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78-462: The Global Warming Policy Foundation ( GWPF ) is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom whose aims are to challenge what it calls "extremely damaging and harmful policies" envisaged by governments to mitigate anthropogenic global warming . The GWPF, and some of its prominent members individually, have been characterised as practising and promoting climate change denial . In 2014, when

156-567: A Parliamentary select committee which scrutinises government actions in relation to topics including climate change. Another trustee, Steve Baker MP , sat on the House of Commons' Treasury Select Committee for many years. In February 2023, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott joined the board of the Foundation. In October 2023, it was reported in Computer Weekly that John Constable of

234-416: A plant-based diet , having fewer children, using clothes and electrical products for longer, and electrifying homes. These approaches are more practical for people in high-income countries with high-consumption lifestyles. Naturally, it is more difficult for those with lower income statuses to make these changes. This is because choices like electric-powered cars may not be available. Excessive consumption

312-570: A "serious incident" to the Charity Commission. In July 2024, the Charity Commission announced that it had concluded its investigation. It said that it was "satisfied the concerns raised are now resolved". The Good Law Project said the decision was "startling". The GWPF's first act was to call for a high-level, independent inquiry into the hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia 's Climatic Research Unit . Nigel Lawson suggested that

390-636: A bigger effect than population growth. Rising incomes, changes in consumption and dietary patterns, as well as population growth, cause pressure on land and other natural resources. This leads to more greenhouse gas emissions and fewer carbon sinks. Some scholars have argued that humane policies to slow population growth should be part of a broad climate response together with policies that end fossil fuel use and encourage sustainable consumption. Advances in female education and reproductive health , especially voluntary family planning , can contribute to reducing population growth. An important mitigation measure

468-534: A climate mitigation option. The terminology in this area is still evolving. Experts sometimes use the term geoengineering or climate engineering in the scientific literature for both CDR or SRM, if the techniques are used at a global scale. IPCC reports no longer use the terms geoengineering or climate engineering . GHG emissions 2020 by gas type without land-use change using 100 year GWP Total: 49.8 GtCO 2 e CO 2 emissions by fuel type Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen

546-451: A complaint was made to the Charity Commission by Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green Party MPs that The Global Warming Policy Foundation is a lobbying organisation, and misuses charitable funds by passing them to Net Zero Watch, which uses the funds for non-charitable purposes. In November 2022, the Charity Commission confirmed that it was reviewing the complaint. Three months later, the GWPF reported

624-638: A definitive or detailed evaluation of most goals set for 2020. But it appears the world failed to meet most or all international goals set for that year. One update came during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. The group of researchers running the Climate Action Tracker looked at countries responsible for 85% of greenhouse gas emissions. It found that only four countries or political entities—the EU, UK, Chile and Costa Rica—have published

702-528: A detailed official policy‑plan that describes the steps to realise 2030 mitigation targets. These four polities are responsible for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021 the US and EU launched the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. The UK, Argentina, Indonesia, Italy and Mexico joined the initiative. Ghana and Iraq signaled interest in joining. A White House summary of

780-444: A greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere". Globally, the two most important carbon sinks are vegetation and the ocean . To enhance the ability of ecosystems to sequester carbon, changes are necessary in agriculture and forestry. Examples are preventing deforestation and restoring natural ecosystems by reforestation . Scenarios that limit global warming to 1.5 °C typically project

858-402: A low efficiency of less than 50%. Large amounts of heat in power plants and in motors of vehicles go to waste. The actual amount of energy consumed is significantly lower at 116,000 TWh. Energy conservation is the effort made to reduce the consumption of energy by using less of an energy service. One way is to use energy more efficiently . This means using less energy than before to produce

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936-481: A lower status. If they reduce their emissions and promote green policies, these people could become low-carbon lifestyle role models. However, there are many psychological variables that influence consumers. These include awareness and perceived risk. Government policies can support or hinder demand-side mitigation options. For example, public policy can promote circular economy concepts which would support climate change mitigation. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

