Global warning: Act now or face consequences

WE refer to Scott Thong Yu Yuen’s letter ("The ‘science’ of a warming world" — NST, Aug 13) which questions global warming and perpetuates the view of a minority of sceptics.

This is despite the work of scientists who have contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which recently confirmed that global warming is a fact. It also said that global warming was linked directly to human activities, largely from the burning of fossil fuels and increased deforestation in the last 100 years. These activities have resulted in the excessive release of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.To continue to deny the science of climate change is to act at our own peril and doom.The rise in temperature from just 0.7°C (above pre-industrial levels) since the 1800s is causing mayhem in the global climate system with increased flooding, heatwaves, droughts, tropical storms and wildfires taking place everywhere.
The World Health Organisation estimated that in 2000, climate change caused 150,000 premature deaths a year.Sir Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics, and author of the Stern Review on the economics of climate change, said a lot of the economic and development consequences involved water, including melting glaciers, rising sea levels and heatwaves. Many of these effects are evident though the global temperature is only 0.7°C above pre-industrial levels.He said under the business-as-usual scenario, there could be a 50 per cent chance of a 5°C rise or more in temperature next century. If we do nothing, there could be a five per cent loss of world national income or more. Timely action could drastically reduce that risk, at a cost of one per cent of gross domestic product.The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average and is threatening the region’s people and ecosystems. Even a 1°C rise is expected to cause fish like the yellow tuna and dolphin to disappear in the Caribbean.In Malaysia, between 1968 and 2000, the average temperature has risen by 1°C. Studies by the Malaysian Meteorological Department show that a degree rise thereafter will cause a decline of between nine and 10 per cent in grain yield.And if the temperature rises higher than 31°C, it would mean a wipe out of 12 per cent of oil palm-yielding hectares.Fortunately, the country has begun to identify the implications of climate change on its people and the environment but more proactive and comprehensive measures are needed to reduce emission.Action is most needed in the area of transportation, which is the major contributor of carbon dioxide emissions in the country, followed by the industrial sector. Based on total final use in 1994, the transportation sector contributed 21,375 Gg (one Gg is one million kilogrammes) of carbon dioxide from fuel combustion. Instead of ensuring an integrated, efficient and clean public transport service, the country continues to encourage private-vehicle usage.There is also the problem of deforestation, resulting from large land clearing for development. Deforestation causes the release of carbon into the atmosphere that would have otherwise been absorbed by the forests. Between 1990 and 2005, Malaysia lost 6.6 per cent of its forest cover or 1,486,000 ha.Still, Malaysia’s annual deforestation rate has accelerated by 86 per cent between the close of 1990s and the 2000-2005 period. The country lost an average of 140,200ha or 0.65 per cent of its forest area per year since 2000. While the forest cover is said to be 60 per cent, less than 12 per cent of these forests are considered pristine.Distressing as it is to watch this happening, it is an issue the government must take into consideration to reduce the emissions and, hence, the impact on climate change.Critical time has been lost with the industrialised world being slow to wake up to the science of climate change and in continuing to increase their emissions of greenhouse gases despite the Kyoto Protocol commitments. The world will be looking to Bali come December when climate talks between the developed and developing world will start on a new international regime to combat climate change, with the conclusion of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.