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{{Double image stack|right|Instrumental Temperature Record.png|Global Warming Map.jpg|180|Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990|Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1999 to 2008 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980}}
{{Double image stack|right|Instrumental Temperature Record.png|Global Warming Map.jpg|180|Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990|Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1999 to 2008 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980}}


'''Global warming''' is the increase in the [[Instrumental temperature record|average temperature]] of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18&nbsp;°[[Celsius|C]] (1.33 ± 0.32&nbsp;°[[Fahrenheit|F]]) during the last century.<ref name="grida7"/>{{Cref2|A}} The [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC) concludes that [[anthropogenic]] [[greenhouse gas]]es are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century,<ref name="grida7">{{cite web|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_SPM.pdf|author=IPCC|format=PDF|title=Summary for Policymakers|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2007|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref> and that natural phenomena such as [[solar variation]] and [[volcano]]es probably had a small warming effect from [[pre-industrial]] times to 1950 and a small cooling effect afterward.<ref name=Hegerl-2001>{{cite web|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_Ch09.pdf|format=PDF|title=Understanding and Attributing Climate Change|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2007|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]|last=Hegerl|first=Gabriele C.|coauthors=''et al.''|quote=Recent estimates indicate a relatively small combined effect of natural forcings on the global mean temperature evolution of the seconds half of the twentieth century, with a small net cooling from the combined effects of solar and volcanic forcings.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ammann|first=Caspar|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2007|title=Solar influence on climate during the past millennium: Results from transient simulations with the NCAR Climate Simulation Model|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=104|issue=10|pages=3713–3718|url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/104/10/3713.pdf|format=PDF|quote=Simulations with only natural forcing components included yield an early 20th century peak warming of ≈0.2&nbsp;°C (≈1950 AD), which is reduced to about half by the end of the century because of increased volcanism.|doi=10.1073/pnas.0605064103|pmid=17360418}}</ref> These basic conclusions have been [[Scientific opinion on climate change|endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science]],{{Cref2|B}} including all of the national academies of science of the [[G8|major industrialized countries]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Joint science academies' statement: Global response to climate change|author=[[Royal Society]]|url=http://royalsociety.org/displaypagedoc.asp?id=20742|accessdate=19 April 2009|date=2005}}</ref>
'''Global warming''' is the increase in the [[Instrumental temperature record|average temperature]] of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18&nbsp;°[[Celsius|C]] (1.33 ± 0.32&nbsp;°[[Fahrenheit|F]]) during the last century.<ref name="grida7"/>{{Cref2|A}} The [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC) concludes that [[anthropogenic]] [[greenhouse gas]]es are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century,<ref name="grida7">{{cite web|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_SPM.pdf|author=IPCC|format=PDF|title=Summary for Policymakers|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2007|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref> and that natural phenomena such as [[solar variation]] and [[volcano]]es probably had a small warming effect from [[pre-industrial]] times to 1950 and a small cooling effect afterward.<ref name=Hegerl-2001>{{cite web|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_Ch09.pdf|format=PDF|title=Understanding and Attributing Climate Change|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2007|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|last=Hegerl|first=Gabriele C.|coauthors=''et al.''|quote=Recent estimates indicate a relatively small combined effect of natural forcings on the global mean temperature evolution of the seconds half of the twentieth century, with a small net cooling from the combined effects of solar and volcanic forcings.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ammann|first=Caspar|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2007|title=Solar influence on climate during the past millennium: Results from transient simulations with the NCAR Climate Simulation Model|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=104|issue=10|pages=3713–3718|url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/104/10/3713.pdf|format=PDF|quote=Simulations with only natural forcing components included yield an early 20th century peak warming of ≈0.2&nbsp;°C (≈1950 AD), which is reduced to about half by the end of the century because of increased volcanism.|doi=10.1073/pnas.0605064103|pmid=17360418}}</ref> These basic conclusions have been [[Scientific opinion on climate change|endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science]],{{Cref2|B}} including all of the national academies of science of the [[G8|major industrialized countries]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Joint science academies' statement: Global response to climate change|author=Royal Society|url=http://royalsociety.org/displaypagedoc.asp?id=20742|accessdate=19 April 2009|date=2005}}</ref>


[[Climate model]] projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that global surface temperature will probably rise a further {{nowrap|1.1 to 6.4&nbsp;°C}} {{nowrap|(2.0 to 11.5&nbsp;°F)}} during the twenty-first century.<ref name="grida7" /> The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing [[climate sensitivity]], and the use of differing [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios|estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions]]. Some other [[uncertainty|uncertainties]] include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 even if emissions stop, because of the large [[heat capacity]] of the [[oceans]] and the long lifetime of [[CO2|carbon dioxide]] in the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~archer/reprints/archer.2005.fate_co2.pdf|format=PDF|first=David|last=Archer|title=Fate of fossil fuel {{chem|CO|2}} in geologic time|journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research]]|volume=110|issue=C9|pages=C09S05.1–C09S05.6|year=2005|doi=10.1029/2004JC002625}}</ref><ref name=solomon-2009>{{cite journal|author=Solomon, S., ''et al.''|year=2009|title=Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=106|number=6|pages=1704-1709|doi=10.1073/pnas.0812721106}}</ref>
[[Climate model]] projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that global surface temperature will probably rise a further {{nowrap|1.1 to 6.4&nbsp;°C}} {{nowrap|(2.0 to 11.5&nbsp;°F)}} during the twenty-first century.<ref name="grida7" /> The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing [[climate sensitivity]], and the use of differing [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios|estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions]]. Some other [[uncertainty|uncertainties]] include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 even if emissions stop, because of the large [[heat capacity]] of the [[oceans]] and the long lifetime of [[CO2|carbon dioxide]] in the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~archer/reprints/archer.2005.fate_co2.pdf|format=PDF|first=David|last=Archer|title=Fate of fossil fuel {{chem|CO|2}} in geologic time|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|volume=110|issue=C9|pages=C09S05.1–C09S05.6|year=2005|doi=10.1029/2004JC002625}}</ref><ref name=solomon-2009>{{cite journal|author=Solomon, S., ''et al.''|year=2009|title=Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=106|number=6|pages=1704-1709|doi=10.1073/pnas.0812721106}}</ref>


Increasing global temperature will cause [[sea level rise|sea levels to rise]] and will change the amount and pattern of [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]], probably including expansion of subtropical [[desert]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lu|first=Jian|xauthorlink=Jian Lu|coauthors=Gabriel A. Vecchi, Thomas Reichler|title=Expansion of the Hadley cell under global warming|journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]]|volume=34|date=2007|url=http://www.atmos.berkeley.edu/~jchiang/Class/Spr07/Geog257/Week10/Lu_Hadley06.pdf|doi=10.1029/2006GL028443|pages=L06805}}</ref> The continuing retreat of [[retreat of glaciers since 1850|glaciers]], [[permafrost]] and [[sea ice]] is expected, with the [[Arctic shrinkage|Arctic region]] being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the [[Amazon rainforest]] and [[Boreal forests]], increases in the intensity of [[extreme weather]] events, [[extinction risk from climate change|species extinctions]] and changes in [[agricultural yield]]s.
Increasing global temperature will cause [[sea level rise|sea levels to rise]] and will change the amount and pattern of [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]], probably including expansion of subtropical [[desert]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lu|first=Jian|xauthorlink=Jian Lu|coauthors=Gabriel A. Vecchi, Thomas Reichler|title=Expansion of the Hadley cell under global warming|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=34|date=2007|url=http://www.atmos.berkeley.edu/~jchiang/Class/Spr07/Geog257/Week10/Lu_Hadley06.pdf|doi=10.1029/2006GL028443|pages=L06805}}</ref> The continuing retreat of [[retreat of glaciers since 1850|glaciers]], [[permafrost]] and [[sea ice]] is expected, with the [[Arctic shrinkage|Arctic region]] being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the [[Amazon rainforest]] and [[Boreal forests]], increases in the intensity of [[extreme weather]] events, [[extinction risk from climate change|species extinctions]] and changes in [[agricultural yield]]s.


[[Politics of global warming|Political]] and [[global warming controversy|public debate]] continues regarding the appropriate response to global warming. The available options are [[Mitigation of global warming|mitigation]] to reduce further emissions; [[Adaptation to global warming|adaptation]] to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, [[geoengineering]] to reverse global warming. [[List of Kyoto Protocol signatories|Most national governments]] have signed and ratified the [[Kyoto Protocol]] aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
[[Politics of global warming|Political]] and [[global warming controversy|public debate]] continues regarding the appropriate response to global warming. The available options are [[Mitigation of global warming|mitigation]] to reduce further emissions; [[Adaptation to global warming|adaptation]] to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, [[geoengineering]] to reverse global warming. [[List of Kyoto Protocol signatories|Most national governments]] have signed and ratified the [[Kyoto Protocol]] aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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The greenhouse effect was discovered by [[Joseph Fourier]] in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by [[Svante Arrhenius]] in 1896.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect|work=The Discovery of Global Warming|url=http://www.aip.org/history/climate/co2.htm|accessdate=21 April 2009|year=2008|publisher=American Institute of Physics|author=Spencer Weart}}</ref> It is the process by which [[Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)|absorption]] and emission of [[infrared]] radiation by [[Atmosphere|atmospheric gases]] warm a [[planet]]'s lower atmosphere and surface. Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse effect was discovered by [[Joseph Fourier]] in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by [[Svante Arrhenius]] in 1896.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect|work=The Discovery of Global Warming|url=http://www.aip.org/history/climate/co2.htm|accessdate=21 April 2009|year=2008|publisher=American Institute of Physics|author=Spencer Weart}}</ref> It is the process by which [[Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)|absorption]] and emission of [[infrared]] radiation by [[Atmosphere|atmospheric gases]] warm a [[planet]]'s lower atmosphere and surface. Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.


Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33&nbsp;°C (59&nbsp;°F).<ref name="IPCC_WG1_AR4_Ch1">{{cite web|author=IPCC|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|title=Chapter 1: Historical Overview of Climate Change Science|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_Ch01.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=21 April 2009|year=2007|publisher=International Panel on Climate Change|quote=To emit 240 W m–2, a surface would have to have a temperature of around –19 °C. This is much colder than the conditions that actually exist at the Earth’s surface (the global mean surface temperature is about 14 °C). Instead, the necessary –19 °C is found at an altitude about 5 km above the surface.|pages=p97 (PDF page 5 of 36)|work=IPCC WG1 AR4 Report}}</ref>{{Cref2|C}} The major greenhouse gases are [[water vapor]], which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect ([[Cloud forcing|not including clouds]]); [[carbon dioxide]] (CO<sub>2</sub>), which causes 9–26 percent; [[methane]] (CH<sub>4</sub>), which causes 4–9 percent; and [[ozone]], which causes 3–7 percent.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/spring04/atmo451b/pdf/RadiationBudget.pdf|title=Earth’s Annual Global Mean Energy Budget|author=Kiehl, J.T. and K.E. Trenberth|format=PDF|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|pages=197–208|volume=78|issue=2|date=1997|accessdate=21 April 2009|doi=10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<0197:EAGMEB>2.0.CO;2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=142|year=6 Apr 2005|title=Water vapour: feedback or forcing?|author=Gavin Schmidt|publisher=[[RealClimate]]|accessdate=21 April 2009}}</ref>
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33&nbsp;°C (59&nbsp;°F).<ref name="IPCC_WG1_AR4_Ch1">{{cite web|author=IPCC|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|title=Chapter 1: Historical Overview of Climate Change Science|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_Ch01.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=21 April 2009|year=2007|publisher=International Panel on Climate Change|quote=To emit 240 W m–2, a surface would have to have a temperature of around –19 °C. This is much colder than the conditions that actually exist at the Earth’s surface (the global mean surface temperature is about 14 °C). Instead, the necessary –19 °C is found at an altitude about 5 km above the surface.|pages=p97 (PDF page 5 of 36)|work=IPCC WG1 AR4 Report}}</ref>{{Cref2|C}} The major greenhouse gases are [[water vapor]], which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect ([[Cloud forcing|not including clouds]]); [[carbon dioxide]] (CO<sub>2</sub>), which causes 9–26 percent; [[methane]] (CH<sub>4</sub>), which causes 4–9 percent; and [[ozone]], which causes 3–7 percent.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/spring04/atmo451b/pdf/RadiationBudget.pdf|title=Earth’s Annual Global Mean Energy Budget|author=Kiehl, J.T. and K.E. Trenberth|format=PDF|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|pages=197–208|volume=78|issue=2|date=1997|accessdate=21 April 2009|doi=10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<0197:EAGMEB>2.0.CO;2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=142|year=6 Apr 2005|title=Water vapour: feedback or forcing?|author=Gavin Schmidt|publisher=RealClimate|accessdate=21 April 2009}}</ref>


Human activity since the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]] has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased [[radiative forcing]] from CO<sub>2</sub>, [[methane]], tropospheric [[ozone]], [[CFC]]s and [[nitrous oxide]]. The [[Greenhouse gas#Increase of greenhouse gases|concentrations]] of CO<sub>2</sub> and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.<ref>{{cite web|author=EPA|date=2008|title=Recent Climate Change: Atmosphere Changes|work=Climate Change Science Program|url=http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/recentac.html|accessdate=21 April 2009|year=2007|publisher=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]]}}</ref> These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from [[ice core]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Neftel, A., E. Moor, H. Oeschger, and B. Stauffer|date=1985|title=Evidence from polar ice cores for the increase in atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> in the past two centuries|journal=Nature|volume=315|pages=45-47|doi=10.1038/315045a0}}</ref> Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO<sub>2</sub> values this high were last seen approximately 20 million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Pearson, P.N. and M.R. Palmer|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|title=Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 60 million years|date=2000|volume=406|issue=6797|pages=695–699|doi=10.1038/35021000}}</ref> [[Fossil fuel]] burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO<sub>2</sub> from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular [[deforestation]].<ref name=spm-2001>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/pdf/WG1_TAR-FRONT.pdf|format=PDF|title=Summary for Policymakers|author=IPCC|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=21 April 2009|date=2001|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref>
Human activity since the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]] has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased [[radiative forcing]] from CO<sub>2</sub>, [[methane]], tropospheric [[ozone]], [[CFC]]s and [[nitrous oxide]]. The [[Greenhouse gas#Increase of greenhouse gases|concentrations]] of CO<sub>2</sub> and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.<ref>{{cite web|author=EPA|date=2008|title=Recent Climate Change: Atmosphere Changes|work=Climate Change Science Program|url=http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/recentac.html|accessdate=21 April 2009|year=2007|publisher=United States Environmental Protection Agency}}</ref> These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from [[ice core]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Neftel, A., E. Moor, H. Oeschger, and B. Stauffer|date=1985|title=Evidence from polar ice cores for the increase in atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> in the past two centuries|journal=Nature|volume=315|pages=45-47|doi=10.1038/315045a0}}</ref> Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO<sub>2</sub> values this high were last seen approximately 20 million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Pearson, P.N. and M.R. Palmer|journal=Nature|title=Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 60 million years|date=2000|volume=406|issue=6797|pages=695–699|doi=10.1038/35021000}}</ref> [[Fossil fuel]] burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO<sub>2</sub> from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular [[deforestation]].<ref name=spm-2001>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/pdf/WG1_TAR-FRONT.pdf|format=PDF|title=Summary for Policymakers|author=IPCC|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=21 April 2009|date=2001|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref>


CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, [[sociology|sociological]], [[technology|technological]], and natural developments. Accordingly the IPCC [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios]] gives a wide range of future CO<sub>2</sub> scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/123.htm|author=Prentice, I.C., ''et al.''|title=The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: SRES scenarios and their implications for future CO2 concentration|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=21 April 2009|date=2001|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref> Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach these levels and continue emissions past 2100 if [[coal]], [[tar sands]] or [[methane clathrate]]s are extensively exploited.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc/emission/104.htm|author=Nakicenovic., N., ''et al.''|title=An Overview of Scenarios: Resource Availability|work=IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios|accessdate=21 April 2009|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2001}}</ref>
CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, [[sociology|sociological]], [[technology|technological]], and natural developments. Accordingly the IPCC [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios]] gives a wide range of future CO<sub>2</sub> scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/123.htm|author=Prentice, I.C., ''et al.''|title=The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: SRES scenarios and their implications for future CO2 concentration|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=21 April 2009|date=2001|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref> Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach these levels and continue emissions past 2100 if [[coal]], [[tar sands]] or [[methane clathrate]]s are extensively exploited.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc/emission/104.htm|author=Nakicenovic., N., ''et al.''|title=An Overview of Scenarios: Resource Availability|work=IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios|accessdate=21 April 2009|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2001}}</ref>
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{{main|Ozone depletion}}
{{main|Ozone depletion}}


The destruction of [[stratosphere|stratospheric]] ozone by [[chlorofluorocarbons]] is sometimes cited in relation to global warming. Although there are a few [[Ozone depletion#Ozone depletion and global warming|areas of linkage]] the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/Ozone/history.html|title=Ozone Depletion, History and politics|last=Sparling|first=Brien|date=May 30, 2001|publisher=[[NASA]]|accessdate=2009-02-15}}</ref> Tropospheric ozone is a positive forcing and contributes to surface warming.
The destruction of [[stratosphere|stratospheric]] ozone by [[chlorofluorocarbons]] is sometimes cited in relation to global warming. Although there are a few [[Ozone depletion#Ozone depletion and global warming|areas of linkage]] the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/Ozone/history.html|title=Ozone Depletion, History and politics|last=Sparling|first=Brien|date=May 30, 2001|publisher=NASA|accessdate=2009-02-15}}</ref> Tropospheric ozone is a positive forcing and contributes to surface warming.


===Solar variation===
===Solar variation===
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[[File:Solar-cycle-data.png|thumb|Solar variation over the last thirty years.]]
[[File:Solar-cycle-data.png|thumb|Solar variation over the last thirty years.]]


It has been suggested<ref>http://www.skepticalscience.com/solar-activity-sunspots-global-warming.htm</ref> that recent climate change may be due to variations in solar output,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_Ch02.pdf|last=Forster|first=Piers|coauthors=''et al.''|format=PDF|title=Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|pages=188-193|accessdate=2007-09-17|date=[[2007-02-05]]|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Bard|first=Edouard|coauthors=Frank, Martin|date=[[2006-06-09]]|title=Climate change and solar variability: What's new under the sun?|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|volume=248|issue=1-2|pages=1–14|url=http://www.ifm-geomar.de/fileadmin/personal/fb1/p-oz/mfrank/Bard_and_Frank_2006.pdf|accessdate=2007-09-17|doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2006.06.016|format=PDF}}</ref> and that climate models may overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse gases compared to solar forcing.<ref name=stott>{{Cite journal|first=Peter A.|last=Stott|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Do Models Underestimate the Solar Contribution to Recent Climate Change?|date=[[2003-12-03]]|journal=[[Journal of Climate]]|volume=16|issue=24|pages=4079–4093|doi=10.1175/1520-0442(2003)016<4079:DMUTSC>2.0.CO;2|accessdate=2007-04-16|url=http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/StottEtAl.pdf|format=PDF|year=2003}}</ref> Even with an enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid-20th century is attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.<ref name=stott /> Others have suggested that the Sun may have contributed about 45–50 percent of the increase in the average global surface temperature over the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35 percent between 1980 and 2000.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Nicola|last=Scafetta|coauthors=West, Bruce J.|title=Phenomenological solar contribution to the 1900–2000 global surface warming|url=http://www.fel.duke.edu/~scafetta/pdf/2005GL025539.pdf|format=PDF|date=[[2006-03-09]]|journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]]|volume=33|issue=5|id=L05708|doi=10.1029/2005GL025539|accessdate=2007-05-08|pages=L05708}}</ref> There has been no increase of solar brightness over the last 1,000 years.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Peter|last=Foukal|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Variations in solar luminosity and their effect on the Earth's climate.|date=[[2006-09-14]]|journal=[[Nature]]|accessdate=2007-04-16|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v443/n7108/abs/nature05072.html|doi=10.1038/nature05072|format=abstract|volume=443|pages=161}}</ref> [[Solar cycle]]s led to a negligible increase in brightness over the last 30 years, but this effect is too small to contribute significantly to global warming.<ref>{{cite pressrelease|title=Changes in Solar Brightness Too Weak to Explain Global Warming|url=http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/brightness.shtml#|publisher=[[National Center for Atmospheric Research]]|date=[[2006-09-14]]|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref> The combined effect of natural climate forcing, solar variation and changes in [[volcano|volcanic activity]], probably had a warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 but a cooling effect since.<ref name="grida7" /> An increase in solar activity should warm the [[stratosphere]], whereas an increase in greenhouse gases should produce cooling there.<ref name=Hegerl-2001 />
It has been suggested<ref>http://www.skepticalscience.com/solar-activity-sunspots-global-warming.htm</ref> that recent climate change may be due to variations in solar output,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_Ch02.pdf|last=Forster|first=Piers|coauthors=''et al.''|format=PDF|title=Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|pages=188-193|accessdate=2007-09-17|date=2007-02-05|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Bard|first=Edouard|coauthors=Frank, Martin|date=2006-06-09|title=Climate change and solar variability: What's new under the sun?|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|volume=248|issue=1-2|pages=1–14|url=http://www.ifm-geomar.de/fileadmin/personal/fb1/p-oz/mfrank/Bard_and_Frank_2006.pdf|accessdate=2007-09-17|doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2006.06.016|format=PDF}}</ref> and that climate models may overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse gases compared to solar forcing.<ref name=stott>{{Cite journal|first=Peter A.|last=Stott|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Do Models Underestimate the Solar Contribution to Recent Climate Change?|date=2003-12-03|journal=Journal of Climate|volume=16|issue=24|pages=4079–4093|doi=10.1175/1520-0442(2003)016<4079:DMUTSC>2.0.CO;2|accessdate=2007-04-16|url=http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/StottEtAl.pdf|format=PDF|year=2003}}</ref> Even with an enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid-20th century is attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.<ref name=stott /> Others have suggested that the Sun may have contributed about 45–50 percent of the increase in the average global surface temperature over the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35 percent between 1980 and 2000.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Nicola|last=Scafetta|coauthors=West, Bruce J.|title=Phenomenological solar contribution to the 1900–2000 global surface warming|url=http://www.fel.duke.edu/~scafetta/pdf/2005GL025539.pdf|format=PDF|date=2006-03-09|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=33|issue=5|id=L05708|doi=10.1029/2005GL025539|accessdate=2007-05-08|pages=L05708}}</ref> There has been no increase of solar brightness over the last 1,000 years.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Peter|last=Foukal|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Variations in solar luminosity and their effect on the Earth's climate.|date=2006-09-14|journal=Nature|accessdate=2007-04-16|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v443/n7108/abs/nature05072.html|doi=10.1038/nature05072|format=abstract|volume=443|pages=161}}</ref> [[Solar cycle]]s led to a negligible increase in brightness over the last 30 years, but this effect is too small to contribute significantly to global warming.<ref>{{cite pressrelease|title=Changes in Solar Brightness Too Weak to Explain Global Warming|url=http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/brightness.shtml#|publisher=National Center for Atmospheric Research|date=2006-09-14|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref> The combined effect of natural climate forcing, solar variation and changes in [[volcano|volcanic activity]], probably had a warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 but a cooling effect since.<ref name="grida7" /> An increase in solar activity should warm the [[stratosphere]], whereas an increase in greenhouse gases should produce cooling there.<ref name=Hegerl-2001 />


A related hypothesis is that magnetic activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Nigel|last=Marsh|coauthors=Henrik, Svensmark|title=Cosmic Rays, Clouds, and Climate|journal=Space Science Reviews|volume=94|number=1–2|pages=215–230|year=2000|month=November|url=http://www.dsri.dk/~hsv/SSR_Paper.pdf|format=PDF|doi=10.1023/A:1026723423896|accessdate=2007-04-17}}
A related hypothesis is that magnetic activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Nigel|last=Marsh|coauthors=Henrik, Svensmark|title=Cosmic Rays, Clouds, and Climate|journal=Space Science Reviews|volume=94|number=1–2|pages=215–230|year=2000|month=November|url=http://www.dsri.dk/~hsv/SSR_Paper.pdf|format=PDF|doi=10.1023/A:1026723423896|accessdate=2007-04-17}}
Line 67: Line 67:
Global near-surface temperatures have increased by {{nowrap|0.75&nbsp;°C (1.35&nbsp;°F)}} relative to the period 1860–1900, according to the [[instrumental temperature record]]. The [[urban heat island]] effect is estimated to account for about 0.02&nbsp;°C of warming since 1900.<ref>[http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter3.pdf Working group I, section 3.2.2.2 of the 2007 IPPC page 243]</ref> Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25&nbsp;°C per decade against 0.13&nbsp;°C per decade).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter3.pdf|title=IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Chapter 3|accessdate=2009-03-14|author=|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=2007-02-05|year=|month=|format=|work=|publisher=|location=|pages=237|language=|doi=|archiveurl=|archivedate=|dateformat=|quote=}}</ref> Temperatures in the lower [[troposphere]] have increased between 0.12 and 0.22&nbsp;°C (0.22 and 0.4&nbsp;°F) per decade since 1979, according to [[satellite temperature measurements]]. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the [[Temperature record of the past 1000 years|one or two thousand years]] before 1850, with possibly regional fluctuations such as the [[Medieval Warm Period]] or the [[Little Ice Age]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
Global near-surface temperatures have increased by {{nowrap|0.75&nbsp;°C (1.35&nbsp;°F)}} relative to the period 1860–1900, according to the [[instrumental temperature record]]. The [[urban heat island]] effect is estimated to account for about 0.02&nbsp;°C of warming since 1900.<ref>[http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter3.pdf Working group I, section 3.2.2.2 of the 2007 IPPC page 243]</ref> Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25&nbsp;°C per decade against 0.13&nbsp;°C per decade).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter3.pdf|title=IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Chapter 3|accessdate=2009-03-14|author=|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=2007-02-05|year=|month=|format=|work=|publisher=|location=|pages=237|language=|doi=|archiveurl=|archivedate=|dateformat=|quote=}}</ref> Temperatures in the lower [[troposphere]] have increased between 0.12 and 0.22&nbsp;°C (0.22 and 0.4&nbsp;°F) per decade since 1979, according to [[satellite temperature measurements]]. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the [[Temperature record of the past 1000 years|one or two thousand years]] before 1850, with possibly regional fluctuations such as the [[Medieval Warm Period]] or the [[Little Ice Age]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}}


