Climate Change, Global Warming and Carbon Trading System

MUSOMA RURAL-It is now very undeniable that global warming is a reality and is caused by global climate change. It is also well documented that human-induced hazards and disasters are affecting all humanity around the world.

The last three weeks' extreme weather conditions are ubiquitous on the Earth's surface - extreme heat and concomitant deadly heat waves, wildfires, damaging winds, flooding, landslides, ocean waters with high temperatures above normal by a magnitude of 3-5°C (e.g. southern Europe), etc.

Today, the Mediterranean region, especially the Islands of Greece (e.g., Rhodes and Corfu), Italy (Sardinia and Sicily), Algeria and Tunisia, is a vivid testimony for human-induced global warming with temperatures reaching record heat of about 44-46°C.

The world's highest recorded temperatures are 56.7°C in California's Death Valley in 1913 and 55°C in Kebili, Tunisia, in 1931!.Extreme heat has always impacted the socio-economic systems of all nations around the world!.

What causes climate change and global warming?

These two are interwoven. Global warming is a derivative of climate change and vice-versa. They both result from shifts or changes in temperature and weather patterns. The causes are both natural (e.g., volcanic eruptions) and human-induced (i.e., anthropologic activities - deforestation, use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers, increased livestock farming).

Since the 1800s, human activities have been the main cause of climate change! This is brought about by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases [carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and water vapour (H2O)] in the Earth's atmosphere, through primarily burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal).

Climate scientists argue that before the industrial revolution, and for approximately 6,000 years of human civilization, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were low and consistently about 280 ppm.

The period 1850-1900 is considered as the "pre-industrial," and since then, humans have generated approximately 1.5 trillion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), which continue warming the atmosphere.

Thus, from the above facts, there is a strong positive correlation between population growth, industrialisation, and carbon emissions.

In 1850, the world's population was about 1.2 billion people (Africa: 103 million), and today, the world's population is at 8.05 billion (Africa: 1.46 billion). Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere as a result of fossil fuel combustion and land-use change are estimated at approximately 2,500 billion metric tons (GtCO₂), since 1850!

The 2019 top three greenhouse gas (GhG) emitters were:

*China: 10,065 million tons (27% of the world's GhG)

*USA: 5,416 million tons (11%)

*India: 2,654 million tons (6.6%)

The Kyoto Protocol:

On 11.12.1997, Kyoto Protocol was adopted. This protocol was the first international treaty aiming to cut down greenhouse gas emissions, mostly by developed countries - thus, to slow down climate change. It came into force in 2005 and was replaced by the Paris Agreement - regarded as a shared climate crisis initiative by all countries in the world.

The Paris Agreement:

This Agreement was entered into force on 4.11. 2016. It is a global framework aiming at limiting global warming to well below 2°C and putting in efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. Each country is obliged to publish greenhouse gas reduction targets. The prime objective here is to negate catastrophic climate change with its negative consequences!

This Agreement also aims to strengthen and support countries' ability (especially the poorer ones) to deal with the impacts of climate change.

Carbon Trading System

With reference to the international legally binding Paris Agreement on climate change, all the 196 Parties (or countries, COP 21), which adopted it on 12.12.2015, are obliged to work towards the achievement of its goals.

The carbon emissions trading system is a platform for international partnerships aimed to address climate crisis by reducing carbon emissions. It revolves around carbon credit offsets for the pledged carbon (or GhG) emissions of companies and governments.

Carbon (or GhG) trade works as follows: one (1) carbon credit is earned through the destruction, reduction, or capture of one (1) verifiable metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). The earned carbon credits may be sold to the markets - countries where reduction of carbon (or GhG) is costly.

The prices for the carbon credits are determined by the contemporary carbon credit markets, i.e., companies and investors buying and selling carbon credits. Thus, the issue of supply and demand is intact, and prices may reach USD 80 per metric ton.

Africa's climate change experts may have the wit to persuade their respective countries to enter into this lucrative global carbon trade business.

Sospeter Muhongo
Officier, Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Thursday, 27.7.2023