat pumps should be installed into buildings, which would cut their energy consumption for decades.

Use hybrid or electric vehicles for reducing CO2 emissions and replace taxis with hybrid or electric vehicles Buses, trucks and lorries should use hybrid or electric engines to save carbon emissions. Some of the international companies like TNT and others are already doing their deliveries in vehicles, which are 100 % electric. In some countries, buses are run on compressed natural gas (CNG). In the city of Delhi, India, the large number of buses which belch black smoke into the city air every day are on their way to becoming part of Delhi's history. Clean fuel in the form of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is available at 78 outlets across the city. This will help in not only introducing CNG-run buses on Delhi’s roads but also convincing more private and public vehicle owners to convert to the green fuel.Taxis all around the world should be replaced by fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles. In New York, the city’s fleet of yellow taxis will

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go completely hybrid within five years. The new standard will have the equivalent effect of removing 30,000 individually –owned petrol-powered vehicles. Hybrid vehicles are powered by petrol and electricity which help to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas they emit.

Equip car assembly plants with fuel efficient technology. The car of the future should be powered by hydrogen, electric battery or cellulesic ethanol. It is unclear which clean technology will succeed the petrol powered engine.

A hybrid new york taxi Therefore, cars should be designed and be adaptable to run on an electric battery, a hydrogen fuel cell, cellulesic ethanol or any cleaner fuel.

Stop black carbon emissions as it is more dangerous than carbon dioxide

Use technology to address much of the black carbon problem for slowing global warming, which is, critical to avoiding irreversible climate change. Soot, or black carbon, is a significant contributor to climate change - one that may be second only to carbon dioxide. It hurts the climate in two ways. First, it is an aerosol that warms the atmosphere by absorbing sunlight.

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Black carbon soot

Second, when it is transported to regions of snow and ice it reduces their reflectivity, and more energy is absorbed. Soot also may be a key contributor to the regional changes in precipitation in China, contributing to droughts, dust storms and floods. And unlike carbon dioxide, black carbon emissions are largest in developing countries like China and India. Give economic incentives to expand renewable and eco-friendly industries

Promote jobs in solar, wind turbine and other clean energy sectors. There are opportunities for millions of jobs to be created in the eco-friendly industries like solar, wind, ethanol, compressed natural gas in sustainable forestry and organic agriculture. Brazil’s ethanol programme has led to half a million new jobs and the United States environmental industry in 2005 generated over 5.3 million jobs. In New Delhi, 18000 new jobs have been created on buses on eco-friendly compressed natural gas. Every day new opportunities are opening in the green economy for people to participate in making a sustainable future.

Count the carbon emissions of aviation, shipping, and other industries in foreign countries and include them in your countries emissions Count the carbon usage of foreign activities of companies and individuals, which vastly increases the countries contribution to climate change. The foreign activities of UK companies and individuals vastly increase this country's contribution to climate change, over what is officially admitted.

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The emissions associated with the global consumption of products made by companies in the FTSE 100 will take UK country's emissions to 12-15% of the global total. The UK's apparent success in reducing its emissions is due partly to the fact that its companies are shifting their dirty, industrial activities elsewhere - to China and India in particular. The UK's greenhouse emissions have shifted, not shrunk. The key beneficiaries of this shift is the UK as it reaps the benefits of its investments in emerging economies and earn returns on those investments. It also consumes the cheap consumer goods that they produce. The UK's hidden responsibility for climate change, as well as its greater ability to pay for the solutions to the problem, should be reflected in the new international agreement on climate change. Encourage the free market in carbon emissions

To cut back on carbon, some environmentalists are using the force of the free market. In carbon-emissions trading, the government should put a cap on how much carbon an industry is allowed to emit from power plants, factories and cars. Innovative companies could meet those caps through actual reductions and earn carbon "credits," which they could sell to industry laggards. Some in the US, including New York have agreed on a regional cap-and-trade system. California with other neighbouring states have signed a similar pact. One of best schemes and largest available, for greenhouse gases, is the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). It is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. It is sometimes called cap and trade.

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Use nanotechnology to promote environmental initiatives.

Nanotechnology is sometimes referred to as a general-purpose technology. That's because in its advanced form it will have significant impact on almost all industries and all areas of society. It offers better built, longer lasting, cleaner, safer, and smarter products for the home, for communications, for medicine, for transportation, for agriculture, and for industry in general.

It is important because of its vast potential in assisting environmental initiatives as simpler and smaller structures can be built as applications of in fields as diverse as materials engineering, medicine, information technology, environmental solution, energy production, and agricultural technology. Alongside the promises hover a range of social and ethical concerns. These include questions of toxicity, privacy, economic injustice, terrorism, military implications, and compromised environmental integrity.

We should develop nanotechnology and its applications to generate and improve energy to cut down greenhouse gases. Nanotechnology has the potential to help curb carbon emissions in five areas:

Increasing fuel efficiency in engines Cutting the cost of solar cells Playing a key role in the development of hydrogen technology Allowing the batteries in electric cars to recharge faster

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Improving solid wall insulation significantly

Thus, it is important to continue funding generic nanotechnology research, to continue discovering unanticipated uses such as these, which could prove pivotal in tackling climate change.

Use biofuels in a responsible way as fuel price rise is making the lives of the poor unsustainable NGOs should work for a balanced approach in the use of biomass/bio-fuels. The increasing world cereal prices resulting from grain shortages are causing riots and creating conflict. Increase in demand for corn, sugar cane and other commodities for producing biofuels is sending prices of staple food soaring and bringing protesters to the streets of Mexico and elsewhere.

Biofuels could be a source of economic growth for developing countries and play a part in the fight against climate change, but only if it is made from woodchip, dry grass, leaves, food and other waste. The grain is sourced from appropriate places. NGOs and charities should work towards ensuring bio-fuels are not cynically promoted as environmentally friendly when the method of production has not been scrutinized.

Use biofuels sensibly as a substitute for fossil fuels which include coal, oil, gas, and wood. Agricultural crops, such as

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sugar cane, corn, sunflower seeds and soya beans, can be grown for use as energy sources called biofuels, which can be used in motor vehicles. This is done commercially in Brazil, the USA and Europe and experimentally in Australia. In the USA, corn (maize) is used to make ethanol and then blended with gasoline to produce ‘gasohol’ to run cars. In Brazil, more than half of the cars sold can use ethanol for fuel, burning 4 billion gallons annually. Biomass has great potential to increase its contribution to commercial energy production by extending and improving the use of residues from forest and wood processing industries.

However there are real concerns about the current rush for biofuels which are leading to mass deforestation in developing countries. The rise in cereal prices and danger of starvation and riots in developing countries; priority of land use to grow biofuel than crops to eat; and increase in unrest due to food scarcity need to be tackled before any more land or crops can be used for biofuels. Another way of producing cheap biofuels is for ethanol producers to use municipal waste, woodpulp, leftover grains and corn husks (what is called celluesic ethanol). Instead of corn, soya and palm as world prices of cereals are rising beyond the reach of poor people

Industry should use science and technology in an ethical way to reduce global warming

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Promote technological breakthroughs and innovation for radical solutions to climate chaos and environmental degradation. New and upcoming advanced technologies - Biotechnology, Information Technology, Nanotechnology, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence - should be harnessed in an ethical way while for widespread implementation for the benefit of humanity on the scale of the industrial revolution of the 19th century.

We need to find highly efficient fuel for aircraft to be put into service as it is one of the key areas using large amount of fossil fuels. It can be from solar, ethanol or new energies developed in the near future.

Cutting edge technology should be harnessed to bring efficiency and break us from the addiction of oil. Bio-fuels are a middle way to reaching there as higher cereal and grain prices in the longer run will make their use untenable. Other renewable options like the solar, wind, and geothermal should be explored fully to service our increasing energy use. We should get into the habit of relying less on oil, gas, coal and wood as sources of energy.

Clean energy organisations and philanthropists should be encouraged to bring inventions to the wider market.

Use renewable energy for producing films

Make films carbon neutral. Al Gore may have set the precedent with “an inconvenient truth” being the first Hollywood production to fully offset all transport and filming emissions. This silenced accusations of environmental hypocrisy, and hopefully will spur other major poductions into

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doing likewise. In encouraging steps, “Syriana” starring George Clooney also offset its production emission through use of renewable energy and offsets, as did the producers of “Sweet Land” and “The Day After Tomorrow” (fitting given the latter’s dire predictions of global man-made environmental catastrophe). With luck we are witnessing the beginnings of a carbon revolution in the film business, which further should influence general public opinion as well as dent overall emission levels. Business should manage airports more efficiently It is not just airlines and their planes that are solely responsible for aviation pollution. The inefficient control of landing and take off (LTO) at many airports creates highly unnecessary pollution. For example, even though JFK’s capacity is strictly 80 flights per hour for take offs, often as many as a hundred are taking off – this mismanagement of air space and ground slots means aircraft waiting to land have to circle the airport pointlessly, wasting time and fuel. This not only is an economic shame, but an environmental nightmare. There are possible solutions.

The government should improve levels of LTO efficiency, forcing busy airports to calm their schedule and avoid unnecessary waiting in the air by planes. The auctioning system raises revenue, which can be put to good environmental use by the authorities. It is pivotal that this be a global effort though, as unilateral action will simply results in sidelining of some countries and even greater congestion in the others. Furthermore, the question of airport-city links has to be addressed. It is no use cutting down on aviation pollution if this is compensated for by excessive traffic around airports. The building of fast rail links between airports and their

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corresponding city is firmly encouraged (e.g. the one currently under construction in Beijing) or other reliable mass transit solutions in order to cut down on private vehicle usage. Support reforestation to stop environmental degradation The industry sector should support a policy of moratorium on forest clearance and peat land degradation. They should support zero deforestation and not trade with those engaged in deforestation and peat land degradation. In 2007, an United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report said that oil palm plantations are now the leading cause of rainforest destruction in Indonesia. Deforestation, peat lands degradation and forest fires have placed Indonesia among the top emitters of greenhouse gases in the world among industrial giants like the United States and China.

New technology should run cars on water in future

Future Car’s could run on Tap Water. Toymakers have made a remote control car that runs on tap water. The name of the method used is hydrogen fuel cell technology. The car, H2GO, uses tap water that is turned into hydrogen as its fuel. The fuel was developed by the Leicester based company and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies based in Shanghai.

The car is the first “zero emissions” remote-control toy and the manufacturers hope to extend the technology into home appliances. The car works by separating the hydrogen from

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the oxygen in the tap water using a miniaturised unit powered by a rechargeable battery. The battery is in turn powered by a tiny solar panel. This is a future technology that is still in the development stages, but could be life changing as a reality.

Use water efficiently to avoid waste

British Business Lose £1.4 Million Per Day on Wasted Water. The lack of water efficiency in British businesses is costing £1.4m a day or £1,000 a minute. Through simple water-efficiency this figure could be reduced by 30%. A few methods are:

Encourage use of tap water instead of bottled water on the premises. Supply drinking mugs for the staff instead of throw away plastic cups. Maintain the heating and water systems on the business premises to ensure minimum waste.

Leading architects should follow example of sustainable cities and eco-towns for building future construction

Leading architects are building the world’s first sustainable city in Abu Dhabi. The city will work by: Using zero carbon emissions all the energy will be supplied by renewable energy – photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, wind, waste-to-energy and other technologies. Zero waste – 99% diversion of waste from landfill and reuse of waste by composting.

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Sustainable transport – zero emission from transport within the city. Building – by using recycled and certified material where possible. Water per capita consumption to be 50% less than average. All waste water to be reused. Drinking water to be desalinated with solar energy. Equity and fair trade – fair wages for all the workers who are employed to build the city.

If all new building projects were to take as much from this plan as possible it would prevent further damage made by the current building and living style. Further still if current cities and towns were to adapt and change so that they could move towards a more sustainable way of life this will not reverse the damage done but it will certainly slow down the global warming process.

Industry should reduce packaging on products and when giving gifts

Form a United Movement for Reducing Unnecessary Packaging. While recycling is becoming a constant issue for every household, often making us feel guilty if we do not reach some sort of a common target, yet product packaging is on the increase.

A united movement to reduce product packaging and use recyclable materials would be a vital component for achieving a sustainable society.

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Limit the amount of wasted packages while giving gifts to recipients especially during birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Christmas and New Year, etc, which is at present is a worldwide custom. As a result less resources/money will be spent on gifts. Promote giving a cheque/ money as a gift with a suggestion that if possible, the money is passed on to an organisation that supports the needy such as UNICEF for poor children or any other NGO/charity of their choice which is doing important work for humanity.

Industry should provide wood pellet stoves in Developing Countries and Reduce Pollution

Millions of people in Africa and Asia die everyday from pollution caused by cooking on open coal and wood burners. A modern solution is a pellet stove, which is an electric unit that burns small pieces of compacted sawdust called pellets. The advantages of wood pellets are that they are extremely efficient, inexpensive and produce very little waste.

Use Sails for Reducing Shipping Emissions

German engineers have devised a sail tugging system, which they have called SkySails. The sails catch the ocean wind and are steered by computers in order to harness wind power. The sails have been calculated to reduce fuel consumption by a whopping 30-50% depending on wind conditions. The orders for this new technology have already started and could be applied to 60 % of cargo vessels. It is

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estimated that the sails will reduce Germany’s total emissions by 15%. If the world’s cargo vessels were to take note of the new SkySails we could create a dramatic reduction in our world’s carbon emissions. The age of sail could be staging something of a comeback as part of an attempt to cut greenhouse gases on the high seas. German engineers have devised a way of tugging merchant vessels and superyachts along with huge, computer-steered kites, known as SkySails that catch the ocean winds. Pulled by a huge kite to catch strong winds up to 300 metres above the surface, the 500,000 euro ($837,200) SkySails system is projected to cut fuel costs by about 20 per cent - or about $1,600 per day. It will also reduce CO2 output, which is the cause of climate change by a similar amount.

Formulate an environmental index to monitor CO2

Financial institutions and banks should launch their own environmental standards for regulating carbon dioxide emissions. Investment banks should impose environmental standards that will make it harder for companies to acquire financing for coal-fire powered plants, which are major polluters to the environment. Governments should cap power plant

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emissions. It should introduce new regulation for companies seeking finance for plants to prove that those power plants will fall under new regulation for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. The new regulation should be enforced on all banks and financial institutions that should comply with the new regulations.

Promote technology, which can keep carbon in the car instead of polluting the atmosphere

The Georgia Institute of Technology wants to make a hydrogen-fuelled vehicle that separates and stores carbon dioxide until it can be sequestered. The idea is that a zero-emission, hydrogen-powered car that would separate carbon dioxide from liquid fuel and gather it for sequestration underground or in the ocean. Further down the line, the scientists envision transforming that captured CO2 into more fuel, creating a sort of cycle. Presently, we have an unsustainable carbon-based economy with several limitations, including a limited supply of fossil fuels at a high cost and carbon-dioxide pollution. For creating a practical and sustainable energy strategy for automobiles that could solve each of those limitations, eventually using renewable energy sources in an environmentally conscious way.

Insurances industry should be proactive to avoid natural Disaster There is one often overlooked and surprising group who can certainly make a difference. As the bearers of global risk the insurance industry will find itself making ever-larger payouts. Rather than passively accept a frightening new status quo, the

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insurance industry should actively influence policy to stop these ‘natural’ disasters before they happen. Furthermore, as the entire financial industry indeed noticed in late 2007, the sophistication of modern financial instruments means the location and extent of risk across markets remain unclear. It would certainly be in the financial industry’s best interests to flex its political muscles now, rather than see greater volatility leading to declining profits and hence more bankruptcies Use geothermal to power heating and cooling by pumping water from deep underground

Humans have used geothermal energy for thousands of years, using hot springs initially for cooking and building reservoirs around springs to create shrines and bathing complexes such as those built at Bath in UK by the Romans. Geothermal energy has been harvested commercially since the early part of the 20th century. The use of geothermal energy has increased rapidly since 1970 and now occurs in more than 45 countries. When a heat pump is used to provide domestic heating, the savings on electricity can outweigh the cost of installing and running the system in the long-term. Where geothermal energy is used in agriculture (such as to heat greenhouses) heating costs can be cut by up to 80%. The cost of electricity from geothermal power plants is slowly becoming more competitive than from traditional power plants. Let Employees Work Close to Home

Sitting in traffic jams wastes time and the planet's fuel. The only solution, it seems, is to move your home next to the office. But what if you could move the office a little closer to home? That, in essence, is the concept called proximate commuting. It

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works best for companies with multiple locations in one metro area. Gene Mullins, a software developer in Seattle, created a program that helps firms slash the time employees spend driving by matching them with work closer to home. Mullins did studies for Starbucks, Key Bank, Boeing and, most recently, Seattle's fire department. He found that only 4% of the firefighters worked at the station closest to their home; some commuted 145 miles each way. At Boeing, daily commutes of its 80,000 employees total 85 circumnavigations of the earth. Using Mullins' program, some Key Bank branches reduced commutes of some workers by 69%. Still, only about 20% of its employees work at the branch closest to their home, Mullins says. Yet escaping rush-hour traffic is its own reward. "For the same pay and the same job, who wouldn't want a shorter commute? Individuals and organisations should generate more energy from tidal waves Technology generates renewable electricity from ocean waves, using both tidal turbines and sails to capture the force of the tide, and may prove to be a valuable energy source for the 21st century. The world’s first commercial energy wave farm is being constructed off the shores of Portugal. The amount of energy obtainable from a tidal energy scheme therefore varies with location and time. Output changes as the tide ebbs and floods each day. Tidal energy is, however, highly predictable in both the quantity and timing that is available. Tidal energy can also be obtained directly from marine currents induced by the combined lunar and solar gravitational forces responsible for tides. Denmark leads the world in wind power – over 20 per cent of electricity consumption in this western, developed nation is covered by energy from wind turbines. This is the equivalent of serving

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energy to 1.4 million Danish homes. The wind industry brings 3 billion euro a year to the Danish economy and employs over 20,000 people. Fly in a straight line to save on CO2 emissions.

The quicker way to get from Los Angeles to London is by carbon-spewing jet airliner. One simple change can help: adjust the exit and entry points each nation sets for its airspace so that planes can fly in as straight a line as possible. Last year the International Air Transport Association negotiated a more direct route from China to Europe that shaved an average 30 minutes off flight time, eliminating 84,800 metric tons of CO2 annually. Unifying European airspace as a "single sky" could cut fuel use up to 12%. Pilots could also change the way they fly. Abrupt drops in altitude waste fuel, so experts are advocating "continuous descent" until the plane reaches the runway - where they could be towed instead of burning fuel while taxing. Of course, the best way to reduce plane emissions is to fly less.