Based on estimates by [[NASA]]'s [[Goddard Institute for Space Studies]] 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/|last=Hansen|first=James E.|authorlink=James Hansen|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Goddard Institute for Space Studies, GISS Surface Temperature Analysis|accessdate=2007-01-17|date=[[2006-01-12]]|publisher=NASA [[Goddard Institute for Space Studies]]}}</ref> Estimates prepared by the [[World Meteorological Organization]] and the [[Climatic Research Unit]] concluded that 2005 was the second warmest year, behind 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/press/2005-12-WMO.pdf|title=Global Temperature for 2005: second warmest year on record|accessdate=2007-04-13|date=[[2005-12-15]]|publisher=[[Climatic Research Unit]], School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/wcdmp/statement/documents/WMO998_E.pdf|format=PDF|title=WMO STATEMENT ON THE STATUS OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE IN 2005|accessdate=2009-04-24|date=[[2005-12-15]]|publisher=[[World Meteorological Organization]]}}</ref> Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest [[El Niño-Southern Oscillation]] in the past century occurred during that year.<ref name="Changnon2000">{{cite book|title=El Niño, 1997-1998: The Climate Event of the Century|last=Changnon|first=Stanley A.|authorlink=|coauthors=Bell, Gerald D.|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|isbn=0195135520|pages=}}</ref>
Based on estimates by [[NASA]]'s [[Goddard Institute for Space Studies]] 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/|last=Hansen|first=James E.|authorlink=James Hansen|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Goddard Institute for Space Studies, GISS Surface Temperature Analysis|accessdate=2007-01-17|date=2006-01-12|publisher=NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies}}</ref> Estimates prepared by the [[World Meteorological Organization]] and the [[Climatic Research Unit]] concluded that 2005 was the second warmest year, behind 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/press/2005-12-WMO.pdf|title=Global Temperature for 2005: second warmest year on record|accessdate=2007-04-13|date=2005-12-15|publisher=Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/wcdmp/statement/documents/WMO998_E.pdf|format=PDF|title=WMO STATEMENT ON THE STATUS OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE IN 2005|accessdate=2009-04-24|date=2005-12-15|publisher=World Meteorological Organization}}</ref> Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest [[El Niño-Southern Oscillation]] in the past century occurred during that year.<ref name="Changnon2000">{{cite book|title=El Niño, 1997-1998: The Climate Event of the Century|last=Changnon|first=Stanley A.|authorlink=|coauthors=Bell, Gerald D.|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|isbn=0195135520|pages=}}</ref>


Temperature changes vary over the globe. Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Land/sea warming ratio in response to climate change: IPCC AR4 model results and comparison with observations|author=Rowan T. Sutton, Buwen Dong, Jonathan M. Gregory|journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]]|volume=34|url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2006GL028164.shtml|doi=10.1029/2006GL028164|year=2007|accessdate=2007-09-19|pages=L02701}}</ref> The [[Northern Hemisphere]] has more land than the [[Southern Hemisphere]] so it warms faster. The Northern Hemisphere also has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to the ice-albedo feedback. Although more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.<ref>{{cite book|chapterurl=http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc_tar/?src=/CLIMATE/IPCC_TAR/WG1/127.htm|title=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis|chapter=Atmospheric Chemistry and Greenhouse Gases|url=http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc_tar/?src=/CLIMATE/IPCC_TAR/WG1/|author=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]|authorlink=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, UK|year=2001}}</ref> The [[Volumetric heat capacity|thermal inertia]] of the oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that climate can take centuries or longer to adjust to changes in forcing. [[Climate commitment]] studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels a further warming of about {{nowrap|0.5&nbsp;°C}} {{nowrap|(0.9&nbsp;°F)}} would still occur.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Meehl|first=Gerald A.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=[[2005-03-18]]|title=How Much More Global Warming and Sea Level Rise|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=307|issue=5716|pages=1769–1772|doi=10.1126/science.1106663|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/307/5716/1769.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-02-11|pmid=15774757}}</ref>
Temperature changes vary over the globe. Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Land/sea warming ratio in response to climate change: IPCC AR4 model results and comparison with observations|author=Rowan T. Sutton, Buwen Dong, Jonathan M. Gregory|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=34|url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2006GL028164.shtml|doi=10.1029/2006GL028164|year=2007|accessdate=2007-09-19|pages=L02701}}</ref> The [[Northern Hemisphere]] has more land than the [[Southern Hemisphere]] so it warms faster. The Northern Hemisphere also has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to the ice-albedo feedback. Although more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.<ref>{{cite book|chapterurl=http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc_tar/?src=/CLIMATE/IPCC_TAR/WG1/127.htm|title=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis|chapter=Atmospheric Chemistry and Greenhouse Gases|url=http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc_tar/?src=/CLIMATE/IPCC_TAR/WG1/|author=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|authorlink=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|year=2001}}</ref> The [[Volumetric heat capacity|thermal inertia]] of the oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that climate can take centuries or longer to adjust to changes in forcing. [[Climate commitment]] studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels a further warming of about {{nowrap|0.5&nbsp;°C}} {{nowrap|(0.9&nbsp;°F)}} would still occur.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Meehl|first=Gerald A.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2005-03-18|title=How Much More Global Warming and Sea Level Rise|journal=Science|volume=307|issue=5716|pages=1769–1772|doi=10.1126/science.1106663|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/307/5716/1769.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-02-11|pmid=15774757}}</ref>


==Feedback==
==Feedback==
Line 79: Line 79:
When a warming trend results in effects that induce further warming, the process is referred to as a positive feedback; when the warming results in effects that reduce the original warming, the process is referred to as a negative feedback. The main positive feedback involves the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The main negative feedback is the effect of temperature on emission of infrared radiation: as the temperature of a body increases, the emitted radiation [[Stefan–Boltzmann law|increases with the fourth power]] of its [[absolute temperature]].
When a warming trend results in effects that induce further warming, the process is referred to as a positive feedback; when the warming results in effects that reduce the original warming, the process is referred to as a negative feedback. The main positive feedback involves the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The main negative feedback is the effect of temperature on emission of infrared radiation: as the temperature of a body increases, the emitted radiation [[Stefan–Boltzmann law|increases with the fourth power]] of its [[absolute temperature]].


; [[Water vapor feedback]] : If the atmosphere is warmed the [[saturation vapour pressure]] increases, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will tend to increase. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas the increase in water vapor content makes the atmosphere warm further; this warming causes the atmosphere to hold still more water vapor (a [[positive feedback]]), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO<sub>2</sub> alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the [[relative humidity]] stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.<ref name="soden1">{{cite journal|first=Brian J.|last=Soden|coauthors=Held, Isacc M.|journal=[[Journal of Climate]]|title=An Assessment of Climate Feedbacks in Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Models|date=[[2005-11-01]]|volume=19|issue=14|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-04-21|quote=Interestingly, the true feedback is consistently weaker than the constant relative humidity value, implying a small but robust reduction in relative humidity in all models on average" "clouds appear to provide a positive feedback in all models|pages=3354–3360|doi=10.1175/JCLI3799.1}}</ref>
; [[Water vapor feedback]] : If the atmosphere is warmed the [[saturation vapour pressure]] increases, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will tend to increase. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas the increase in water vapor content makes the atmosphere warm further; this warming causes the atmosphere to hold still more water vapor (a [[positive feedback]]), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO<sub>2</sub> alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the [[relative humidity]] stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.<ref name="soden1">{{cite journal|first=Brian J.|last=Soden|coauthors=Held, Isacc M.|journal=Journal of Climate|title=An Assessment of Climate Feedbacks in Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Models|date=2005-11-01|volume=19|issue=14|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-04-21|quote=Interestingly, the true feedback is consistently weaker than the constant relative humidity value, implying a small but robust reduction in relative humidity in all models on average" "clouds appear to provide a positive feedback in all models|pages=3354–3360|doi=10.1175/JCLI3799.1}}</ref>


; [[Cloud feedback]] : Warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the [[list of cloud types|type]] and altitude of the cloud, details that are difficult to represent in climate models.<ref name="soden1" />
; [[Cloud feedback]] : Warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the [[list of cloud types|type]] and altitude of the cloud, details that are difficult to represent in climate models.<ref name="soden1" />
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[[File:Sea Ice MeltPonds.png|thumb|Aerial photograph showing a section of sea ice. The lighter blue areas are [[melt ponds]] and the darkest areas are open water, both have a lower albedo than the white sea ice. The melting ice contributes to the [[ice-albedo feedback]].]]
[[File:Sea Ice MeltPonds.png|thumb|Aerial photograph showing a section of sea ice. The lighter blue areas are [[melt ponds]] and the darkest areas are open water, both have a lower albedo than the white sea ice. The melting ice contributes to the [[ice-albedo feedback]].]]


; [[Ice-albedo feedback]] : When ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are on average less reflective than ice and thus absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and this cycle continues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/295.htm|last=Stocker|first=Thomas F.|coauthors=''et al.''|title=7.5.2 Sea Ice|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2007-02-11|date=[[2001-01-20]]|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref>
; [[Ice-albedo feedback]] : When ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are on average less reflective than ice and thus absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and this cycle continues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/295.htm|last=Stocker|first=Thomas F.|coauthors=''et al.''|title=7.5.2 Sea Ice|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2007-02-11|date=2001-01-20|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref>


; [[Arctic methane release]] : Warming is also the triggering variable for the release of methane from sources both on land and on the deep ocean floor, making both of these possible feedback effects. Thawing [[permafrost]], such as the frozen [[peat]] [[bog]]s in [[Siberia]], creates a [[positive feedback]] due to the potentially rapid release of CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub>.{{Fact|date=April 2009}}
; [[Arctic methane release]] : Warming is also the triggering variable for the release of methane from sources both on land and on the deep ocean floor, making both of these possible feedback effects. Thawing [[permafrost]], such as the frozen [[peat]] [[bog]]s in [[Siberia]], creates a [[positive feedback]] due to the potentially rapid release of CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub>.{{Fact|date=April 2009}}


; [[Carbon cycle|Reduced absorption of CO<sub>2</sub> by the oceans]] : Ocean ecosystems' ability to sequester carbon are expected to decline as the oceans warm. This is because warming reduces the nutrient levels of the [[mesopelagic zone]] (about 200 to 1000 m depth), which limits the growth of [[diatom]]s in favor of smaller [[phytoplankton]] that are poorer [[biological pump]]s of carbon.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Buesseler|first=Ken O.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=[[2007-04-27]]|title=Revisiting Carbon Flux Through the Ocean's Twilight Zone|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=316|issue=5824|pages=567–570|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/316/5824/567|accessdate=2007-11-16|format=abstract|doi=10.1126/science.1137959|pmid=17463282}}</ref>
; [[Carbon cycle|Reduced absorption of CO<sub>2</sub> by the oceans]] : Ocean ecosystems' ability to sequester carbon are expected to decline as the oceans warm. This is because warming reduces the nutrient levels of the [[mesopelagic zone]] (about 200 to 1000 m depth), which limits the growth of [[diatom]]s in favor of smaller [[phytoplankton]] that are poorer [[biological pump]]s of carbon.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Buesseler|first=Ken O.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2007-04-27|title=Revisiting Carbon Flux Through the Ocean's Twilight Zone|journal=Science|volume=316|issue=5824|pages=567–570|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/316/5824/567|accessdate=2007-11-16|format=abstract|doi=10.1126/science.1137959|pmid=17463282}}</ref>


==Climate models==
==Climate models==
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{{Double image stack|right|Global Warming Predictions.png|Global Warming Predictions Map.jpg|180|Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of [[climate model]]s under the [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios|SRES]] A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to reduce emissions.|The geographic distribution of surface warming during the 21<sup>st</sup> century calculated by the [[HadCM3]] climate model if a business as usual scenario is assumed for economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In this figure, the globally averaged warming corresponds to 3.0&nbsp;°C (5.4&nbsp;°F).}}
{{Double image stack|right|Global Warming Predictions.png|Global Warming Predictions Map.jpg|180|Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of [[climate model]]s under the [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios|SRES]] A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to reduce emissions.|The geographic distribution of surface warming during the 21<sup>st</sup> century calculated by the [[HadCM3]] climate model if a business as usual scenario is assumed for economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In this figure, the globally averaged warming corresponds to 3.0&nbsp;°C (5.4&nbsp;°F).}}


The main tools for projecting future climate changes are [[computer models]] of the climate. These [[Scientific modelling|models]] are based on physical principles including [[fluid dynamics]] and [[radiative transfer]]. Although they attempt to include as many processes as possible, simplifications of the actual climate system are inevitable because of the constraints of available computer power and limitations in knowledge of the climate system. All modern climate models include an atmospheric model that is coupled to an ocean model and models for ice cover on land and sea. Some models also include treatments of chemical and biological processes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter7.pdf|author=Denman, K.L., et al.|format=PDF|title=Chapter 7, Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry|work=Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2008-02-21|date=2007|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref> These models project a warmer climate due to increasing levels of greenhouse gases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sx6DFr8rbpIC&dq=robert+lanza&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=S7MXYzoDqR&sig=jfUo33FtVZ3PSUS2fcc_EtawEnQ|last=Hansen|first=James|title=Climatic Change: Understanding Global Warming|work=One World: The Health & Survival of the Human Species in the 21st century|accessdate=2007-08-18|year=2000|publisher=Health Press}}</ref> Although much of the variation in model outcomes depends on the greenhouse gas emissions used as inputs, the temperature effect of a specific greenhouse gas concentration ([[climate sensitivity]]) varies depending on the model used. The representation of clouds is one of the main sources of uncertainty in present-generation models.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/271.htm|last=Stocker|first=Thomas F.|coauthors=''et al.''|title=7.2.2 Cloud Processes and Feedbacks|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2007-03-04|date=2001|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref>
The main tools for projecting future climate changes are [[computer models]] of the climate. These [[Scientific modelling|models]] are based on physical principles including [[fluid dynamics]] and [[radiative transfer]]. Although they attempt to include as many processes as possible, simplifications of the actual climate system are inevitable because of the constraints of available computer power and limitations in knowledge of the climate system. All modern climate models include an atmospheric model that is coupled to an ocean model and models for ice cover on land and sea. Some models also include treatments of chemical and biological processes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter7.pdf|author=Denman, K.L., et al.|format=PDF|title=Chapter 7, Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry|work=Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2008-02-21|date=2007|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref> These models project a warmer climate due to increasing levels of greenhouse gases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sx6DFr8rbpIC&dq=robert+lanza&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=S7MXYzoDqR&sig=jfUo33FtVZ3PSUS2fcc_EtawEnQ|last=Hansen|first=James|title=Climatic Change: Understanding Global Warming|work=One World: The Health & Survival of the Human Species in the 21st century|accessdate=2007-08-18|year=2000|publisher=Health Press}}</ref> Although much of the variation in model outcomes depends on the greenhouse gas emissions used as inputs, the temperature effect of a specific greenhouse gas concentration ([[climate sensitivity]]) varies depending on the model used. The representation of clouds is one of the main sources of uncertainty in present-generation models.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/271.htm|last=Stocker|first=Thomas F.|coauthors=''et al.''|title=7.2.2 Cloud Processes and Feedbacks|work=Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2007-03-04|date=2001|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref>


