In 1997, the third Conference of the Parties (COP3) created a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the protocol was signed in Kyoto, Japan. The Kyoto protocol, as it came to be known, was created with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Kyoto Protocol as topic of discussion at COP17 in Durban
Thirty-seven countries agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions at the COP3 meeting, and 141 countries had approved the agreement by 2005. The Kyoto protocol is set to be a major topic of discussion at the COP17 in Durban as some wealthy, developed nations would like to see developing nations commit more to cutting emissions.

When the Kyoto Protocol was first created, developing nations were not required to have caps on their emissions. Many developing nations have become some of the top emitters of greenhouse gases. The battle between wealthier developed nations and poorer developing nations over cutting emissions is expected to take center stage at the convention.

At the United Nations’ meeting on climate change in Durban, there will also be discussions about funding for the Green Climate Fund. The purpose of the fund is to help developing nations deal with the effects of climate change. The draft for the Green Climate Fund has been completed, and many hope that the Green Climate Fund will be finalized at the convention in Durban. The Green Climate Fund is set to begin operations in 2013.

It was during a recent Met Office study into how droughts show climate change that scientists discovered this new information. The evidence suggests that climate change brings with it an increased frequency of extreme droughts. The scientists researching how droughts show climate change now expect that frequency will continue to increase through 2100.

The scientists used the 1976 drought as a benchmark to affect on people what it will mean to have this severe, relatively isolated event become a more regular occurrence. During the droughts show climate change research, scientists used the Met Office climate model to run a number of simulations. In the worst-case scenarios, the droughts could occur once a decade, which is ten times more frequent than the rate today.

Eleanor Burke, a climate extremes scientist at the Met Office, and one working on the droughts show climate change study, accentuated that it is vital for the UK to understand how these droughts will affect the country. The 1976 drought caught them unaware, but the UK can use this information to be proactive, and limit the damage.

Burke stressed that the UK must prepare for the crop failure, fire hazards and wildfires like in Russia, health risks, and water shortages that will be associated with the droughts. The UK must also funnel the necessary money into research. This way the Met Office can perform additional research to assess how likely each climate model result is, and therefore the country can plan accordingly for the appropriate consequences.

United Nations says: temperatures will rise

The United Nations says that the earth has already warmed by more than 0.6 degrees centigrade over the last century, and that even at the lowest predicted levels of warming, temperatures will rise by more than double that over the next hundred years. While precise climate change facts are hard to pin down, many people around the world say they can see that mother earth is already feeling the impact.

Extinction follows Climate Change

As polar ice caps melt, sea levels are rising and will continue to do so, inundating lowlands and destroying cooler habitats around the planet. Meanwhile, patterns of precipitation are expected to change, with some areas getting far wetter while others become drier – leading to the extinction of plants and creatures unable to cope with their changing circumstances. The United Nations (UN) predicts that up to a quarter of all mammals and more than one in ten birds could become extinct over the next few decades – a huge loss to the diverse population of mother earth.

We have to take action to safe Mother Earth

As for humans, climate scientists say we too will suffer, as fiercer storms and more flooding hit coastal areas – a potential disaster for the billions who live there. We’ll also face an increasing shortage of drinking water, as the seas rise, flooding freshwater supplies. Global warming could severely disrupt food supplies, as previously fertile lands dry out or are flooded. What’s more, scientists warn, warmer temperatures will help diseases such as malaria spread, with potentially devastating effects. While the accuracy of many such climate change facts may be hard to test, scientists and campaigners say their warnings are a call for all of us to take action.