A percentage of revenue from sporting activity should be utilised to help the mitigation of climate change. A small percentage of global sports economic activity should be spent for averting global warming crisis. According to the United Nations, sports accounts for 3 per cent of global economic activity. It is 1 per cent of the European Union’s and 3 per cent of the UK’s gross domestic product. Estimation from the US indicates that sport is worth about 300 billion a year to the economy. Relationship with sport will be impacted by

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climate change. With the rise of global warming, there will be reoccurrence of floods, wetter and drier weather. In these circumstances, the world of sports, especially the Olympics, would be difficult to host. Without the stabilisation of the global surface temperature and conducive environment, sporting events will not be possible to be hosted in future.

Of the revenue collected from sports in global activity, a percentage should be spent on the mitigation of climate change so that the sporting activity around the world can continue.

Have plans for greening your business

Implement green Business Trends for a Sustainable Environment. It is important that companies take urgent steps to towards becoming greener. Here are a few example of innovative businesses like Celtic Anglian Water and Airtricity’s, who are making the step towards a greener more ethical way of enterprise: some note able trends are:

Making public commitments about their strategies addressing climate change. Automotive industry is offering more fuel efficient vehicles and hybrids with plans to launch plug-in hybrids. Planes, trains, trucks, and ships are also making steps towards lowering their environmental impact. Due to public backlash, manufacturers are reducing and eliminating the use of toxic products. The IT industry is examining its energy use and disposal problems associated with technology. Some of the world’s big corporations announced plans to implement company-wide initiatives for smarter resource use.

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“Green buildings” are spreading across major urban centres. Shareholders are pressurising large banks into investing in clean energy production. Corporate sectors are rallying for “zero-waste, carbon, and emissions”. Other areas to be analysed are EU laws, renewable energy, waste management, management systems, recycling, and ethanol. Businesses should invest in MM Proposal for Donations Did you know that the MM Proposal for Donations is also open to Corporations to subscribe to benefit from the scheme, thereby allowing them to receive an additional tax relief and free up resources for the mitigation of climate change and the completion of the MDGs. The MM Proposal is an initiative of Fortune Forum - a charity to further poverty reduction, elimination of global diseases and environmental sustainability. Its intentions are to get this proposal adopted in Britain first and where needed expand implementation. With the success of reforming the UK tax system to transfer tax cuts towards the poor, the goal of ending universal extreme poverty could well be mutually advanced.

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NGOs / civil society

Has the capacity for the following

Campaign to make changes happen. Dissemination of information. Ideas for sustainable development. Enlist citizen support Set the agenda and find solutions. Making leaders, government and industry to act

and challenging them on the ‘business as usual’ approach to climate change.

Rich world should act responsibly to bring changes to avert climate change crisis

Campaign for developed nations to take major responsibility to alter the climate change crisis. The

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developed world has the funds, technology and know-how to bring about changes. However, they are still potraying the business as usual approach, which need to be challenged by NGOs and civil society.

The most important thing from the developing countries’ point of view is the transformation of the global economy proceeds on an increasingly sustainable line. This will be one of the defining issues of the 21st century as to how to achieve reduction in carbon emissions, preserving biodiversity, eradicating poverty and cure diseases.

NGOs and civil society should campaign rich nations to take drastic steps to cut on greenhouse gases. The technocratic, top-down solutions proposed by governments and big business continue to merely scratch the surface of this problem. We need 80% cuts by 2050. However a chilling reality is Shell and Exxon Mobil announcing record profits again this year and investing billions into new oil exploration. They are heavily polluting the atmosphere and not seriously committed about replacing oil with renewable energy sources. The message is clear: we cannot rely solely on businesses and corporations. We need to galvanize local communities and individuals to by bringing people together, to create a community of resistance; to inspire people to take action.

Monitor Progress of countries on reduction of carbon emissions

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Formulate an Environmental Performance Index / Global Environmental Report – monitoring progress of countries in their efforts for mitigating climate change crisis.

OUTPUT OF CO2 2005

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EMISSIONS GROWTH BY CONTINENT

COUNTRY TONNES

CO2 PER CAPITA (2005, TONNES)

MILLION TONNES CO2 (2005)

EMISSION GROWTH 1995-2005

RANKING - CO2 EMISSION GROWTH OF THE HIGHEST 20 EMITTERS

China 4.07 5322.69 87% 1 Saudi Arabia

15.61 412.35 76% 2

Iran 6.96 450.68 73% 3

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Indonesia 1.57 359.47 69% 4 Spain 9.60 387.11 56% 5 Australia 20.24 406.64 43% 6 India 1.07 1165.72 35% 7 South Korea 10.27 499.63 32% 8 Brazil 1.94 360.57 26% 9 Mexico 3.75 398.25 25% 10 Canada 19.24 631.26 25% 11 South Africa 9.56 423.81 23% 12 Japan 9.65 1230.36 14% 13 US 20.14 5956.98 13% 14 France 6.59 415.27 12% 15 Italy 8.03 466.64 9% 16 Russia 11.08 1696.00 5% 17 UK 9.55 577.17 4% 18 Germany 10.24 844.17 -4% 19 Ukraine 7.30 342.57 -18% 20 EUROPE - 4670 9% - EURASIA - 2580 4% - NORTH AMERICA

- 6990 14% -

CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICA

- 1100 29% -

AFRICA - 1040 28% - MIDDLE EAST

- 1450 62% -

ASIA AND OCEANIA

- 10360 58% -

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TOTAL (GLOBAL)

4.37 28190 28% -

Note: Given reliable estimates by the Dutch Government, it is now accepted that China has overtaken the US in terms of total CO2 Emissions, owing to the 9% growth in 2006. Civil society should promote communities to mitigate climate change crisis Take part in community initiatives which reduces carbon emissions Through volunteer work and working with local government any community can make its own dent into climate change. For example, Islington Council in London recently cooperated with other agencies and charities to reduce emissions in their area through raising awareness of energy efficiency, refurbishing housing blocks whilst demonstrating energy bill reduction techniques, educating students and Children travelling to school by bicycle instead of car

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finding sustainable ways to travel to school, and providing local businesses with free energy audits. More ambitiously was the work of one village in North West England who founded and implemented the “Ashton Hayes - going carbon neutral project”, with the laudable intention of fully neutralising their contribution towards global warming. Moreover, initiatives can be started on non-environmental pretexts, which will still significantly help curb emissions. Examples of this include local groups running the Bike It or LEAP campaigns encouraging children to get more exercise through cycling to school instead of driving. Students should take part in debates, competitions and signature campaigns for highlighting the climate change crisis and showing the path for renewable energy. Less grand schemes are also equally useful, such as the West Sussex Real Nappy Initiative, whose purpose is reasonably self-evident – to reduce the enormous environmental footprint of disposable nappies on a county level.

NGOs should campaign for the military to stop polluting the atmosphere and pay for doing it

The military-industrial complex, in its quest for ever more destructive weapons, uses highly energy-intensive equipment. If we eventually have to alter our economic model, would we rather sacrifice the ability to heat our homes and family, or machines of death? The world annually spends $1.2 trillion on military hardware, serving as a driver for

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future conflict. These expenditures have long downgraded living standards for the civilian economy as government resources are diverted for purposes of war and destruction. Now the argument takes on a further element, as energy resources also become scarce. Land mines ready to be installed by the military

A reasonable position is that the armed forces are the least deserving of the limited supply we have. Furthermore, the military are responsible for widespread water, land and air pollution. Sonar radar systems underwater harm marine life. Depleted uranium munitions contaminate war-zones, troops, and especially production sites, with unnecessary radiation. RDX and other toxic and/or carcinogenic waste litter military bases and war-zones. Even the US Department of Defense’s conservative estimates put the clean-up cost at over $100 billion. Yet despite all this, production of environmentally dangerous weapons, lax disposal (the DoD usually leaves private developers with the clean-up bill and hence has little incentive to be careful), and a blasé attitude to human (including the soldiers’) health persists. It is testimony to the reality that, as J. K. Galbraith states: “war remains the decisive human failure

NGOs should campaign to stop radioactive military convoys traveling for safety and for the protection of the environment.

There is a grave danger of radioactive military convoys traveling UK and US roads carrying nuclear weapons (regularly at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield in Berkshire UK and The Royal Naval Armament Depot

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Coulport in Scotland). Radiation is dangerous for people’s health and the environment.

The warheads in the lorries contain plutonium, and any accident would render a wide area uninhabitable for thousands of years. US and British government research has still been unable to rule out the risk of a catastrophic nuclear explosion. The risk of such a major accident is growing as traffic on British roads increases.

Radioactive military convoy

Campaign for staying no to building nuclear power plants and saying yes to using renewable energy for future needs

For future energy needs, use renewable energy and discourage plans for having nuclear energy and building new nuclear plants. Nuclear power plants are more costly and dangerous. Radiation fallout and radiation poisoning

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(Hiroshima, Nagasaki), leaks (Chernobyl) and disposal of highly toxic waste, danger of conversion of nuclear material into nuclear weapons are some of the insurmountable risks linked to nuclear energy programme. So in the overall context, the arguments for going for a nuclear energy option have as many negative connotations as positive ones.

For existing nuclear plants there should be extra safety measures to safeguard them from terrorist and natural disasters like earthquake. The nuclear power plants can lock radioactive materials when struck by a natural calamity. It can be dangerous for public health, environmental safety. An example is a plant in Tokyo, Japan (a country prone to earthquakes) in August 2007, had a low level radiation leak accident during an earthquake.

Till the nuclear civil energy plants are not phased out, the suggestion of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to have a central fuel depot under its observation should be followed. The central idea of the suggestion is that any country (nuclear or non-nuclear), in the event of requiring fuel for civil nuclear reactor, can only be obtained through the IAEA. This will safeguard the proliferation of nuclear materials and hence going to wrong hands for making nuclear weapons.

The solution to this is to build an international fuel storage place which can distribute fuel to countries who are meeting their non-proliferation commitments and also choose to rely on international fuel markets rather than choosing to develop their own fuel supply by generating electricity from nuclear power.

Campaign to bring an end to nuclear power and nuclear waste dumping. Stop processing nuclear fuel for nuclear energy as it can also be used to

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make nuclear weapons

The process used to make nuclear fuel can also be used to make a nuclear weapons. If every nation that wants to use nuclear power decides to make its own nuclear fuel, the world could see - over the next decade or so - dozens of new nations capable of making not only nuclear fuel, but also nuclear weapons. Some nation states and their economies are built around a nuclearistic society to maintain their lifestyle

Preventing the spread and use of nuclear weapons should be the top security priority of the 21st century. But this is not something that can be done by any one nation; it has to be done by many nations, working together. Whether launched by a state or a terrorist group, a nuclear explosion in a major city could kill hundreds of thousands, close borders, erode civil liberties, slash trade travel, and bring untold environmental damage. No country would escape the consequences. Atomic explosion in Nagasaki, Japan

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NGOs should campaign for diverting funding for military to research and development in renewable energy technology

Government funding for military R&D dwarfs that spent on social and environmental programmes across the industrialised world. For example, in 2004, governments in industrialised countries spent a total of $85 billion on military R&D, but only $50 billion on R&D for health and environmental protection, and less than $1 billion on R&D for renewable energy technologies essential for tackling climate change. A similar imbalance is witnessed for UK spending.

We have to ask ourselves why we are devoting precious economic resources to produce weapons of mass destruction, and for what purpose? Surely this financial capital would be better channelled into increasing the efficiency of existing renewable energy generation methods and discovering entirely new ones?

Wind farm in highlands Scotland

NGOs should start and be part of a new climate

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change revolution

There should be a powerful new climate change movement led by the young and backed by the NGO community . As this is the generation which will have the most impact over the coming years, and would have to suffer most of the consequences. The young should become more heavily involved in a climate change revolution. Sociologists have already found a strong affinity between the well-educated youth and the environmental movement, but it still remains to convince the generation as a whole to embrace it.

Some attempts are already being made to achieve this. In Ghana, the “Environmental Development Youth Movement” has, over the last ten years, been mobilising, educating, and training youth in sustainable agricultural practices and reforestation. Based in California, “YES!” similarly aims to empower youth with the knowledge and skills to live a sustainable life. Although these activities are to be applauded, thousands more youth initiatives should be opened and running.

The idealism and energy of youth must be channeled into the productive task of preventing and mitigating climate change, rather than being allowed to relax into a continuation of past mistakes. The good news is that today’s younger generation have grown up under a scientific consensus on climate change and the education battle is already won. The task ahead lies in making sure this generation follows what it knows to be the right course. This ranges from the individual steps discussed here to the more radical forms of non-violent protests such as occupation of environmentally harmful construction projects. The picture below was inspired by ecologically damaging government land reclamation in the North Jeolla province of

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South Korea and illustrates the power of mass protest. NGOs should find new energy sources, energy conservation initiatives, and reforestation projects. We need new technology and renewable solutions - solar, wind and hydro to bring the new industrial revolution like we had in the 19th century.

Save our Seas. Los Angeles

NGOs and civil society should celebrate World Environment Day

Celebrated each year on the week of 5th June, WED aims to stimulate awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and public action. In year 2007, the main festivities were in Tromsø, Norway, a city inside the Arctic Circle, and the slogan “Melting Ice – A Hot Topic?” which drew attention to the plight of the Earth’s poles, their effects on global weather systems and the fate of such lovable animals such as the polar bear.

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Closer to home, the UK’s environment agency challenged every British person to ask themselves: What is the number one thing you are doing to help tackle climate change?

What one extra thing could you do to help tackle climate change? What is stopping you from taking action?

This is a simple yet concrete way of individuals making a difference to a global problem. The theme for world environment day 2008 is “Kick the Habit; Toward a Low Carbon Economy”. The theme recognises the damaging extent of our addiction to oil gas and coal. It also shows the way forward. NGOs and civil society should celebrate combat Desertification Day

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that desertification currently affects approximately twenty-five to thirty percent of the world's land surface area. About 1.2 billion people in at least 100 states are at

Dry land

risk. Desertification occurs mainly through global warming, over-cropping, over-grazing, improper irrigation practices and deforestation.

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June 17th is thus an annual reminder of the good work that the UN Convention to Combat Desertification does, in trying to improve poor land management techniques and battling nature in this devastating form. Cooperation between NGOs, governments and the UN has achieved some degree of success and should be continued in a more pro-active way. NGOs and civil society should campaign to manage ecology wisely

For a healthy earth community we have a responsibility to protect and maintain ecosystems There should a balance between economic growth and destruction of ecology. We need to take steps towards protecting the biosphere and find ways to encourage climate security. We should support environmental sites like local parks, green open spaces, woodlands, and learn the sights and sounds of local environmental places. One would be surprised to find out how many types of trees in your local park or area help keep the ecosystem going.

Civil society should reward individuals, communities and businesses for initiatives to combat climate change

Healthy tree

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Establish new, and promote existing awards and prizes to recognize and reward local communities for their efforts Environmental work is normally done for little monetary reward, and often valiant efforts go without appropriate recognition. In the UK there already exist renewable energy awards, which annually congratulate pioneers, innovators, advocates and even whole regions for helping the cause of renewable energy. It is fitting to formally honour these individuals and business achievements. Richard Branson and Al Gore recently went one step further by putting up $25 million as a cash prize for the first scientist to come up with a safe method of extracting carbon dioxide from the air to fight the imminent global warming threat. Whether or not this will come about remains to be seen (it seems more sensible to take simple mitigating steps now than hope for a quick technological-fix at the last minute). Local community prizes help to bond people together by highlighting energy efficiency drives, conserving water, promoting local bio-diversity, and being eco-friendly consumers. NGOs should campaign to stop poaching of animals and species which are in decline and near extinction Poaching is still common across much of the developed world; as a sport, for medicinal reasons, and for fashion. The use of snare traps, dogs, spears, and pitfalls not only mean a painful death for the animal but also frequent human fatalities as innocent women and

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children venture into forests. Overcoming this problem is often difficult, especially when it is ingrained into the local culture. For example, progress has been infuriatingly slow in persuading the Chinese that tiger parts have no medicinal benefits, and yet the species are sadly hunted widely. This is all the more tragic when the animal in question is one of the last of its kind and we may potentially be denying our descendants a chance to ever see these beautiful creatures – there are less than 5 000 wild tigers in the world today from a figure of more than 100,000 at the beginning of 20th century.

On the other hand though, there are steps that we can take as consumers to take to curb the problem. Not buying ivory is perhaps the simplest. Fur coats are also products of poaching, as obviously are tiger, leopard, snake and crocodile skins, and animal-based medicines. Although trade in all these products is officially illegal, the only way to really cut supply (and hence poaching) is to cut demand. Try not to eat turtle or shark-fin soup whilst on holiday either.

The situation is the same with the overall population of polar bears which is declining. In the western Hudson Bay, numbers have declined from 1,200 bears in 1987 to 935 bears in 2004. And in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, the population dropped 15 percent in five years, from 1,800 to 1,526 bears. In May 2006, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) added the polar bear to its Red List of the world’s most imperilled animals, predicting a 30 percent reduction in the polar bear population in the next 45 years. The threats to polar bears are exacerbated by pollution, tourism, and oil exploration. The most serious emerging threat to polar bears, however, is climate change. Polar bears face the loss of their sea-ice feeding and denning grounds as the Arctic climate rapidly warm.

Tiger

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Polar bear in melting ice

NGOs should campaign for sanitation and hygiene education, have access to sufficient safe water in villages and rural areas The lack of access to sanitation and clean water results in over two million deaths each year. Women and children in developing countries can spend hours each day walking to receive dangerously dirty water supplies. As children, in performing these menial tasks, not only degrade their own long-term health, but crucially prohibits themselves from receiving an education which could help their escape from destitution. These limitations on basic economic development and human health can be eased. One such example is Oxfam, which offers a “gift service” where you can donate to provide long-term water filters for a specified number of villagers, improving their quality of life. Similarly, Water Aid provides basic hygiene training to rural inhabitants to encourage good sanitation, identification of contaminated water and other basic hygiene procedures that we in the West take for granted. These combined efforts can ensure a massive decline in the number of cases of Cholera, hepatitis A, dysentery, typhoid and many other water bourne diseases.

Campaign for an environmental education programme as it leads to sustainable development

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This creates choices and opportunities for people, ultimately reduces the burdens of poverty, diseases and environmental degradation, and gives them a stronger voice in society. For nations, it creates a dynamic workforce and well-informed citizens who are able to compete and cooperate globally – opening doors to prosperity.