Global climate model projections of future climate most often have used estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the IPCC [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios]] (SRES). In addition to human-caused emissions, some models also include a simulation of the [[carbon cycle]]; this generally shows a positive feedback, though this response is uncertain. Some observational studies also show a positive feedback.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Torn|first=Margaret|coauthors=Harte, John|date=2006|title=Missing feedbacks, asymmetric uncertainties, and the underestimation of future warming|journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]]|volume=33|issue=10|id=L10703|url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005GL025540.shtml|accessdate=2007-03-04|doi=10.1029/2005GL025540|pages=L10703}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Harte|first=John|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2006|title=Shifts in plant dominance control carbon-cycle responses to experimental warming and widespread drought|journal=Environmental Research Letters|volume=1|issue=1|id=014001|url=http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1748-9326/1/1/014001/erl6_1_014001.html|accessdate=2007-05-02|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/1/1/014001|pages=014001}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Scheffer|first=Marten|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Positive feedback between global warming and atmospheric CO2 concentration inferred from past climate change.|journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]]|volume=33|url=http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~victor/recent/scheffer_etal_T_CO2_GRL_in_press.pdf|doi=10.1029/2005gl025044|date=2006|accessdate=2007-05-04|pages=L10702|format=PDF}}</ref>
Global climate model projections of future climate most often have used estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the IPCC [[Special Report on Emissions Scenarios]] (SRES). In addition to human-caused emissions, some models also include a simulation of the [[carbon cycle]]; this generally shows a positive feedback, though this response is uncertain. Some observational studies also show a positive feedback.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Torn|first=Margaret|coauthors=Harte, John|date=2006|title=Missing feedbacks, asymmetric uncertainties, and the underestimation of future warming|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=33|issue=10|id=L10703|url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005GL025540.shtml|accessdate=2007-03-04|doi=10.1029/2005GL025540|pages=L10703}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Harte|first=John|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2006|title=Shifts in plant dominance control carbon-cycle responses to experimental warming and widespread drought|journal=Environmental Research Letters|volume=1|issue=1|id=014001|url=http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1748-9326/1/1/014001/erl6_1_014001.html|accessdate=2007-05-02|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/1/1/014001|pages=014001}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Scheffer|first=Marten|coauthors=''et al.''|title=Positive feedback between global warming and atmospheric CO2 concentration inferred from past climate change.|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=33|url=http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~victor/recent/scheffer_etal_T_CO2_GRL_in_press.pdf|doi=10.1029/2005gl025044|date=2006|accessdate=2007-05-04|pages=L10702|format=PDF}}</ref>


Including uncertainties in future greenhouse gas concentrations and climate sensitivity, the IPCC anticipates a warming of {{nowrap|1.1&nbsp;°C to 6.4&nbsp;°C}} {{nowrap|(2.0&nbsp;°F to 11.5&nbsp;°F)}} by the end of the 21st century, relative to 1980–1999.<ref name="grida7" /> A 2008 paper predicts that the global temperature will not increase during the next decade because of short-term natural climate cycles.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7191/abs/nature06921.html|title=Advancing decadal-scale climate prediction in the North Atlantic sector|author=N. S. Keenlyside, M. Latif, J. Jungclaus, L. Kornblueh2, E. Roeckner|date=2008|pages=84–88|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|issue=453|accessdate=2008-07-06|doi=10.1038/nature06921|volume=453}}</ref>
Including uncertainties in future greenhouse gas concentrations and climate sensitivity, the IPCC anticipates a warming of {{nowrap|1.1&nbsp;°C to 6.4&nbsp;°C}} {{nowrap|(2.0&nbsp;°F to 11.5&nbsp;°F)}} by the end of the 21st century, relative to 1980–1999.<ref name="grida7" /> A 2008 paper predicts that the global temperature will not increase during the next decade because of short-term natural climate cycles.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7191/abs/nature06921.html|title=Advancing decadal-scale climate prediction in the North Atlantic sector|author=N. S. Keenlyside, M. Latif, J. Jungclaus, L. Kornblueh2, E. Roeckner|date=2008|pages=84–88|journal=Nature|issue=453|accessdate=2008-07-06|doi=10.1038/nature06921|volume=453}}</ref>


Models are also used to help investigate the [[Attribution of recent climate change|causes of recent climate change]] by comparing the observed changes to those that the models project from various natural and human-derived causes. Although these models do not unambiguously attribute the warming that occurred from approximately 1910 to 1945 to either natural variation or human effects, they do indicate that the warming since 1975 is dominated by man-made [[greenhouse gas]] emissions.
Models are also used to help investigate the [[Attribution of recent climate change|causes of recent climate change]] by comparing the observed changes to those that the models project from various natural and human-derived causes. Although these models do not unambiguously attribute the warming that occurred from approximately 1910 to 1945 to either natural variation or human effects, they do indicate that the warming since 1975 is dominated by man-made [[greenhouse gas]] emissions.


Current climate models produce a good match to observations of global temperature changes over the last century, but do not simulate all aspects of climate.<ref name=spm-2001 /> The physical realism of models is tested by examining their ability to simulate current or past climates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter8.pdf|author=Randall, D.A., et al.|format=PDF|title=Chapter 8, Climate Models and Their Evaluation|work=Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2009-03-21|date=2007|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref> While a 2007 study by [[David Douglass]] and colleagues found that the models did not accurately predict observed changes in the tropical [[troposphere]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Douglass|first=David H.|authorlink=David Douglass|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2007|title=A comparison of tropical temperature trends with model predictions|journal=International Journal of Climatology|volume=9999|issue=9999|doi=10.1002/joc.1651|url=http://icecap.us/images/uploads/DOUGLASPAPER.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2008-05-12|pages=1693}}</ref> a 2008 paper published by a 17-member team led by [[Ben Santer]] noted errors in the Douglass study, and found instead that the models and observations were not statistically different.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Santer|first=B.D.|authorlink=Benjamin D. Santer|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2008|title=Consistency of modelled and observed temperature trends in the tropical troposphere|journal=International Journal of Climatology|volume=28|issue=13|doi=10.1002/joc.1756|url=https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/news_releases/2008/NR-08-10-05-article.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2008-10-22|pages=1703}}</ref> Not all [[effects of global warming]] are accurately predicted by the [[climate models]] used by the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]]. For example, observed [[Arctic shrinkage]] has been faster than that predicted.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1029/2007GL029703|title=Arctic sea ice decline: Faster than forecast|year=2007|author=Stroeve, J., ''et al.''|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=34|pages=L09501}}</ref>
Current climate models produce a good match to observations of global temperature changes over the last century, but do not simulate all aspects of climate.<ref name=spm-2001 /> The physical realism of models is tested by examining their ability to simulate current or past climates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter8.pdf|author=Randall, D.A., et al.|format=PDF|title=Chapter 8, Climate Models and Their Evaluation|work=Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2009-03-21|date=2007|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref> While a 2007 study by [[David Douglass]] and colleagues found that the models did not accurately predict observed changes in the tropical [[troposphere]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Douglass|first=David H.|authorlink=David Douglass|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2007|title=A comparison of tropical temperature trends with model predictions|journal=International Journal of Climatology|volume=9999|issue=9999|doi=10.1002/joc.1651|url=http://icecap.us/images/uploads/DOUGLASPAPER.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2008-05-12|pages=1693}}</ref> a 2008 paper published by a 17-member team led by [[Ben Santer]] noted errors in the Douglass study, and found instead that the models and observations were not statistically different.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Santer|first=B.D.|authorlink=Benjamin D. Santer|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2008|title=Consistency of modelled and observed temperature trends in the tropical troposphere|journal=International Journal of Climatology|volume=28|issue=13|doi=10.1002/joc.1756|url=https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/news_releases/2008/NR-08-10-05-article.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2008-10-22|pages=1703}}</ref> Not all [[effects of global warming]] are accurately predicted by the [[climate models]] used by the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]]. For example, observed [[Arctic shrinkage]] has been faster than that predicted.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1029/2007GL029703|title=Arctic sea ice decline: Faster than forecast|year=2007|author=Stroeve, J., ''et al.''|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=34|pages=L09501}}</ref>


==Attributed and expected effects==
==Attributed and expected effects==
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[[File:Glacier Mass Balance.png|thumb|Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to the [[World Glacier Monitoring Service|WGMS]] and the [[National Snow and Ice Data Center|NSIDC]].]]
[[File:Glacier Mass Balance.png|thumb|Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to the [[World Glacier Monitoring Service|WGMS]] and the [[National Snow and Ice Data Center|NSIDC]].]]


It usually is impossible to connect specific weather events to global warming. Instead, global warming is expected to cause changes in the overall distribution and intensity of events, such as changes to the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation. Broader effects are expected to include [[Glacier mass balance|glacial retreat]], [[Arctic shrinkage]], and worldwide [[sea level rise]]. Other effects may include changes in [[crop yields]], addition of new trade routes,<ref>{{cite news|first=Jennifer|last=Macey|title=Global warming opens up Northwest Passage|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/19/2037198.htm?section=business|publisher=ABC News|date=September 19, 2007|accessdate=2007-12-11}}</ref> species [[extinction risk from climate change|extinctions]],<ref name="ar4syn">{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf|format=PDF|title=Climate Change 2007: Synthesis report|work=Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report|accessdate=2009-02-03|date=2007-02-05|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref> and changes in the range of [[Vector (biology)|disease vectors]].
It usually is impossible to connect specific weather events to global warming. Instead, global warming is expected to cause changes in the overall distribution and intensity of events, such as changes to the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation. Broader effects are expected to include [[Glacier mass balance|glacial retreat]], [[Arctic shrinkage]], and worldwide [[sea level rise]]. Other effects may include changes in [[crop yields]], addition of new trade routes,<ref>{{cite news|first=Jennifer|last=Macey|title=Global warming opens up Northwest Passage|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/19/2037198.htm?section=business|publisher=ABC News|date=September 19, 2007|accessdate=2007-12-11}}</ref> species [[extinction risk from climate change|extinctions]],<ref name="ar4syn">{{cite web|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf|format=PDF|title=Climate Change 2007: Synthesis report|work=Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report|accessdate=2009-02-03|date=2007-02-05|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref> and changes in the range of [[Vector (biology)|disease vectors]].


Some effects on both the [[natural environment]] and [[civilization|human life]] are, at least in part, already being attributed to global warming. A 2001 report by the IPCC suggests that [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|glacier retreat]], [[Ice shelf#Ice shelf disruption|ice shelf disruption]] such as that of the [[Larsen Ice Shelf]], [[sea level rise]], changes in rainfall patterns, and increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are attributable in part to global warming.<ref name="tar_wg2">{{cite web|title=Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg2/index.htm|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]|date=[[2001-02-16]]|accessdate=2007-03-14}}</ref> Other expected effects include water scarcity in some regions and increased precipitation in others, changes in mountain snowpack, and adverse health effects from warmer temperatures.<ref>{{cite journal|author=McMichael AJ, Woodruff RE, Hales S|title=Climate change and human health: present and future risks|journal=Lancet|volume=367|issue=9513|pages=859–69|year=2006|pmid=16530580|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68079-3}}</ref>
Some effects on both the [[natural environment]] and [[civilization|human life]] are, at least in part, already being attributed to global warming. A 2001 report by the IPCC suggests that [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|glacier retreat]], [[Ice shelf#Ice shelf disruption|ice shelf disruption]] such as that of the [[Larsen Ice Shelf]], [[sea level rise]], changes in rainfall patterns, and increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are attributable in part to global warming.<ref name="tar_wg2">{{cite web|title=Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|url=http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg2/index.htm|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2001-02-16|accessdate=2007-03-14}}</ref> Other expected effects include water scarcity in some regions and increased precipitation in others, changes in mountain snowpack, and adverse health effects from warmer temperatures.<ref>{{cite journal|author=McMichael AJ, Woodruff RE, Hales S|title=Climate change and human health: present and future risks|journal=Lancet|volume=367|issue=9513|pages=859–69|year=2006|pmid=16530580|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68079-3}}</ref>


