Climate change is mainly caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG: CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, HFC, PFC, and SF 6 ), which accumulate in the earth's atmosphere and trap heat. The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a leading cause of global warming, continues to increase with world population growth and economic development. Human activities resulting in emission of GHG include: electricity generation from fossil fuel fired power plants (and thus use of electricity); GHG emission from manufacturing processes; transportation by gasoline driven vehicles; and methane gas emitted from solid waste landfill sites.  One scenario by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that a doubling of atmospheric equivalent CO2 concentration would increase the global temperature by approximately 2 degrees by the year 2100, resulting in a rise of around 50 cm (maximum of 95cm) in the sea level of the world's oceans .
In addition to change in global climate system and sea level rise, studies show that adverse events such as change in participation patterns, floods and droughts, desertification, frequent and stronger cyclones,  coastal flooding, effects on hydrology and eco-systems, effects on agriculture and fishery, and extended exposure to contagious diseases are likely to occur as a consequence of climate change.
While developing countries are said to be most vulnerable against these adverse effects of climate change , as in many cases lack the capacity to adapting to these changes, most of the GHG emitted and accumulated in the atmosphere up until now has been the by-product of the economic development of the industrialized countries . |