1014-592: A major increase in the use of renewable energy in combination with increased energy efficiency measures. It will be necessary to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy six-fold from 0.25% annual growth in 2015 to 1.5% to keep global warming under 2 °C. The competitiveness of renewable energy is a key to a rapid deployment. In 2020, onshore wind and solar photovoltaics were the cheapest source for new bulk electricity generation in many regions. Renewables may have higher storage costs but non-renewables may have higher clean-up costs. A carbon price can increase

1092-464: A more efficient technology or production process. Another way is to use commonly accepted methods to reduce energy losses. Individual action on climate change can include personal choices in many areas. These include diet, travel, household energy use, consumption of goods and services, and family size. People who wish to reduce their carbon footprint can take high-impact actions such as avoiding frequent flying and petrol-fuelled cars, eating mainly

1170-552: A plant-based diet, vast amounts of land used for animal agriculture could be allowed to return to their natural state . This in turn has the potential to sequester 100 billion tonnes of CO 2 by the end of the century. A comprehensive analysis found that plant based diets reduce emissions, water pollution and land use significantly (by 75%), while reducing the destruction of wildlife and usage of water. Population growth has resulted in higher greenhouse gas emissions in most regions, particularly Africa. However, economic growth has

1248-561: A range of power sources. Energy storage can also be used to even out power output, and demand management can limit power use when power generation is low. Cleanly generated electricity can usually replace fossil fuels for powering transportation, heating buildings, and running industrial processes. Certain processes are more difficult to decarbonise, such as air travel and cement production . Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be an option to reduce net emissions in these circumstances, although fossil fuel power plants with CCS technology

1326-432: Is coal-fired power stations with 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation and other changes in land use also emit carbon dioxide and methane. The largest sources of anthropogenic methane emissions are agriculture , and gas venting and fugitive emissions from the fossil-fuel industry. The largest agricultural methane source is livestock. Agricultural soils emit nitrous oxide , partly due to fertilizers. There

1404-539: Is pumped-storage hydroelectricity . This requires locations with large differences in height and access to water. Batteries are also in wide use. They typically store electricity for short periods. Batteries have low energy density . This and their cost makes them impractical for the large energy storage necessary to balance inter-seasonal variations in energy production. Some locations have implemented pumped hydro storage with capacity for multi-month usage. Nuclear power could complement renewables for electricity. On

1482-456: Is "preserving and enhancing carbon sinks ". This refers to the management of Earth's natural carbon sinks in a way that preserves or increases their capability to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere and to store it durably. Scientists call this process also carbon sequestration . In the context of climate change mitigation, the IPCC defines a sink as "Any process, activity or mechanism which removes

1560-532: Is a United Kingdom-based political non-profit company. Founded by Jolyon Maugham , the Good Law Project states that its mission is to achieve change and government accountability through the law. The Good Law Project was founded in January 2017 as a company limited by guarantee under English law headed by Maugham. It is a non-profit but not a registered charity. In 2019 it launched a crowdfunded challenge to

1638-524: Is because the native inhabitants turn to work for extractive companies to survive. Proforestation is promoting forests to capture their full ecological potential. This is a mitigation strategy as secondary forests that have regrown in abandoned farmland are found to have less biodiversity than the original old-growth forests . Original forests store 60% more carbon than these new forests. Strategies include rewilding and establishing wildlife corridors . Good Law Project The Good Law Project

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1716-695: Is by reducing the demand by improving infrastructure, by building a good public transport network, for example. Lastly, changes in end-use technology can reduce energy demand. For instance a well-insulated house emits less than a poorly-insulated house. Mitigation options that reduce demand for products or services help people make personal choices to reduce their carbon footprint . This could be in their choice of transport or food. So these mitigation options have many social aspects that focus on demand reduction; they are therefore demand-side mitigation actions . For example, people with high socio-economic status often cause more greenhouse gas emissions than those from

1794-413: Is competitive with other electricity generation technologies if long term costs for nuclear waste disposal are excluded from the calculation. There is also no sufficient financial insurance for nuclear accidents. Switching from coal to natural gas has advantages in terms of sustainability. For a given unit of energy produced, the life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions of natural gas are around 40 times