Social and economic effects of global warming may be exacerbated by [[Population growth|growing population]] densities in affected areas. Temperate regions are projected to experience some benefits, such as fewer cold-related deaths.<ref name="WGII SPM AR4">{{cite web|title=Summary for Policymakers|work=Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Working Group II Contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-spm.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]|date=[[2007-04-13]]|accessdate=2007-04-28}}</ref> A summary of probable effects and recent understanding can be found in the report made for the [[IPCC Third Assessment Report]] by Working Group II.<ref name="tar_wg2" /> The newer [[IPCC Fourth Assessment Report]] summary reports that there is observational evidence for an increase in intense [[tropical cyclone]] activity in the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] since about 1970, in correlation with the increase in sea surface temperature (see [[Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation]]), but that the detection of long-term trends is complicated by the quality of records prior to routine [[satellite]] observations. The summary also states that there is no clear trend in the annual worldwide number of tropical cyclones.<ref name="grida7" />
Social and economic effects of global warming may be exacerbated by [[Population growth|growing population]] densities in affected areas. Temperate regions are projected to experience some benefits, such as fewer cold-related deaths.<ref name="WGII SPM AR4">{{cite web|title=Summary for Policymakers|work=Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Working Group II Contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-spm.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2007-04-13|accessdate=2007-04-28}}</ref> A summary of probable effects and recent understanding can be found in the report made for the [[IPCC Third Assessment Report]] by Working Group II.<ref name="tar_wg2" /> The newer [[IPCC Fourth Assessment Report]] summary reports that there is observational evidence for an increase in intense [[tropical cyclone]] activity in the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] since about 1970, in correlation with the increase in sea surface temperature (see [[Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation]]), but that the detection of long-term trends is complicated by the quality of records prior to routine [[satellite]] observations. The summary also states that there is no clear trend in the annual worldwide number of tropical cyclones.<ref name="grida7" />


Additional anticipated effects include [[sea level rise]] of {{nowrap|0.18 to 0.59 meters}} {{nowrap|(0.59 to 1.9&nbsp;ft)}} in 2090-2100 relative to 1980-1999, <ref name="grida7" /> [[Climate change and agriculture|repercussions to agriculture]], [[Shutdown of thermohaline circulation|possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation]], reductions in the [[ozone layer]], increasingly intense (but less frequent)<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/ngeo202|title=Simulated reduction in Atlantic hurricane frequency under twenty-first-century warming conditions|year=2008|author=Knutson, Thomas R.|journal=Nature Geoscience|volume=1|pages=359}}</ref> hurricanes and extreme weather events, [[Ocean acidification|lowering]] of ocean [[pH]], oxygen depletion in the oceans,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Shaffer, G., S.M. Olsen and G.O.P Pederson|year=2009|title=Long-term ocean oxygen depletion in response to carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels|journal=Nature Geoscience|volume=2|pages=105-109|doi=10.1038/ngeo420}}</ref> and the spread of diseases such as [[malaria]] and [[dengue fever]],<ref name="wgIIc8">{{citation|chapter=Chapter 8: Human Health|chapter-url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-chapter8.pdf|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg2.htm|editor1-first=M.L.|editor1-last=Parry|editor2-first=O.F.|editor2-last=Canziani|editor3-first=J.P.|editor3-last=Palutikof|editor4-first=P.J.|editor4-last=van der Linden|editor5-first=C.E.|editor5-last=Hanson|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|place=[[Cambridge, United Kingdom]] and [[New York City|New York, NY, USA]].|author1-first=U.|author1-last=Confalonieri|author2-first=B.|author2-last=Menne|author3-first=R.|author3-last=Ebi|author4-first=K.L.|author5-first=M.|author5-last=Hauengue|author6-first=R.S.|author6-last=Kovats|author7-first=B.|author7-last=Revich|author8-first=A.|author8-last=Woodward |year=2007|title=Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|isbn=978 0521 88010-7|author=edited Martin Parry ...}}</ref><ref name="undp_summ">{{Citation|author=[[United Nations Development Program]]|series=[[Human Development Report]]|edition=2007/2008|contribution=Summary: Fighting climate change|title=Human Solidarity in a divided world|contribution-url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_Summary_English.pdf|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/chapters/|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|year=2008|isbn=0-230-54704-4}}</ref> as well as [[Lyme disease]], [[hantavirus infections]], [[bubonic plague]], and [[cholera]].<ref>[http://www.asm.org/ASM/files/CCPAGECONTENT/DOCFILENAME/0000006005/globalwarming%5B1%5D.pdf American Society for Microbiology “Global Environmental Change - Microbial Contributions, Microbial Solutions” p.5]</ref> One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be [[extinction risk from climate change|extinct]] by 2050, based on future climate projections.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Thomas|first=Chris D.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=[[2004-01-08]]|title=Extinction risk from climate change|journal=[[Nature (journal)|''Nature'']]|volume=427|issue=6970|pages=145–138|doi=10.1038/nature02121|url=http://www.geog.umd.edu/resac/outgoing/GEOG442%20Fall%202005/Lecture%20materials/extinctions%20and%20climate%20change.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-03-18}}</ref> However, few mechanistic studies have documented extinctions due to recent climate change<ref>{{cite journal|last=McLaughlin|first=John F.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=[[2002-04-30]]|title=Climate change hastens population extinctions|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|PNAS]]|volume=99|issue=9|pages=6070–6074|doi=10.1073/pnas.052131199|url=http://www.nd.edu/~hellmann/pnas.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-03-29|pmid=11972020}}</ref> and one study suggests that projected rates of [[Extinction risk from climate change|extinction]] are uncertain.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Botkin|first=Daniel B.|authorlink=|coauthors=''et al.''|year=2007|month=March|title=Forecasting the Effects of Global Warming on Biodiversity|journal=[[BioScience]]|volume=57|issue=3|pages=227–236|doi=10.1641/B570306|url=http://www.imv.dk/Admin/Public/DWSDownload.aspx?File=%2FFiles%2FFiler%2FIMV%2FPublikationer%2FFagartikler%2F2007%2F050307_Botkin_et_al.pdf|accessdate=2007-11-30|format=PDF}}</ref>
Additional anticipated effects include [[sea level rise]] of {{nowrap|0.18 to 0.59 meters}} {{nowrap|(0.59 to 1.9&nbsp;ft)}} in 2090-2100 relative to 1980-1999, <ref name="grida7" /> [[Climate change and agriculture|repercussions to agriculture]], [[Shutdown of thermohaline circulation|possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation]], reductions in the [[ozone layer]], increasingly intense (but less frequent)<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/ngeo202|title=Simulated reduction in Atlantic hurricane frequency under twenty-first-century warming conditions|year=2008|author=Knutson, Thomas R.|journal=Nature Geoscience|volume=1|pages=359}}</ref> hurricanes and extreme weather events, [[Ocean acidification|lowering]] of ocean [[pH]], oxygen depletion in the oceans,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Shaffer, G., S.M. Olsen and G.O.P Pederson|year=2009|title=Long-term ocean oxygen depletion in response to carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels|journal=Nature Geoscience|volume=2|pages=105-109|doi=10.1038/ngeo420}}</ref> and the spread of diseases such as [[malaria]] and [[dengue fever]],<ref name="wgIIc8">{{citation|chapter=Chapter 8: Human Health|chapter-url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-chapter8.pdf|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg2.htm|editor1-first=M.L.|editor1-last=Parry|editor2-first=O.F.|editor2-last=Canziani|editor3-first=J.P.|editor3-last=Palutikof|editor4-first=P.J.|editor4-last=van der Linden|editor5-first=C.E.|editor5-last=Hanson|publisher=Cambridge University Press|place=Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.|author1-first=U.|author1-last=Confalonieri|author2-first=B.|author2-last=Menne|author3-first=R.|author3-last=Ebi|author4-first=K.L.|author5-first=M.|author5-last=Hauengue|author6-first=R.S.|author6-last=Kovats|author7-first=B.|author7-last=Revich|author8-first=A.|author8-last=Woodward |year=2007|title=Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|isbn=978 0521 88010-7|author=edited Martin Parry ...}}</ref><ref name="undp_summ">{{Citation|author=United Nations Development Program|series=Human Development Report|edition=2007/2008|contribution=Summary: Fighting climate change|title=Human Solidarity in a divided world|contribution-url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_Summary_English.pdf|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/chapters/|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2008|isbn=0-230-54704-4}}</ref> as well as [[Lyme disease]], [[hantavirus infections]], [[bubonic plague]], and [[cholera]].<ref>[http://www.asm.org/ASM/files/CCPAGECONTENT/DOCFILENAME/0000006005/globalwarming%5B1%5D.pdf American Society for Microbiology “Global Environmental Change - Microbial Contributions, Microbial Solutions” p.5]</ref> One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be [[extinction risk from climate change|extinct]] by 2050, based on future climate projections.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Thomas|first=Chris D.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2004-01-08|title=Extinction risk from climate change|journal=Nature|volume=427|issue=6970|pages=145–138|doi=10.1038/nature02121|url=http://www.geog.umd.edu/resac/outgoing/GEOG442%20Fall%202005/Lecture%20materials/extinctions%20and%20climate%20change.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-03-18}}</ref> However, few mechanistic studies have documented extinctions due to recent climate change<ref>{{cite journal|last=McLaughlin|first=John F.|coauthors=''et al.''|date=2002-04-30|title=Climate change hastens population extinctions|journal=PNAS|volume=99|issue=9|pages=6070–6074|doi=10.1073/pnas.052131199|url=http://www.nd.edu/~hellmann/pnas.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2007-03-29|pmid=11972020}}</ref> and one study suggests that projected rates of [[Extinction risk from climate change|extinction]] are uncertain.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Botkin|first=Daniel B.|authorlink=|coauthors=''et al.''|year=2007|month=March|title=Forecasting the Effects of Global Warming on Biodiversity|journal=BioScience|volume=57|issue=3|pages=227–236|doi=10.1641/B570306|url=http://www.imv.dk/Admin/Public/DWSDownload.aspx?File=%2FFiles%2FFiler%2FIMV%2FPublikationer%2FFagartikler%2F2007%2F050307_Botkin_et_al.pdf|accessdate=2007-11-30|format=PDF}}</ref>


Increased atmospheric [[CO2|CO<sub>2</sub>]] increases the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> dissolved in the [[ocean]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://science.hq.nasa.gov/oceans/system/carbon.html|title=The Ocean and the Carbon Cycle|accessdate=2007-03-04|date=[[2005-06-21]]|work=[[NASA]]}}</ref> CO<sub>2</sub> dissolved in the ocean reacts with water to form [[carbonic acid]], resulting in [[ocean acidification]]. Ocean surface [[pH]] is estimated to have decreased from 8.25 near the beginning of the industrial era to 8.14 by 2004,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jacobson|first=Mark Z.|date=[[2005-04-02]]|title=Studying ocean acidification with conservative, stable numerical schemes for nonequilibrium air-ocean exchange and ocean equilibrium chemistry|journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research]]|volume=110|issue=D7|id=D07302|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/2004JD005220.pdf|format=PDF|doi=10.1029/2004JD005220|accessdate=2007-04-28|pages=D07302}}</ref> and is projected to decrease by a further 0.14 to 0.5 units by 2100 as the ocean absorbs more CO<sub>2</sub>.<ref name="grida7" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Caldeira|first=Ken|coauthors=Wickett, Michael E.|title=Ocean model predictions of chemistry changes from carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and ocean|journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research]]|volume=110|issue=C09S04|doi=10.1029/2004JC002671|pages=1–12|url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2005/2004JC002671.shtml|date=[[2005-09-21]]|accessdate=2006-02-14}}</ref> Since [[organism]]s and [[ecosystems]] are adapted to a narrow range of [[pH]], this raises [[extinction]] concerns, directly driven by increased atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, that could disrupt [[food chain#Food web|food webs]] and impact human societies that depend on marine ecosystem services.<ref>{{cite paper|author=Raven, John A.; ''et al.''|title=Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|date=[[2005-06-30]]|url=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/displaypagedoc.asp?id=13314|format=[[Active Server Pages|ASP]]|accessdate=2007-05-04}}</ref>
Increased atmospheric [[CO2|CO<sub>2</sub>]] increases the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> dissolved in the [[ocean]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://science.hq.nasa.gov/oceans/system/carbon.html|title=The Ocean and the Carbon Cycle|accessdate=2007-03-04|date=2005-06-21|work=NASA}}</ref> CO<sub>2</sub> dissolved in the ocean reacts with water to form [[carbonic acid]], resulting in [[ocean acidification]]. Ocean surface [[pH]] is estimated to have decreased from 8.25 near the beginning of the industrial era to 8.14 by 2004,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jacobson|first=Mark Z.|date=2005-04-02|title=Studying ocean acidification with conservative, stable numerical schemes for nonequilibrium air-ocean exchange and ocean equilibrium chemistry|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|volume=110|issue=D7|id=D07302|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/2004JD005220.pdf|format=PDF|doi=10.1029/2004JD005220|accessdate=2007-04-28|pages=D07302}}</ref> and is projected to decrease by a further 0.14 to 0.5 units by 2100 as the ocean absorbs more CO<sub>2</sub>.<ref name="grida7" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Caldeira|first=Ken|coauthors=Wickett, Michael E.|title=Ocean model predictions of chemistry changes from carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and ocean|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|volume=110|issue=C09S04|doi=10.1029/2004JC002671|pages=1–12|url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2005/2004JC002671.shtml|date=2005-09-21|accessdate=2006-02-14}}</ref> Since [[organism]]s and [[ecosystems]] are adapted to a narrow range of [[pH]], this raises [[extinction]] concerns, directly driven by increased atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, that could disrupt [[food chain#Food web|food webs]] and impact human societies that depend on marine ecosystem services.<ref>{{cite paper|author=Raven, John A.; ''et al.''|title=Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide|publisher=Royal Society|date=2005-06-30|url=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/displaypagedoc.asp?id=13314|format=ASP|accessdate=2007-05-04}}</ref>