Education and creating opportunities

Education is necessary for the advancement of the environment, science, culture and civilisation. It is there for all of us to share and is a common vision of humanity and our ability to understand the need to care for the natural environment. It is vital to have a craving for knowledge, a global quest for excellence and critical thinking which can only come from ideas generated by education and reading books. People cannot have this opportunity to realise this dream if they are unable to read and write. Total literacy requires commitment by the educated as well as the educators. Climate change threat is as important as terrorism, global security and development. Educating the world about the

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environment may be just as important as technological solutions. Given the overwhelming scientific consensus over the issue, just providing the public with the facts and evidence should convince them that the climate change threat is as important as international issues. This is important for two reasons: Firstly, it can catalyse the adoption of many of the easy lifestyle changes. Secondly, it provides a mandate for elected politicians to make decisions unpopular to those with vested interests. Educating the public about environmental protection should be made a priority.

NGOs should protect rights of individual, communities and countries from environmental and human rights violations by climate change

In many parts of the world, the basic rights of individuals to have access to food, shelter, and land is being violated by the onslaught of global warming. A remote Inuit community of hunters in Greenland has taken a case to the European Court of Human Rights to fight for its "survival”. For the Inuit, it is a matter of reclaiming their natural environment or facing extinction. These people, who are the last surviving group of polar Eskimos - or Inuits - have rights to this land; their survival is connected to their return. In 10 to 20 years this unique community, which is a symbol of human history, will be destroyed. One of the smallest indigenous groups of people in the world will simply disappear.

The same is true in the Israeli/ Palestine conflict or in Darfur in Sudan where the scarcity of water is one of the factors stoking tensions and undermining the basic rights of people.

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Campaign for switching the demand of energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable energy

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), globally, fossil fuels will remain the dominant source of energy to 2030. The fossil fuels account for 83% of the overall increase in energy demand between 2004 and 2030. As a result, their share of world demand edges up, from 80% to 81%. The share of oil remains the largest single fuel in the global energy mix in 2030. Coal sees the biggest increase in demand in absolute terms, driven mainly by power generation. China and India account for almost four-fifths of the incremental demand for coal and remains the second-largest primary fuelSmoke from burning coal. The share of natural gas also rises, even though gas use grows less quickly than projected. Hydropower’s share of primary energy use rises slightly, while that of nuclear power falls. The share of biomass falls marginally, as developing countries increasingly switch to using modern commercial energy, offsetting the growing use of biomass as feedstock for biofuels production and for power and heat generation. The renewables – including wind, solar and geothermal – are growing but at a small pace. The share of renewable energy is playing a very small role as a source of energy on the world market. What is needed is a concerted campaign for governments and industry to push the

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drive for renewables as a primary source of energy as a matter of urgency.

NGOs should campaign use of biomass/ bio-fuels in a sustainable way

The increasing world cereal prices are creating food shortages, riots, conflicts and food shortages. An increase in demand for corn, sugar cane and other commodities for producing biofuels is sending prices of staple foods soaring and is bringing protesters in the streets of Mexico, Haiti and elsewhere to revolt. There’s a real risk that more rainforests will be chopped down to make room for biofuel crops, releasing far more carbon into the atmosphere than the biofuels will save. Biofuels could be a source of economic growth, but this should not be at the expense of soaring food prices and the lives and livelihoods of the world’s poorest people.

NGOs should campaign for protecting farmland from property developers

NGOs should campaign to protect farm land and public land and not give in to the demands of property developers who bribe officials to clear forest land for buildings and commercial development. Each new "development" consumes more farmland and adds to other problems.

Today's suburbanite is far removed from the farm that puts the food on his plate. For example, Canada may be large, but only a small portion is farmable. Two thirds of its usable land has already been lost to over-farming and urban sprawl. And despite

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today's global economy, it can't depend on importing food (from countries whose practices are just as unsustainable as Canada’s). Countries should protect their land, not pave it over. They should create property tax incentives and zoning by-laws that encourage farmers to farm rather than sell to developers. This may not create new tax revenues, but will preserve existing communities and prevent remedial spending.

Protect green areas which are beneficial to people and the environment by having:

- walking, camping, and biking areas close to the cities and towns.

- places for wild plants and animals. - cleaner air and water

The policies adopted should include: - protect natural or semi natural environments; - improve air quality within urban areas; - ensure that urban dwellers have access to countryside,

with consequent educational and recreational opportunities; and

- protect the unique character of rural communities which might otherwise be absorbed by expanding suburbs.

NGOs should campaign for policy reforms so that sustainable mining practices can be followed Mining in India has, contrary to the government’s claims, done little for the development of the mineral-bearing regions of the country. In a newly-released book titled “Rich Lands, Poor People: Is Sustainable Mining Possible?” says that

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the country’s richest lands with minerals, forests, wildlife, water sources are home to its poorest people. The 356-page government sponsored report contains research works on the impact of mining on the environment and people and makes suggestions on policy reforms that are conducive to more "sustainable" mining practices. The report paints a horrific picture of the devastation that has been wrought by mining in the country. The statistics are shocking. Between 1950 and 1991, mining displaced about 2.6 million people, and not even 25 per cent of these displaced people have been rehabilitated. For every 1 per cent that mining contributes to India’s GDP, it displaces 3-4 times more people than all the development projects put together. "Forest land diversion for mining has been going up, so has water use and air pollution in the mining hotspots. Mining of major minerals generated about 1.84 billion tonnes of waste in 2006, most of which has not been disposed of properly," points out the report. Also the use of cyanide in mining, especially gold mining, should be reduced or banned as it pollutes the atmosphere and damages the environment and clean water supply around the mining area. Campaign for having weather stations which can use space technology and satellites to enhance our understanding of the weather, atmosphere and climate change

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A weather satellite is primarily used to monitor the weather and A climate of the Earth. These meteorological satellites, however, see more than clouds and cloud systems. City lights, fires, effects of pollution, auroras, sand and dust storms, snow cover, ice mapping, boundaries of ocean currents, energy flows, etc., are other types of environmental information collected using weather satellites. Weather satellite images helped in monitoring the volcanic ash cloud from Mount St. Helens and activity from other volcanoes such as Mount Etna. Smoke from fires in the western United States such as Colorado and Utah have also been monitored. Other environmental satellites can detect changes in the Earth's vegetation, sea state, ocean color, and ice fields. For example, the 2002 oil spill off the northwest coast of Spain was watched carefully by the European ENVISAT, which, though not a weather satellite, flies an instrument (ASAR) which can see changes in the sea surface. El Niño and its effects on weather are monitored daily from satellite images. The Antarctic ozone hole is mapped from weather satellite data. Collectively, weather satellites flown by the U.S., Europe, India, China, Russia, and Japan provide nearly continuous observations for a global weather watch.

Weather satellite Disturbances on the Sun can produce dramatic effects in the

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space environment surrounding the Earth. It has a significant influence on advanced communication and navigation systems; both have important economic consequences. As society begins to rely on more complex technologies, these systems become more vulnerable to environmental effects. Predictions of storm effects in the Earth's upper atmosphere are far from reliable at present, having been hindered by a paucity of observations and gaps in our understanding of the physics of these complex phenomena. However we need to monitor the prevention of space travel from adversely affecting our cosmos and its environment. Space debris or orbital debris, also called space junk and space waste, are the objects in orbit around Earth created by humans that no longer serve any useful purpose. They consist of everything from entire spent rocket stages and defunct satellites to explosion fragments, paint flakes, dust, and slag from solid rocket motors, coolant released by RORSAT nuclear powered satellites, deliberate insertion of small needles, and other small particles. Clouds of very small particles may cause erosive damage, like sandblasting. Space debris has become a growing concern in recent years, since collisions at orbital velocities can be highly damaging to functioning satellites and can also produce even more space debris in the process, called Kessler Syndrome. Some spacecraft, like the International Space Station, are now armoured to mitigate damage with this hazard. This image shows space debris populations seen from outside geosynchronous orbit NGOs should campaign for governments to agree a global funding mechanism to reduce emissions

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from deforestation This should make it a central part of the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol (post 2012) agreement on climate change. Make available international funds to take immediate action to reduce their emissions from deforestation, agree a global funding mechanism to transfer money from rich to poor countries for forest protection. Prioritise protection of remaining peat, swamp and other forest areas with high carbon storage capacity, biodiversity values and benefits for indigenous people and other local communities.

Campaign for reclaiming land from farming to go back to nature

Peat bogs, which can store carbon must be conserved and restored. We should campaign for stopping manufacturing industry from destroying peat lands in Indonesia for palm oil plantations. The Indonesian government should urgently introduce a moratorium on forest and peat land destruction, to provide long-term development solutions and prevent further emissions from deforestations.

Remains of burnt forest

Campaign for preventing acid rain

Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, the average

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pH in rainfall has fallen from 6 to 4.5, (where pH 7 is water and 0 highly acidic). The main adverse effects of acid rain are; death of aquatic life in lakes and rivers,

Industrial gases polluting the atompshere

weakening of soils and trees making high altitude forested areas vulnerable to other physical and biological threats (although sometimes the acid rain can just destroy whole forests outright), catalyses rusting on iron structures and corrodes ancient and irreplaceable historical monuments. Some acid rain is due to natural volcanoes and fires, but the vast majority is due to anthropogenic (man-made) emissions of sulfate and nitrate compounds. The technology already exists to remove most of these, but it is too expensive to operate everywhere. The Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution has been in force since 1983 and has certainly helped remove some of the problem. However, as the demand for cheap coal-based power generation increases with Asian economic development, and as squeezing the last pollutants out the system becomes more expensive, it would seem a market orientated arrangement would be more effective in the long-run.

Damage to Taj Mahal from Acid Rain - mars some of the world’s finest cultural monuments. Emissions reductions, however, have helped slow the rate of damage in North America and Europe. India’s Taj Mahal has not fared as well. The

Taj mahal polluted by acid rain

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mausoleum built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal is losing its white luster and turning a sickly pale shade. Scientists blame pollution from local foundries and a nearby oil refinery.

Civil society should support NGOs and non-profit associations to provide social services on a global scale by influencing governments and corporations

It's important to understand that nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, that operate on a global scale have some of the most trusted brands in the world. NGOs, are nonprofit associations who provide social services that attempt to achieve economic changes on a global scale by influencing governments and corporations. Greenpeace is an excellent example. It works for preventing climate change by ending our addiction to polluting fuels and promoting clean, renewable and efficient energy; for the protection of oceans and ancient forests; for the elimination of toxic chemicals; against the release of genetically modified organisms into nature; and for nuclear disarmament and an end to nuclear contamination.

Some NGOs have also worked in partnership between the World Wildlife Federation and Lafarge, the Paris-based building-materials giant. Now, Lafarge operates in some seventy-five countries, and it has a workforce of about 77,000 people, with some 245,000 shareholders. And Lafarge and WWF have created a mutually beneficial partnership, where WWF gets funding to support its research and communications, and Lafarge gets the benefit of the WWF brand affiliation. Furthermore, WWF gets conservation, in the form of a

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performance agreement with Lafarge. The agreement includes certain milestones that Lafarge has committed to meeting and committed to being monitored on by an independent auditor. Some NGOs tend not to become involved with for-profit collaborations and tend to be more advocacy-oriented. These are the NGOs that have strong positions in the marketplace of ideas. However, NGOs should not compromise or dilute their campaigns and policies for material gains. Amnesty International would be one such example.

Environmental organizations should campaign to ban all PBDEs as they are harmful, unnecessary and replacements are available

Individuals should have testing of chemicals on the body to ascertain levels of Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). PBDEs mobilize into the indoor air and household dust from household goods, resulting in humans and pets getting exposed continuously to these toxicants. Over time, PBDEs, PCBs and similar organic toxicants leach into the environment when household wastes decompose in landfills or are incompletely incinerated.

They are now found in air, water and soil as well as in wildlife and supermarket foods. When people ingest food contaminated with PBDEs, it adds to their body burden over their lifetime. Some forms of PBDEs are subject to a ban that became effective in California in January 2008. Long-term exposures to PBDEs may pose a human health risk, especially to infants and

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toddlers who are more likely to ingest household dust or acquire these chemicals through mother's milk. Due, in part to our lifestyles - electronic equipment, cars and airplane travel, computers - PBDEs bioaccumulate, increase their concentration in human and animal tissues over time. They are difficult to get rid of, persisting in the environment and in our bodies. NGOs should establish a global network to save marine life and stop over fishing

NGOs should campaign for ending whaling and destructive fishing practices and work towards building a global marine reserves network. Our oceans - the world's last great wilderness - are in crisis. Destructive fishing, polluting industries and climate change are threatening the survival of fish species, whale and dolphin populations and whole marine ecosystems. Oceans cover more than two-thirds of earth's surface, and ocean life comes in an incredible array of shapes and sizes - from microscopic plankton to the largest of the great whales. In ocean areas that have already been protected, threatened species are returning and there is an overall increase in the variety of species present. And in areas just outside the reserves where fishing is permitted, big increases have been recorded on the size of the catch. We should establish a global network of marine reserves and give the oceans the breathing space they need to begin the recovery process.

Campaign for the elimination of persistent toxic chemicals and work for a toxic free future

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Our lives are full of chemicals. From toys to computers, carpets to clothes, furniture to washing powder, man-made chemicals are used in virtually all products. Some chemicals are known to be toxic or poisonous, but we know very little about the vast majority of them. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that many chemicals are building up in our environment and the human body, that cause cancers, birth defects, loss of fertility and other long-term health and environmental problems.

In Britain, the days when plumes of black smoke poured from factory chimney stacks are over - chimneys now account for less than 25 per cent of our total exposure to hazardous chemicals. Many of today's most insidious industrial poisons are invisible. Although emitted unobserved, these chemicals threaten our rivers and lakes, our air, land, oceans, and ultimately ourselves and our future.

NGOs should campaign for a future free from toxic chemicals. Work for a clean, toxic-free world and phase out harmful chemicals from all production processes, and start the process of working towards producing zero waste.

Start a campaign of dis-investment in companies who have a record of polluting the atmosphere

Pension funds, city councils, mega-rich individuals should urge the industry to adopt clean energy systems to cut on carbon dioxide on the usage of greenhouse gases. However, if they don’t do anything shareholders should criticise the company and at their Annual General Meetings, should move resolutions to take steps for mitigation of climate change.

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As a last resort, if the companies don’t listen, financial institutions should take their funds out of the company and invest in eco-friendly businesses.

NGOs should help start projects for fresh water supplies

There are still 1.1 billion people who do not have access to clean water. Most of these people live in Africa and Asia. They will walk up to two hours a day in soaring heat to collect water from filthy puddles that have collected during the brief rain season but in most cases it is water riddled with disease.

One good initiative is the Student Movement for Real Change being built in Kenya, which is initiating a sanitation project where 15.6km of freshwater line is. The Kayafungo Women Water Project group are leading the local community who are eager to begin by digging trenches in which the pipes will run.

Campaign to save the Arctic Commons from turning into an environmental catastrophe

The Arctic seabed holds billions of barrels of oil and natural gas – up to 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered reserves according to the US Geological Survey. Oil experts are calling the region the next Saudi Arabia. Recent estimates have found the Arctic commons to contain the equivalent to 400 billion barrels of oil and gas. The opportunity to exploit the area has sparked a race among governments to control the area.

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However, to explore the area for profit and greed is not good for the environment, especially in the context of the degradation that is likely to happen not just in the Arctic region but across the entire world as the ice melts away faster with accelerating human intervention causing greater climate chaos. The drilling for fuel reserves will also endanger the carefully preserved ice reserves and wildlife. The campaign should run in concurrence with the UN for saving the Arctic commons. Otherwise, as the climate chaos ensues the future generations will pay a heavy price for our excesses. So countries like Canada, Russia, USA, Norway and Denmark, claiming the Arctic region as part of their area, should not be allowed to undertake any oil or gas exploration.

Campaign to stop exploiting tar sands for the production of oil

Oil produced from the bitumen lying beneath Alberta's boreal forest is one of the dirtiest fuels in the world. Extracting one barrel of crude requires two or more barrels of fresh water from the nearby Athabasca River to clean it and 750 cubic feet of non-renewable natural gas. Approximately 3,000 square kilometres of Alberta's boreal

forest have been leased for oil sands mining and another 35,000 square kilometres are available for future development.

Wetlands already developed for oil sand operations cannot be restored to their original state.

There is growing concern about social and health issues associated with the oil sands, including reports of increased cancer rates among aboriginal residents living downstream.

Tailing ponds, the large man-made lakes that store the fouled waste water left over from the extraction process, are

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highly toxic, cannot support life and cover an area of over 50 square kilometres.

The extraction of oil from oil sands produces four times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil extraction, and these emissions are on the rise.

In the long run, business as usual in the tar sands oil patch is untenable. Public interest in the environmental impacts associated with oil sands extraction will only increase and intensify the polarisation of opinion about energy versus the environment. There should be no oil extracted from tar sands. However, if it is done, then carbon capture and storage; from coal plants, oil sands production and other significant energy operations should be used and it should be mandatory.

NGOs should campaign to stop GM (genetically modified) food being introduced to the market

Campaign for preventing genetically modified food harming the environment and promote sustainable farming. The introduction of genetically modified (GM) food and crops has been a disaster. The science of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another was supposed to be a giant leap forward, but instead they pose a serious threat to biodiversity and our own health. In addition, the real reason for their development has not been to end world hunger but to increase the stranglehold multinational biotech companies already have on food production.

We are told that GM crops will help feed the world's poor but according to the United Nations, we already produce more than enough food to satisfy everyone. And even though consumers have rejected GM foods outright, the biotech companies and the

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governments that support them are still trying to force their inventions on consumers, purely for commercial gain. But the long term effects of GM crops have not been properly researched and, by cross-pollinating with non-GM crops and wild plants, they replicate themselves and contaminate the environment with genetic pollution that is difficult to clean up.

We don't need GM technology. Using sustainable and organic farming methods will allow us to repair the damage done by industrial farming, reducing the excessive use of fertiliser, herbicides and other man-made chemicals, and making GM crops redundant. We want a future free from GM food and for companies and governments around the world to get the message. NGOs should campaign for implementation of MM Proposal for Donations Fortune Forum aims to create a strong constituency that will heighten the core work of its partners together with the existing UN international network thereby creating a lean and powerful alliance. They will build on its combined strengths to create a critical mass to influence decision makers through advocacy and lobbying to push for the policy reform. The MM Proposal is an initiative of Fortune Forum - a charity to further poverty reduction, elimination of global diseases and environmental sustainability. Its intentions are to get this proposal adopted in Britain first and where needed expand implementation. With the success of reforming the UK tax system to transfer tax cuts towards the poor, the goal of ending universal extreme poverty could well be mutually advanced.