1872-420: Is currently a high cost climate change mitigation strategy. Human land use changes such as agriculture and deforestation cause about 1/4th of climate change. These changes impact how much CO 2 is absorbed by plant matter and how much organic matter decays or burns to release CO 2 . These changes are part of the fast carbon cycle , whereas fossil fuels release CO 2 that was buried underground as part of

1950-411: Is found for reducing deforestation in tropical regions. The economic potential of these activities has been estimated to be 4.2 to 7.4 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO 2 -eq) per year. The Stern Review on the economics of climate change stated in 2007 that curbing deforestation was a highly cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. About 95% of deforestation occurs in

2028-621: Is higher in the winter when PV output is low. For this reason, combinations of wind and solar power lead to better-balanced systems. Other well-established renewable energy forms include hydropower, bioenergy and geothermal energy. Wind and solar power production does not consistently match demand. To deliver reliable electricity from variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, electrical power systems must be flexible. Most electrical grids were constructed for non-intermittent energy sources such as coal-fired power plants. The integration of larger amounts of solar and wind energy into

2106-430: Is likely to be ignored in some quarters for its brazen hypocrisy." Pearce argues that one of the criticisms of the three inquiries was that no climate sceptics were on the inquiry teams, and now the critics themselves have produced a review of the reviews that included no one not already supportive of the sceptical position. But, Pearce wrote, Montford "has landed some good blows here." In 2014 The Independent described

2184-404: Is linked to the sharing economy . There is a debate regarding the correlation of economic growth and emissions. It seems economic growth no longer necessarily means higher emissions. Global primary energy demand exceeded 161,000 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2018. This refers to electricity, transport and heating including all losses. In transport and electricity production, fossil fuel usage has

2262-652: Is more to blame for climate change than population increase. High-consumption lifestyles have a greater environmental impact, with the richest 10% of people emitting about half the total lifestyle emissions. Some scientists say that avoiding meat and dairy foods is the single biggest way an individual can reduce their environmental impact. The widespread adoption of a vegetarian diet could cut food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 63% by 2050. China introduced new dietary guidelines in 2016 which aim to cut meat consumption by 50% and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1   Gt per year by 2030. Overall, food accounts for

2340-522: Is now a political solution to the problem of fluorinated gases from refrigerants . This is because many countries have ratified the Kigali Amendment . Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is the dominant emitted greenhouse gas. Methane ( CH 4 ) emissions almost have the same short-term impact. Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and fluorinated gases (F-Gases) play a minor role. Livestock and manure produce 5.8% of all greenhouse gas emissions. But this depends on

2418-416: Is overcoming environmental objections when constructing new clean energy sources and making grid modifications. Climate change mitigation aims to sustain ecosystems to maintain human civilisation . This requires drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines mitigation (of climate change) as "a human intervention to reduce emissions or enhance

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2496-488: Is possible to shift energy demand in time. Energy demand management and the use of smart grids make it possible to match the times when variable energy production is highest. Sector coupling can provide further flexibility. This involves coupling the electricity sector to the heat and mobility sector via power-to-heat -systems and electric vehicles. Energy storage helps overcome barriers to intermittent renewable energy. The most commonly used and available storage method

2574-445: Is registered as a charity , the GWPF is not legally required to report its sources of funding, and Peiser has declined to reveal its funding sources, citing privacy concerns. Peiser said GWPF does not receive funding "from people with links to energy companies or from the companies themselves." The foundation has rejected freedom of information (FoI) requests to disclose its funding sources on at least four occasions. The judge ruling on

2652-528: Is that temperatures continue to rise and humans are responsible for it. We have every confidence in the science and the various datasets we use. The peer-review process is as robust as it could possibly be." David Aaronovitch noted the GWPF's launch in The Times , writing "Lord Lawson’s acceptance of the science turns out, on close scrutiny, to be considerably less than half-hearted. Thus he speaks of 'the (present) majority scientific view', hinting rather slyly at

2730-509: Is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. Improved energy efficiency in buildings ("green buildings"), industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world's energy needs in 2050 by one third. This would help reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain thermal comfort. Improvements in energy efficiency are generally achieved by adopting

2808-514: The Charity Commission ruled that the GWPF had breached rules on impartiality, a non-charitable organisation called the "Global Warming Policy Forum" was created to do lobbying that a charity could not. The GWPF website carries an array of articles sceptical of the scientific consensus of anthropogenic global warming and its impacts. The foundation was established in November 2009, a week after

2886-564: The Koch brothers . The group also received funding from the Sarah Scaife foundation , set up by the heir to an oil and banking dynasty. In June 2013 Bob Ward filed a formal complaint to the Charity Commission , alleging that the GWPF had "persistently disseminated inaccurate and misleading information about climate change as part of its campaign against climate policies in the UK and overseas", and that this

2964-616: The greenhouse effect . This contributes to climate change . Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels : coal, oil, and natural gas. Human-caused emissions have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide by about 50% over pre-industrial levels. Emissions in the 2010s averaged a record 56 billion tons (Gt) a year. In 2016, energy for electricity, heat and transport was responsible for 73.2% of GHG emissions. Direct industrial processes accounted for 5.2%, waste for 3.2% and agriculture, forestry and land use for 18.4%. Electricity generation and transport are major emitters. The largest single source

3042-505: The prorogation of Parliament by Boris Johnson 's Conservative government, which was ultimately successful. The prorogation was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court, but by this time Johnson's government had pushed through their Brexit deal so the issue was moot. However, the £200,000 raised enabled Good Law Project to hire more staff and launch other fundraisers to take on more cases. In the 2022 case of Good Law Project & Anor, R (On

3120-827: The sinks of greenhouse gases ". It is possible to approach various mitigation measures in parallel. This is because there is no single pathway to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2 °C. There are four types of measures: The IPCC defined carbon dioxide removal as "Anthropogenic activities removing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products. It includes existing and potential anthropogenic enhancement of biological or geochemical CO 2 sinks and direct air carbon dioxide capture and storage (DACCS), but excludes natural CO 2 uptake not directly caused by human activities." While solar radiation modification (SRM) could reduce surface temperatures, it temporarily masks climate change rather than addressing

3198-569: The 1990s. A different technology is concentrated solar power (CSP). This uses mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight on to a receiver. With CSP, the energy can be stored for a few hours. This provides supply in the evening. Solar water heating doubled between 2010 and 2019. Regions in the higher northern and southern latitudes have the greatest potential for wind power. Offshore wind farms are more expensive. But offshore units deliver more energy per installed capacity with less fluctuations. In most regions, wind power generation

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3276-405: The 2022 IPCC report on mitigation. The abbreviation stands for "agriculture, forestry and other land use" The report described the economic mitigation potential from relevant activities around forests and ecosystems as follows: "the conservation, improved management, and restoration of forests and other ecosystems (coastal wetlands, peatlands , savannas and grasslands)". A high mitigation potential

3354-590: The Application Of) v The Prime Minister & Anor [2022] EWHC 298 (Admin) , the High Court was critical of the Good Law Project "drafting its objects clause so widely that just about any conceivable public law error by any public authority falls within its remit" and was not convinced that "such a general statement of objects" could confer legal standing upon the company; the Court added that it could not be supposed that

3432-480: The Climate Research Unit in providing global temperature information, dismissed this call. "If you look at the emails, there isn't any evidence that the data was falsified and there's no evidence that climate change is a hoax. It's a shame that some of the sceptics have had to take this rather shallow attempt to discredit robust science undertaken by some of the world's most respected scientists. The bottom line

3510-455: The GWPF listed Benny Peiser , a social anthropologist , as the director, and a board of trustees consisting of Lord Lawson (chairman), Lord Donoughue , Lord Fellowes , Peter R. Forster (the former Bishop of Chester), Martin Jacomb , Baroness Nicholson , Sir James Spooner and Lord Turnbull . In 2015, Baron Moore was made a trustee of the organisation. In November 2022, Lord David Frost