===Economic===
===Economic===
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Some economists have tried to estimate the aggregate net economic costs of damages from climate change across the globe. Such estimates have so far yielded no conclusive findings; in a survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from [[United States dollar|US$]]-10 per tonne of carbon (tC) (US$-3 per tonne of carbon dioxide) up to [[US$]]350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide), with a mean of US$43 per tonne of carbon (US$12 per tonne of carbon dioxide).<ref name="WGII SPM AR4" />
Some economists have tried to estimate the aggregate net economic costs of damages from climate change across the globe. Such estimates have so far yielded no conclusive findings; in a survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from [[United States dollar|US$]]-10 per tonne of carbon (tC) (US$-3 per tonne of carbon dioxide) up to [[US$]]350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide), with a mean of US$43 per tonne of carbon (US$12 per tonne of carbon dioxide).<ref name="WGII SPM AR4" />


One widely publicized report on potential economic impact is the [[Stern Review]]. It suggests that extreme weather might reduce global [[gross domestic product]] by up to one percent, and that in a worst-case scenario global [[per capita]] consumption could fall 20 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6098362.stm|title=At-a-glance: The Stern Review|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=2007-04-29|date=[[2006-10-30]]}}</ref> The report's methodology, advocacy and conclusions have been criticized by many economists, primarily around the Review's assumptions of [[discounting]] and its choices of scenarios.<ref>{{cite journal|author=[[Richard Tol|Tol]] and [[Gary Yohe|Yohe]]|date=2006|title=A Review of the Stern Review|journal=World Economics|volume=7|issue=4|pages=233-250|url=http://www.fnu.zmaw.de/fileadmin/fnu-files/publication/tol/RM551.pdf}}</ref> Others have supported the general attempt to quantify economic risk, even if not the specific numbers.<ref>{{web cite|url=http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2006/12/do_unto_others.html|title=Do unto others...|work=Grasping Reality with Both Hands|date=18 December 2006|accessdate=06 April 2009|author=[[J. Bradford DeLong]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://johnquiggin.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/sternreviewed06121.pdf|title=Stern and his critics on discounting and climate change: an editorial essay|author=[[John Quiggin]]|journal=Climatic Change|volume=89|number=3-4|date=2008|doi=10.1007/s10584-008-9434-9|pages=195-205}}</ref>
One widely publicized report on potential economic impact is the [[Stern Review]]. It suggests that extreme weather might reduce global [[gross domestic product]] by up to one percent, and that in a worst-case scenario global [[per capita]] consumption could fall 20 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6098362.stm|title=At-a-glance: The Stern Review|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2007-04-29|date=2006-10-30}}</ref> The report's methodology, advocacy and conclusions have been criticized by many economists, primarily around the Review's assumptions of [[discounting]] and its choices of scenarios.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Tol and Yohe|date=2006|title=A Review of the Stern Review|journal=World Economics|volume=7|issue=4|pages=233-250|url=http://www.fnu.zmaw.de/fileadmin/fnu-files/publication/tol/RM551.pdf}}</ref> Others have supported the general attempt to quantify economic risk, even if not the specific numbers.<ref>{{web cite|url=http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2006/12/do_unto_others.html|title=Do unto others...|work=Grasping Reality with Both Hands|date=18 December 2006|accessdate=06 April 2009|author=J. Bradford DeLong}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://johnquiggin.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/sternreviewed06121.pdf|title=Stern and his critics on discounting and climate change: an editorial essay|author=John Quiggin|journal=Climatic Change|volume=89|number=3-4|date=2008|doi=10.1007/s10584-008-9434-9|pages=195-205}}</ref>


Preliminary studies suggest that costs and benefits of mitigating global warming are broadly comparable in magnitude.<ref>{{web cite|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38c1bfa0-09bd-11dd-81bf-0000779fd2ac.html|title=Full quote from IPCC on costs of climate change|author=Terry Barker|date=April 14, 2008|accessdate=2008-04-14|publisher=FT.com}}</ref>
Preliminary studies suggest that costs and benefits of mitigating global warming are broadly comparable in magnitude.<ref>{{web cite|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38c1bfa0-09bd-11dd-81bf-0000779fd2ac.html|title=Full quote from IPCC on costs of climate change|author=Terry Barker|date=April 14, 2008|accessdate=2008-04-14|publisher=FT.com}}</ref>


According to [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP), economic sectors likely to face difficulties related to climate change include [[bank]]s, [[Climate change and agriculture|agriculture]], transport and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/CEO_briefing_climate_change_2002_en.pdf|format=PDF|title=Climate Risk to Global Economy|last=Dlugolecki|first=Andrew|coauthors=''et al.''|work=CEO Briefing: UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group|publisher=[[United Nations Environment Programme]]|accessdate=2007-04-29|year=2002}}</ref> Developing countries dependent upon agriculture will be particularly harmed by global warming.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rff.org/Publications/Resources/Documents/164/RFF-Resources-164_Thomas%20Schelling.pdf|title=Thomas Schelling: Developing Countries Will Suffer Most from Global Warming|accessdate=2008-03-01|work=Resources 164|format=PDF}}</ref>
According to [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP), economic sectors likely to face difficulties related to climate change include [[bank]]s, [[Climate change and agriculture|agriculture]], transport and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/CEO_briefing_climate_change_2002_en.pdf|format=PDF|title=Climate Risk to Global Economy|last=Dlugolecki|first=Andrew|coauthors=''et al.''|work=CEO Briefing: UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group|publisher=United Nations Environment Programme|accessdate=2007-04-29|year=2002}}</ref> Developing countries dependent upon agriculture will be particularly harmed by global warming.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rff.org/Publications/Resources/Documents/164/RFF-Resources-164_Thomas%20Schelling.pdf|title=Thomas Schelling: Developing Countries Will Suffer Most from Global Warming|accessdate=2008-03-01|work=Resources 164|format=PDF}}</ref>


==Responses to global warming==
==Responses to global warming==
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====Emissions reduction====
====Emissions reduction====


The world's primary international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the [[Kyoto Protocol]], an amendment to the [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|UNFCCC]] negotiated in 1997. The Protocol now covers more than 160 countries and over 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/kyoto_protocol/application/pdf/kpstats.pdf|format=PDF|title=Kyoto Protocol Status of Ratification|publisher=[[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]]|date=[[2006-07-10]]|accessdate=2007-04-27}}</ref> Only the [[United States]] and [[Kazakhstan]] have not ratified the treaty, with the United States historically being the world's [[greenhouse gas emissions by the United States|largest emitter]] of greenhouse gases. The treaty expires in 2012. International talks began in May 2007 on a future treaty to succeed the current one.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/05/14/climate_talks_face_international_hurdles/ Climate talks face international hurdles], by Arthur Max, Associated press, 5/14/07.</ref> UN negotiations are now gathering pace in advance of a [[2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference|key meeting in Copenhagen]] in December 2009.<ref>{{cite web
The world's primary international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the [[Kyoto Protocol]], an amendment to the [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|UNFCCC]] negotiated in 1997. The Protocol now covers more than 160 countries and over 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/kyoto_protocol/application/pdf/kpstats.pdf|format=PDF|title=Kyoto Protocol Status of Ratification|publisher=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|date=2006-07-10|accessdate=2007-04-27}}</ref> Only the [[United States]] and [[Kazakhstan]] have not ratified the treaty, with the United States historically being the world's [[greenhouse gas emissions by the United States|largest emitter]] of greenhouse gases. The treaty expires in 2012. International talks began in May 2007 on a future treaty to succeed the current one.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/05/14/climate_talks_face_international_hurdles/ Climate talks face international hurdles], by Arthur Max, Associated press, 5/14/07.</ref> UN negotiations are now gathering pace in advance of a [[2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference|key meeting in Copenhagen]] in December 2009.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/14/global-warming-target-2c
|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/14/global-warming-target-2c
|quote=The poll comes as UN negotiations to agree a new global treaty to regulate carbon pollution gather pace in advance of a key meeting in Copenhagen in December. Officials will try to agree a successor to the Kyoto protocol, the first phase of which expires in 2012.
|quote=The poll comes as UN negotiations to agree a new global treaty to regulate carbon pollution gather pace in advance of a key meeting in Copenhagen in December. Officials will try to agree a successor to the Kyoto protocol, the first phase of which expires in 2012.
Line 167: Line 167:
There has also been [[business action on climate change]], including efforts to improve energy efficiency and limited moves towards use of [[alternative fuels]]. In January 2005 the European Union introduced its [[European Union Emission Trading Scheme]], through which companies in conjunction with government agree to cap their emissions or to purchase credits from those below their allowances. Australia announced its [[Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme]] in 2008. United States President [[Barack Obama]] has announced plans to introduce an economy wide [[cap and trade]] scheme.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/newenergy|title=Barack Obama and Joe Biden: New Energy for America|accessdate=2008-12-19}}</ref>
There has also been [[business action on climate change]], including efforts to improve energy efficiency and limited moves towards use of [[alternative fuels]]. In January 2005 the European Union introduced its [[European Union Emission Trading Scheme]], through which companies in conjunction with government agree to cap their emissions or to purchase credits from those below their allowances. Australia announced its [[Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme]] in 2008. United States President [[Barack Obama]] has announced plans to introduce an economy wide [[cap and trade]] scheme.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/newenergy|title=Barack Obama and Joe Biden: New Energy for America|accessdate=2008-12-19}}</ref>


The IPCC's Working Group III is responsible for crafting reports on mitigation of global warming and the costs and benefits of different approaches. The 2007 [[IPCC Fourth Assessment Report]] concludes that no one technology or sector can be completely responsible for mitigating future warming. They find there are key practices and technologies in various sectors, such as [[energy supply]], [[transport]]ation, [[industry]], and [[agriculture]], that should be implemented to reduced global emissions. They estimate that stabilization of [[carbon dioxide equivalent]] between 445 and 710 ppm by 2030 will result in between a 0.6 percent increase and three percent decrease in global [[gross domestic product]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arch.rivm.nl/env/int/ipcc/pages_media/FAR4docs/final_PDFs_ar4/SPM.pdf|format=PDF|title=Summary for Policymakers|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2007-12-09|date=[[2007-05-04]]|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref>
The IPCC's Working Group III is responsible for crafting reports on mitigation of global warming and the costs and benefits of different approaches. The 2007 [[IPCC Fourth Assessment Report]] concludes that no one technology or sector can be completely responsible for mitigating future warming. They find there are key practices and technologies in various sectors, such as [[energy supply]], [[transport]]ation, [[industry]], and [[agriculture]], that should be implemented to reduced global emissions. They estimate that stabilization of [[carbon dioxide equivalent]] between 445 and 710 ppm by 2030 will result in between a 0.6 percent increase and three percent decrease in global [[gross domestic product]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arch.rivm.nl/env/int/ipcc/pages_media/FAR4docs/final_PDFs_ar4/SPM.pdf|format=PDF|title=Summary for Policymakers|work=Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|accessdate=2007-12-09|date=2007-05-04|publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}</ref>


====Geoengineering====
====Geoengineering====
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{{Double image stack|right|GHG per capita 2000.svg|GHG by country 2000.svg|180|Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including [[Land use, land-use change and forestry|land-use change]].|Per country greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.}}
{{Double image stack|right|GHG per capita 2000.svg|GHG by country 2000.svg|180|Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including [[Land use, land-use change and forestry|land-use change]].|Per country greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.}}


Increased publicity of the scientific findings surrounding global warming has resulted in political and economic debate.<ref>{{Citation|first=Spencer|last=Weart|author-link=Spencer R. Weart|contribution=The Public and Climate Change|contribution-url=http://www.aip.org/history/climate/Public.htm|title=The Discovery of Global Warming|editor-first=Spencer|editor-last=Weart|editor-link=Spencer R. Weart|url=http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.html|publisher=[[American Institute of Physics]]|year=2006|access-date=2007-04-14}}</ref> Poor regions, particularly [[Africa]], appear at greatest risk from the projected effects of global warming, while their emissions have been small compared to the developed world.<ref>{{cite news|title=Poor Nations to Bear Brunt as World Warms|first=Andrew|last=Revkin|date=[[2007-04-01]]|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/science/earth/01climate.html?ex=1333080000&en=6c687d64add0b7ba&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref> At the same time, [[developing country]] exemptions from provisions of the [[Kyoto Protocol]] have been criticized by the [[United States]] and [[Australia]], and used as part of a rationale for continued non-ratification by the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|title=China's emissions may surpass the US in 2007|first=Catherine|last=Brahic|date=[[2006-04-25]]|publisher=[[New Scientist]]|url=http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11707-chinas-emissions-to-surpass-the-us-within-months.html|accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref> In the [[Western world]], the idea of human influence on climate has gained wider public acceptance in [[Europe]] than in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=More in Europe worry about climate than in U.S., poll shows|first=Thomas|last=Crampton|date=[[2007-01-04]]|publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]]|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/04/news/poll.php|accessdate=2007-04-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Summary of Findings|work=Little Consensus on Global Warming. Partisanship Drives Opinion|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|date=[[2006-07-12]]|accessdate=2007-04-14|url=http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=280}}</ref>
Increased publicity of the scientific findings surrounding global warming has resulted in political and economic debate.<ref>{{Citation|first=Spencer|last=Weart|author-link=Spencer R. Weart|contribution=The Public and Climate Change|contribution-url=http://www.aip.org/history/climate/Public.htm|title=The Discovery of Global Warming|editor-first=Spencer|editor-last=Weart|editor-link=Spencer R. Weart|url=http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.html|publisher=American Institute of Physics|year=2006|access-date=2007-04-14}}</ref> Poor regions, particularly [[Africa]], appear at greatest risk from the projected effects of global warming, while their emissions have been small compared to the developed world.<ref>{{cite news|title=Poor Nations to Bear Brunt as World Warms|first=Andrew|last=Revkin|date=2007-04-01|publisher=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/science/earth/01climate.html?ex=1333080000&en=6c687d64add0b7ba&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref> At the same time, [[developing country]] exemptions from provisions of the [[Kyoto Protocol]] have been criticized by the [[United States]] and [[Australia]], and used as part of a rationale for continued non-ratification by the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|title=China's emissions may surpass the US in 2007|first=Catherine|last=Brahic|date=2006-04-25|publisher=New Scientist|url=http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11707-chinas-emissions-to-surpass-the-us-within-months.html|accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref> In the [[Western world]], the idea of human influence on climate has gained wider public acceptance in [[Europe]] than in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=More in Europe worry about climate than in U.S., poll shows|first=Thomas|last=Crampton|date=2007-01-04|publisher=International Herald Tribune|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/04/news/poll.php|accessdate=2007-04-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Summary of Findings|work=Little Consensus on Global Warming. Partisanship Drives Opinion|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=2006-07-12|accessdate=2007-04-14|url=http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=280}}</ref>


