Tunza: The UNEP Magazine for Youth, Volume 7, Number 2, 2009 Page: 5
23 p. : col. ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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4
VSEAL THE DEAL!
THERE'S NO TIME TO WASTE
Planet Earth needs our attention*
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All this is happening after comparatively modest increases
in temperature from global warming. So far these have only
risen by about 0.7C. But we are already committed to much
more warming because the greenhouse gases that we have
already released require decades to take full effect. In fact, our
past emissions have already committed us to another 0.5C
of warming, even if we stopped all emissions of greenhouse
gases tomorrow. That, some experts believe, would be enough
to bring severe drought to the US grain belt, which helps feed
more than 100 countries around the world.
Indeed, Britain's prestigious Hadley Centre for Climate
Prediction and Research has forecast that drought will spread
across half the Earth during the 21st century, with extreme
drought affecting a third of the planet, and agriculture be-
coming impossible in many currently productive areas.
Of course, an immediate halt in emissions is impossible,
and so temperatures are bound to go on rising, bringing
us perilously close to the 2C that scientists estimate is the
absolute maximum that should be permitted if the world is
to have a fighting chance of avoiding catastrophic climate
change (for projections of the possible consequences of each
degree of temperature rise see pages 22-23).
Whether the world succeeds in limiting the increase to this
crucial maximum will largely depend on the outcome of
vital negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009.U)
c-
. 1
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,-
oCLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS US ALL. Rising temperatures
and more frequent floods, droughts and storms are im-
pacting millions of people's Lives. Nine out of every ten
such disasters are now related to global warming. Those
are scary facts.
On 7 December 2009, world leaders wiLL gather in
Copenhagen, Denmark, to respond to one of the greatest
chaLLenges facing humanity: climate change and sus-
tainable economic growth. But how to protect the planet
and create a green economy that wiLL Lead to long-term
prosperity?
The negotiations in Copenhagen must answer this
question. Our existence depends on it.
Reaching a deal by the time the meeting ends on 18
December wiLL depend not only on poLiticaL negotiations
but aLso on pubLic pressure from around the gLobe. PubLic
support must be gaLvanized.
The UN-Led Seal the Deal campaign aims to motivate poL-
itical wiLL and pubLic support for a comprehensive gLobaL
cLimate agreement in Copenhagen in December.
YOU can join the Seal the Deal campaign. Sign an onLine,
gLobaL petition which wiLL be presented to worLd Leaders,
reminding them that they MUST negotiate a fair, baLanced
and effective agreement in Copenhagen, and that they must
seal a deal to power green growth, protect our pLanet and
buiLd a more sustainabLe, prosperous gLobaL economy for
the benefit aLL nations and aLL peopLe.
Find out more and make YOUR voice heard at
www.sea LthedeaL2009.orgThe road to Copenhagen 5
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Lean, Geoffrey. Tunza: The UNEP Magazine for Youth, Volume 7, Number 2, 2009, periodical, 2009; Nairobi, Kenya. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc28566/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .