query: For instance, wind turbines kill birds and insects, and palm-oil plantations destroy the biodiversity of the rainforests

positive: Palm oil Palm oil ( also known as dendê oil , from Portuguese -LSB- ˈdɛnde -RSB- ) is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp ( reddish pulp ) of the fruit of the oil palms , primarily the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis , and to a lesser extent from the American oil palm Elaeis oleifera and the maripa palm Attalea maripa .   Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because of a high beta-carotene content . It is not to be confused with palm kernel oil derived from the kernel of the same fruit , or coconut oil derived from the kernel of the coconut palm ( Cocos nucifera ) . The differences are in color ( raw palm kernel oil lacks carotenoids and is not red ) , and in saturated fat content : palm mesocarp oil is 49 % saturated , while palm kernel oil and coconut oil are 81 % and 86 % saturated fats , respectively . However , crude red palm oil that has been refined , bleached and deodorized , a common commodity called RBD palm oil , does not contain carotenoids .   Along with coconut oil , palm oil is one of the few highly saturated vegetable fats and is semisolid at room temperature . Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa , Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil . Its use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is widespread because of its lower cost and the high oxidative stability ( saturation ) of the refined product when used for frying . One source reported that humans consumed an average 17 lb of palm oil per person in 2015 .   The use of palm oil in food products has attracted the concern of environmental activist groups ; the high oil yield of the trees has encouraged wider cultivation , leading to the clearing of forests in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia to make space for oil-palm monoculture . This has resulted in significant acreage losses of the natural habitat of the orangutan , of which both species are endangered ; one species in particular , the Sumatran orangutan , has been listed as critically endangered . In 2004 , an industry group called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was formed to work with the palm oil industry to address these concerns . Additionally , in 1992 , in response to concerns about deforestation , the Government of Malaysia pledged to limit the expansion of palm oil plantations by retaining a minimum of half the nation 's land as forest cover .

positive: Deforestation Deforestation , clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use . Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms , ranches , or urban use . The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests . About 30 % of Earth 's land surface is covered by forests .   Deforestation occurs for multiple reasons : trees are cut down to be used for building or sold as fuel , ( sometimes in the form of charcoal or timber ) , while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock and plantation . The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat , biodiversity loss and aridity . It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide . Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive the enemy of vital resources and cover for its forces . Modern examples of this were the use of Agent Orange by the British military in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency and the United States military in Vietnam during the Vietnam War . As of 2005 , net deforestation rates have ceased to increase in countries with a per capita GDP of at least US$ 4,600 . Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland .   Disregard of ascribed value , lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale . In many countries , deforestation , both naturally occurring and human-induced , is an ongoing issue . Deforestation causes extinction , changes to climatic conditions , desertification , and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record . More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world live in tropical forests .   Between 2000 and 2012 , 2.3 e6sqkm of forests around the world were cut down . As a result of deforestation , only 6.2 e6km2 remain of the original 16 e6km2 of forest that formerly covered the Earth .

positive: Wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the wind 's kinetic energy into electrical power .   Wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of vertical and horizontal axis types . The smallest turbines are used for applications such as battery charging for auxiliary power for boats or caravans or to power traffic warning signs . Slightly larger turbines can be used for making contributions to a domestic power supply while selling unused power back to the utility supplier via the electrical grid . Arrays of large turbines , known as wind farms , are becoming an increasingly important source of intermittent renewable energy and are used by many countries as part of a strategy to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels .

negative: Gunung Rara Forest Reserve Gunung Rara Forest Reserve is a rainforest area in Malaysia , on the island of Borneo . It is located in South-Central Sabah , in Tawau Division .  Borneo elephants probably were killed in a concession area of Yayasan Sabah in the reserve . The concession was originally intended to be managed into perpetuity for the benefit of all Sabahans but was instead largely decimated by overharvesting .   The reserve sits between Danum Valley and Maliau Basin Conservation areas . There are palm oil plantations in the reserve .  The rainforests in Sabah are endangered by palm oil plantations .

negative: Benso Oil Palm Plantation Benso Oil Palm Plantation is a Ghanaian oil palm plantation and company , based at the Adum Banso Estate in Takoradi . The company is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange , its symbol is ( BOPP ) . It was formed in 2004 and is involved with the production and processing of palm oil .

negative: United Plantations United Plantations Berhad is a Malaysia-based oil palm plantation company .

negative: Rhinotia haemoptera Rhinotia haemoptera , the red weevil , is a beetle species in the genus Rhinotia found in Australia . It resembles a fire-coloured beetle ( Pyrochroidae ) in colour . This insect pest can destroy groves and plantations of coconut and migrate to date palms and other palms , causing economic damage to farmers and landscapers .   The nematode species Heterorhabditis indica has been used effectively against the red weevil .

negative: Malaysian Palm Oil Board The Malaysian Palm Oil Board ( Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia ) , abbreviated MPOB , is a government agency responsible for the promotion and development of the palm oil industry in Malaysia . It is one of the agencies under Malaysia 's Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities .

negative: Wampu River ( see also Wampú River ( Honduras ) )   The Wampu River is a river in North Sumatra , Indonesia . It rises as the Lau Biang river in Karo Regency near Siberaya , flowing past Kabanjahe , Perbesi , Kuta Buluh , Marike and onto Bohorok in Langkat Regency , where the river is known as the Wampu . It flows past Stabat and Tanjung Langkat before emptying into the Strait of Malacca . The Bohorok River is a tributary of the Wampu .   Much of the river valley was once fertile rainforest , but most has now been destroyed for logging and oil palm plantations .

negative: Biodiversity of Colombia Colombia is the country with the second-highest biodiversity in the world , behind Brazil . As of 2016 , 56,343 species are registered in Colombia , of which 9153 endemic . The country occupies the first position worldwide in number of orchids and birds , second position in plants , amphibians , butterflies and fresh water fish , third place in species of palm trees and reptiles and globally holds the fourth position in biodiversity of mammals .   The country hosts 59 nationally designated protected areas . At the establishment of the as of 2017 most recent addition , Bahía Portete -- Kaurrele National Natural Park , Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos said `` The biodiversity is to Colombia , what oil is for the Arabs '' .

negative: Palm oil production in Indonesia Palm oil production is important to the economy of Indonesia as the country is the world 's biggest producer and consumer of the commodity , providing about half the world supply . Oil palm plantations stretch across 6 million hectares ( roughly twice the size of Belgium ) . Indonesia plans by 2015 to add 4 million additional hectares towards oil palm biofuel production . As of 2012 , Indonesia produces 35 percent of the world 's certified sustainable palm oil ( CSPO ) .   In addition to servicing traditional markets , Indonesia is looking to put more effort into producing biodiesel . China and India are the major importers of palm oil , accounting for more than a third of global palm oil imports .