The issue of climate change has sparked debate weighing the benefits of limiting [[industrial process|industrial]] [[Air pollution|emissions]] of [[greenhouse gas]]es against the [[Economics of global warming|costs]] that such changes would entail. There has been discussion in several countries about the cost and benefits of adopting [[Alternative energy|alternative energy sources]] in order to reduce carbon emissions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6432829.stm|title=EU agrees on carbon dioxide cuts|date=[[2007-03-09]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=2007-05-04}}</ref> Business-centered organizations, conservative commentators, and companies such as the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]] and [[ExxonMobil]] have downplayed IPCC climate change scenarios, funded scientists who disagree with the [[Scientific opinion on climate change|scientific consensus]], and provided their own projections of the economic cost of stricter controls.<ref>{{cite news|last=Begley|first=Sharon|title=The Truth About Denial|publisher=Newsweek|date=2007-08-13|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/32482|accessdate=2007-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Royal Society tells Exxon: stop funding climate change denial|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/sep/20/oilandpetrol.business|first=David|last=Adams|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|date=[[2006-09-20]]|accessdate=2007-08-09}}</ref><ref name="MSNBC 01-12">{{cite news|title=Exxon cuts ties to global warming skeptics|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16593606|publisher=[[MSNBC]]|date=[[2007-01-12]]|accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Report: Big Money Confusing Public on Global Warming|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Business/story?id=2767979&page=1|last=Sandell|first=Clayton|publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|date=[[2007-01-03]]|accessdate=2007-04-27}}</ref> Likewise, environmental organizations and a number of public figures have emphasized the potential risks of climate change and promote the implementation of GHG emissions reduction measures. Some fossil fuel companies have scaled back their efforts in recent years,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-05-18-greenpeace-exxon_N.htm|title=Greenpeace: Exxon still funding climate skeptics|date=[[2007-05-18]]|publisher=[[USA Today]]|accessdate=2007-07-09}}</ref> or called for policies to reduce global warming.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.ceres.org/news/news_item.php?nid=56|title=Global Warming Resolutions at U.S. Oil Companies Bring Policy Commitments from Leaders, and Record High Votes at Laggards|date=April 28, 2004|publisher=Ceres|accessdate=2007-07-27}}</ref>
The issue of climate change has sparked debate weighing the benefits of limiting [[industrial process|industrial]] [[Air pollution|emissions]] of [[greenhouse gas]]es against the [[Economics of global warming|costs]] that such changes would entail. There has been discussion in several countries about the cost and benefits of adopting [[Alternative energy|alternative energy sources]] in order to reduce carbon emissions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6432829.stm|title=EU agrees on carbon dioxide cuts|date=2007-03-09|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2007-05-04}}</ref> Business-centered organizations, conservative commentators, and companies such as the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]] and [[ExxonMobil]] have downplayed IPCC climate change scenarios, funded scientists who disagree with the [[Scientific opinion on climate change|scientific consensus]], and provided their own projections of the economic cost of stricter controls.<ref>{{cite news|last=Begley|first=Sharon|title=The Truth About Denial|publisher=Newsweek|date=2007-08-13|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/32482|accessdate=2007-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Royal Society tells Exxon: stop funding climate change denial|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/sep/20/oilandpetrol.business|first=David|last=Adams|publisher=The Guardian|date=2006-09-20|accessdate=2007-08-09}}</ref><ref name="MSNBC 01-12">{{cite news|title=Exxon cuts ties to global warming skeptics|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16593606|publisher=MSNBC|date=2007-01-12|accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Report: Big Money Confusing Public on Global Warming|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Business/story?id=2767979&page=1|last=Sandell|first=Clayton|publisher=ABC|date=2007-01-03|accessdate=2007-04-27}}</ref> Likewise, environmental organizations and a number of public figures have emphasized the potential risks of climate change and promote the implementation of GHG emissions reduction measures. Some fossil fuel companies have scaled back their efforts in recent years,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-05-18-greenpeace-exxon_N.htm|title=Greenpeace: Exxon still funding climate skeptics|date=2007-05-18|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2007-07-09}}</ref> or called for policies to reduce global warming.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.ceres.org/news/news_item.php?nid=56|title=Global Warming Resolutions at U.S. Oil Companies Bring Policy Commitments from Leaders, and Record High Votes at Laggards|date=April 28, 2004|publisher=Ceres|accessdate=2007-07-27}}</ref>


Another point of contention is the degree to which [[Newly industrialized country|emerging economies]] such as [[India]] and [[China]] should be expected to constrain their emissions. According to recent reports, China's [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions|gross national CO<sub>2</sub> emissions]] may now exceed those of the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7347638.stm|title=China now top carbon polluter|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=[[2008-04-14]]|accessdate=2008-04-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.theage.com.au/china-is-biggest-co2-emitter-research/20080415-26an.html|title=China is biggest CO2 emitter : research|publisher=[[The Age]]|date=[[2008-04-15]]|accessdate=2008-04-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-06-20-124188869_x.htm|title=Group: China tops world in CO2 emissions|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=[[2007-06-20]]|accessdate=2007-10-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/2007/06/20235536/China-surpassed-US-in-carbon-e.html|title=Group: China surpassed US in carbon emissions in 2006: Dutch report|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=[[2007-06-20]]|accessdate=2007-10-16}}</ref> China has contended that it has less of an obligation to reduce emissions since its [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita|per capita emissions]] are roughly one-fifth that of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|last=Casey|first=Michael|title=China Says West Should Deal With Warming|publisher=[[Newsvine|newsvine.com]]|date=2007-12-07|url=http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/12/07/1147788-china-says-west-should-deal-with-warming|accessdate=2009-06-06}}</ref> India, also exempt from Kyoto restrictions and another of the biggest sources of industrial emissions, has made similar assertions.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/science/earth/17glacier.html Glaciers in Retreat], by Somini Sengupta, 7/17/07, New York Times.</ref> The U.S. contends that if it must bear the cost of reducing emissions, then China should do the same.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6610653.stm Chinese object to climate draft], BBC, 5/1/07; [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060502546_2.html?hpid=topnews In Battle for U.S. Carbon Caps, Eyes and Efforts Focus on China],by Steven Mufson, Washington Post, 6/6/07.</ref>
Another point of contention is the degree to which [[Newly industrialized country|emerging economies]] such as [[India]] and [[China]] should be expected to constrain their emissions. According to recent reports, China's [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions|gross national CO<sub>2</sub> emissions]] may now exceed those of the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7347638.stm|title=China now top carbon polluter|publisher=BBC News|date=2008-04-14|accessdate=2008-04-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.theage.com.au/china-is-biggest-co2-emitter-research/20080415-26an.html|title=China is biggest CO2 emitter : research|publisher=The Age|date=2008-04-15|accessdate=2008-04-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-06-20-124188869_x.htm|title=Group: China tops world in CO2 emissions|publisher=Associated Press|date=2007-06-20|accessdate=2007-10-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/2007/06/20235536/China-surpassed-US-in-carbon-e.html|title=Group: China surpassed US in carbon emissions in 2006: Dutch report|publisher=Reuters|date=2007-06-20|accessdate=2007-10-16}}</ref> China has contended that it has less of an obligation to reduce emissions since its [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita|per capita emissions]] are roughly one-fifth that of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|last=Casey|first=Michael|title=China Says West Should Deal With Warming|publisher=Newsvine|date=2007-12-07|url=http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/12/07/1147788-china-says-west-should-deal-with-warming|accessdate=2009-06-06}}</ref> India, also exempt from Kyoto restrictions and another of the biggest sources of industrial emissions, has made similar assertions.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/science/earth/17glacier.html Glaciers in Retreat], by Somini Sengupta, 7/17/07, New York Times.</ref> The U.S. contends that if it must bear the cost of reducing emissions, then China should do the same.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6610653.stm Chinese object to climate draft], BBC, 5/1/07; [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060502546_2.html?hpid=topnews In Battle for U.S. Carbon Caps, Eyes and Efforts Focus on China],by Steven Mufson, Washington Post, 6/6/07.</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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Revision as of 05:12, 12 May 2009

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century.[1][A] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century,[1] and that natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect afterward.[2][3] These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science,[B] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.[4]

Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that global surface temperature will probably rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.[1] The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing climate sensitivity, and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Some other uncertainties include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[5][6]

Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts.[7] The continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with the Arctic region being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the Amazon rainforest and Boreal forests, increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions and changes in agricultural yields.

Political and public debate continues regarding the appropriate response to global warming. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Radiative forcing

The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcings, including changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, variations in Earth's orbit around the Sun, changes in solar luminosity, and volcanic eruptions.

Greenhouse gases

Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum is reached during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants remove some CO2 from the atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[8] It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface. Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F).[9][C] The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent; and ozone, which causes 3–7 percent.[10][11]

Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.[12] These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[13] Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2 values this high were last seen approximately 20 million years ago.[14] Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.[15]

CO2 concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. Accordingly the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.[16] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach these levels and continue emissions past 2100 if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.[17]

Aerosols and soot

Global dimming, a gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth's surface, has partially counteracted global warming from 1960 to the present.[18] The main cause of this dimming is aerosols produced by volcanic activity and emissions of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide. These aerosols exert a cooling effect by increasing the reflection of incoming sunlight. James Hansen and colleagues have proposed that the effects of the products of fossil fuel combustion—CO2 and aerosols—have largely offset one another in recent decades, so that net warming has been driven mainly by non-CO2 greenhouse gases.[19]

In addition to the direct effect that aerosols have on climate by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, they cause a number of indirect changes in the radiation budget.[20] Sulfate aerosols act as cloud condensation nuclei and thus lead to clouds that have more and smaller cloud droplets. These clouds reflect solar radiation more efficiently than clouds with fewer and larger droplets.[21] The modification of the droplets also results in them being closer to the same size, which results in less collision-coalescence. Clouds modified by pollution have been shown to produce less drizzle, making the cloud brighter and more reflective to incoming sunlight, especially in the near-infrared part of the spectrum.[22]

Soot may cool or warm, depending on whether it is airborne or deposited. Atmospheric soot aerosols directly absorb solar radiation, which heats the atmosphere and cools the surface. Regionally but not globally, as much as 50% of surface warming due to greenhouse gases may be masked by atmospheric brown clouds.[23] When deposited, especially on glaciers, or on ice in arctic regions, the lower surface albedo can also directly heat the surface.[24] The influences of aerosols, including black carbon, will be most pronounced in the tropics and sub-tropics, particularly in Asia, while the effects of greenhouse gases will be dominant in the extratropics and southern hemisphere.[25]

Ozone

The destruction of stratospheric ozone by chlorofluorocarbons is sometimes cited in relation to global warming. Although there are a few areas of linkage the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.[26] Tropospheric ozone is a positive forcing and contributes to surface warming.

Solar variation

Solar variation over the last thirty years.

It has been suggested[27] that recent climate change may be due to variations in solar output,[28][29] and that climate models may overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse gases compared to solar forcing.[30] Even with an enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid-20th century is attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.[30] Others have suggested that the Sun may have contributed about 45–50 percent of the increase in the average global surface temperature over the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35 percent between 1980 and 2000.[31] There has been no increase of solar brightness over the last 1,000 years.[32] Solar cycles led to a negligible increase in brightness over the last 30 years, but this effect is too small to contribute significantly to global warming.[33] The combined effect of natural climate forcing, solar variation and changes in volcanic activity, probably had a warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 but a cooling effect since.[1] An increase in solar activity should warm the stratosphere, whereas an increase in greenhouse gases should produce cooling there.[2]

A related hypothesis is that magnetic activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate.[34] Other research has found no relation between warming in recent decades and cosmic rays.[35][36] The influence of cosmic rays on cloud cover is two orders of magnitude lower than needed to explain the observed changes in clouds, and is not a significant contributor to present global warming.[37]

Temperature changes

Two millennia of mean surface temperatures according to different reconstructions, each smoothed on a decadal scale. The unsmoothed, annual value for 2004 is also plotted for reference.

Global near-surface temperatures have increased by 0.75 °C (1.35 °F) relative to the period 1860–1900, according to the instrumental temperature record. The urban heat island effect is estimated to account for about 0.02 °C of warming since 1900.[38] Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C per decade against 0.13 °C per decade).[39] Temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.12 and 0.22 °C (0.22 and 0.4 °F) per decade since 1979, according to satellite temperature measurements. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the one or two thousand years before 1850, with possibly regional fluctuations such as the Medieval Warm Period or the Little Ice Age.[citation needed]

Based on estimates by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree.[40] Estimates prepared by the World Meteorological Organization and the Climatic Research Unit concluded that 2005 was the second warmest year, behind 1998.[41][42] Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest El Niño-Southern Oscillation in the past century occurred during that year.[43]

Temperature changes vary over the globe. Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation.[44] The Northern Hemisphere has more land than the Southern Hemisphere so it warms faster. The Northern Hemisphere also has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to the ice-albedo feedback. Although more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.[45] The thermal inertia of the oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that climate can take centuries or longer to adjust to changes in forcing. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.[46]

Feedback

A drunken forest in Siberia caused by melting permafrost. Melting of permafrost releases methane into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.