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9

Individuals

Take action for

Changing lifestyles. Conservation, adaptation and mitigation. Taking responsibility and helping to turn the

situation around. Reducing Carbon footprint

Individuals should take steps to stop the destruction of our planet

Individuals should make a connection between our personal behaviour and making peace with our world around us. What we buy in the supermarket, what we select for our entertainment, choose a job, how we travel, vote in a election, all have an effect on those around us and help to shape the world we choose to live in. We can take actions like changing our lifestyle, educating members of the family, including children, reducing over consumption and wastage, and selecting a green energy provider for effecting long lasting change. Civil society should take action to change policies for reducing GHGs If the government is not working well in a country,

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individuals can harness time, money, knowledge and skills to change and improve government policy. Everyone can make a real contribution to making the world a better place. Individuals should support and strengthen civil society organisations, which play such a key role in monitoring and challenging governments and businesses in the developed and developing world for running countries and enterprises on the lines of reducing the impact of climate change.

Consume Less, Share More, Live Simply, and help the planet. Aim for a frugal way of life and cut on wastage and encourage ethical shopping

Aim for an environmentally sound way of life, live in simplicity, frugality and curb over-consumption, rubbish and waste. As the world’s population is set to stabilize at about 9 billion by 2050, even if huge recycling operations are in place, we will find current material standards of living hard to reproduce. The philosophy to adopt will be not be dissimilar to that of Buddhism, where a materialistic world view is discouraged. This does not mean great misery by any means, just more efficient use of the resources this planet is endowed with; a stop to the mass wastage in today’s world – and a curbing of the intense consumerist choices facing most people today. Mass marketing has some culpability; as it encourages a desire to consume material goods in a never-ending manner, failing to realise that human material wants are infinite anyway and do not necessarily bring happiness. Human greed of course takes most of the blame, but this is perfectly alterable.

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Changes to precipitate a more simple lifestyle are therefore very welcome, not only for their enormous environmental benefit, but also perhaps to ease the alienation some feel in a materialistic society. Indeed, once we are forced to revaluate presently cheap resources, and that we should not consume and waste vast quantities of plastics, metal and energy, we may well find happiness in appreciation of their value. It is difficult to know how this will be achieved short of a full resource and environmental crisis forcing it.

What certainly provides hope for the future is the successful role that education has played, and still plays, in teaching the younger generation the value of, recycling, conservation and dealing with the environmental issues. Individuals should avoid over consumption in food, which creates waste and is adding to the climate change crisis In the UK and other affluent countries it is overdone and it has a tremendous knock on effect. If the rest of the world lived like the UK, it would need the support of about 3 extra planets. Americans are worse as they will require fives planets.

Reduce and recycle waste that goes to landfill as it is an emergency and people only change habits when they are confronted with a crisis. So think of what you can do without, what you don’t need to buy (second car, computer, mobile). All this will help to lessen the mountain of rubbish on landfills which is poisonous with methane and other noxious substances.

Domestic recycling is perhaps the greatest contribution that the individual can make to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the fact that the largest lake in the Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in 8 months, still up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled.

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Mumbai in India is a classic example of recycling where everything from household waste, copper wires and cars (being stripped) and sold in streets where recycling has been turned into an industry. The recycling industry has created a number of millionaires in China, India and other countries. Personal action if correctly done can bring on environmental change by ethical shopping. Consumer demand promotes ethical products like the Fairtrade mark, which mobilises people around the global justice issue for the poor as its most beneficial to the poorest farmers.

Individuals should start local tree planting societies for encouraging bio-sequestration Not only are trees aesthetically pleasing, they form the centre of our relationship with nature itself, and growing saplings are a beautiful symbol of renewal and life. Trees also provide a range of benefits to the local environment and are crucial in sequestering global carbon emissions (deforestation, logging and felling trees accounts for 25% of all global CO2 emissions), viable solution is mass tree planting. Communities, private landowners and the public should also seek assistance from local councils.

Lobby local government and write to your MP, to make it clear that the public values trees both in their neighborhood and as an effective response to global warming.

Parents should switch to a modern washable

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nappy and abandon disposables to help the environment

There are plenty of reasons to change from disposables to modern washable nappies. In Tower Hamlets borough in London, disposable nappies make up 4.6 per cent of all dustbin rubbish, which cost £250,000 per year to dispose of. It can take hundreds of years for plastics in disposable nappies to decompose so nappies thrown away now could still be around when their great, great, great grandchildren are born! They are easy to wash – 60C wash is hot to sanitise them and they are made from soft, natural materials. Other benefits of using washable nappies against disposable are that they are both financially and environmentally more rewarding. The councils should offer parents a voucher or a financial incentive towards the purchase of modern washable nappies.

Individuals should take green mortgages when buying property

These work in two ways. Either the provider completely offsets all GHGs emitted as a result of the transaction by planting trees - thus making the product carbon neutral. Or, more radically, the provider will only lend to properties and developments, which have ethical/sustainable implications – for example, by insisting on energy efficiency or renewable energy generation. Currently in the UK there are providers offering similar products and any individual with an environmental conscience is urged to sign up. Bring your own reusable cup to your local coffee shop

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Bringing your own mug from work or home might sound trivial, but en masse, the impact is significant. The extra washing up a mug requires is effectively nil as this has to be done anyway. Yet stopping the usage of a plastic cup a day saves energy in drilling for oil, refining the oil, producing plastic, molding it, shipping it, and hence reduces the emissions associated with all these activities, as well as stopping the countryside being overwhelmed with buried waste. Conserve, harvest, recycle and use water efficiently

Individuals should have water conservation and drought mitigation planning for their homes, towns and cities. Although the global water system is closed (meaning the quantity of H20 in the world is always the same) the distribution of water is in constant flux, that’s why even Britain, a relatively wet country, can experience droughts from time to time. Moreover, as the global weather system becomes more unpredictable, extreme weather events will mean drinking water is more often contaminated. Drought effectively cannot be prevented, only its consequences made less severe - as the pool of available freshwater becomes unpredictable, it is imperative to consume water as economically and efficiently as possible. Some simple steps are listed below:

- Store water used after a shower which can then be used

outdoors - Spend a few minutes less in the shower each day and use the

saved water to wash sinks, clothes and watering plants. - Take showers in preference to baths, and fit aerators or

water-saving shower heads - Buy tanks to collect rain water (this not only saves hosepipe

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water used for gardening but also saves the energy used in processing drain water)

- Turn off the water whilst brushing your teeth - Use the dishwasher only for full loads - Check for leaks in taps, indoor pipes and outdoor hoses. - Only fill your kettle with the actual amount of water that

you intend to consume - Appreciate the value of water, soil, culture and above all

people. - Also, use washroom water to flush toilets. - Use storage tanks in the house to recycle water for

gardening

Whilst seemingly trivial, if widely implemented, these actions would save thousands of gallons of water per household every year.

Nationally:

Government policies need to focus on both consumers and suppliers. At the consumer end, to encourage the use of fresh water only where necessary, market incentives need to be present. Widespread installation of water meters in households and businesses will force cost-saving individuals and profit-maximising firms to only consume what they really need.

At the producer end, efficiency in distribution is certainly a priority. Current wastage in the UK is scandalous- amounting to a fifth of total water consumption – or more than the entire quantity of bottled water drunk each year. The regulator, OFWAT, should be less timid in its punishing of inefficient companies who allow these expensive and environmentally wasteful leaks, and reward those who keep their networks well maintained. It has even been suggested that compensation be

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proportional to the volume of water lost in transmission – a novel and possibly very effective solution.

Recycle rain water. Leaking pipes and dripping taps waste millions of litres of water every year. 30 per cent of all mains water in the UK is lost via network leaks. Have a constant flow of water instead of turning taps on high, which interferes with its flow increase water consumption. Drink Tap water which as good as bottled water to Save Our Planet

Six million bottles of water are drunk everyday when safe tap water is readily available. World governments are constantly striving to create better quality tap water for the public while bottled water prices are constantly on the increase and under scrutiny for their sustainability ethics and quality. You can boil it or filter it. Millions of litres of bottled water are drunk everyday which are bad for environment as bottles end up in the landfill sites. The World Wide Fund for Nature argues strongly that bottled water is not only environmentally unfriendly but also a waste of money The research by the University of Geneva shows that bottled water sells for up to 1,000 times the price of tap water, but that the quality is often no better. In 50% of cases the only difference is that bottled water has added minerals and salts, which do not actually mean the water is healthier. Furthermore, some bottled waters are exactly the same standard as tap water, without being as energy efficient. Packaging and transport of this bottled water creates an unnecessary high volume of carbon emissions. The public

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should make tap water their main water resource. The carbon footprint for packaging and transport of bottled water is several hundred times bigger than tap water varying slightly from brand to brand.

Pay your bills online

In addition to e-taxation, e-banking is to be applauded. Some financial institutions will plant a tree if we utilise online services rather than requesting paper statements. Even without this, the environmental benefits of the saved paper are enormous. Complementing this, individuals should ask their employer to make salary payments directly into bank accounts, rather than wasting the energy and paper associated with pay cheques. It also helps reduce fuel consumption by the trucks and planes that transport paper.

Pass on old books and use recycle paper for publishing Rather than throw away old books, magazines, and newspapers, pass them on to friends, relatives, hospitals, libraries or nursing homes. People will be grateful for the free resources and re-use is even more preferable to recycling. In the case of newspapers, which are obsolete after reading, ensure they are properly recycled – every Sunday the equivalent of half a million tress are thrown away.

Americans recycled 42 million tons of paper last year—50% of

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what they used—but still pulverised the rest. Paper does grow on trees: 900 million of them every year become pulp and paper. We can reduce that number by buying more recycled paper. It uses 60% less energy than virgin paper. Each ton purchased saves 4,000 kW-h of energy, 7,000 galloons of water and 17 trees. A tree has the capacity to filter up to 60 lbs. of pollutants from the air. Insist that your office recycle and buy paper products that are made from post-consumer waste. The paper industry is one of the largest contributors to global warming pollution. Recycle your old newspaper as millions of these are thrown away everyday.

Individuals should purchase books which are printed on acid-free paper, responsibly manufactured from sustainable forestry in which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production. Try to use as little paper as possible, only print your emails when absolutely necessary. Changing to lighter packaging paper and plastic will reduce carbon emissions considerably.

The paper industry is the third-largest contributor to global warming. It is not just the deforestation involved, but also the vast quantities of energy used in processing and transporting paper internationally. Local recycling is infinitely more preferable as for every tonne of paper recycled the savings amount to at least 30000 litres of water, 3000-4000 kWh electricity, and 95% of the associated air pollution. In Britain the National Association of Paper Merchants certifies paper as being either 100%, 75% or 50% recovered fibre. Try to use fully recycled products wherever possible.

Recycling old books, magazines

and newspapers

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Share vital global resources and technologies The green technology transfer can be facilitated by adopting Clean Development Mechanism. Firms in rich countries who literally cannot reduce pollution any further will meet emissions quotas by transferring clean technology to developing countries, reducing pollution and obtaining permits that way. This is already partly happening though the Kyoto-based Clean Development Mechanism. However, overall technological diffusion will be slow as private companies have vested infrastructure to protect and will not freely donate inventions and innovations. It will largely fall on governments to ensure that the latest and cleanest technologies are widely distributed, even if it means paying royalties to firms holding rights to inventions. It should also be done with the cooperation of businesses, the United Nations and international organizations. Indeed, if private individuals see the potential of global government contracts for solar power, wind power etc. then the pace of development in clean energy should increase rapidly. This has already been proved in Germany, where the state subsidies solar power. This has not only caused massive household uptake in Germany but has speeded up the pace of solar innovation for the rest of the world. Government procurement and state subsidies are the best way forward in generating reliable markets and promoting private sector production.

Drive sensibly, look after your car and reduce carbon emissions Adopt the following ideas to reduce carbon emissions from your vehicles;

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Change to battery, hybrid, electric, hydrogen fuelled

cars/trucks. In the long-run, the internal combustion engine which runs on petrol is not sustainable. We are already seeing the emergence of the hybrid petrol-electric car. The future however, lies in either fully electrically powered vehicles or the total integration of the hydrogen fuel cell. Hydrogen would ideally be produced from water by electrolysis, so either way the source of energy rests with the original electricity plants. Although the electricity will still partly be generated from fossil fuels the point is that: Firstly, this sort of energy release is far more efficient than in an individual engine, and any pollution or carbon can be much more easily sequestered at a central location. Secondly,more and more electricity is being generated from renewables. The technology is, at this moment, sufficiently developed to power a normal car. It is not economically viable to implement zero net emission versions yet though. The motor industry should focus its efforts on trying to speed up this development process as fast as possible, making the engines cheaper and more efficient. Governments, on their part, should push hard to ensure that a much larger proportion of electricity generated for national grids is carbon neutral. A 4x4 produces three times more emissions as most efficient small cars. Few people need a 4x4 and in many small mountainous communities the locals use small four wheel drives. This makes it difficult to excuse the many 4x4 vehicles seen on a regular basis driving around London and other relatively mild terrains.

Work closer to home and save burning fuel

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Many commuter journeys can be reduced. Ideally, anyone facing the option of completing a day’s work at home rather than travelling to the office should do so. Failing that, try and choose jobs that are closer to home, or vice versa. Years of long distance commuting take their toll on human health as well as the environment. This is not so important for rail and bus users, but car users should try to do all within their power to minimise their commuter miles travelled. Companies should take the lead here, always attempting to make it easier for the employee to work from home if possible, and ensuring that employee’s homes are matched with local offices. The dividends from increased productivity should well exceed the effort of some extra administration, as well as boosting the firm’s environmental credentials.

Drive more slowly, reduce speed to cut emissions

If you drive more smoothly, instead of accelerating and braking sharply, you reduce your carbon footprint. Reducing your speed from 70mph to 50mph produces 25% less carbon dioxide emissions. We should have a reduction of world speed limit. It should be 70 mph instead of 50 mph to prevent secondary effects of excessive carbon emissions and reduce congestion.

Don't drive with unnecessary weight on board

The more weight you're carrying in the car, the more fuel is used per mile and the greater the carbon emissions per journey. Only keep things you really need in the car, especially if they're heavy. For example, remove roof racks when not required.

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Ensure your tyres are properly inflated

If your tyres are not fully inflated your car becomes less fuel efficient and emits more carbon dioxide per km. Check your tyre pressure regularly, especially before long journeys.

Individuals should service their car regularly as old cars produce more fumes and add to increasing greenhouse gases. If possible, also try and tax your car online. Last year the UK’s driving authority happily reported that the total cut in emissions from online taxing was equivalent to 81,000 double-decker buses worth of CO2! Not licensing cars in person saved approximately 48 million miles worth of car journeys since 2004 – really helping to minimize the British carbon footprint. And that’s not even counting the vast quantities of paper saved too.

Encourage ethical and alternative traveling and have a lower carbon footprint Tourism is the largest business sector in the world, and consistently generates income for poor countries. However, the share of income going to poor countries renowned for their beauty is comparatively minimal. In the last decades we have hence witnessed a conscience-fuelled movement towards ecotourism (10-20% of travellers “look for green options” when choosing their holidays). This means that, for example, tourists look for operators that are responsible towards the natural environment, and who improve the welfare of local people as much as possible.

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Ethical tourism is intrinsically linked with the climate change issue. Firstly, in providing local communities with much-needed revenue, they can afford to mitigate some of the worse impacts of climate change yet to come. Secondly, the discerning consumer is already having some effect on operators’ offsetting practices. In the UK three of the country’s largest operator groups have recently promised to offset large parts of their carbon emissions. Lastly, tourism normally involves air travel, which through its carbon emissions contributes towards global warming

Encouraging ethical travel does not necessarily involve finding alternatives to aviation, ideally we should simply travel closer to home. Ethical tourism thus requires; a reduction of the traveller’s carbon footprint, consumer pressure to ensure revenues largely goes to the country of destination, and environmental protection of the areas that are visited. Surely this would give greater satisfaction of holidaymakers – knowing that they had really made a difference to the lives of others? With transport accounting for more than 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, one of the best ways to reduce them is by riding a bus. Public transit saves an estimated 1.4 billion gal. of gas annually, which translates into about 14 million tons of CO2, according to the American Public Transportation Association. Unfortunately, 88% of all trips in the U.S. are made by car. Partly, that's because public transportation is more readily available in big urban areas. One promising alternative is bus rapid transit (BRT), which features extra-long carriers running in dedicated lanes. Buses emit more carbon than trains, but that can be minimised by using hybrid or compressed-natural-gas engines. A study last year by the Breakthrough Technologies Institute found that a BRT system in a medium-size U.S. city could cut emissions by as much as 654,000 tons over 20 years.

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Encourage children to walk or cycle and to use public transport to school. Walking is good for the environment, health, and cuts down on obesity in children. With 80 per cent of UK household owning at least one car and taking children to school via the car increase pollution and congestion on the road. Also, stop driving kids to school as it contributes to an increase in traffic on our roads. Try and avoid doing the school run, sharing lifts if possible or better still enroll your children to a local school which is within walking distance. As a way of reducing air travel, tax on cheaper air fuel and cut-price fares for rail transport should be introduced. There is a relation between aviation and car travel, as most of the travel and road transport is fuelled by petrol and diesel thus increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. There is currently no international tax regime on aviation as all aviation fuel for international flights remains untaxed worldwide. EU and all other countries have failed to bring international air travel and shipping into its existing carbon trading system. Heathrow, at present, deals with 67.7 million passengers on nearly 470,000 flights a year. The proportion of global carbon emissions accounted for the aviation industry is 2 per cent. However the growth predicted in global air travel is a worrying 5000 per cent, and needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency. Educate children to change life styles by teaching in schools, colleges and offices how to combat global warming

By educating children at the earliest possible stage, they can change their own & their parents’ lifestyles to make a

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tangible difference in curbing emissions. Walking to school is a good first step – children should be educated to want to walk). Outdoor activities over indoor ones help reduce electricity usage. Kids can be rewarded for reminding their parents that lights have been left on, that the tv is left on standby, the heating is too high, windows are open etc. Kids notice, and act on, these things much more readily. Use the energy of youth for the benefit of the environment through education and incentive schemes. Teach both the complicated nature of Climate Change as well as the Simple things like use of public transport instead of private vehicles, conservation and recycling of water, planting tress & also putting a stop to the cutting down of trees. There are many things that children can do to save the planet. Among these are; plant a tree or simple things like walk, run, use a bike, re-use and recycle and accept birthday presents which are used with less energy consuming reduced packaging . Find ways to empower children to cope with climate change. Through the medium of comics, music, drawings, painting, arts, culture, television and films, children should be made aware of the threats and solutions of climate change.

Children can also challenge the habits of their parents for example when buying an SUV, ask them why. If they leave the heating/ air conditioning on and the doors open, ask them why. Tell them that it is your future that they are messing with. Have an eco friendly house and use low energy bulbs, adjust thermostat, plug gaps in doors and windows, use appropriate pans for cooking and

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make use of natural warmth and sunlight Control heat, air and moisture leakage in the house through sealing. Use energy saving appliances like fridge And get your loft and cavity wall insulated. Change

Low energy light bulb light-bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs (cfc).