negative: Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad Kulim ( Malaysia ) Berhad is a Malaysian company . Through its subsidiaries , it engages in oil palm plantation , investment holding , and property investment businesses in Malaysia . The company also manufactures rubber-based products , oleochemicals , and esters ; produces oil palm clones by plant tissue culture technology ; and distributes tropical fruits , as well as engaging in crude palm oil processing . The Corporate Office of Kulim ( Malaysia ) Berhad is located at Johor , Malaysia .   It provides plantation management and consultancy services , assembles agricultural and mechanical equipment and researches and produces oil palm seeds . It also operates quick service restaurants . It has operations primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia . The company was incorporated in 1933 and is based in Johor Bahru , Malaysia . Kulim ( Malaysia ) Berhad is a subsidiary of Johor Corporation .

negative: NASA wind turbines Starting in 1975 , NASA managed a program for the United States Department of Energy and the United States Department of Interior to develop utility-scale wind turbines for electric power , in response to the increase in oil prices .  A number of the world 's largest wind turbines were developed and tested under this pioneering program . The program was an attempt to leap well beyond the then-current state of the art of wind turbine generators , and developed a number of technologies later adopted by the wind turbine industry . The development of the commercial industry however was delayed by a significant decrease in competing energy prices during the 1980s .

negative: Indio Maíz Biological Reserve Indio Maíz Biological Reserve measures about 4,500 square kilometers and is situated on the southeastern corner of Nicaragua bordering the San Juan River . It is the second largest expanse of lowland rainforest reserve in Nicaragua and is referred to as `` the gem of Central American nature reserves '' by UCLA biologists . Indio Maíz is rich in biodiversity , it holds a higher number in species of trees , birds , and insects than all of Europe . It is also noted as a popular protected area for tourists .

negative: Palm stearin Palm stearin is the solid fraction of palm oil that is produced by partial crystallization at controlled temperature .   It is more variable in composition than palm olein , the liquid fraction of palm oil , especially in terms of its solid fat content , and therefore has more variable physical characteristics.p . 34 Like crude palm fruit oil , palm stearin contains carotenoids , but physically refined palm oils do not , as they are removed or destroyed in the refining process.p . 37

negative: Beinn an Tuirc windfarm Beinn an Tuirc wind farm is a wind farm in Argyll , Scotland .   The site has 46 turbines with a total generating capacity of 30.36 MW , and is operated by Scottish Power . It was commissioned in 2001 and started operation in 2002 . It cost # 21 million to build . The turbines were built by Danish company Vestas , which specializes in their manufacture . It is 10 miles ( 16 kilometres ) north of Campbeltown on the slopes of the Beinn an Tuirc , the highest hill on the Kintyre peninsula .   Scottish Power was awarded a Queen 's Award for Enterprise in 2006 for constructing Beinn an Tuirc and Black Law wind farms with a `` collaborative and responsible approach '' . This referred to the company 's practice of taking into account environmental concerns and the wishes of the local community in the wind farms ' construction .   One of the V47 turbines suffered a catastrophic failure in November 2007 when a brake problem led to the tower being bent in two . This was the first incident of an operational turbine tower collapsing in the UK . The farm was closed as a precaution , but soon reopened .   In an unusual move , Scottish Power has offered local rangers # 30 for every mountain hare they hand over . The idea is to re-introduce this species to an area near to the wind farm in an attempt to lure golden eagles away from the turbines . The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said , `` Scottish Power 's approach in creating this habitat that takes into account local biodiversity is to be welcomed . ''

negative: Stateline Wind Farm The Stateline Wind Farm is a wind farm located on Vansycle Ridge , which receives 16 to 18 mph ( 26 -- 29 km/h ) average wind speeds from the Columbia Gorge , on the border between Washington and Oregon in the United States . With 186 turbines currently operating in both states and 279 more approved for construction , it is the largest wind project in the Northwestern United States and will be the largest in the world . Costing $ 300 million to build , it began operation in 2001 .   The project employs 660 kW capacity Vestas wind turbines , which collectively will produce a maximum electrical output of 306.9 MW . ( The current operating capacity is 122.8 MW . ) On average , the project is expected to produce 30 to 35 percent of that capacity year-round . Turbines are controlled individually by electronic systems which direct them into the wind and adjust the pitch of the blades to maximize electrical production at any wind speed from 7 to 56 mph . The turbines automatically shut down at wind speeds excess of 56 mph , a feature which allows them to withstand hurricane-force winds .   The wind turbines are grouped in strings of 5 to 37 turbines , each turbine spaced approximately 250 feet ( 76 m ) from the next , generally slightly downwind of the crest of ridges . Each turbine tower is 166 feet ( 50 m ) tall , with blades 76 feet ( 23 m ) wide .   Environmental impact studies determined that the site was not used extensively by birds or other species vulnerable to injury from turbines , and the turbine towers ' construction , along with the use of underground power lines , was designed to minimize perching places for birds . The area around the project is used primarily for private farming , including dryland wheat farming and cattle grazing .   The Stateline Wind Project is several miles northwest of the Vansycle Wind Project in Umatilla County , Oregon . Both are owned and operated by Florida Power & Light .   A wind turbine collapsed over the weekend of November 2 , 2013 on the Washington side of the Stateline Wind Project .

negative: PT Perusahaan Perkebunan London Sumatra Indonesia London Sumatera Indonesia is an agribusiness company in Sumatra , Indonesia . Its head offices are based in Jakarta and regional offices are located in Medan , Palembang , Samarinda and Makassar . It is engaged promarily in the palm oil business . The company has palm plantations sells palm oil products , rubber , palm oil seeds , cocoa and tea . The plantation estates and processing facilities are located in Sumatera Utara , Sumatera Selatan , Kalimantan Timur , and on the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi and Java . Subsidiaries include PT Multi Agro Kencana Prima , Lonsum Singapore Pte Ltd , PT Tani Musi Persada and PT Sumatra Agri Sejahtera . The company trades on the Jakarta Stock Exchange .

