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31 May 05 Talking about global warming How can we combat climate change? Does climate change affect your life? Are you worried about the effects of global warming? The following comments reflect the balance of opinion that the BBC has received so far: If more funding was spent on realistic alternatives to environmentally damaging energy production and consumption, then the current calls for progress away from global warming would be given more of a direction. If harmful emissions and the like are too high, then industry and energy production need to be given viable alternatives to replace any cuts. Otherwise demands for reducing carbon dioxide emissions will either not be met, or just displace environmental losses to either social or economic areas. Mitch D'Arcy, Kent, UK The rich and the overpriviliged own the world, they always have. It doesn't matter how much we protest or vote, they are always in control and they don't plan on changing anything until they absolutely have to. By then it will be too late. Until a global disaster happens which affects everyone at once, things will not change for the better. Tomislav, San Francisco, CA, USA It is widely accepted in the scientific community that the Kyoto protocol is insufficient to prevent escalating carbon dioxide emissions. However, Kyoto facilitated co-operative international action and has undoubtedly raised public awareness over the reality and potential effects of climate change. The additional, self-imposed, targets of many countries, including the UK, and more recently businesses, all help but I doubt that climate change will be effectively combated until individuals learn to curb their consumerism. Daniel De Luca, Cambridge The climate change in my part of the world has brought immense impact on our lives. People have started fleeing their villages and settling in cities after the long drought spell. No rain means no crops and no crops means no living. The result is as eminent as that. Hadi Zaheer, Jaghoori, Afghanistan I think India is already experiencing a lot of problems. I went to my village this year and the people there were complaining that the local river used to be full of water in summer in olden days but does not have any water left in rainy season nowadays. Most of them have/and are planning to migrate to big cities to work in construction. Santosh, Hyderbad, India can talk about the pros and cons of climate change endlessly. What no one will address is the core problem, namely that there are just too many people in the world stripping the world's resources and hence damaging the environment. We can address the issues raised within the Kyoto Protocol but unless we start to reduce the ever expanding population we will end up killing ourselves and all living creatures on this planet! Dave, Chatham UK For a developing country like Pakistan with only 6% forested area, climate change is posing a major challenge to the government. Recently due to the tsunami phenomenon in East Asia we have experienced a harsh winter with some cities witnessing record breaking snowfalls. Sabeehuddin Hasan, Lahore, Pakistan The climate on Earth has always been changeable. Back in the days of Charles Dickens it was so cold in winter that the Thames used to freeze over and they held fairs on it. Life on earth has been subject to changing climate from day one - in the same way we will adapt to live with any future changes in climate. We should 'tackle' the problem by learning to live with it, not by hasty and pointless things like Kyoto which can only damage our economies. Roger Price, Reading, UK Countries like USA, China, India etc. will not want any restrictions on them as they compete for economic dominance. They do not care what the costs are until it is too late. It's a frightening fact and a terrible legacy we are creating here. I hate to say this but it probably needs a natural catastrophe of massive proportions affecting us all globally to wake everyone up and make us realise we are but a whisker away from a complete mess. Gary Lister, Waltham, UK The necessary measures to combat global warming will involve some sort of economic sacrifice. In the short term we will all be worse off. That being so I don't think that any politician has got the balls to propose any effective measures. Brian Bailey, Winterthur, Switzerland Europeans are convinced that reduction in greenhouse gases is the key to saving the world from global warming. Europeans are indifferent to the economic unfairness America sees in the sacrifices of compling with Kyoto. When it is pointed out that Kyoto would not make much impact, Europeans say these cuts are just the beginning and there will be more severe cuts to follow. The EU economy is collectively larger than the US. Therefore, if the EU countries double their reductions called for under Kyoto, they will get all of the benefits had the US complied and they are apparantly prepared to make deeper cuts anyway. What's the matter Europe, would that be unfair? Well, maybe it just depends on whose ox is gored and just perhaps, Kyoto has less to do with climate change than it does with America bashing. Mark, USA links Related articles on Global issues: global warming issues, policies |
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