Individual should urge their councils to change street lights, bus shelter lights, sky scrapers, with LEDs (light emitting diodes) to save energy. Change your lightbulbs from the incandescent bulbs to energy saving Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL). They last several years longer and you can save on thousand of amount of heat and energy.

Turning down your thermostat by just 1% could cut your carbon dioxide emissions by over 5% as well as saving you money.

Replace water heater if losing heat. For improving your home energy, wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket. Save CO2 emissions annually. Most water heaters more than five years old are constantly losing heat and wasting energy because they lack internal insulation.

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Plug gaps around doors and windows. Gaps around doors and windows wastes energy by letting energy escape outside. It is simple to plug gaps with draft proofing or a simple sealant. It gets rid of draughts and saves money and energy.

Choose the appropriate size pans for cooking. A lot of the

energy you use when cooking on the hob goes into heating up the pan. If you use a bigger pan than is necessary for the dish you're making it uses more energy unnecessarily. Think about switching before you cooking.

Make use of natural warmth from sunlight. Sunlight is a

wonderful source of natural heat as well as light. If it's sunny outside then open curtains and blinds to let the maximum energy into the room, but close them at night to keep the warmth in.

Don't use patio heaters. They consume a lot of energy. Yes

perhaps they look nice and yes sometimes the weather isn't just warm enough to sit outside, but patio heaters are an extravagant waste of energy and contribute to climate change. Avoid buying and using them if at all possible.

Plant a bamboo fence. They makes a beautiful fence, and because it grows so quickly (as much as 1 ft. a day or more, depending on the species), it absorbs more CO2 than, say, a rosebush. Most homeowners have to restrict its growth, lest it get out of control. Do this, however, and you reduce bamboo's capacity as a carbon sink. Only large-scale plantings, which absorb CO2 faster than they release it, can favourably tip the scales. How big is your yard?

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Have an energy survey done on houses and buildings to see how you can save and conserve more energy The energy we all use at home accounts for roughly 60% of our yearly CO2 emissions much of which is superfluous. Energy is constantly wasted in most households. The average audit costs between £40 and £80 in the UK and recent research has shown that the average household would save around £230 every year on energy bills. The principle is simple – a qualified inspector advises on methods of improved efficiency such as insulation or double glazing, as well as helping to integrate renewable energy production into the house. The government should provide free audits of all homes. The efficiency gains would be massive, and the curbing of carbon emissions significant.

All local councils and boroughs should have weekly collection services to collect household waste separately. Make your house eco-friendly by cutting down greenhouse gas emissions. Cut your emissions by as much as 20 per cent by doing simple things like controlling heat, air and moisture leakage by sealing windows and doors. Insulate the garage, attic and basement with natural, nontoxic materials like reclaimed blue jeans. Protect windows from sunrays with large overhangs and double-pane glass. Use natural cross ventilation. Have renewable energy sources like solar electric systems, compact wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps to help power your home. Find bamboo flooring, cork tiles, and countertops made from recycled wastepaper.

Most of the annual CO2 emissions come from the home. Here are some easy ways to get that number down without rebuilding. Open a window instead of running the AC. Adjust the thermostat in the summer and winter. Weatherstrip all your doors and windows. Insulate your walls and ceilings. Use the dishwasher only when it's full. Install low-flow showerheads.

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Wash your clothes in warm or cold water. Turn down the thermostat on the water heater. At the end of the year, don't be surprised if your house feels lighter. It could have just lost about 4,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide. Individual, especially in poor countries should be provided with adequate alternative cooking facilities

Indoor pollution causes half a million deaths in India. It is caused by chulhas (stoves) burning wood, coal and dung during food preparation as the majority of the population live on 25 rupees (25p) per day and cannot afford a modern stove. Smoke from indoor cooking fires kills one person every 20 seconds in the developing world. There are specially designed wood pallet stoves which should be available freely or at a subsidised rate so that poor people can do cooking without doing damage to their health. Use naturally sourced materials for clothing and hang up a clothes to dry naturally and wash clothes in lower temperature

Individuals and clothing organisations should manufacture carbon neutral clothing. Some positive and promising steps have already been made on ethical standards (sweatshops etc.) in the clothing industry. It is now environmental consumer pressure that is bearing fruit as well. An inspiring example of

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this is the Australian firm Slingflings. All the fabrics used are reclaimed vintage or naturally sourced materials, the sewing machines are solar powered and any extra emissions from production and distribution are offset, making the entire process carbon neutral. If each industry could advance similar or new techniques and make them inexpensive, then the whole world would benefit. Wash clothes in warm (30 degrees) rather than hot water (40 degrees). It has been suggested that 1.6 billion kW hours of electricity are wasted every year as a result of unnecessarily washing clothes at 40˚C rather than 30˚C. For the majority of loads, modern detergents will operate just as effectively at the lower temperature but would reduce the machine’s electricity usage by 40%.

An incoming initiative from Marks and Spencer (as part of its commendable pledge to go carbon neutral by 2012) means that from now on, all their clothes will have written on the label “Think climate – wash at 30˚C”. If all clothing retailers were to repeat this extremely simple, cost-free and responsible action on their own lines, then they really would help to meet the reduction of the machine’s electricity usage by 40%.

Dry your clothes the natural way rather than loading them into a dryer to save energy. Collect old garments and donate to a recycling plant where they can be melted and made into new garments. Consider buying second hand clothes or trade them with your friends and family. Buying a shirt second time round uses less energy in producing and shipping the garment.

Change life style and achieve energy efficiency

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Have energy efficiency as a goal whether you are an individual, business or an energy generating company. The average individual in Europe and North America still consumes 30 times more energy per year then the equivalent citizens of South-east Asia. Just to do 20-30 per cent less can make a huge difference to global warming. Britons are throwing away £10 billion worth of food each year. They are not eating food for what they have paid for. This food could be sent to places with food shortages. There are climate change costs which include processing, packaging, transporting and refrigerating food which ends up in the bin. There should be a reward scheme for energy saving where customers are helped to improve their efficiency by rewarding customers to use less energy and therefore save on their electricity bills. The energy company in turn could help the consumers by installing new meters in their homes which would count the actual savings through energy efficiency equipments. The government and customers can give incentives and aid to the utility companies to compensate for their return on investment. Utility companies in turn would generate clean and emission free energy from renewable sources, instead of coal, oil, gas and nuclear options. This will enable energy generating companies not only to meet the growing demands of electricity but also to meet the climate change challenges. Youth should take responsibility for solving climate change crisis The youth of today are living in a pivotal moment as they have the power to transform their lives for a safer planet. 3

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billion people, nearly half of the world’s populations are under the age of 25. Those young people will make choices for their families and communities. The UN’s IPCC has warned us that we have until 2015 to stabilise greenhouses gases or face widespread ecological and humanitarian disaster. The youth have a chance to avoid catastrophic climate change and other environmental crisis.

It’s a huge task. However, to imagine a new world where climate change is effectively addressed, the youth of today with the rest of the community have to take up the initiatives into their hands to change their future by addressing the environmental crisis. Global warming will have the greatest impact on the lives and the future of young people. To get the message across to young people about climate change choose the medium they use. Bring awareness via internet, music, entertainment, films, sports, fast food outlets, coffee shops etc. Get climate change message out to schools and youth through a DVD/video and web sites. Disseminate information on climate change that is informative and relevant to people’s lives. Inform them what their carbon footprint is, key climate change facts and its history, and what the climate change policy is for their country.

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Young people getting lessons in awareness of climate change issues

Use eco-friendly green make-up

Use organic personal care products and toiletries. Buy natural and organic skin care and make up products including soap and shampoos and support the environment

Bright green may not be in this season, but eco-friendly makeup has trend written all over it. In February, Cargo Cosmetics launched PlantLove, a botanical lipstick packaged in a 100% biodegradable tube made of polylactic acid—a corn-based renewable resource. When the tube is empty, plant it in the ground, and it sprouts flowers. The product represents only a sliver of the $50 billion industry in the U.S., but it is growing fast. Buy electricity from a green energy provider Generate electricity through renewable sources. It’s cleaner, cheaper and nurtures a sense of responsibility towards others and your environment. The other advantages are:

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Renewable energy sources have environmental, health and cost advantages over fossil fuels,

Renewable energy sources are crucial to sustainable human life on planet Earth,

More and more utilities companies are offering green energy. But unless you read the fine print on your bill, you may not know if your power company is one of them. If you don't live in a green power zone, you can support the industry by buying renewable energy certificates, which allow you to purchase green energy in another part of the country. The extra money will dispense green power to the national power grid.

Before buying, check labels on products to see if they have been produced in a environmentally-friendly way

Some of the largest international businesses have the ability to create more radical change than any single government. A $180 billion company like Wal-Mart has ties to tens of thousands of smaller companies around the world, and through its sheer size, it has the power to influence those suppliers to sell their goods cheaper — or, if Wal-Mart wishes, greener. That's exactly what the retailing giant has done this year, pressuring its suppliers to go green. Wal-Mart's initiative was followed this October by the launch of the Supply Chain Leadership Coalition, in which some of the biggest companies in the world — including Procter & Gamble and Unilever — are banded together to press suppliers to report their greenhouse-gas emissions and be forthcoming about their efforts to combat climate change.

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Use smart meters Smart meters can revolutionise the way households consume energy, and can reduce demand by up to 10%. Smart meters is a catch-all phrase used to describe a new generation of devices that have a range of extra functions, unlike existing "dumb meters" that only measure gross gas and electricity consumption in a home.

The extra functions would include: Remotely read: These do away with the need for meters to

be manually read. Instead, the information is sent automatically to the energy supplier - either via the power cables or a short-range radio link. This scraps the need for estimated bills.

Meaningful displays: The meters display energy consumption in monetary terms, rather than kilowatt hours, making it more relevant to people. A display can also be positioned in places where the homeowner can see it more easily.

Internet meters: This technology is described as the "smartest". It allows people to closely monitor where energy is being consumed in their homes, and where it is being wasted; for example, devices that are left on standby. All of this data can be accessed over the internet. If people do not have any idea how much energy they are using, by installing Smart meters, individual can see the how much energy they are using for specific jobs such as cooking, gardening, having a shower, etc. It would show the amount of energy each device in a home is consuming; how much it is costing; how much energy was used over the past 24 hours; it can even be calibrated to show estimated carbon emissions. When people can see how much energy and money they are

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saving when they switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby, they immediately become more incentivised tp engage in the whole issue of energy efficiency. The first major trial of smart meters in the UK was launched by Electricity firm EDF Energy, in partnership with fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA), installed the first of up to 3,000 electricity and gas smart meters into customers' homes in south London.

Live in closeness and harmony with nature and enjoy the stunning scenery

Encourage nearness and a relationship to woodland. Start tree conservation in your area. Once you plant a tree it takes a number of years before it can mature and absorb carbon dioxide and exude oxygen. In those numbers of years, what was just a sapling needs to be looked after before it grows into a beautiful tree a symbol of renewal and life. The quest to obtain understanding of life springs from understanding nature. Living with nature opens up a form of ethical and spiritual dimension of respecting and sharing the diversity and beauty of this planet. If people were to spend more time out in the countryside, they might realise what it is they have to lose from climate change. Why not go to your nearest national park (in whichever country you reside), observe the breathtaking scenery, and enjoy the peace and tranquillity? Then upon returning home, you can know that every time you skip buying unnecessary products, save on unnecessary journeys, or implement simple energy saving steps or lifestyle alterations; remember why it is you are doing that - to preserve the beauty of nature and ensuring that your countryside remains in the same condition for your descendants to enjoy as well.

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As human beings we should show respect for nature and the environment. Understand the “Revenge of Gaia” James Lovelock’s hypothesis is a fascinating lens with which to view the whole climate change problem. The Gaia hypothesis originally held that the earth was a homeostatic organism (one controlled by self-repairing mechanisms), so that all living things interact to promote overall life. The atmosphere is hence self-regulated by the biosphere. However, in the “Revenge of Gaia” the author argues that the lack of respect and sheer scale of environmental damage on the part of humans has overwhelmed these self-regenerative systems. Concentrations of greenhouse gases are reaching the point (especially when combined with mass deforestation and devastation to important regulatory species such as phytoplankton) where the Earth cannot regenerate quickly enough to support human life. If we unite to combat this near catastrophe, in the long-run, the equilibrium would return. We must understand that the feedback loops that have so far shielded us from past environmental crimes are reaching breaking point. Destroying them completely (as would happen if the Siberian permafrost melted or the Gulf Stream shut down) would be an irreversible step. Carbon emissions need to be brought down immediately at a level at which earth can regenerate itself indefinitely. Replace plastic shopping bags with biodegradable ones

Individuals should use bags, especially, shopping bags made of biodegradable and compostable material that comply with

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EN13432 (a standard used for plastic products which provide a proof of their compostability by successfully meeting the harmonised European standard). Paper, printing paper and envelopes should be made from trees in sustainable forests. Check what you purchase.

The plastic bags you bring home from the supermarket probably end up in a landfill. Every year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed, and less than 3% of those bags are recycled. They are typically made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in landfills that emit harmful greenhouse gases. Reducing your contribution to plastic-bag pollution is as simple as using a cloth bag (or one made of biodegradable plant-based materials) instead of wasting plastic ones.

Use bags which are woven, 100 per cent recyclable and environmentally friendly. Reduce the usage of plastic bags as plastic blocks drains. Use and reuse non-woven recycled bags again and again. In the UK, we go through 13 billion plastic bags a year. Either we tax them, as in Ireland, or ban them as in Uganda. We have to limit its use to the minimum. The Supermarkets should form a cartel to impose a minimum cost on bags to encourage usage of re-usable ones. Recycle your old mobile phone Individuals should use their mobile in a responsible way. The average mobile/ cell phone is responsible for 750 times its weight in carbon dioxide emissions and the potentially toxic chemicals and metals used in its construction also pose a threat. Recycle your old mobile phone. The disposal of redundant mobile handsets should be done in a way that none of its parts

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end up in landfills. The disposal of handsets is good for global warming; dwindling natural resources and can raise valuable funds for charity. Skip the steak and become a vegetarian Switching to vegetarianism will reduce your carbon footprint. Change your eating habits to have an impact on climate change. Have the right balance by eating less meat and dairy products and more veg. and fruit. Waste less food. Choose seasonal and locally grown foods, which require less storage, heating and transport. If you switch to vegetarianism, you can shrink your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to research by the University of Chicago. Trading a standard car for a hybrid cuts only about one ton. Which is responsible for more global warming: your BMW or your Big Mac? Believe it or not, it's the burger. The international meat industry generates roughly 18% of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions - even more than transportation - according to a report last year from the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation. Much of that comes from the nitrous oxide in manure and the methane. Methane has a warming effect that is 23 times as great as that of carbon, while nitrous oxide is 296 times as great. There are 1.5 billion cattle and buffalo on the planet, along with 1.7 billion sheep and goats. Their populations are rising fast, especially in the developing world. Global meat production is expected to double between 2001 and 2050. Given the amount of energy consumed raising, shipping and selling livestock, a 16-oz.T-bone is like a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), but on a plate.

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Individuals and organisations should engage in environmentally friendly computing

The computer industry is exceptionally fast growing. Thus, curbing its environmental impact is crucial to keep total carbon concentrations stable. Fortunately there are many easy steps which can be taken at work and home to minimise this impact: Upgrade, rather than replace, your computer Choose an Energy-Star compliant monitor (you need packaging to protect it in transport) Change to power settings so that the computer and monitor

automatically switch off after idle periods (in modern systems, contrary to myth, this does not damage the components)

Shut off computers while not using instead of leaving it on standby.

Smart printing – only print core pages, do not let that one extra line result in an extra page! Also, re-use paper for draft printing.

When definitely finished with your computer, donate it and re-use or recycle as many parts as possible

Support “Ceramic Engineering” which tries to use other raw materials other than oil-based ones to form manufactured materials

Demand more energy-efficient Central Processing Unit’s (CPU’s) in computers. Intel and AMD have already made great strides due to the pressure from laptop users. Keep it up.

Individuals should use alternative fertilisers for soil like compost or grass clippings

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Disposing of garden waste requires energy for transportation and land for burying. The industrial production of fertiliser is energy intensive, thereby emitting carbon. Home composting can have three advantages – reducing industrial production through home substitution, freeing up space for landfill and removing all the environmental damage associated with the transportation of rubbish and manufactured compost. There is significant energy saving potential in undertaking the whole organic recycling process in the home. All that is necessary is for some containers in the garden, and an appropriate guide as to what types of organic rubbish to mix and compost. For example, the Royal Horticultural Society provides an easy guide to the whole process, who in simple steps to helping our way of life becoming sustainable. Farmers should use worms as fertilisers for their fields. It’s cheaper and better for the environment than using chemicals and it also allow an abundance of crops to be produced, allowing the farmer to sell more. Use zero emission electronic scooters instead of motorbikes running on petrol

Travel in a way that is carbon neutral. You will not only save money but will be environmentally friendly and an alternative to nasty gases churned out by motor bikes running on petrol/oil.

Support your local farmer, eat local produce and use land in a sustainable way

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Fruit, vegetables, meat and milk produced closer to home rack up fewer "petroleum miles" than products trucked cross-country to your table. You find farmers' markets, greengrocers and food co-ops in your area and buy your produce from them. If you really want to get close to the farm, join a Community Supported Agriculture project, which lets you buy shares in a farmer's annual harvest. In return, you get a box of produce every week for a season. It will take more than a few visits to the farm stand to reduce the carbon impact. In the meantime, here's another reason to go local: the taste is great.

Of the carbon footprint if you are eating avocado and papaya which comes from long distances that is the Caribbean, India, Bangladesh and Thailand. To work out how much carbon you have to offset for eating these fruits, use the individual offset calculator. Make a calculation of your own carbon footprint. How much of your consumption is imported, how much CO2 is used per person and then offset it by that amount. Take small steps, buy local, eat seasonal, and spend wisely. One basketful of imported food creates more carbon than the average families’ cooking requirements for six whole months.

Farmers should reduce the grazing, burning and draining that threatens to destroy the carbon rich pollutants. Individuals and local communities should foster farmers markets for local and seasonal produce as buying locally is better for health and will result in energy efficiency and thereby clocking less miles in transportation, and to help the local industry.

Turn off electrical appliances when not needed

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Turn your television and other electrical appliances off rather than keeping them on standby overnight. The CO2 emissions from electrical equipment being left on standby are equivalent to millions long-haul flights.