3588-481: The GWPF was a member of the "Covid Hunters", a group of Brexit lobbyists who conducted a secret two-year-long attack on the prestigious science journal Nature . Climate change mitigation Solar energy and wind power can replace fossil fuels at the lowest cost compared to other renewable energy options. The availability of sunshine and wind is variable and can require electrical grid upgrades, such as using long-distance electricity transmission to group

3666-655: The ability of oceans and land sinks to absorb these gases. Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) persist in the atmosphere for a period ranging from days to 15 years. Carbon dioxide can remain in the atmosphere for millennia. Short-lived climate pollutants include methane , hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) , tropospheric ozone and black carbon . Scientists increasingly use satellites to locate and measure greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. Earlier, scientists largely relied on or calculated estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and governments' self-reported data. The annual "Emissions Gap Report" by UNEP stated in 2022 that it

3744-478: The advantages of switching away from coal. The technology to curb methane leaks is widely available but it is not always used. Reducing demand for products and services that cause greenhouse gas emissions can help in mitigating climate change. One is to reduce demand by behavioural and cultural changes , for example by making changes in diet, especially the decision to reduce meat consumption, an effective action individuals take to fight climate change . Another

3822-546: The cargo handling business Bristol Port Company. It was previously chaired by the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson . GWPF states that it is "deeply concerned about the costs and other implications of many of the policies currently being advocated" to address climate change and that it aims to "bring reason, integrity and balance to a debate that has become seriously unbalanced, irrationally alarmist, and all too often depressingly intolerant". Because it

3900-607: The company had "carte blanche to bring any claim for judicial review no matter what the issues and no matter what the circumstances." The Good Law Project's lack of standing was not fatal to the case, however, since its Runnymede Trust co-plaintiff was deemed to have standing. The Good Law Project challenged the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care , claiming that the COVID testing contracts with Abingdon Health were unlawful because they were not advertised nor open to competition, and

3978-478: The competitiveness of renewable energy. Wind and sun can provide large amounts of low-carbon energy at competitive production costs. The IPCC estimates that these two mitigation options have the largest potential to reduce emissions before 2030 at low cost. Solar photovoltaics (PV) has become the cheapest way to generate electricity in many regions of the world. The growth of photovoltaics has been close to exponential. It has about doubled every three years since

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4056-614: The correct procurement process was bypassed. On 7 October 2022 the High Court ruled that the contracts were lawful, so Good Law Project lost the case. In September 2022, the charity Mermaids went to court to appeal the Charity Commission 's decision to grant the LGB Alliance charitable status. This action was supported by the Good Law Project. The appeal was dismissed in July 2023 on the grounds that "the law does not permit Mermaids to challenge

4134-527: The e-mails from the University of East Anglia "called into question" the integrity of the scientific evidence. Subsequent investigations did not support this view. GWPF Director Benny Peiser said that the organisation did not doubt the science and was not going to discuss it, but want an open, frank debate about what policies should be adopted. A spokesman for the Met Office , a government agency which works with

4212-425: The emissions of wind or nuclear energy but are much less than coal. Burning natural gas produces around half the emissions of coal when used to generate electricity and around two-thirds the emissions of coal when used to produce heat. Natural gas combustion also produces less air pollution than coal. However, natural gas is a potent greenhouse gas in itself, and leaks during extraction and transportation can negate

4290-536: The foundation as "the UK's most prominent source of climate-change denial ". In 2011, Chris Huhne , former UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change described GWPF as "misinformed", "wrong", and "perverse". The Skeptic awarded the foundation its 2022 Rusty Razor award as part of its annual presentation of Ockham Awards , naming the foundation as "the year’s worst promoters of pseudoscience" for its "prolific attempts to weaken and undermine public and political will to tackle climate change". In May 2014,

