Case Study 4.1 The Carbon Trust
The Global Environmental Challenge
Strategic approach – managing the impact of climate change
There is now widespread awareness of the hypothesis that we are in the midst of a gradual, general
increase in global temperatures – what is commonly known as ‘global warming’. Although gradual in
terms of normal human timescales, this increase is rapid in geological terms, and possibly
unprecedented. The evidence seems to be consistent with the theory that the current rise in global
temperatures has been substantially caused by human activity. In particular, the last two centuries have
seen human beings consuming carbon-based energy (particularly coal and oil) in very large quantities.
What is undeniable is that human consumption of coal and oil results in the production of large quantities
of carbon dioxide.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the
science related to climate change. According to the IPCC:
Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse
gases are the highest in history. Recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on human and
natural systems … Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have increased since the pre-industrial era,
driven largely by economic and population growth, and are now higher than ever. This has led to
atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that are unprecedented in at
least the last 800,000 years. Their effects, together with those of other anthropogenic drivers, have been
detected throughout the climate system and are extremely likely to have been the dominant cause of the
observed warming since the mid-20th century. (IPCC, 2014)
The scientific consensus is that humankind bears direct responsibility for a large part of global warming.