Individuals should make parties, entertainment, dinners and weddings and burials green and energy efficient

Lavish receptions, parties, dinners and weddings are highly energy intensive. There is no reason why any of these events have to be environmentally damaging though. The Carbon Neutral Company offers an original alternative to the conventional wedding gift. Guests are invited to pay a small sum, which goes towards planting a specified number of trees in the countryside.

For more corporate affairs, Tree Canada for example, will calculate the carbon output of the event, provide an estimate as to the appropriate number of trees necessary to offset the emissions, then plant and ensure survival of the trees, and consequently certify the whole event as carbon neutral. The audit takes into account travel to the event; and all energy use before, during and after the event – thereby providing a true carbon neutral affair. You won't be able to stop global warming on your wedding day, but you can lessen the carbon footprint of your event. For example, if your guests are traveling long distances, offset the carbon emissions from their trips with a donation to renewable - energy projects. The sustainable - wedding website Portovert.com, in partnership with NativeEnergy, a renewable energy company, offers a wedding carbon calculator where

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couples can enter the number of guests and approximate miles travelled, to calculate the carbon impact of their wedding - related travel.

Wherever you celebrate, you can reduce your CO2 impact and often save money by giving your wedding a local touch. Buy wine from a nearby vineyard or beer from a neighbourhood brewery. Get your wedding cake from a local bakery, and use seasonal flowers, not imports. Why eat food or drink wine or beer that has travelled thousands of miles when you can choose local options that are just as good? Anything you do to make your wedding a little more modest—from wearing a borrowed wedding dress to choosing recycled paper or a website for your invitations—will lower its contribution to carbon emissions. Consider it your wedding gift to the planet. Have a green wedding and provide incentives for ‘newly weds’ for a lifelong commitment to adopt a greener way of life.

Families should think of having a cremation on a green burial when their relations die. It is hygienic and solves the problem of space. It makes sense as most of the world now live in cities, old style burial is no longer feasible and practical. However, even the cremation has a problem as it consumes wood and contributes to deforestation, gas and electric cremation also add to greenhouse gases. A future initiative with solar powered green ovens as the carbon sequestration technology may be the answer.

Protect the poor from the adverse effects of climate change

Individual and vulnerable citizens from developing and developed countries should be provided with adequate help

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and insurance cover to adapt to climate change for protecting their houses, buildings, properties from floods, mudslides and other natural disasters. The city of Hull, in a rich country like UK was affected by flash floods in July 2007. Around 3500 people suffered severe hardship, in which they were displaced and many homes were ruined. 6 months onwards, people were living in a caravan at the front of their homes and had to trudge through dirty water to rescue their valuable possessions. This is the situation in a developed country. It is far more devastating in developing countries like Bangladesh which had 200,000 people displaced owing to a ferocious cyclone in 2007. In its annual natural catastrophes report, the world's second-biggest reinsurer, Munich Re, said total losses from natural disasters rose by 50 percent to $75 billion as climate change caused more extreme weather events. The slums of Mumbai, where climate change threatens 10 million slum dwellers with flooding are victims of climate change – these are people who are only responsible for a tiny proportion of carbon dioxide emissions. Although India is becoming a larger emitter, the majority of the damage has been caused by western and industrialized countries on a huge scale in the last 150 years.

Individuals should urge governments to shift the role of military to be more environmentally friendly

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The role of military in global warming as a polluter has to change if life is to survive on our mother earth. The US industrial military complex (Pentagon) is the largest consumer of oil and one of the biggest polluters in the world. Large military forces are making a significant contribution to the depletion of oil resources and to climate change - both are likely to increase the risk of conflict which military forces are present there to prevent, as is happening in Darfur. Huge military budget (over $1 trillion) should be curbed and shifted to be used for the environment, peace, security development, healthcare and education.

Respect and follow the cultural and traditional values of the indigenous people and their knowledge of earth, trees and woodlands

The population of the Western world impinges on many indigenous practices. In the past, aborigines and tribal people on several Continents were relegated to the least productive lands and had their traditional environments scarred through unfettered development and construction. Whilst a shift in the public attitude towards these groups has dictated more equitable policies since the 1960s, there is still a fundamental lack of respect for indigenous cultures that is both immoral and myopic. Immoral, because in a post-colonial era we are supposed to value equally the social contribution that different anthropological groups have to offer. We should recognise the scientific contribution that years of cumulative wisdom these groups’ cultures has ingrained into our cultures.

The array of once-derided “traditional knowledge” is increasingly proving to contain invaluable medicinal, ecological and agricultural information, originating from centuries of

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mutual interdependence between humans and Earth. Sustainable land use has always been central to indigenous practices - they actually find it hard to understand how it is possible to over-use land to the point where it becomes useless. Using controlled fires to combat forest pests and stop larger blazes has long been used in North America and Australian Natives, yet modern fire departments have only recently adopted such a “controlled blaze” policy. It has been discovered that many African farmers’ posses intimate knowledge of the disease-resistance and growing characteristics of the different strains of staple crops. Furthermore, a large number of traditional herbal remedies have serious medicinal healing properties. To overlook this potential pharmaceutical goldmine could be viewed as arrogance.

It is therefore crucial not to destroy this valuable source of knowledge. Firstly, so-called “bio-piracy” must be stopped, where established Western firms patent traditional herbal medicines, thereby making it illegal for indigenous people to survive from their own heritage. Secondly, scientists should spend more time interacting with these communities – the Inuit have warned for decades that Western practices in the Arctic will lead to seal extinction. Maybe we should try and learn from a culture that has kept animal populations at their optimal level since before the North American continent was colonised. Climate change destroys bio-diversity, exacerbates local climate extremes (in the heat) or worse, opposes them (melting ice), making the traditional way of life unfeasible in many areas. Given that we have much more to learn, and also because it is just our moral obligation to these people, climate change must not continue unchecked.

Individual should store and use energy efficiently

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Energy efficiency and storage is essential for using it in an economical way during off-peak and peak periods. It is essential for the development of advanced batteries. Why? Energy storage as a natural process is billions of years old - the energy produced in the initial creation of the Universe has been stored in stars such as our Sun, and is now being used by humans directly (e.g. through solar cells) or indirectly (e.g. by growing crops). However, most of the electricity generated today is through fossil fuels. We need to use renewable sources for producing electricity.

Individuals and organisations should generate more energy from hydroelectric power

It can be done by harnessing the energy stored in water and rivers, above sea level. For centuries water wheels have been used to convert the kinetic energy of moving water into mechanical energy, which was used in flour mills and other machinery. Unlike coal-fired power stations, hydroelectric power stations can begin generating electricity very quickly.

They can respond to sudden increases in demand for electricity and as a renewable source of energy it does not pollute the environment. However, the construction of dams to enable hydroelectric generation may cause some environmental damage. Also, water used to drive the power plant could have other uses at other times, for example, for irrigation or town water supply. Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Switzerland rely heavily on hydroelectricity because they have industrialised areas close to mountainous regions with heavy rainfall. The U.S., Russia, China, India, and Brazil get a much smaller proportion of their

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electric power from hydroelectric generation. However one needs to be careful of social, ecological and hydrological effects that have to be taken into consideration when planning a hydroelectric power station.

Individuals and organisations should generate more energy from solar panels

Use power from the sun – it is free and inexhaustible. This vast clean energy source represents a viable alternative to the fossil fuels that currently pollute our air and water, threaten our public health and contribute to global warming. In a broader sense, solar energy supports all life on earth and is the basis for almost every form of energy we use. The amount of energy received from the sun that falls on the Earth’s surface is enormous. All of the energy in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas that is stored in the Earth’s reserves is matched by the energy from just 20 days of sunshine. Solar energy can be captured by solar panels. Solar energy comprise of light and heat energy from the sun. This vast amount of energy is more than 23,000 times than that used by the human population of this planet. China invested £3.3bn in renewable energy last year, making it one of the biggest investors in renewables in the world. There are 30 million solar households in China, which account for nearly 60 per cent of global solar capacity. Solar energy will play an increasingly central role in ending dependence on fossil fuels

Generate your own electricity from solar to make the buildings

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green.

Clean, renewable forms of energy, such as wind power, are essential

Evidence shows that wind energy propelled boats on the Nile River as early as 5000 B.C. In China, simple windmills pumped water several centuries B.C. Millions of windmills were built in the United States as part of the development of the American West during the late 19th century. It's clean, abundant, reliable, affordable, and safe. Wind power does not produce dangerous waste, nor does it contribute to global warming.

Move to a high-rise apartment or live in a smaller house

If you live in a smaller house or also near a city or town, your carbon footprint is smaller. You can walk, cycle or use public transport. The carbon footprint in a larger dwelling requires more energy to heat and cool than the smaller ones as they are more eco-friendly by using efficient appliances. If convenient, change to a smaller house that requires less energy to heat and less building materials to construct.

Ask the Experts for an Energy Audit of your Home

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How green is your living place? A home energy audit, which most utility providers will do free of charge, will tell you the amount of power your household consumes and what you can do to reduce it. The average family can find ways to shave 1,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions each year. Energy auditors use special equipment like blower doors and infrared cameras to help you pinpoint exactly how your house is losing energy.

Switch your light off by a timer and shut off your computer when not in use

A screen saver is not an energy saver. 75% of all the electricity consumed in the home is standby power used to keep electronics running when those TVs, computers, monitors and stereos are "off." The average desktop computer, not including the monitor, consumes from 60 to 250 watts a day. Compared with a machine left on 24/7, a computer that is in use four hours a day and turned off the rest of the time would save you about $70 a year. The carbon impact would be even greater. Shutting it off would reduce the machine's CO2 emissions by 83%, to just 63 kg a year.

Assigning an office switch-off monitor might sound a little like third grade, but it could cut carbon emissions by reducing electricity use, not to mention extending equipment life and lowering maintenance costs. It's not exactly glamorous work: walking the halls to make sure that computers, monitors, desk lights, printers and fax machines are turned off daily. Air conditioners and overhead lights can be timed for automatic turnoff: Aim for off-peak energy use to be about one-fifth of peak use. In the morning, the switch-on monitor can take over.

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Make your Garden Grow in an environmentally friendly way

The world spends billions a year on fossil-fuel-derived fertilisers that leak chemicals into the ground and accelerate the release of nitrous oxide—a greenhouse gas. Try alternatives, from old-fashioned compost to grass clippings, which contain about 4% nitrogen. More adventurous gardeners use a homemade fertilizer mix that includes seaweed extracts for potassium and fish proteins and oils for nitrogen. Or go native and embrace wildflowers and indigenous grasses.

Think about the environment when you are gardening.

Collect rainwater to water your flowers. Let part of your garden grow freely and see what wild flowers

appear. Plant local species of trees. Never take plants or pick flowers from anywhere in the wild. Buy bulbs from cultivated stocks only (ask the shop or gardening

centre for advice). Stop using chemical pesticides - try to use natural products instead. Use traps, parasites, and natural predators such as ladybirds. Use plants that repel insects. Some herbs and flowers - including

basil, chives, mint, marigolds, and chrysanthemums - mixed in with other plants, help keep pests away.

Use disease-resistant and pest-resistant plants. Use Neem oil and mix it up with some garlic oil (which you can

make it home) to spray on tree trunks and diseased plants and shrubs. This works like a charm on pests, bacteria and fungus.

Remove the weeds by spraying them with something to adjust the pH (acidity) in the ground around them like using some vinegar directly on the most stubborn ones.

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Use organic compost and mulch to improve soil health and reduce the need for pesticides and fertilizers.

Don't use peat in your flower beds and vegetable gardens (peat is taken from ancient bog land, destroying some of our most precious wildlife areas). Instead, make your own compost with grass clippings and vegetable scraps from the house.

Choose drought tolerant plants like Nepeta Six Hills Giant (Catmint). It looks like huge lavender flowers but uses very little water.

Pick only drought or Xeriscape friendly grass seeds that don't require as much water to maintain.

Don't use electrical equipment like leaf-blowers as they consume so much energy for so little gain. Use a rake instead - it's better for your health too!

Never pour antifreeze, oil or other chemicals on the ground, into storm sewers or down the drain. Take these toxic substances to your local waste disposal facility.

Don't buy garden furniture or decking made of tropical hard wood - mahogany for example - unless it's got a Forest Stewardship Council label (the "tick" tree).

Take time out to sit out in your backyard with friends and family, and appreciate the beauty of nature!

Individuals should grow more plants as it is estimated to mop up a quarter of the world’s CO2 emissions. Calculations by the Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Change show that by 2100, ozone damage will slash the amount of CO2 which plants absorb by 29bn tonnes. The study appears in Nature. It will increase pollution in the coming century as it threatens to exacerbate global warming. In the stratosphere, ozone shields the Earth from ultraviolet solar rays, but at ground level it can damage and weaken plants, making them less able to absorb carbon dioxide.

Pay For Your Carbon Vices

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Feeling full of climate-change guilt, people are snapping up carbon offsets from Web-based retailers and nonprofits. Unlike mandatory allowances, offsets allow consumers to pay voluntarily to reduce carbon emissions by a quantity equal to their estimated contribution. The money typically funds clean-energy projects, pollution control, tree planting and forest conservation. But offsets are picking up sceptics along with customers. Critics say consumers have little assurance that the projects they underwrite really reduce emissions and warn that those buying offsets may sometimes pay for improvements that would have happened anyway. They also argue that carbon-offset trading distracts from the urgent need to change policies to address global warming. There needs to be more standardisation, more verification and more assurances for the consumer that the offsets are real and there should be a comprehensive policy for offsetting the carbon trading.

Join the carpool revolution and drive green on the scenic route

The next time you get behind the wheel of your car, turn to the passenger seat. Chances are, it's empty. In most parts of the world, the single-occupant driver still reigns supreme. Nearly 80% of people drive to work alone; about 38% drive alone in general. In some places, that's starting to change. State appealed to business with incentives to encourage employees to drive less or at least stop driving alone. In certain states tax credits have benefited companies that encourage their employees to carpool, ride the bus, walk or bike to work, or work a compressed workweek. The result: fewer vehicle trips each morning, saving commuters gallons of gas, and reducing air pollutants and CO2 equivalent gases.

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Help to open up car pools or car clubs in your area to reduce emissions. Use car- sharing service when going on holiday. Use cars, which are run on bio-fuels or electric.

The car-sharing service Zipcar rents hybrid cars in five U.S. cities, Toronto and London. A few specialty companies offer rental cars that run on biodiesel fuel, a clean-burning substance derived from renewable sources like vegetable oil. Bio-Beetle rents eco-friendly cars, ranging from Passats to Jeeps, in Hawaii and Los Angeles. A week's rental in L.A. runs from $200 to $300. Competitor EV Rental Cars has started to expand beyond the West Coast. Move to London's New Green Zone

Homes in London account for 44% of the city's CO2 emissions, more than twice the amount spewed out from transport. Worse still, the city needs to add 35,000 homes more every year to keep up with London's ballooning population. That's why, on a brownfield site in London’s docklands, builders plan in 2010 to open the city's first large-scale zero-carbon housing development. All 233 homes on the 3-acre spot will hook up to a combined heat-and-power plant that turns wood chips into electricity and hot water, with extra energy from solar panels and wind. Should a chilly winter call for extra energy from the national grid, the plant will return an equivalent amount once demand from residents has dropped off. Renewable energy isn't the only advantage. Home owners can expect greenhouses for organic food, plus car and bicycle clubs to reduce commuters' emissions. Zero-carbon homes can be commercially viable, the development could cost just 5% more than standard projects in the short-term but drastic savings can

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be made on reduced energy bills thereby providing greater saving in the long-term. . Helping the planet need not cost the earth. At least a third of the homes could be reserved for affordable housing.

Be aggressive about passive

Georg Zielke, his wife and kids share a five-bedroom "passive house" in Darmstadt, Germany, with heating costs 90% lower than their neighbours'. Extra insulation and state-of-the-art ventilation recycle the energy from passive sources such as body heat, the sun and household appliances to warm the air. When it gets really cold, the Zielkes just turn on the TV. The German government has thrown its weight behind the idea, guaranteeing low cost loans for people who want to build a passive house. They cost about 5% to 8% more to build than a standard one. Invented in a German-Swedish joint-venture in the early 1990s, about 10,000 have been built in Europe so far, most f them in Germany—and just three in the U.S.

Put a stop to excessive logging

It is imperative to stop excessive logging across the developing world. The equivalent of 36 football pitches worth of trees is being lost every minute across the globe – that’s an area half the size of the entire United Kingdom every year. The European Union oversees €3 billion of the illegal timber trade annually. It lies within EU power to control the flow of this illegal timber yet it chooses not to do so – only lobbying by national government will remedy this. There are two things the individual can do at home. One is to write to their MP and signing World Wide Fund (WWF) petitions, forcing pressure on parliament. The other more direct method is to only buy timber-

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based products that are approved by the Forest Stewardship Council, which are sourced from well-managed and renewed forests. Use technology for building awareness for climate change crisis and taking action Make use of the power of the internet to influence climate change policy. Billions of people are now wired to the internet through a telephone, mobile and satellite technology. They have the means to act directly by bypassing bureaucracy and the slow moving process of passing laws. Furthermore, they could be in cooperation with other internet users and start initiatives which can bring environmental and clean energy solutions. They can also influence policy by petitions, writing letters and sending emails. Support fair trade and other ethical businesses It helps the environment and helps farmers in the most disadvantaged countries. Producer organisations that supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International (FLO). They receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects. Governments should encourage fair-trade in countries which will be most beneficial to the poorest farmers.

Choose energy saving hotels when going abroad

Individuals should prioritise living in an energy saving hotels when travelling on business or going on holiday. While

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travelling individuals should consider staying in hotels which have strong energy saving systems. For example, Energy Star for Hospitality is an energy management program in America that helps hotels measure current energy performance, set goals and track savings. Buildings that earn the Energy Star use about 35 percent less energy than average buildings. A company can not only help protect the environment and take control of its energy costs, but also save on running costs. Energy efficiency is associated with the single biggest challenge we have - global climate change.

There are currently 247 Energy Star labeled hotels listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star for Hospitality website. Close to 3,000 U.S. hotels have participated in this free government program since it was launched in 2002. The two largest hotels that have earned the Energy Star are the Sheraton Waikiki with 2,228 rooms, and the Sheraton Boston Hotel and Towers with 1,215. Energy star hotels establish a baseline for improvement and the metrics used to measure that improvement. EPA has made this step easier by providing a national energy performance rating system for hotels. The rating system allows one to compare a hotel’s performance against similar facilities. By uploading energy and building information to the EPA website, one can determine one’s benchmark score on a scale of one to 100.