When a warming trend results in effects that induce further warming, the process is referred to as a positive feedback; when the warming results in effects that reduce the original warming, the process is referred to as a negative feedback. The main positive feedback involves the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The main negative feedback is the effect of temperature on emission of infrared radiation: as the temperature of a body increases, the emitted radiation increases with the fourth power of its absolute temperature.

Water vapor feedback
If the atmosphere is warmed the saturation vapour pressure increases, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will tend to increase. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas the increase in water vapor content makes the atmosphere warm further; this warming causes the atmosphere to hold still more water vapor (a positive feedback), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO2 alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the relative humidity stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.[47]
Cloud feedback
Warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud, details that are difficult to represent in climate models.[47]
Lapse rate
The atmosphere's temperature decreases with height in the troposphere. Since emission of infrared radiation varies with the fourth power of temperature, longwave radiation escaping from the upper atmosphere to space is less than that emitted from the lower atmosphere toward the ground. Thus, the strength of the greenhouse effect depends on the atmosphere's rate of temperature decrease with height. Both theory and climate models indicate that global warming will reduce the rate of temperature decrease with height, producing a negative lapse rate feedback that weakens the greenhouse effect. Measurements of the rate of temperature change with height are very sensitive to small errors in observations, making it difficult to establish whether the models agree with observations.[48]
Aerial photograph showing a section of sea ice. The lighter blue areas are melt ponds and the darkest areas are open water, both have a lower albedo than the white sea ice. The melting ice contributes to the ice-albedo feedback.
Ice-albedo feedback
When ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are on average less reflective than ice and thus absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and this cycle continues.[49]
Arctic methane release
Warming is also the triggering variable for the release of methane from sources both on land and on the deep ocean floor, making both of these possible feedback effects. Thawing permafrost, such as the frozen peat bogs in Siberia, creates a positive feedback due to the potentially rapid release of CO2 and CH4.[citation needed]
Reduced absorption of CO2 by the oceans
Ocean ecosystems' ability to sequester carbon are expected to decline as the oceans warm. This is because warming reduces the nutrient levels of the mesopelagic zone (about 200 to 1000 m depth), which limits the growth of diatoms in favor of smaller phytoplankton that are poorer biological pumps of carbon.[50]

Climate models

The main tools for projecting future climate changes are computer models of the climate. These models are based on physical principles including fluid dynamics and radiative transfer. Although they attempt to include as many processes as possible, simplifications of the actual climate system are inevitable because of the constraints of available computer power and limitations in knowledge of the climate system. All modern climate models include an atmospheric model that is coupled to an ocean model and models for ice cover on land and sea. Some models also include treatments of chemical and biological processes.[51] These models project a warmer climate due to increasing levels of greenhouse gases.[52] Although much of the variation in model outcomes depends on the greenhouse gas emissions used as inputs, the temperature effect of a specific greenhouse gas concentration (climate sensitivity) varies depending on the model used. The representation of clouds is one of the main sources of uncertainty in present-generation models.[53]

Global climate model projections of future climate most often have used estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). In addition to human-caused emissions, some models also include a simulation of the carbon cycle; this generally shows a positive feedback, though this response is uncertain. Some observational studies also show a positive feedback.[54][55][56]

Including uncertainties in future greenhouse gas concentrations and climate sensitivity, the IPCC anticipates a warming of 1.1 °C to 6.4 °C (2.0 °F to 11.5 °F) by the end of the 21st century, relative to 1980–1999.[1] A 2008 paper predicts that the global temperature will not increase during the next decade because of short-term natural climate cycles.[57]

Models are also used to help investigate the causes of recent climate change by comparing the observed changes to those that the models project from various natural and human-derived causes. Although these models do not unambiguously attribute the warming that occurred from approximately 1910 to 1945 to either natural variation or human effects, they do indicate that the warming since 1975 is dominated by man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Current climate models produce a good match to observations of global temperature changes over the last century, but do not simulate all aspects of climate.[15] The physical realism of models is tested by examining their ability to simulate current or past climates.[58] While a 2007 study by David Douglass and colleagues found that the models did not accurately predict observed changes in the tropical troposphere,[59] a 2008 paper published by a 17-member team led by Ben Santer noted errors in the Douglass study, and found instead that the models and observations were not statistically different.[60] Not all effects of global warming are accurately predicted by the climate models used by the IPCC. For example, observed Arctic shrinkage has been faster than that predicted.[61]

Attributed and expected effects

Environmental

Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to the WGMS and the NSIDC.

It usually is impossible to connect specific weather events to global warming. Instead, global warming is expected to cause changes in the overall distribution and intensity of events, such as changes to the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation. Broader effects are expected to include glacial retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and worldwide sea level rise. Other effects may include changes in crop yields, addition of new trade routes,[62] species extinctions,[63] and changes in the range of disease vectors.

Some effects on both the natural environment and human life are, at least in part, already being attributed to global warming. A 2001 report by the IPCC suggests that glacier retreat, ice shelf disruption such as that of the Larsen Ice Shelf, sea level rise, changes in rainfall patterns, and increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are attributable in part to global warming.[64] Other expected effects include water scarcity in some regions and increased precipitation in others, changes in mountain snowpack, and adverse health effects from warmer temperatures.[65]

Social and economic effects of global warming may be exacerbated by growing population densities in affected areas. Temperate regions are projected to experience some benefits, such as fewer cold-related deaths.[66] A summary of probable effects and recent understanding can be found in the report made for the IPCC Third Assessment Report by Working Group II.[64] The newer IPCC Fourth Assessment Report summary reports that there is observational evidence for an increase in intense tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic Ocean since about 1970, in correlation with the increase in sea surface temperature (see Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), but that the detection of long-term trends is complicated by the quality of records prior to routine satellite observations. The summary also states that there is no clear trend in the annual worldwide number of tropical cyclones.[1]

Additional anticipated effects include sea level rise of 0.18 to 0.59 meters (0.59 to 1.9 ft) in 2090-2100 relative to 1980-1999, [1] repercussions to agriculture, possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation, reductions in the ozone layer, increasingly intense (but less frequent)[67] hurricanes and extreme weather events, lowering of ocean pH, oxygen depletion in the oceans,[68] and the spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever,[69][70] as well as Lyme disease, hantavirus infections, bubonic plague, and cholera.[71] One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be extinct by 2050, based on future climate projections.[72] However, few mechanistic studies have documented extinctions due to recent climate change[73] and one study suggests that projected rates of extinction are uncertain.[74]

Increased atmospheric CO2 increases the amount of CO2 dissolved in the oceans.[75] CO2 dissolved in the ocean reacts with water to form carbonic acid, resulting in ocean acidification. Ocean surface pH is estimated to have decreased from 8.25 near the beginning of the industrial era to 8.14 by 2004,[76] and is projected to decrease by a further 0.14 to 0.5 units by 2100 as the ocean absorbs more CO2.[1][77] Since organisms and ecosystems are adapted to a narrow range of pH, this raises extinction concerns, directly driven by increased atmospheric CO2, that could disrupt food webs and impact human societies that depend on marine ecosystem services.[78]

Economic

File:IPCC AR4 WGIII GHG concentration stabilization levels.png
The projected temperature increase for a range of stabilization scenarios (the colored bands). The black line in middle of the shaded area indicates 'best estimates'; the red and the blue lines the likely limits. From the work of IPCC AR4.

Some economists have tried to estimate the aggregate net economic costs of damages from climate change across the globe. Such estimates have so far yielded no conclusive findings; in a survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from US$-10 per tonne of carbon (tC) (US$-3 per tonne of carbon dioxide) up to US$350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide), with a mean of US$43 per tonne of carbon (US$12 per tonne of carbon dioxide).[66]

One widely publicized report on potential economic impact is the Stern Review. It suggests that extreme weather might reduce global gross domestic product by up to one percent, and that in a worst-case scenario global per capita consumption could fall 20 percent.[79] The report's methodology, advocacy and conclusions have been criticized by many economists, primarily around the Review's assumptions of discounting and its choices of scenarios.[80] Others have supported the general attempt to quantify economic risk, even if not the specific numbers.[81][82]

Preliminary studies suggest that costs and benefits of mitigating global warming are broadly comparable in magnitude.[83]

According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), economic sectors likely to face difficulties related to climate change include banks, agriculture, transport and others.[84] Developing countries dependent upon agriculture will be particularly harmed by global warming.[85]

Responses to global warming

The broad agreement among climate scientists that global temperatures will continue to increase has led some nations, states, corporations and individuals to implement responses. These responses to global warming can be divided into mitigation of the causes and effects of global warming, and adaptation to the changing global environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States, determined that carbon dioxide, and five other greenhouse gases, "endanger public health and welfare" of the American people. These gases, they said, contribute to climate change, which is causing more heat waves, droughts and flooding, and is threatening food and water supplies. [86]

Mitigation

Emissions reduction

The world's primary international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the UNFCCC negotiated in 1997. The Protocol now covers more than 160 countries and over 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.[87] Only the United States and Kazakhstan have not ratified the treaty, with the United States historically being the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The treaty expires in 2012. International talks began in May 2007 on a future treaty to succeed the current one.[88] UN negotiations are now gathering pace in advance of a key meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.[89]

Many environmental groups encourage individual action against global warming, as well as community and regional actions. Others have suggested a quota on worldwide fossil fuel production, citing a direct link between fossil fuel production and CO2 emissions.[90][91]

There has also been business action on climate change, including efforts to improve energy efficiency and limited moves towards use of alternative fuels. In January 2005 the European Union introduced its European Union Emission Trading Scheme, through which companies in conjunction with government agree to cap their emissions or to purchase credits from those below their allowances. Australia announced its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in 2008. United States President Barack Obama has announced plans to introduce an economy wide cap and trade scheme.[92]

The IPCC's Working Group III is responsible for crafting reports on mitigation of global warming and the costs and benefits of different approaches. The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report concludes that no one technology or sector can be completely responsible for mitigating future warming. They find there are key practices and technologies in various sectors, such as energy supply, transportation, industry, and agriculture, that should be implemented to reduced global emissions. They estimate that stabilization of carbon dioxide equivalent between 445 and 710 ppm by 2030 will result in between a 0.6 percent increase and three percent decrease in global gross domestic product.[93]

Geoengineering

Geoengineering is the deliberate modification of Earth's natural environment on a large scale to suit human needs.[94] An example is greenhouse gas remediation, which removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, usually through carbon sequestration techniques such as carbon dioxide air capture.[95] Solar radiation management reduces insolation, such as by the addition of stratospheric sulfur aerosols.[96]

Adaptation

A wide variety of measures have been suggested for adaptation to global warming. These range from the trivial, such as the installation of air-conditioning equipment, up to major infrastructure projects, such as abandonment of settlements threatened by sea level rise. Measures including water conservation,[97] changes to agricultural practices,[98] construction of flood defences,[99] changes to medical care,[100] and interventions to protect threatened species[101] have all been suggested. A wide ranging study of the possible opportunities for adaptation of infrastructure has been published by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers[102]

Economic and political debate

Increased publicity of the scientific findings surrounding global warming has resulted in political and economic debate.[103] Poor regions, particularly Africa, appear at greatest risk from the projected effects of global warming, while their emissions have been small compared to the developed world.[104] At the same time, developing country exemptions from provisions of the Kyoto Protocol have been criticized by the United States and Australia, and used as part of a rationale for continued non-ratification by the U.S.[105] In the Western world, the idea of human influence on climate has gained wider public acceptance in Europe than in the United States.[106][107]

The issue of climate change has sparked debate weighing the benefits of limiting industrial emissions of greenhouse gases against the costs that such changes would entail. There has been discussion in several countries about the cost and benefits of adopting alternative energy sources in order to reduce carbon emissions.[108] Business-centered organizations, conservative commentators, and companies such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and ExxonMobil have downplayed IPCC climate change scenarios, funded scientists who disagree with the scientific consensus, and provided their own projections of the economic cost of stricter controls.[109][110][111][112] Likewise, environmental organizations and a number of public figures have emphasized the potential risks of climate change and promote the implementation of GHG emissions reduction measures. Some fossil fuel companies have scaled back their efforts in recent years,[113] or called for policies to reduce global warming.[114]

Another point of contention is the degree to which emerging economies such as India and China should be expected to constrain their emissions. According to recent reports, China's gross national CO2 emissions may now exceed those of the U.S.[115][116][117][118] China has contended that it has less of an obligation to reduce emissions since its per capita emissions are roughly one-fifth that of the United States.[119] India, also exempt from Kyoto restrictions and another of the biggest sources of industrial emissions, has made similar assertions.[120] The U.S. contends that if it must bear the cost of reducing emissions, then China should do the same.[121]

See also

Template:Wikipedia-Books

Notes

  1. ^
    Global surface temperature is defined in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report as the average of near-surface air temperature over land and sea surface temperature. The ± values are estimated to a 90% certainty.
  2. ^
  3. ^
    Note that the greenhouse effect produces an average worldwide temperature increase of about 33 °C (59 °F) compared to black body predictions without the greenhouse effect, not an average surface temperature of 33 °C (91 °F). The average worldwide surface temperature is about 14 °C (57 °F).

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