negative: Bukit Tigapuluh National Park Bukit Tigapuluh National Park ( also called Bukit Tiga Puluh and Bukit Tigapulah ) - The Thirty Hills - is a 143,223 hectare National Park in eastern Sumatra , consisting primarily of tropical lowland forest , largely in Riau province , with a smaller part of 33,000 ha in Jambi province . It is famous as one of the last refuges of endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan , Sumatran tiger , Sumatran elephant , Sumatran rhinoceros and Asian tapir , as well as many endangered bird species . It forms part of the Tesso Nilo Complex biodiversity hotspot . The Park is inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the Orang Rimba and Talang Mamak tribes .   The Park itself has been under consistent threat from illegal logging and palm oil plantations , with two thirds of the park logged .

negative: Tawau Hills National Park Tawau Hills Park , was established in 1979 , primarily as a protection for the water catchment area of Tawau town , Sabah , Malaysia . It is located 24 kilometres from Tawau , and comprises 279.72 km ² of lowland dipterocarp rainforest , surrounded by oil palm and cacao plantations . The park offers picnic areas , camping sites , and chalets . The Park contains rugged volcanic landscapes including a hot spring and spectacular waterfalls . The highest point in the park is Gunung Magdalena ( 1310 m ) . It is administered by the Sabah Parks .

negative: Insect biodiversity Insect biodiversity accounts for a large proportion of all biodiversity on the planet , with over 1,000,000 insect species described .

negative: Oenocarpus bataua The patawa , sehe , hungurahua ( Ecuador ) or mingucha ( Oenocarpus bataua or Jessenia bataua ) is a palm tree native to the Amazon rainforest , that produces edible fruits rich in high quality oil .

negative: Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (Malaysia) The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities ( Kementerian Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi ) , abbreviated MPIC , KPPK , is a ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for plantation and commodities : palm oil , rubber , timber , furniture , cocoa , pepper , kenaf , tobacco .

negative: Philip James DeVries Philip James DeVries PhD ( born March 7 , 1952 ) is a tropical biologist whose research focuses on insect ecology and evolution , especially butterflies . His best-known work includes symbioses between caterpillars , ants and plants , and community level biodiversity of rainforest butterflies .

negative: Hemang Twifo ntafrewaso is a town in the Central region of Ghana . The town is known for the twifo oil palm plantation ( TOPP ) . The school is a second cycle institution .

negative: Astrocaryum faranae Astrocaryum faranae is a palm native to Amazon Rainforest vegetation in Brazil . This plant has a commercial value because it has oil seeds which may be used to make cosmetics .

negative: Journal of Plantation Crops The Journal of Plantation Crops is a triannual peer-reviewed scientific journal and is the official publication of the Indian Society for Plantation Crops . The scope includes are topics relating to plantation cropping systems and crops like coconut , arecanut , oil palm , cashew , spices , cocoa , coffee , tea , and rubber . The Journal of Plantation Crops was established in 1973 and the editor-in-chief is V. Krishnakumar .

negative: List of energy resources These are modes of energy production , energy storage , or energy conservation , listed alphabetically . Note that not all sources are accepted as legitimate or have been proven to be tappable .   Atomic energy  Banki turbine -- hydro power , like overshot or even like turbine ...  Battery ( electricity )  Bioalcohol  Biodiesel  Biodiesel production  Biofuel  Biogas  Biomass  Bio-nano generator  Bitumen  Breeder reactor  Bubble fusion -- a nuclear fusion reaction hypothesized to occur during sonoluminescence , an extreme form of acoustic cavitation .  Coal  Coal mining  Cold fusion  Combustion  Compound turbine -- two axle , steam  Compressed air energy storage  Concentrated solar power  Deep lake water cooling  Diesel  Dyson sphere  Electrical grid  Energy tower  External combustion engine   Fischer-Tropsch process  Flywheel ( storage )  Fossil fuel  Fossil-fuel power station  Francis turbine  Fuel -- a substance used as a source of energy , usually by the heat produced in combustion .  Fuel cell  Fuel efficiency  Fusion power  Gas turbine  Gasohol  Geothermal exchange heat pump  Geothermal heating  Geothermal power  Grid energy storage  High-altitude wind power - Energy can be captured from the wind by kites , aerostats , airfoil matrices , balloons , bladed turbines , kytoon , tethered gliders sailplanes  Hydroelectricity  Hydrogen economy  Hydrogen storage , Underground hydrogen storage  Hydropower-Energy from moving water  Implosion  Kaplan turbine  Light crude  Liquid fuel  Liquid nitrogen economy  Marine current power  Magnetohydrodynamic , generator , MHD generator or dynamo transforms thermal energy or kinetic energy directly into electricity  Methane clathrate  Methanol  Methanol economy  Natural gas  Natural gas field  Natural gas vehicle  Nuclear energy -- energy in the nucleus or core of atoms  Nuclear fusion  Nuclear reactor  Nuclear reprocessing  Oil drilling  Oil platform  Oil refinery  Oil shale  Oil well  Osmotic power - or salinity gradient power - is the energy available from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water  OTEC -- Ocean thermal energy conversion  Oxidation  Peat  Perpetuum Mobile  Petroleum  Photovoltaics  Piezoelectricity  Pneumatics -- compressed air  Products based on refined oil  Propellant  Pumped-storage hydroelectricity  Pyrolysis  Renewable energy  Savonius wind turbine -- wind  Small hydro   Solar box cooker  Solar cell  Solar chimney  Solar panel  Solar energy  Solar power satellite  Solar thermal energy  Solar updraft tower -- large version of the solar chimney concept  Solar water heating  Solid fuel  Sonoluminescence -- the emission of short bursts of light from imploding bubbles in a liquid when excited by sound .  SSTAR -- small , sealed , transportable , autonomous reactor  Steam turbine  Stirling engine  Straight vegetable oil  Stranded gas reserve  Sulfur-iodine cycle  Sustainable design  Synfuel  Syngas  Tar sands  Tesla turbine  Thermal depolymerization  Thermal power station  Thorium  Tidal power  Transmutation  Turgo turbine -- impulse water turbine designed for medium head applications  Tyson turbine -- for river flow harnessing   UASB  Uranium  Vacuum energy  Vibration energy scavenging  Vortex energy  Water turbine  Wave power  Wind energy  Wind farm  Wind turbine  Wood fuel  Wood gas  Zero-point energy

negative: Coconut timber Coconut timber is a hardwood-substitute from coconut palm trees . It is referred to in the Philippines as Coconut Lumber , or Coco Lumber , and elsewhere additionally as Cocowood . It is a new timber resource that comes from plantation crops and offers an alternative to rainforest timber .