Preserve Diversity for Environmental Gains

Much of the planets plant life is under threat. Agriculture and plant life provide food for consumers, livestock farmers and essential source for natural and pharmaceutical medicine. The

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word diversity includes plant flora and fauna that is used directly and indirectly for agriculture and food production; regional and cultural traditions in growth practice and food; the knowledge and its conduits; and the innovation and development of sustainable solutions.

By adopting sustainable agricultural methods we will save on the destruction of habitats and the decline of wild flower populations on a major scale. Communities should organise and attend bio-diversity festivals celebrating plant diversity and discuss how farmers, consumers, and food producers can cooperate to enrich and defend diversity. Individual responsibility can be taken with private gardening, which plays an increasing role in industrialised countries by preserving varieties that have disappeared from the market. The home grown vegetable culture has become increasingly popular because of its recreational values and for providing a strong motivation for good quality food that has freshness and taste.

Do rain Harvesting All Year Round

Collecting rainwater in water barrels and installing one of these in your garden does not just benefit your pocket; your plants prefer it too. Washing the car and watering the plants are all outdoor activities that require a lot of water, but does it need to be done with clean drinking water? No!

Water butts or barrels are available from DIY stores and can be placed in the garden where pipes and guttering can redirect rain water into the barrel ready for use on your new vegetable patch.

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8 Ways to Practice Product Stewardship

Product stewardship is the process of evaluating the entire lifecycle of a product from how they are made, transported, how they are used, and how they are disposed of.

Take responsibility as a consumer and stay informed; consumer monitoring of companies efforts to remove the use of harmful chemicals. Budget to spend where it matters; companies sometimes spend more to produce eco-friendly products. So buy them to make a difference. Shop in your own back garden; the transportation of produce creates a big carbon footprint so we should try to buy local produce. Ingredients; check the back of the packet, two chemicals that are serious offenders for crimes against the environment are lead and mercury. Reduce your purchase of overly packaged products; what we do not recycle sits in a landfill so make a stand. Recycling aluminium, glass, paper and plastic are all recyclable products; batteries, paint and motor oil can be recycled through retailers. “Take back” is a new facility offered by electronic companies for you to dispose of their product in a responsible way. Close the loop; as we now recycle our waste products we should also be trying to buy produce that has been recycled.

Individual should write to decision makers

Find the right person to talk. Look at www.writetothem.com –

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a fantastic campaigning website. Just type in your postcode and the site brings up a list of your local, district, MP, MEP and councillors and contact details for them. It’s also packed with useful hints and tips on getting your message across, and what you should expect.

Calculate and offset your flight’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Aviation is under the public spotlight from environmental groups because it is one of the most rapidly growing sources of greenhouse gases. Some airlines have responded by offering passengers the option to offset their flights, meaning they pay for someone else to cut emissions on their behalf, for example by paying towards the construction of a wind turbine in India. But to know how much to pay, first you must know the contribution of your flight to climate change, which is where carbon calculators come in.

The U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) launched the new standard on Thursday, World Environment Day 2008, on the fringes of a UN climate conference in Germany. This new standard will become a reference point for everyone to link to the carbon calculator website (www.icao.int) and use the ICAO scheme directly to the purchase carbon offsets.

Make Earth Day everyday

Earth Day is the perfect time to think about conserving, saving, recycling, and discovering new, more efficient products to help us do the things we do every day. Although

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Earth Day focuses on a wide range of environmental issues, efforts have been based around three simple pledges that anyone can make:

Switch as many conventional bulbs as possible for low-energy ones

Use carbon calculating websites such as www.safeclimate.net and then pay to offset the calculated personal carbon footprint for the year

Sign the Climate Changes Solution Campaign. In the UK visit at www.climatechange365.co.uk for ideas and solutions.

In the United States, “Earth Day on the Hill” encourages community leaders, charities and local politicians to get together, engage in dialogue, and exert environmental pressure at the highest levels of government. If this sort of co-operation and political goodwill could be extended every day of the year we would see and exponential rise in the rate of progress in solving the world’s environmental problems. If individuals could remember to fulfill their pledges every day, the mass effect would be a colossal decrease in the current level of greenhouse gas emissions.

Organise a travelling road show on global warming and its solutions Whilst most of the Western public is aware of climate change, and some even aware of the steps necessary to prevent it, it is a phenomenon that readily slips to the back of the mind. What is suggested here is a high-profile road show that travels the lengths of countries not just to educate on the dangers of global warming, and its solutions, but perhaps most importantly to remind those who already know, that they need to constantly strive to offset their carbon emissions and correct

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their environmentally unfriendly habits.

Frequently showing films followed by meetings on global warming and to list solutions and actions are effective forms of engagement alone of the most persuasive methods of communication is via the medium of film. It certainly re-enforces the urgency to gather the important figures to remind the public of the seriousness of the issue. Whilst politicians often pay lip service to the whole concept, pragmatic and immediate action is lacking. Graphic and emotive footage (albeit a slight exaggeration) such as “An Inconvenient Truth”, “The Last Winter”, and “The Day after Tomorrow”, would hopefully help to remind politicians that this is not a transitory crisis we are dealing with, but rather the entire future of the human race. Be a philanthropist, save lives, solve problems and change the world

People can give regardless of their income. The amount of good you can do for others in resources, available time, skills and ideas can strengthen the fabric of our shared community. Individuals should turn the Climate Change IQ ideas from the book into an action plan

Individuals should open new climate change IQ solutions/ branches in each and every neighbourhood / village / town and city for helping to save our planet. They should give birth to a new climate change movement. A new generation is mobilizing to confront the root causes of this greatest threat facing humanity. Challenge the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide and put ideas and initiatives into action for saving the planet. Some

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of the ideas which can be taken up by clubs/branches/organizations are;

1. Conservation and recycling of water 2. Bringing justice to the poor over the climate change problem

by the developed world giving adaptation aid and technical know-how to mitigate climate change crisis. The developed world has been polluting the atmosphere for more than 150 years and they are ones who should take the lead for fixing the problem.

3. Campaigning for moving away from insatiable consumption 4. Stopping the promotion of endless growth and production of

goods. All future production should be in a sustainable way for sustainable future

5. Give assistance to find new technologies and innovations 6. Working for a fair carbon trading system 7. Writing to press and media about compliance of the Kyoto

Protocol by countries 8. Opening a global environment reporting centre which

should report on a quarterly basis the progress of countries in following the Kyoto Protocol and the progress toward the new climate change treaty to replace Kyoto

9. Opening a research centre for finding more solutions to climate change

10. Protecting human rights violation of people affected by climate change like the Inuit people from Greenland

11. Installing and award a global prize for climate change heroes for their extra ordinary work and achievement for averting climate change crisis. Establishing new, and promote existing, awards and prizes for climate change heroes. To recognize and reward local communities for their achievements

12. Celebrating international days like Environmental day, Earth Day, Biological Diversity Day, combat Desertification Day,

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conserving water day. Host events at the local, national and global level every year.

13. Campaign for curbing military spending as military is a big polluter, contributes to pollution in a major way. Use money saved to be spent on implementing climate change solutions

14. Campaign to stop installing new nuclear facilities as they contribute to radiation, pollution, and long-term waste disposal issues. The same technology can also be used for producing nuclear weapons.

15. Organising road travelling shows about global warming and its solutions.

16. Engaging with media and trying to have the climate change issue at the top of their national and international agenda.

17. For raising environmental concerns, develop effective communication strategies to meet the needs of the public at large using power point presentations, model programs and speaking engagements.

18. Taking part in community initiatives, which reduces carbon emissions.

19. Have fundraising events to help publicise your favoured group to recruit new members and distribute your newsletters and publications

20. Keep the Climate Change IQ book handy for providing resources and also as a practical reference guide. Build your own website and clubs to highlight the important issues of climate change, events calendar and any relevant local or national campaigns on environmental issues. Include a children youth and education activity guide.

21. Nobody can do everything but everybody can do something together.

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10

Charities / foundations / trusts

are good at;

Giving support to innovative ideas and grassroots’ projects where conventional funding is restricted.

Investing in long-term planning. Making the world a better place through acts of

giving. Taking risks and patiently waiting for results.

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Philanthropists, charities and trusts can play a vital long term role in protecting the climate

Climate change issue is long-range in nature and too complicated for either business or government, alone, to fully address. While the solutions to climate change are within our reach, making the changes necessary to implement these solutions will take many years. NGOs and civil society are playing a crucial role in linking the issue of climate change to domestic issues like energy policy, transportation, and agriculture. However, they need financial support to provide the continuity required to achieve real reductions now and to build sustained political support for the steeper greenhouse-gas cuts to come. Politicians tend to be concerned about keeping power and the next elections. Businesses tend to be preoccupied with short term profits. Philanthropists by contrast have longer time horizons and can take more risks. Besides being more patient donors / investors, philanthropists have a strong tradition of filling gaps in the niche market, encouraging changes in technology and pursuing programmes that transcend national boundaries and economic sectors. Such capacities are exactly what are needed to tackle global warming.

Philanthropists can help by bringing committed experts, foundations, and charities to take concerted action together on climate change mitigation

Climate-protection advocacy and policy analysis are relatively under-funded compared to land and species

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conservation efforts. Philanthropic support for climate change can: - Foster public engagement and mobilisation by educating

citizens to demand governmental action on averting dangerous climate change;

- Support new ways of delivering services such as heat, electricity, and transportation while limiting emissions of greenhouse gases;

- Develop creative solutions for driving governments toward the ratification of the climate-change treaty;

- Encourage the private sector to reduce emissions; - Build capacity in developing countries; and - Support developing-country initiatives that promote climate

protection and economic development.

Philanthropists should make investments and interventions to solve climate change issues

Campaigning and support are needed around the world for: - Sustained investment is needed to build vibrant markets for

renewables to replace coals, particularly in China and India. - Influence the energy efficiency of building and appliances,

development patterns and transport infrastructure. - Emissions mitigation in the industrial sector, particularly in

the US, China and India. - Greater support for strategy implementation where efforts

are underway but with little philanthropic backing. - Initiatives for philanthropic investment for reforestation and

promoting local markets and incentives for non-carbon ecosystem services. Follow foundations with a proven record

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The Rockefeller Foundation says it will invest $70 million over the next five years to help Asian cities and African farmers withstand floods, droughts and other global warming hazards.

Poorer communities, lacking the money or technology to deal with a ruined harvest or eroding coastline, face outsize threats. Helping vulnerable populations adapt to a changing climate must be a high priority. Adaptation strategies could be deployed on a larger scale by governments as well as international institutions, including the World Bank. The bank has been working on making its third world development projects "climate proof," so they can withstand the effects of global warming. That effort, involving efforts like new highways and agricultural programs, could cost tens of billions of dollars. About a quarter of that amount would go toward adaptation projects, mainly aimed at preserving wildlife habitat in a shifting climate. A major goal would be to help Asian cities like Mumbai and Bangkok that are prone to flooding. The program will help such cities assess threats and devise tools to cut risks, including land-use plans, building codes and catastrophe insurance.

The foundation says it will help African farmers who face severe hazards from drought along with a host of other problems and find ways to improve yields.

Charities should join with NGOs for adopting new innovative ideas for averting climate change crisis

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Charities and NGOs should work together. They need to continue tirelessly in their efforts to persuade powerful, influential and wealthy individuals and organizations to instigate and promote climate change initiatives and other good causes.

Companies, individuals and trusts work together for the reduction for carbon emissions

Companies and individuals should promote good causes by giving away chunks of their fortune and be role models for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Corporations and individuals should make pledges to fight climate change by making commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Philanthrophy should become a core business strategy for industry, business and corporations for implementing climate change solution

Companies should start thinking more seriously about how they can help solve the world’s biggest problem like global warming by embedding philanthropy into their core business strategy. Companies have excellent opportunities to make profit by developing environmentally clean technologies to designing products that mitigate climate change.

Harness the Power of Philanthropy. Only 2% of philanthropic capital is being given to environmental causes. This is a shocking statistic considering the scale of the climate change problem. Giant corporations and individual billionaires wield a considerable spending power that often dwarfs that of national governments. These financial resources should be harnessed to

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promote a more humane and equitable life where the rich and the poor can live in a sustainable environment.

Donors should choose their model of Philanthropy

Philanthropist should be enticed to part with their money on a initiative in which donors choose where their money is being spent. Fortunately, we are entering the era of "New Philanthropy," where you know exactly where your money is going. At DonorsChoose.org, public school teachers all over the United States post what they need for their classrooms and donors scan the site and decide which projects to fund, in whole or in part. So a teacher might want, say, a video camera to bring the teaching of Shakespeare alive for her inner city students. Or 30 copies of a novel for a special project. Or a microscope. This is needs-generated philanthropy. Everyone from Bill Clinton to Pierre Omidyar (founder of eBay) have attested, the DonorsChoose model is transformative.

On a similar basis, we need to give funds for the development of new technologies. There should be technology websites which should attract innovation projects. These projects should be filtered through a process in which they can be identified as genuine projects. After this the investor and the inventor should be linked for the project to be started.

Philanthropists should encourage initiatives like the Moorea Biocode Project as a model for ecosystem for other places

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In the middle of the South Pacific, about 12 miles west of Tahiti, is a tropical island that soon will emerge as a model ecosystem, thanks to research team led by University of California, Berkeley, biologists. This is an ambitious project to create a genetic inventory of all non-microbial life in the island's ecosystem. This is the first effort to catalogue and barcode an entire tropical ecosystem, from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the mountains.

The biologist are constructing a library of genetic markers and physical identifiers for every species of plant, animal and fungi on the island, then making that database publicly available as a resource for ecologists and evolutionary biologists around the world. This information will show how organisms fit together in the ecosystem, and because we will characterise every species on Moorea, we will be able to reconstruct the entire food web. With such a tool, ecologists in French Polynesia can pioneer a whole system approach to investigating how island food webs respond to disturbance, such as when invasive species enter the picture or sea temperatures rise. There are an estimated 5,000 plant, animal and fungal species on Moorea. Charting the state of coral reefs off the island's coast, for example, could shed light on the impact of climate change, while documenting the invasive species that have been introduced to the island would speak to the effects of globalisation. Creating a record of all of the island's species can also highlight localised human-generated problems such as over-fishing, habitat destruction and pollution. A model ecosystem approach to ecology will benefit conservation much like model organisms - from fruit flies to roundworms - in the way that molecular biology has benefited

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medicine. The Moorea Biocode Project will have sequenced a whole tropical ecosystem. Like the Human Genome Project this unprecedented accomplishment is, merely a necessary first step in its goal is to accelerate progress on the larger questions: how to maintain a healthy ecosystem and what to do when things go wrong.

Philanthropists should work with environmentalists to conserve threatened wildlife

Joint programmes should be started to save and regulate wild life. Chinese conservationists met with major internet auction site companies in January 2008, urging action on illegal virtual trade in thousands of products made from threatened wildlife. 4300 advertisements for wildlife products, including elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses and marine turtles, have been found for sale on Chinese-language internet sites.

The meetings with authorities in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan follows an eight months survey of popular Chinese language auction sites by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. The survey included Yahoo, eBay and several independent websites. Internet service providers and websites need to take greater responsibility for keeping wildlife trade illegal. Government authorities must also ensure that wildlife trade on the internet conforms to the same regulations as wildlife in physical markets. During the course of the survey, TRAFFIC informed authorities in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan about

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suspected illegal trade. As a result, several advertisements were removed, deliveries intercepted and those involved convicted.

The latest meetings were held with major website companies, eBay, Taobao, Tencent, and other relevant organizations such as the State Forestry Administration and the Customs Bureau to find solutions to control illegal wildlife trade on the internet. TRAFFIC’s aim is to promote efforts to keep online trade legal and sustainable, because the extent of wildlife being offered for sale in apparent contravention of international and national laws is alarming. There should be development of strategies to police virtual markets, to bring web-based markets under the same regulatory structure as physical markets and alert shoppers to the growing use of internet for illegal trade (TRAFFIC is a joint programme of WWF and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Humanity, national governments and businesses are not acting on the daunting prospect that we are in the middle of the biggest war ever. The war of humans against nature and the Earth for the sake of economic growth, enrichment, more and more big cities and construction everywhere – even skyscrapers. As a result, major parts of Earth’s nature has been destroyed. Philanthropists should fund initiatives which can save the incredible, magnificent nature and species of our Mother Earth whilst moving into the 21st century.

The rich can build a sustainable future for the 4 billion people living on $2 a day by helping to complete the Millennium Development Goals

The rich should create a global fund to meet the challenge of averting climate change crisis and wiping out poverty by

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funding for the completion of Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s)

In the area of climate change funding is required for addressing crisis in areas of poverty reduction, peace, security, conflicts, diseases, bio-diversity and natural disasters. We need ideas and actions in mitigation, adaptation, and conservation to cut green house gases. We need to harness renewable energy sources along with technology which will lead to sustainable development for a sustainable future.

For the reduction of poverty we require funding around $70 billion a year in additional development assistance for the completion of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s). These goals to be achieved by 2015 are:-

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development

The completion of MDG’s will create opportunities for the poor and disadvantaged. It will pave the way for sustainable development leading to a safe and sustainable future. Philanthropists should implement MM Proposal for tapping into vast resources for climate change mitigation and the completion of the MDGs

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Accordingly, the success of this proposal would underscore many millions of lives to be saved and improved at a fraction of conventional fundraising costs. This is probably the ultimate goal of almost every activist, NGO and philanthropist and government. The MM Proposal is an initiative of Fortune Forum - a charity to further poverty reduction, elimination of global diseases and environmental sustainability. Its intentions are to get this proposal adopted in Britain first and where needed expand implementation. With the success of reforming the UK tax system to transfer tax cuts towards the poor, the goal of ending universal extreme poverty and the mitigation of climate change could well be mutually advanced.

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Part 3 A roadmap for sustainable

development by the year 2020

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Sustainable development is the key to saving our planet, humanity and civilization

The cost of fixing Climate Change, and Responsibilities of the Developed World for the adaptation, conservation and mitigation which is the key to solving the climate change crisis Before we talk about figures let us analyse the most significant affect global warming will have on our human race; unusual droughts causing serious problems for farming for many regions while melting ice, floods and rising sea levels could wipe out islands and low lying countries from Bangladesh to cities in the USA and UK. As ever, the poor will be the most vulnerable. There are huge security implications of climate crisis, including the possibility of hundreds of millions of climate refugees destabilising nations around the world. In the early decades, rich nations could cope, but ultimately they could be undermined.

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the world must undergo a “new global energy revolution” and which would mean facing a huge bill of $45 trillion (£22 trillion) if it is to halve carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The agency adds that the coming revolution will depend on sweeping changes to the electricity and motor industries, with 215 million sq m of solar panels needing to be “planted” across the globe and a billion electric or hybrid cars required.

