Global Warming in Kiribati (PDF)

III- Global warming in the pacific (Kiribati) Greenhouse gases are gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. They let sunlight in but prevent some of the heat from escaping back into space. This process helps keep the planet warm enough to support life. The main greenhouse gases are: - car...

III- Global warming in the pacific (Kiribati) Greenhouse gases are gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. They let sunlight in but prevent some of the heat from escaping back into space. This process helps keep the planet warm enough to support life. The main greenhouse gases are: - carbon dioxide - fluorinated gases - methane - nitrous oxide 1972 : 1st earth planet summit A- Kiribati Pacific atoll country with 119 000 people over 4000km Made up of 33 atolls > 20 of which are inhabited Max altitude of 1,8m above sea level Global sea levels have already risen by 10,3 cm between 1993 and 2024 = 3,32cm per year (over 31years) The Pacific Ocean contains nearly half (46%) of the Earth’s seawater > If the Pacific Ocean is the world’s biggest ocean, it stands to reason that it is absorbing more “heat” than any other ocean. > The Pacific Ocean has warmed 0.9°C during the past 100 years, 15 times faster than during the previous 10,000 years > sea levels will rise by about 0.6 meters before the year 2100. This is mainly because of the greenhouse gas emissions that have already been released into the atmosphere. In 2013, a Tokyo-based construction company proposed a city that floats on vast "lilypads" for Kiribati. Kiribati is already preparing for being inundated with: buying land in a higher country (Fiji) / telling inhabitants to live elsewhere (Australia + NZ) / providing future revenue (marine reserve) Kiribati is not alone : -Maldives airport (Indian Ocean) -the Marshall Islands (home to Marshall Islanders for 3 000years) -Tuvalu > highest point 3cm above sea level -Funafuti island > Fongafale = main town + 57% of the pop lives 3m above sea level -Tokelau (home to Tokelauans for 1000 years) = Injustice > don’t pollute at all B- World Global warming 3/4 of all large cities are located on the coast We (humans) have known about this phenonium this since at least 1972. Isaac Newtown (1666) = 1st person tu understand the principles of gravity Joseph Fourier, french mathematician/physicist = 1820s, the first person to understand that the earth’s gravity had created an ozone. Gravity provides the earth with a shield from the sun and an atmosphere trap 60km from earth. 1886 : Swedish scientist, Svante Arrhenius was the 1st person to believe that fossil fuel combustion may enhance the ozone and therefore global warming. The IPCC created in 1988 Some scientists have caused confusion that global warming isn’t happening / if you can’t see it, it can’t be happening / it’s natural / just a theory / bad joke / generally beneficial / is unstoppable / that we are solving the problem Global warming def = an increase in air and sea surface temperatures averaged over the globe and over a 30 year period and compared to the 1850-1900 (pré-industrial period) temperatures The IPCC 2021 Report : human activity has already warmed the climate system > approximately 1.1°C of warming since the industrial revolution.