4368-509: The grid requires a change of the energy system; this is necessary to ensure that the supply of electricity matches demand. There are various ways to make the electricity system more flexible. In many places, wind and solar generation are complementary on a daily and a seasonal scale. There is more wind during the night and in winter when solar energy production is low. Linking different geographical regions through long-distance transmission lines also makes it possible to reduce variability. It

4446-402: The large-scale use of carbon dioxide removal methods over the 21st century. There are concerns about over-reliance on these technologies, and their environmental impacts. But ecosystem restoration and reduced conversion are among the mitigation tools that can yield the most emissions reductions before 2030. Land-based mitigation options are referred to as "AFOLU mitigation options" in

4524-428: The largest share of consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions. It is responsible for nearly 20% of the global carbon footprint. Almost 15% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have been attributed to the livestock sector. A shift towards plant-based diets would help to mitigate climate change. In particular, reducing meat consumption would help to reduce methane emissions. If high-income nations switched to

4602-528: The latest FoI request, Alison McKenna, said that the GWPF was not sufficiently influential to merit forcing them to disclose the source of the £50,000 that was originally provided to establish the organisation. In May 2022, OpenDemocracy reported that tax filings in the US revealed that GWPF had taken money from US ' dark money ' sources, including $ 620,259 from the Donors Trust between 2016 and 2020. The Donors Trust has in turn received significant funding from

4680-655: The meeting noted those countries represent six of the top 15 methane emitters globally. Israel also joined the initiative. The energy system includes the delivery and use of energy. It is the main emitter of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Rapid and deep reductions in the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector are necessary to limit global warming to well below 2 °C. IPCC recommendations include reducing fossil fuel consumption, increasing production from low- and zero carbon energy sources, and increasing use of electricity and alternative energy carriers. Nearly all scenarios and strategies involve

4758-452: The mistake which would now be changed, but said that starting the graph earlier would be equally arbitrary. Fred Pearce wrote in The Guardian that the three inquiries GWPF looked into were all badly flawed, and that The Climategate Inquiries report ably dissects their failures. He writes that "for all its sharp—and in many cases justified—rejoinders to the official inquiries its report

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4836-449: The near possibility of a future, entirely different scientific view. (...) 'Sceptic' (...) is simply a misnomer. People such as Lord Lawson are not sceptical, for if one major peer-reviewed piece of scientific research were ever to be published casting doubt on climate change theory, you just know they’d have it up in neon at Piccadilly Circus. They are only sceptical about what they don’t want to be true." The Guardian quoted Bob Ward ,

4914-491: The other hand, environmental and security risks could outweigh the benefits. The construction of new nuclear reactors currently takes about 10 years. This is much longer than scaling up the deployment of wind and solar. And this timing gives rise to credit risks. However nuclear may be much cheaper in China. China is building a significant number of new power plants. As of 2019 the cost of extending nuclear power plant lifetimes

4992-410: The period from 2000 to 2009 had been chosen, then a rise in temperature would have been shown rather than a fall. Bob Ward said that the graph was contrary to the true measurements, and that by leaving out the temperature trend during the 20th century, the graph obscured the fact that 8 of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred this century. The GWPF blamed a "small error by our graphic designer" for

5070-500: The pledges for 2030. The rise would be 2.1 °C with the achievement of the long-term targets too. Full achievement of all announced targets would mean the rise in global temperature will peak at 1.9 °C and go down to 1.8 °C by the year 2100. Experts gather information about climate pledges in the Global Climate Action Portal - Nazca . The scientific community is checking their fulfilment. There has not been

5148-653: The policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics , as saying "some of those names are straight from the Who's Who of current climate change sceptics ... It's just going to be a way of pumping material into the debate that hasn't been through scrutiny". The Guardian article cast doubt on the idea that an upsurge in scepticism

5226-452: The root cause, which is greenhouse gases. SRM would work by altering how much solar radiation the Earth absorbs. Examples include reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the surface, reducing the optical thickness and lifetime of clouds, and changing the ability of the surface to reflect radiation. The IPCC describes SRM as a climate risk reduction strategy or supplementary option rather than