Solar Power from Saharan sun

The developed world has a huge responsibility towards solving global warming and the energy crisis as they are the ones who are the main contributor to the greenhouse gases for the last 150 years. The rich countries need to reduce its dependency on the use of oil, coal, gas and other fossil fuels and move to solar, hydrogen and biomass energy, which in the long run, will salvage the climate change crisis.

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Food Shortage

The developed world should also address threats and challenges posed by the climate change crisis in areas of security, conflicts, diseases, biodiversity and natural disasters. The rich countries need to take the mantle into their hands to avert the climate change crisis by giving aid, technological expertise, and fair trade to the developing countries. The EU and US must take the lead in achieving ambitious emission reduction targets greater than 100% to enable growth in developing countries. Future greenhouse gas emission reductions must be based on an equitable burden sharing paradigm that ensures equal sustainable development potential for all citizens of the world. It should also take into account historical responsibility and respective capabilities as fair and just approach as the emissions of the developing world are minuscule, in comparison to developed countries Soaring food prices, climate change and meeting the needs of the poor Another fact to be taken into consideration is that international food prices have risen at unprecedented rates. The steadily rising prices squeezing billions and triggering food riots from Bangladesh to South Africa. Aid agencies say Hundred million people are facing starvation which need rapid, massive, coordinated action. The main causes are high price of oil, growing cereal demand and increasing use of land for bio fuels. The other reasons are decreased

investment in agricultural research and

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development and inadequate maintenance of existing irrigation structure. The short solution to food insecurity is to give immediate food supplies to the millions of people in the developing world who are hungry but do not have the means to buy food. For decades the world community has failed to deliver the universal human right to food. The tragedy is that the worst of food insecurity is yet to come owing to accelerating climate change in the 21st century. If we are not able to adapt to climate change and ensure that we invest in agricultural development leading to food production then our economic development will not continue in a sustainable manner. This can only happen if danger to water resources, agriculture, forestry, natural eco systems, and human health are addressed and we have a ‘green revolution’ like we had in the 1970/80’s for plentiful food production. The commitment of all countries should be for implementing policies for the eradication of hunger, infectious diseases and the fight against poverty, agreeing that immediate measures are needed to assist the most vulnerable countries and populations affected by high food prices. This should be done by meeting the needs of the world’s poorest peoples, by completing the UN Millennium Development Goals by target date of 2015, which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education. The meeting of MDG’s will result in a long term food security and sustainable agriculture. It means that people should have land to produce food for their own community and have access and control of land, water and agro biodiversity. For this to happen, food production should be shared with small scale sustainable farmers and not only in the control of large agribusiness and supermarket chains.

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Local markets, local production-consumption cycles, energy and technology at the local level, and farmer to farmer networks should be encouraged. This process of small to medium sized farms which can produce staple crops is needed to feed the planets rural and urban populations, while conserving the agricultural and natural biodiversity of the area. With the right mix of programs, distribution of seeds, fertilisers and other agricultural know how given to farmers, there is no reason why productivity cannot be doubled within a short period of time, easing scarcity world wide. Countries should also eliminate the export restrictions that are placed on food stuffs, as well as more long standing subsidies that many developed nations provide their farmers. Such artificial barriers distort trade patterns and dry up prices jeopardising global growth. The World Commission Report on Sustainable Development For environmental sustainability we have to firstly stop the environment from destroying what is left and taking control to rectify it. Secondly we have to put systems in place for preserving means of our survival, other species and all living things. The report of the world commission 1987, (also known as Brundtland report) says about sustainable development “It meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The Rio (or the Earth Summit) conference concluded that the world should “elaborate strategies and markers to halt and reverse the effects of environmental degradation”. The Rio conference, 1992, led to the establishment of the commission of the sustainable development. It adopted 3 major agreements

a) Agenda 21, A global plan of action to promote sustainable

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Sustainable agriculture

development. b) A declaration on environment and development c) Statement of forest principals – a set of principals to underpin

the sustainable management of forests worldwide

The earth summit called for major initiatives in other key areas of sustainable developments such as convention to combat desertification, development of small island states, and a convention on biological diversity. Tropical deforestation and land use change constitute a significant share – around twenty percent – of global greenhouse gas emissions. For sustainable development we need forest management and conservation, –

supporting livelihoods, protecting the environment, promoting biodiversity, and improving our carbon footprint. Working to address deforestation through public-private partnerships can bring results. One such initiative is the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, a

partnership with African, European, and North American governments as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations and the private sector to promote economic development and natural resource conservation in the Congo Basin. A world summit on sustainable development, which is also known as Rio +10 was held in Johannesburg in 2002 to review the 10 year progress achieved since 1992 in the implementation of Agenda 21. It

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Bangkok Climate Change Talks

reinforced a collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development; economic development, social development, and environmental protection at the local, national, regional and global levels including a plan of implementation to undertake concrete actions and measures at all levels. UN, and New Global Climate Change Treaty

United Nations negotiations on climate change are propelled by the work of Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), commission on sustainable developments and United Nations Forum on Forests.

It is also assisted by treaty- based bodies like the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Conference of the parties (COP) was established under the Kyoto Protocol. In key provisions of the Kyoto protocol Contracting Parties from developed countries are committed to reducing their combined greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5 per cent from 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012. Parties to the protocol are required to submit greenhouse gas inventories, as well as regular national communications, demonstrating their compliance with the protocol.

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However, Kyoto protocol has its flaws. It is not ambitious and the present climate change crisis is beyond its reach. It sets no cap on global carbon and its enforcement procedures are weak. However one of the good things of Kyoto that is worth continuing is the clean development mechanism (CDM) which if run properly can improve in carbon reductions in a meaningful way in developed and developing countries. The COP in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 is crucial because all countries of the world should agree to a global climate change treaty- a successor to Kyoto, which expires at 2012. The new treaty should include substantial CO2 reduction targets (80 per cent) to be completed by 2020 for safeguarding the planet from climate change crisis. The new treaty should have mechanism for guiding and helping developing countries to adapt to climate change by introducing renewable energy technologies, including addressing the threats of extreme poverty and diseases. The problem of global warming is simple. 75% of the pollution in the world is created by use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). The remaining 25% is by deforestation and other areas. The answer is to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and urgently switch to renewable energy sources. The polluters are cement, building, coal, oil, gas and fertiliser industries. Dealing with them in an effective way, including investing in renewable energy and putting a global price on carbon polluters are ways forward. All countries of the world should work together in a concerted way to reduce CO2 levels to 350 parts per million by adaptation, conservation and mitigation. Linking the agenda of environment with development The rights to development and the environment are inseparable. The world community needs to tackle environment and development, as they are interdependent and interconnected ,their coexistence can create

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synergetic effects. For this development should be done not overlooking adverse impact on the ecology and indifference to the limited sustaining capacity of the natural environment. The global environmental crisis symbolises the existence of a tragedy of commons, i.e., conflict over resources between individual interests and common good. In other words, free access and unrestricted demand for finite resources structurally dooms the resources through over-exploitation in the end. This calls for weighing the benefits derived from industrialisation, modernisation, urbanisation and rising standards of living over the costs incurred due to over-exploitation of resources and deterioration of the physical environment. Industrialisation must be pursued in a controlled manner to ensure that benefits of the naturally bestowed resources of the earth are not denied to the future generations and hence are used sustainably. The current economic model of present day production and consumption methods is unsustainable and is bringing destruction to our precious environment. There is an urgent need to put an end to this business as usual practice to save our planet. To limit the impact on poorer countries, development should be living within the finite resources of this earth. The concept is that of intergenerational equity: our development is sustainable only to the extent that it not only meets the needs of the present, but also of future generations. It contemplates that development ought to take place in an ecologically and environmentally sound social milieu and a sustainable community ought to internalise its costs of closing resource and waste loops rather than accepting the notion that a burden can go somewhere else. Hence, sustainable development becomes a means for achieving a level-playing field.

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As R K Pachauri, chairman of IPCC, said in his Noble Peace Prize accepting speech: “The impacts of climate change on some of the poorest and the most vulnerable communities in the world could prove extremely unsettling. And, given the inadequacy of capacity, economic strength, and institutional capabilities characterizing some of these communities, they would remain extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and may, therefore, actually see a decline in their economic condition, with a loss of livelihoods and opportunities to maintain even subsistence levels of existence.” For the poor to have any chance of survival out of the climate change conundrum, we should be taxing sources of emissions and development should be based on the principle that the polluters pay. It connotes that the polluter should bear the expenses of carrying out pollution prevention and control measures to ensure that the environment is kept in an acceptable state. The polluter who is responsible for causing the pollution is absolutely liable for reversing the ecological damage and compensating the victims of pollution. Hence, the developed nations, which are the primary contributors of environmental pollution must provide financial aid to the developing nations to enable the latter to adapt energy efficient green technologies. However, sustainable development requires more than just clean technology and political will. It calls for a change in individual, community, corporate thinking, and the right policies of the government to make changes. It requires a commitment on a personal level to act with long-term benefits in mind. The government has a critical role to play and it should work along with society’s natural impulses. Our ways of thinking about human existence as an endless struggle for dominance over nature and other humans have led to significant

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ecological degradation. We the people should guarantee that there are resources for the use of future generations as we are the trustees of today’s resources and guarantors of it tomorrow. It is important to promote sustainable development; integrating economic and social development with the protection of the environment in the framework of democracy and the rule of law. The projects which will make a difference should have strict criteria and guidelines and should include the following:

Massive investments into renewable sources like solar, wind

power and geothermal energy, which can supply 100 per cent of the world’s entire energy needs. This will reduce our dangerous reliance on carbon based fuels (oil, gas and coal) which are the root causes of economic, environmental and security problems

Sustainable development should be pursued in an ethical and peaceful way, noting that ecological and environmental crisis is brought on by reckless human activity and unrestrained lifestyles

Teach communities how to manage environmental stresses and implement sustainable practices including supporting range of local actions about mitigation, conservation and adaptation measures

Create climate change adaptation momentum by giving low cost

capital and micro finance to thousands of small enterprises which will bring capital and services to millions of poor people around the world

Learn from the ancient wisdom and knowledge of indigenous people and their expertise. Use it to sustainably manage forests,

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including water quality, wild life habitat and forest products

Support and take action to avert the social effects of climate change, such as massive migrations, and chronic, low intensity violence

Integrate environmental issues into conflict assessment, disaster management and peace building as these are prerequisites for sustainable development

Safeguard biological diversity in the areas of environment, bio-technology, agriculture and food industry which are crucial to the preservation of our common heritage

Help developing countries with renewable low carbon technologies, aid and fair trade

Use market mechanisms to create clear economic value from emission reductions

Find new ways to improve efficiency and conserve wasted energy, resulting in great savings of resources

Build alliances between environmentalists, governments, UN, NGOs, civil society, industry, agriculture and charities to combat global warming in an environmentally effective and economically efficient way, keeping in mind the needs of developing countries

Create low carbon cities, eco-towns, for a healthier and sociable living. Provide trams, buses, trains and jobs in the local areas. Buildings should have the toughest green standards to tackle water supply, waste, and particularly, sustainable transport.

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This will bring opportunities for creating sustainable development. The evidence suggests that low-carbon cities would be healthier, fairer, more sociable. Implementing the Climate Change Solutions of the book for sustainable development for a sustainable future Sustainable development can be achieved by implementing ideas in Climate Change IQ, which can be adopted by Individuals, NGO’s, Civil Society, Industry, United Nations and governments for achieving long lasting benefit to environment and humanity. By implementing the initiatives presented in the book, including the MM Proposal for Donations, we can solve the climate change crisis in a sustainable way. Along with it we can reduce poverty, tackle new security threats, and promote disarmament. We can then manage environmental degradation, emergencies, disasters, and the unrestrained tide of globalisation for a sustainable future. We can do it by cooperating globally, for not only promoting sustainable energy technologies for continuing the growth of global economy, but also, for saving the world from climate change catastrophe. As Al gore said, in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007: “It is time to make peace with the planet.”

We can achieve peace by living in harmony with nature by integrating, adaptation, mitigation and conservation. It will reduce people’s vulnerability to the environment, pave the way for enhancing treaty compliances, and open up opportunities for innovations and emerging solutions. We can also promote environmental knowledge, education and mobilise financial resources to address the threat of climate change.

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If we can put these into practice, then we stand a fair chance of a greener and safer passage into the 21st century. We would like to conclude with a citation from the HOLY VEDAS (known to be the oldest book on earth) “SARVA ASHA MUM MITHRAM BHAVANTU” Its translation/ Meaning: Live as if you are one with the trees, the rivers, the mountains and the whole Universe will embrace you like a friend.

Trees are sanctuaries

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About the author

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Vijay Mehta is an author and global activist for peace, development, human rights and the environment. Some of his notable books are The Fortune Forum Summit: For a Sustainable Future, Arms No More, and The United Nations and Its Future in the 21st Century. He is president of VM Centre for Peace (www.vmpeace.org), trustee of Fortune Forum (www.fortuneforum.org) Charity, chair of Action for UN Renewal (www.action-for-un-renewal.org.uk) and co-chair of World Disarmament Campaign(www.world-disarm.org.uk). To mitigate the climate change crisis, Vijay Mehta has taken 3 major steps. Step one is to write the book for increasing awareness of climate change crisis, finding solutions and implementing them. Step two to participate with Renu Mehta to start the International Clean Energy Circle (ICE Circle, www.icecircle.org), a non-profit organisation to address, promote and implement solutions to climate change. ICE Circle hosted an event around the theme of climate change in 2007. The keynote speaker was former US vice-president Al Gore, a leading advocate for confronting the threat of global warming and a recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Step three, giving the book away free and making it available to download at the climate change IQ website (www.vmpeace.org). The website challenges the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide to use alternative energy sources, developing energy security leading to sustainable development for a sustainable future. It also provides ideas and actions for saving the planet.

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Vijay Mehta has appeared in various TV programmes including BBC World , Ajtak-24 hour Indian news channel, Iranian national TV, Think Peace documentary, Canada and Friction TV among others. The Independent, Observer and Guardian newspapers, among other journals have written about him. His work and public speaking engagements are dedicated to the service of peace, humanity and our planet.

Vijay Mehta Biography Comments

Vijay Mehta is a long standing activist for peace, human rights and the environment, who has set a precedent for striving to change the world

The Sunday Times (London, 1 February 2009)

“Vijay Mehta lends intellectual credibility to the project and wrote ‘The Fortune Forum Code for a Sustainable Future’, a sort of manifesto that will underpin the group’s future activities.” The Independent (London), 26 September 2006 Thank you for all you do Vijay - both the Organization and yourself are inspiration and give us all hope that both yourself and Action for UN Renewal can bring a world without war. indeed it is possible, even in our own time.

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About Fortune Forum Fortune Forum is dedicated to assist major humanitarian causes and campaigns worldwide, comprising; heads of the world’s largest foundations, global leaders, celebrities and influential entrepreneurs as its members. The Forum exists to provide unique opportunities to bring these groups together, at the highest level, to support key initiatives that address global poverty, climate change and worldwide health. Fortune Forum is a not-for-profit, non-political organization and so all proceeds from the Forum go to charities, aid organizations and development programs. www.fortuneforum.org

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About International Clean Energy Circle (ICE Circle)

International Clean Energy (ICE) Circle works towards addressing and tackling environmental degradation by identifying and promoting sustainable projects worldwide. It stimulates the implementation of clean energy technologies, energy efficient programs, alternative fuels and emission reducing initiatives to tackle the pressing issues of climate change. Renu Mehta has founded ICE Circle on the premise that considerable investment by the private sector is integral to the transition and adaptation to low carbon technologies. This is to complement the legion of public sector and charitable activism, markedly for those living in both the North and the South. ICE Circle's influence resides in the collective power of key entrepreneurial and philanthropic leadership dialogue and engagement. Performance is driven by access to economic intelligence and environmental principles via our significant network of partners. Respectively, we have created two well-defined portfolios; Innovation and Policy, balancing the needs at both the global and local level. Currently 2 billion people around the world do not have access to clean energy. Lack of energy access is a major impediment on development. At the heart of our mission, we aim to take efficient and low-cost clean energy innovations to the developing world, providing greater energy access to the poorest of the poor. Together with our strategic partners, we will make the direct link between the

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environment and poverty to dramatically improve the standard of living of those who have been previously denied basic energy supply. We aim to showcase and bridge ethical investments and new products with the view of presenting both commercial and charitable initiatives to our members. Conversely, ICE Circle is a not-for-profit, non- partisan organisation with all revenues being directed to its activities and steering progression. www.icecircle.org

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About VM Centre for Peace Its main aims are: Working for the maintenance of durable peace and security

through holistic disarmament. Finding non-violent ways of resolving armed conflicts through dialogue and global education.

Respect for ethics, human rights and fundamental freedoms by observing accountable, transparent, democratic principles and the rule of law.

Reforming and strengthening United Nations and its organs by adhering to international law and multilateral treaties. Promoting democracy and good governance.

To address the challenges of globalisation, poverty, and sustainable development by implementing the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The objectives of the Centre are: To inform and promote a better understanding To provide a forum and disseminate policy recommendations To propose solutions and act on initiatives To be a catalyst for change by promoting public participation,

debate and solutions, on critical peace, economic, environmental, social, and foreign policy issues.

www.vmpeace.org

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About Climate Change IQ

Starting a global climate change movement to implement ideas and solutions, to address threats and challenges posed by the climate change crisis through concerted action at local and global level.

Campaigning for a global climate change treaty with binding

reduction targets for all developed and developing countries. Mobilising a new generation to replace Kyoto treaty which expires in 2012, to be agreed by all countries for safeguarding the planet.

Working with governments, the UN, NGOs, businesses, civil

society, media, youth and funding agencies for equitable solutions to climate change crisis.

Advancing steps to be taken for the use of renewable energy

and low carbon technology for mitigation, adaptation and conservation to cut greenhouse gases which should not rise above 2 degrees celsius from pre-industrial levels or not to exceed 450 parts per million (ppm) beyond which global warming can’t be stopped and climate chaos and environmental problems will threaten the existence of our planet.

Challenging the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide to use

alternative energy sources. Developing energy security leading to sustainable development for a sustainable future.

Addressing the threats posed by climate change in areas of

peace, security, conflicts, poverty, diseases, food, water, bio

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diversity and natural disasters.

Encouraging the role of education, innovation, new technology, as a guiding force for achieving environmental goals for a safer and cleaner planet.

To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling all to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Opening new climate change IQ clubs / branches in each and every neighbourhood / village / town and city for putting ideas into actions for saving the planet.

Promoting the way of living in harmony and respect with nature, preserving and cherishing the richness of our precious planet. Let nature be our teacher. Connect to and learn from nature and be part of the grand matrix of life.

www.vmpeace.org

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