The Risk of Global Warming: Concerns and Solutions

Global warming is one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet. The warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increase in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level. While the world’s climate has always varied naturally, the vast majority of scientists now believe that rising concentrations of “greenhouse gases” in the earth’s atmosphere, resulting from economic and demographic growth over the last two centuries since the industrial revolution, are overriding this natural variability and leading to irreversible climate change in the global climate system that supports the planet’s basic life support functions. Global warming, which began with the advent of industrialization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, has accelerated over the last few decades and bodes ill for the Earth’s ecosystems and for human health. The planetary temperature has increased one degree Celsius over the last century, a number that might seem small yet has dramatic consequences. This paper highlights the grave problem of global warming, its harmful consequences, efforts of global community in addressing this challenge and role of India in the climate change regime. This paper also makes suggestions for further course of action at the individual, national as well as global level as this problem requires a multilateral and co-operative approach.