negative: Sarawak Land Development Board Sarawak Land Development Board ( SLDB ) is a Malaysian body corporate active in palm oil industry and other industries founded in 1972 .   Sarawak Plantation Berhad ( SPB ; ) was specially incorporated as the vehicle company for the privatisation of Sarawak Land Development Board 's ( SLDB ) assets  It has developed extensive areas for oil palm and cocoa .

negative: Elmina Estate Elmina Estate ( Ladang Elmina in the Malaysian language ) is an oil palm plantation near Sungai Buloh , Selangor , Malaysia . It is currently owned and operated by Sime Darby Berhad .

negative: Doubly-fed electric machine Doubly-fed electric machines are electric motors or electric generators where both the field magnet windings and armature windings are separately connected to equipment outside the machine . By feeding adjustable frequency AC power to the field windings , the magnetic field can be made to rotate , allowing variation in motor or generator speed . This is useful , for instance , for generators used in wind turbines .

negative: Carno wind farm Carno is a wind farm of 68 turbines which started operation in October 1996 . It covers an area of over 600 hectares on Trannon Moor , a plateau to the west of the village of Carno in Powys , Mid Wales , 400 m above sea level .   Carno currently has the largest production capacity in Wales .   Originally consisting of 56 wind turbines each of 600 kilowatts ( kW ) maximum output , the combined maximum power of 33.6 megawatts ( MW ) made Carno the largest Wind Farm in Europe at the time of its construction . The total project cost was approximately # 26 million .   Information :  Number of turbines : 56 ( extended to 68 with Carno 2 in 2008 )  Turbine manufacturer : Bonus Energy A/S , Denmark  Turbine rating : 600 kW .  Combined maximum power : 33.6 MW  Tower height to hub : 31.5 m  Blade number and diameter : 3 blades , each 44 m long  Annual production : 90 million units  Wildlife information : 37 species of birds . 512 species of insects & spiders , including one Red Data Book entry , the nationally scarce Trechus rivularis ground beetle .  Archaeological features : Bronze Age cairns , standing stones and a possible Roman road crossing from east to west .   Public footpaths cross the site and are waymarked on Ordnance Survey maps .   In 2008 , an extension designated `` Carno 2 '' was completed , bringing the total number of turbines to 68 , comprising 12 new Siemens 1.3 MW wind turbines with a hub height of 49 m , blade length of 30 m and rotor diameter of 62 m giving a tip height of 80 m.

negative: Herakles Farms Herakles Farms , formerly known as SG Sustainable Oils , is an American company active in oil palm plantations and timber business . Its headquarters are in New York City . According to its web site , it is committed to sustainability .

negative: Small wind turbine A small wind turbine is a wind turbine used for microgeneration , as opposed to large commercial wind turbines , such as those found in wind farms , with greater individual power output . The Canadian Wind Energy Association ( CanWEA ) defines `` small wind '' as ranging from less than 1000 Watt ( 1 kW ) turbines up to 300 kW turbines . The smaller turbines may be as small as a 50 Watt auxiliary power generator for a boat , caravan , or miniature refrigeration unit .


query: a new study by scientists at the Australian Research Council finds that the ongoing bleaching event is mainly due to human-caused global warming, and that if global warming proceeds as currently expected, “large parts” of the Great Barrier Reef could die by the mid-2030s.

positive: Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world 's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2300 km over an area of approximately 344400 km2 . The reef is located in the Coral Sea , off the coast of Queensland , Australia .   The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world 's biggest single structure made by living organisms . This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms , known as coral polyps . It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981 . CNN labelled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world . The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland .   A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park , which helps to limit the impact of human use , such as fishing and tourism . Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff , climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching , and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish . According to a study published in October 2012 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the reef has lost more than half its coral cover since 1985 .   The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples , and is an important part of local groups ' cultures and spirituality . The reef is a very popular destination for tourists , especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions . Tourism is an important economic activity for the region , generating over AUD$ 3 billion per year . In November 2014 , Google launched Google Underwater Street View in 3D of the Great Barrier Reef .   A March 2016 report stated that coral bleaching was more widespread than previously thought , seriously affecting the northern parts of the reef as a result of warming ocean temperatures . In October 2016 , Outside published an obituary for the reef ; the article was criticized for being premature and hindering efforts to bolster the resilience of the reef . In March 2017 , the journal Nature published a paper showing that huge sections of a 800-kilometre ( 500 mi ) stretch in the northern part of the reef had died in the course of 2016 due to high water temperatures , an event that the authors put down to the effects of global climate change .

positive: Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports.  Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors.

positive: Climate change in Australia Climate change has been a major issue in Australia since the beginning of the 21st century . In 2013 , the CSIRO released a report stating that Australia is becoming hotter , and that it will experience more extreme heat and longer fire seasons because of climate change . In 2014 , the Bureau of Meteorology released a report on the state of Australia 's climate that highlighted several key points , including the significant increase in Australia 's temperatures ( particularly night-time temperatures ) and the increasing frequency of bush fires , droughts and floods , which have all been linked to climate change .   Since the beginning of the 20th century Australia has experienced an increase of nearly 1 ° C in average annual temperatures , with warming occurring at twice the rate over the past 50 years than in the previous 50 years . Recent climate events such as extremely high temperatures and widespread drought have focused government and public attention on the impacts of climate change in Australia . Rainfall in southwestern Australia has decreased by 10 -- 20 % since the 1970s , while southeastern Australia has also experienced a moderate decline since the 1990s . Rainfall patterns are expected to be problematic , as rain has become heavier and infrequent , as well as more common in summer rather than in winter , with little or no uptrend in rainfall in the Western Plateau and the Central Lowlands of Australia . Water sources in the southeastern areas of Australia have depleted due to increasing population in urban areas ( rising demand ) coupled with climate change factors such as persistent prolonged drought ( diminishing supply ) . At the same time , Australia continues to have the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions . Temperatures in Australia have also risen dramatically since 1910 and nights have become warmer .   A carbon tax was introduced in 2011 by the Gillard government in an effort to reduce the impact of climate change and despite some criticism , it successfully reduced Australia 's carbon dioxide emissions , with coal generation down 11 % since 2008 -- 09 . The subsequent Australian Government , elected in 2013 under then Prime Minister Tony Abbott was criticised for being `` in complete denial about climate change '' . Furthermore , the Abbott government repealed the carbon tax on 17 July 2014 in a heavily criticised move . The renewable energy target ( RET ) , launched in 2001 , was heavily modified under Abbott 's government . However , under the government of Malcolm Turnbull , Australia attended the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference and adopted the Paris Agreement . This agreement includes a review of emission reduction targets every 5 years from 2020 .   The federal government and all state governments ( New South Wales , Victoria , Queensland , South Australia , Western Australia , Tasmania , Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ) have explicitly recognised that climate change is being caused by greenhouse gas emissions , in conformity with the scientific opinion on climate change . Sectors of the population have campaigned against new coal mines and coal-fired power stations , reflecting concerns about the effects of global warming on Australia .  The Garnaut Climate Change Review predicted that a net benefit to Australia may be derived by stabilising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at 450ppm CO2 eq .   The per-capita carbon footprint in Australia was rated 12th in the world by PNAS in 2011 , considerably large given the small population of the country .