5304-437: The same service. Another way is to reduce the amount of service used. An example of this would be to drive less. Energy conservation is at the top of the sustainable energy hierarchy . When consumers reduce wastage and losses they can conserve energy. The upgrading of technology as well as the improvements to operations and maintenance can result in overall efficiency improvements. Efficient energy use (or energy efficiency )

5382-849: The slow carbon cycle. Methane is a short lived greenhouse gas that is produced by decaying organic matter and livestock, as well as fossil fuel extraction. Land use changes can also impact precipitation patterns and the reflectivity of the surface of the Earth . It is possible to cut emissions from agriculture by reducing food waste , switching to a more plant-based diet (also referred to as low-carbon diet ), and by improving farming processes. Various policies can encourage climate change mitigation. Carbon pricing systems have been set up that either tax CO 2 emissions or cap total emissions and trade emission credits . Fossil fuel subsidies can be eliminated in favor of clean energy subsidies , and incentives offered for installing energy efficiency measures or switching to electric power sources. Another issue

5460-515: The start of the Climatic Research Unit email controversy , with its headquarters in a room of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining at 1 Carlton House Terrace , London, and subsequently moved to 55 Tufton Street , London SW1P 3QL. Its director is Benny Peiser , an expert on the social and economic aspects of physical exercise , and it is chaired by Terence Mordaunt , co-owner of

5538-539: The time frame used to calculate the global warming potential of the respective gas. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are measured in CO 2 equivalents . Scientists determine their CO 2 equivalents from their global warming potential (GWP). This depends on their lifetime in the atmosphere. There are widely used greenhouse gas accounting methods that convert volumes of methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases to carbon dioxide equivalents . Estimates largely depend on

5616-401: The tropics, where clearing of land for agriculture is one of the main causes. One forest conservation strategy is to transfer rights over land from public ownership to its indigenous inhabitants. Land concessions often go to powerful extractive companies. Conservation strategies that exclude and even evict humans, called fortress conservation , often lead to more exploitation of the land. This

5694-514: The words of Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres : "Main emitters must drastically cut emissions starting this year". Climate Action Tracker described the situation on 9 November 2021 as follows. The global temperature will rise by 2.7 °C by the end of the century with current policies and by 2.9 °C with nationally adopted policies. The temperature will rise by 2.4 °C if countries only implement

5772-471: The world should focus on broad-based economy-wide transformations and not incremental change. In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report on climate change. It warned that greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030 to have a good chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F). Or in

5850-496: Was an abuse of their charitable status. In 2014 the Charity Commission ruled that the GWPF had breached rules on impartiality in its climate change coverage, blurred fact and comment and demonstrated a clear bias. In response, the GWPF agreed to establish a non-charitable organisation to do the lobbying , alongside the existing organisation, to be called the "Global Warming Policy Forum". In October 2021, Global Warming Policy Forum rebranded itself as Net Zero Watch. In October 2022

5928-615: Was listed as a Director of the GWPF on Companies House . Andrew William Montford has been appointed to run an inquiry into the three British Climategate -inquiries for the Global Warming Policy Foundation . His report The Climategate Inquiries was published in September 2010. One of the Foundation's trustees, Graham Stringer MP, a Labour party politician, sits on the House of Commons ' Science and Technology Committee ,

6006-399: Was necessary to almost halve emissions. "To get on track for limiting global warming to 1.5°C, global annual GHG emissions must be reduced by 45 per cent compared with emissions projections under policies currently in place in just eight years, and they must continue to decline rapidly after 2030, to avoid exhausting the limited remaining atmospheric carbon budget ." The report commented that

6084-545: Was underway, noting that "in (the US) Congress, even the most determined opponents of climate change legislation now frame their arguments in economic terms rather than on the science". When the GWPF's website was launched in November 2009, a graph used in the logo graphic on each page of the website of '21st Century global mean temperatures' showed a slow decline over the selected period from 2001 to 2008. Hannah Devlin of The Times found an error for 2003 and noted that if

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