What does the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report say?
The IPCC report broadly says that 2 degrees of warming is expected by, say, 2050 if we don’t cut emissions by 80 per cent. Most of the reduction in emissions has to come from the developed countries. Around 2 degrees of warming is very dangerous and if we go on with business as usual, the warming can go up to 5.7 degrees, which means near extinction of life on earth. So the IPCC strategy is to contain warming at 2 degrees which means 80 per cent reduction by 2050. What measures does IPCC suggest? Burning of fossil fuels is one of the biggest causes of emissions. Among fossil fuels, coal is the biggest polluter. The solution is to move towards a low-carbon energy economy. That means pushing renewable energy on a big scale. Do developed nations understand the seriousness of the issue? I think they do. Developed countries also stand to loose if developing countries go down because of their market presence in the latter. Besides, developed countries will have more adaptation problems becau