negative: Surveys of scientists' views on climate change Surveys of scientists ' views on climate change - with a focus on human-caused or anthropogenic global warming ( AGW ) - have been undertaken since the 1990s . A 2016 paper ( which was co-authored by Naomi Oreskes , Peter Doran , William Anderegg , Bart Verheggen , Ed Maibach , J. Stuart Carlton and John Cook , and which was based on a half a dozen independent studies by the authors ) concluded that `` the finding of 97 % consensus -LSB- that humans are causing recent global warming -RSB- in published climate research is robust and consistent with other surveys of climate scientists and peer-reviewed studies . ''

negative: Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally .   Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be .   Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming .

negative: Global warming hiatus A global warming hiatus , also sometimes referred to as a global warming pause or a global warming slowdown , is a period of relatively little change in globally averaged surface temperatures . In the current episode of global warming many such 15-year periods appear in the surface temperature record , along with robust evidence of the long-term warming trend ; climate is classically averaged over 30-year periods .   Publicity has surrounded claims of a global warming hiatus during the period 1998 -- 2013 . The exceptionally warm El Niño year of 1998 was an outlier from the continuing temperature trend , and so subsequent annual temperatures gave the appearance of a hiatus : by January 2006 , it appeared to some that global warming had stopped or paused . A 2009 study showed that decades without warming were not exceptional , and in 2011 a study showed that if allowances were made for known variability , the rising temperature trend continued unabated . There was increased public interest in 2013 in the run-up to publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report , and despite concerns that a 15-year period was too short to determine a meaningful trend , the IPCC included a section on a hiatus , which it defined as a much smaller increasing linear trend over the 15 years from 1998 to 2012 , than over the 60 years from 1951 to 2012 . Various studies examined possible causes of the short-term slowdown . Even though the overall climate system has continued to accumulate energy due to Earth 's positive energy budget , the available temperature readings at the Earth 's surface indicate slower rates of increase in surface warming than in the prior decade . Since measurements at the top of the atmosphere show that Earth is receiving more energy than it is radiating back into space , the retained energy should be producing warming in the Earth 's climate system .   Research reported in July 2015 on an updated NOAA dataset casts doubt on the existence of a hiatus , and it finds no indication of a slowdown even in earlier years . Scientists working on other datasets welcomed this study , though they have expressed the view that the recent warming trend was less than in previous periods of the same length . Subsequently , a detailed study supports the conclusion that warming is continuing , but it also find there was less warming between 2001 and 2010 than climate models had predicted , and that this slowdown might be attributed to short-term variations in the Pacific decadal oscillation ( PDO ) , which was negative during that period . Another review finds `` no substantive evidence '' of a pause in global warming . A statistical study of global temperature data since 1970 concludes that the term ` hiatus ' or ` pause ' is not justified .   Independent of these discussions about data and measurements for earlier years , 2015 turned out to be much warmer than any of the earlier years , already before El Niño conditions started . The warmth of 2015 largely ended any remaining scientific credibility of claims that the supposed `` hiatus '' since 1998 had any significance for the long-term warming trend . In January 2017 , a study published in the journal Science Advances cast further doubt on the existence of a recent pause , with more evidence that ocean temperatures have been underestimated . An April 2017 study found the data consistent with a steady warming trend globally since the 1970s , with fluctuations within the expected range of short term variability .

negative: Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (SR15) was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 8 October 2018. The report, approved in Incheon, South Korea, includes over 6,000 scientific references, and was prepared by 91 authors from 40 countries. In December 2015, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference called for the report. The report was delivered at the United Nations' 48th session of the IPCC to "deliver the authoritative, scientific guide for governments" to deal with climate change.Its key finding is that meeting a 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) target is possible but would require "deep emissions reductions" and "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society." Furthermore, the report finds that "limiting global warming to 1.5 °C compared with 2 °C would reduce challenging impacts on ecosystems, human health and well-being" and that a 2 °C temperature increase would exacerbate extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, coral bleaching, and loss of ecosystems, among other impacts. SR15 also has modelling that shows that, for global warming to be limited to 1.5 °C, "Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) would need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching 'net zero' around 2050." The reduction of emissions by 2030 and its associated changes and challenges, including rapid decarbonisation, was a key focus on much of the reporting which was repeated through the world.

negative: The Great Global Warming Swindle The Great Global Warming Swindle is a polemical documentary film that suggests that the scientific opinion on climate change is influenced by funding and political factors , and questions whether scientific consensus on global warming exists . The program was formally criticised by Ofcom , the UK broadcasting regulatory agency , which upheld complaints of misrepresentation made by David King .   The film , made by British television producer Martin Durkin , presents scientists , economists , politicians , writers , and others who dispute the scientific consensus regarding anthropogenic global warming . The programme 's publicity materials assert that man-made global warming is `` a lie '' and `` the biggest scam of modern times . '' Its original working title was `` Apocalypse my arse '' , but the title The Great Global Warming Swindle was later adopted as an allusion to the 1980 mockumentary The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle about British punk band the Sex Pistols .   The UK 's Channel 4 premiered the documentary on 8 March 2007 . The channel described the film as `` a polemic that drew together the well-documented views of a number of respected scientists to reach the same conclusions . This is a controversial film but we feel that it is important that all sides of the debate are aired . '' According to Hamish Mykura , Channel 4 's head of documentaries , the film was commissioned `` to present the viewpoint of the small minority of scientists who do not believe global warming is caused by anthropogenic production of carbon dioxide . ''   Although the documentary was welcomed by global warming sceptics , it was criticised by scientific organisations and individual scientists ( including one of the scientists interviewed in the film and one whose research was used to support the film 's claims ) . The film 's critics argued that it had misused and fabricated data , relied on out-of-date research , employed misleading arguments , and misrepresented the position of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . Later broadcasts corrected three errors in the original film .

