CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change gives Social Scientists cause to reappraise their Current Preoccupations

Climate Change gives Social Scientists cause to reappraise their Current Preoccupations

Introduction

One of the greatest challenges to life across the world is climate change. It not only affects our environment but also our economy. As we all know that climate of the Earth is changing. In the past it has altered because of natural causes but now it has been seen as the changes which have occurred in the recent years and which will occur in the next 100 years as mainly due to human behaviour rather than natural changes in the atmosphere. The main reason for climate change is the green house effect which relates to the gases which keeps the Earth warm. The main gases which comprises of the green house effect are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc (McKibben, 2011, pp. 20-35). ''The greenhouse effect often gets a bad rap because of its association with global warming, but the truth is we couldn't live without it''.[ (Edwards, 2001, pp. 65-79) ]. But the excess of GHG has adversely affected many species of wildlife, cause heat waves and tropical diseases, change rainfall patterns and many more.

To prove whether the climate temperature is increasing the scientist has performed different models to measure the temperature. These models are: a) the readings of increasing surface temperature, b) readings taken from receding glaciers, c) the rise in sea level d) shrinkage in the ice covered area and many more. All these evidences show that the surface temperature of earth is rising.

Since technologies have always been cursed and benefited to the human being. The innovation in technologies which triggered the industrial revolution such as burning of fossil fuels for generation of electricity has now become the genesis of problem. Thus we can see that climate change is happening because of its linkage with the fossil fuels deforestation, rising pollution of seas and human behaviour. Hence we are paying very high price for the materialistic and the natural world is reacting to it. Therefore we need to change our behaviour in order to combat the emission of GHG (IPCC, 2007, pp. 125-178).

But certain sceptics have disagreed with the global predictions of climate change as they believe that the climate was changing naturally before and they have criticised the models used by the scientist. They believe that the change in climate cannot be blamed on human. Hence there is a strong debate between the policy makers and the sceptics which would be critically analysed. Then later on I will be discussing on how these evidences have an effect on corporate social responsibility and finally I would be discussing the reason for implementing Kyoto Protocol and how the multinational organisation respond to international regulations and how do they exploit the weakness in those regulations.

Why IPCC?

To get more reliable and consensual scientific climate data, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Programme set up a panel in 1988 named The Intergovernmental Panel ...