negative: Long-term effects of global warming See also Effects of global warming . The focus of this article is on the effects beyond 2100 .   There are expected to be various long-term effects of global warming . Most discussion and research , including that by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) reports , concentrates on the effects of global warming up to 2100 , with only an outline of the effects beyond this .

negative: History of climate change science The history of the scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect first identified . In the late 19th century , scientists first argued that human emissions of greenhouse gases could change the climate . Many other theories of climate change were advanced , involving forces from volcanism to solar variation . In the 1960s , the warming effect of carbon dioxide gas became increasingly convincing . Some scientists also pointed out that human activities that generated atmospheric aerosols ( e.g. , `` pollution '' ) could have cooling effects as well . During the 1970s , scientific opinion increasingly favored the warming viewpoint . By the 1990s , as a result of improving fidelity of computer models and observational work confirming the Milankovitch theory of the ice ages , a consensus position formed : greenhouse gases were deeply involved in most climate changes and human caused emissions were bringing discernible global warming . Since the 1990s , scientific research on climate change has included multiple disciplines and has expanded . Research has expanded our understanding of causal relations , links with historic data and ability to model climate change numerically . Research during this period has been summarized in the Assessment Reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change .   Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years . It may be a change in average weather conditions , or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions ( such as more or fewer extreme weather events ) . Climate change is caused by factors that include oceanic processes ( such as oceanic circulation ) , biotic processes , variations in solar radiation received by Earth , plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions , and human-induced alterations of the natural world . The latter effect is currently causing global warming , and `` climate change '' is often used to describe human-specific impacts .

negative: The 2030 °Challenge The 2030 ° Challenge is an initiative by Edward Mazria and Architecture 2030 asking the global architecture and construction community to adopt a series of greenhouse gas reduction targets for new and renovated buildings .   In many developed countries the construction and use of buildings is the leading consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gas emissions . Stabilizing and reversing emissions in this sector is key to keeping future global warming under one degree celsius ( ° C ) above today 's level , in order to avoid increased global warming , potentially to reach a tipping point .

negative: Global dimming Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth 's surface that was observed for several decades after the start of systematic measurements in the 1950s . The effect varies by location , but worldwide it has been estimated to be of the order of a 4 % reduction over the three decades from 1960 -- 1990 . However , after discounting an anomaly caused by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 , a very slight reversal in the overall trend has been observed .   Global dimming is thought to have been caused by an increase in particulates such as sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere due to human action .   It has interfered with the hydrological cycle by reducing evaporation and may have reduced rainfall in some areas . Global dimming also creates a cooling effect that may have partially counteracted the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming .

negative: Regional effects of global warming Regional effects of global warming are long-term significant changes in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region due to global warming . The world average temperature is rising due to the greenhouse effect caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases , especially carbon dioxide . When the global temperature changes , the changes in climate are not expected to be uniform across the Earth . In particular , land areas change more quickly than oceans , and northern high latitudes change more quickly than the tropics , and the margins of biome regions change faster than do their cores .   Regional effects of global warming vary in nature . Some are the result of a generalised global change , such as rising temperature , resulting in local effects , such as melting ice . In other cases , a change may be related to a change in a particular ocean current or weather system . In such cases , the regional effect may be disproportionate and will not necessarily follow the global trend . The increasing temperatures from greenhouse gases have been causing sea levels to rise for many years .   There are three major ways in which global warming will make changes to regional climate : melting or forming ice , changing the hydrological cycle ( of evaporation and precipitation ) and changing currents in the oceans and air flows in the atmosphere . The coast can also be considered a region , and will suffer severe impacts from sea level rise .

negative: Kimbe Bay Kimbe Bay is a large bay in West New Britain Province , off the northern coast of New Britain , Papua New Guinea , at . Kimbe Bay is an important biodiversity hotspot . 60 percent of the coral species of the entire Indo-Pacific region live here . Kimbe Bay is the home of more than 860 coral reef fish species . Because of a massive die-off of coral worldwide due to pollution , human activities , and global warming , Kimbe Bay has become increasingly important , since it is seen as one of the last holdouts for coral should the degradation continue . Efforts are currently underway to limit the human impact on the bay . Due to its beauty it is also a popular diving site .

negative: Lavoisier Group The Lavoisier Group is an Australian organisation formed by politicians and dominated by retired industrial businesspeople and engineers . It does not accept the science of global warming and works to influence attitudes of policy makers and politicians . The organisation downplays the risk of the effects of global warming , rejects the scientific conclusion that human activity causes it , and opposes policies designed to curtail it . Some members regard climate change as a `` scam . ''   The group was named after French scientist Antoine Lavoisier ( 1743-1794 ) , the father of modern chemistry who disproved the Phlogiston theory of combustion .

negative: Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

negative: Effects of global warming on humans Climate change has brought about possibly permanent alterations to Earth 's geological , biological and ecological systems . These changes have led to the emergence of large-scale environmental hazards to human health , such as extreme weather , ozone depletion , increased danger of wildland fires , loss of biodiversity , stresses to food-producing systems and the global spread of infectious diseases . The World Health Organization ( WHO ) estimates that 160,000 deaths , since 1950 , are directly attributable to climate change . Many believe this to be a conservative estimate .   To date , a neglected aspect of the climate change debate , much less research has been conducted on the impacts of climate change on health , food supply , economic growth , migration , security , societal change , and public goods , such as drinking water , than on the geophysical changes related to global warming . Human impacts can be both negative and positive . Climatic changes in Siberia , for instance , are expected to improve food production and local economic activity , at least in the short to medium term . Numerous studies suggest , however , that the current and future impacts of climate change on human society are and will continue to be overwhelmingly negative .   The majority of the adverse effects of climate change are experienced by poor and low-income communities around the world , who have much higher levels of vulnerability to environmental determinants of health , wealth and other factors , and much lower levels of capacity available for coping with environmental change . A report on the global human impact of climate change published by the Global Humanitarian Forum in 2009 , estimated more than 300,000 deaths and about $ 125 billion in economic losses each year , and indicating that most climate change induced mortality is due to worsening floods and droughts in developing countries .

negative: Attribution of recent climate change Attribution of recent climate change is the effort to scientifically ascertain mechanisms responsible for recent climate changes on Earth , commonly known as ` global warming ' . The effort has focused on changes observed during the period of instrumental temperature record , when records are most reliable ; particularly in the last 50 years , when human activity has grown fastest and observations of the troposphere have become available . The dominant mechanisms are anthropogenic , i.e. , the result of human activity . They are :  increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases  global changes to land surface , such as deforestation  increasing atmospheric concentrations of aerosols .   There are also natural mechanisms for variation including climate oscillations , changes in solar activity , and volcanic activity .   According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) , it is `` extremely likely '' that human influence was the dominant cause of global warming between 1951 and 2010 . The IPCC defines `` extremely likely '' as indicating a probability of 95 to 100 % , based on an expert assessment of all the available evidence .   Multiple lines of evidence support attribution of recent climate change to human activities :  A basic physical understanding of the climate system : greenhouse gas concentrations have increased and their warming properties are well-established .  Historical estimates of past climate changes suggest that the recent changes in global surface temperature are unusual .  Computer-based climate models are unable to replicate the observed warming unless human greenhouse gas emissions are included .  Natural forces alone ( such as solar and volcanic activity ) can not explain the observed warming .   The IPCC 's attribution of recent global warming to human activities is a view shared by the scientific community , and is also supported by 196 other scientific organizations worldwide ( see also : scientific opinion on climate change ) .

negative: Mitigation of global warming in Australia Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of global warming . This is in distinction to adaptation to global warming , which involves taking action to minimise the effects of global warming . Scientific consensus on global warming , together with the precautionary principle and the fear of non-linear climate transitions , is leading to increased effort to develop new technologies and sciences and carefully manage others in an attempt to mitigate global warming .   Carbon capture and storage ( CCS ) for coal-fired power stations has been put forward as a solution to rising greenhouse gas emissions . However , CCS can not deliver in time to avoid dangerous increases in temperatures , as widespread commercial use of CCS is not expected before 2030 .   Following the introduction of government mandatory renewable energy targets , more opportunities have opened up for renewable energy technologies such as wind power , photovoltaics , and solar thermal technologies . The deployment of these technologies provides opportunities for mitigating greenhouse gases .   A carbon price was introduced on 1 July 2012 by the government of Julia Gillard with the purpose of reducing Australia 's carbon emissions . It requires large businesses ( defined as those with annual carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over 25,000 tonnes annually ) to pay a price for emissions permits . The tax was scrapped by the Abbott government in July 2014 in what was a widely criticised and highly publicised move .

negative: Hurricane Katrina and global warming The tremendous destruction caused by recent Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclones , such as Hurricanes Katrina , Wilma , and Sandy caused a substantial upsurge in interest in the subject of global warming by news media and the wider public , and concerns that global climatic change may have played a significant role in those events . Time Magazine , for example , published an article titled , `` Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina ? '' -- however , the article itself addressed hurricanes in general , rather than Katrina specifically , and was inconclusive .   Shortly after the hurricane , former Boston Globe reporter Ross Gelbspan wrote an op-ed piece for the Globe titled , `` Katrina 's Real Name '' , declaring that the hurricane 's `` real name is global warming . '' Gelbspan went on to assert :  `` Although Katrina began as a relatively small hurricane that glanced off south Florida , it was supercharged with extraordinary intensity by the relatively blistering sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico . ''  Gelbspan did not single out Katrina from other recent storms in that regard ; in the article he went on to attribute other major weather events over the preceding year to global warming , including a blizzard in Los Angeles , high winds in Scandinavia , wildfires in Spain , and a drought centered in Missouri .   Britain 's then deputy prime minister , John Prescott , has linked Katrina with global warming , and statements made shortly after the hurricane by Germany 's environment minister , Jürgen Trittin , indicate he believes that global warming is responsible for an increase in the frequency of destructive natural events .   Kerry Emanuel had recently published a paper in the journal Nature that found a good correlation between hurricane intensity and sea surface temperatures . Some journalists have claimed Emanuel 's paper concludes that the recent increase in intense Atlantic storms is due to global warming , but Emanuel stated that `` it would be absurd to attribute the Katrina disaster to global warming '' .   The Internet blog RealClimate has written that `` there is no way to prove that Katrina either was , or was not , affected by global warming '' .

negative: Climate engineering Climate engineering , commonly referred to as geoengineering , also known as climate intervention , is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth 's climatic system with the aim of limiting adverse global warming . Climate engineering is an umbrella term for measures that mainly fall into two types : carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management . Carbon dioxide removal addresses the cause of global warming by removing one of the greenhouse gases ( carbon dioxide ) from the atmosphere . Solar radiation management attempts to offset effects of greenhouse gases by causing the Earth to absorb less solar radiation .   Climate engineering approaches are sometimes viewed as additional potential options for limiting global warming , alongside mitigation and adaptation . There is substantial agreement among scientists that climate engineering can not substitute for climate change mitigation . Some approaches might be used as accompanying measures to sharp cuts in greenhouse gas emissions . Given that all types of measures for addressing climate change have economic , political , or physical limitations , some climate engineering approaches might eventually be used as part of an ensemble of measures . Research on costs , benefits , and various types of risks of most climate engineering approaches is at an early stage and their understanding needs to improve to judge their adequacy and feasibility .   Almost all research into solar radiation management has consisted of computer modelling or laboratory tests , and an attempt to move to outdoor experimentation was controversial . Some carbon dioxide removal practices , such as planting of trees and bio-energy with carbon capture and storage projects , are underway . Their scalability to effectively affect global climate is , however , debated . Ocean iron fertilization has been given small-scale research trials , sparking substantial controversy .   Most experts and major reports advise against relying on climate engineering techniques as a simple solution to global warming , in part due to the large uncertainties over effectiveness and side effects . However , most experts also argue that the risks of such interventions must be seen in the context of risks of dangerous global warming . Interventions at large scale may run a greater risk of disrupting natural systems resulting in a dilemma that those approaches that could prove highly ( cost - ) effective in addressing extreme climate risk , might themselves cause substantial risk . Some have suggested that the concept of engineering the climate presents a so-called `` moral hazard '' because it could reduce political and public pressure for emissions reduction , which could exacerbate overall climate risks ; others assert that the threat of climate engineering could spur emissions cuts .  Some are in favour of a moratorium on out-of-doors testing and deployment of solar radiation management ( SRM ) .

negative: Climate change Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time ( i.e. , decades to millions of years ) . Climate change may refer to a change in average weather conditions , or in the time variation of weather around longer-term average conditions ( i.e. , more or fewer extreme weather events ) . Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes , variations in solar radiation received by Earth , plate tectonics , and volcanic eruptions . Certain human activities have been identified as primary causes of ongoing climate change , often referred to as global warming .   Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and theoretical models . A climate record -- extending deep into the Earth 's past -- has been assembled , and continues to be built up , based on geological evidence from borehole temperature profiles , cores removed from deep accumulations of ice , floral and faunal records , glacial and periglacial processes , stable-isotope and other analyses of sediment layers , and records of past sea levels . More recent data are provided by the instrumental record . General circulation models , based on the physical sciences , are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data , make future projections , and link causes and effects in climate change .

negative: Climatic Research Unit documents Climatic Research Unit documents including thousands of e-mails and other computer files were stolen from a server at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in a hacking incident in November 2009 . The documents were redistributed first through several blogs of global warming skeptics , and allegations were made that they indicated misconduct by leading climate scientists . A series of investigations rejected these allegations , while concluding that CRU scientists should have been more open with distributing data and methods on request . Precisely six committees investigated the allegations and published reports , finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct . The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged by the end of the investigations .   The incident occurred shortly before the opening December 2009 Copenhagen global climate summit . It has prompted general discussion about increasing the openness of scientific data ( though the majority of climate data have always been freely available ) . Scientists , scientific organisations , and government officials have stated that the incident does not affect the overall scientific case for climate change . Andrew Revkin reported in the New York Times that `` The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument . ''

negative: A Big Fix A Big Fix : Radical Solutions for Australia 's Environmental Crisis is a 2005 book by Ian Lowe which argues that the warnings from environmental scientists are urgent and unequivocal . Professor Lowe suggests that resources are being used too quickly , environmental systems are being compromised , and society is being destabilised by the increasing gap between rich and poor . Lowe proposes several radical solutions . He advocates a fundamental change to our personal values and social institutions and provides a vision of a healthier society -- one that is more humane , takes an eco-centric approach , adopts longer-term thinking , and respects natural systems .

negative: List of glaciers in Glacier National Park (U.S.) There are at least 35 named glaciers in Glacier National Park ( U.S. ) . In 1850 , the area now comprising the national park had 150 glaciers . There are 25 active glaciers remaining in the park today . Since the ice ages stopped 10,000 years ago , there have been many slight climate shifts causing periods of glacier growth or melt-back . The glaciers are currently being studied to see the effect of global warming It is estimated that if current warming trends continue , there will be no glaciers left in the park by 2030 .

negative: Global Warming Policy Foundation The Global Warming Policy Foundation ( GWPF ) is a think tank in the United Kingdom , whose stated aims are to challenge `` extremely damaging and harmful policies '' envisaged by governments to mitigate anthropogenic global warming .   It promotes climate change denial . In 2014 , when the Charity Commission ruled that the GWPF had breached rules on impartiality , a non-charitable organisation called the `` Global Warming Policy Forum '' or `` GWPF '' was created as a wholly owned subsidiary , to do lobbying that a charity could not .  The GWPF website carries an array of articles `` sceptical '' of scientific findings of anthropogenic global warming and its impacts .

negative: Effects of climate change The effects of climate change may refer to :  Effects of global warming , the effects of current climate change  Historical impacts of climate change , during the early evolution and history of humans , prior to current global warming

negative: The Greenhouse Conspiracy The Greenhouse Conspiracy is a documentary film broadcast by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 12 August 1990 , as part of the Equinox series , which criticised the theory of global warming and asserted that scientists critical of global warming theory were denied funding . It is one of the earliest instances of the suggestion of a conspiracy to promote false claims supporting global warming . Although the title of the program implied the existence of a conspiracy , when interviewed on the program Patrick Michaels played down the idea , saying , `` It may not quite add up to a conspiracy , but certainly a coalition of interests has promoted the greenhouse theory : scientists have needed funds , the media a story , and governments a worthy cause '' .

negative: Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas ( abbrev . GHG ) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range . This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect . The primary greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere are water vapor , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxide , and ozone . Without greenhouse gases , the average temperature of Earth 's surface would be about -18 ° C , rather than the present average of 15 ° C . In the Solar System , the atmospheres of Venus , Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause a greenhouse effect .   Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution ( taken as the year 1750 ) have produced a 40 % increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide , from 280 ppm in 1750 to 406 ppm in early 2017 . This increase has occurred despite the uptake of a large portion of the emissions by various natural `` sinks '' involved in the carbon cycle . Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions ( i.e. , emissions produced by human activities ) come from combustion of fossil fuels , principally coal , oil , and natural gas , along with deforestation , soil erosion and animal agriculture .   It has been estimated that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the present rate , Earth 's surface temperature could exceed historical values as early as 2047 , with potentially harmful effects on ecosystems , biodiversity and the livelihoods of people worldwide . Recent estimates suggest that on the current emissions trajectory the Earth could pass a threshold of 2 ° C global warming , which the United Nations ' IPCC designated as the upper limit to avoid `` dangerous '' global warming , by 2036 .

negative: Duncan Wingham Duncan John Wingham ( born 12 October 1957 ) is a British physicist who is Professor of Climate Physics at University College London , and was the first Director of the Centre for Polar Observation & Modelling . He is chief executive of the Natural Environment Research Council and Principal Scientist for the CryoSat Satellite Mission .   In the 1990s , Wingham was involved in a four-year satellite study of the Antarctic ice sheet . His conclusion then , and from later research , is that the Antarctic has contributed little to observed rising sea levels in the 20th century . However , he has also stated that `` it is possible that the consequences of global warming on sea level rise have been underestimated ... Other sources of rise must be underestimated . In particular it is possible that the effect of global warming on thermal expansion -LSB- on the oceans -RSB- is larger than we thought '' .   In a 2005 interview Wingham stated '' -LSB- t -RSB- he Antarctic is to some extent insulated from global warming because to its north are zonal flows in the atmosphere and ocean , unimpeded by other landmasses ... I am not denying global warming . ''

negative: Economics of global warming The economics of global warming concerns the economic aspects of global warming ; this can inform policies that governments might consider in response . A number of factors make this a difficult problem from both economic and political perspectives : it is a long-term , intergenerational problem ; benefits and costs are distributed unequally both within and across countries ; and scientific and public opinions may diverge .   One of the most important greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide . Around 20 % of carbon dioxide which is emitted due to human activities can remain in the atmosphere for many thousands of years . The long time scales and uncertainty associated with global warming have led analysts to develop `` scenarios '' of future environmental , social and economic changes . These scenarios can help governments understand the potential consequences of their decisions .   The impacts of climate change include the loss of biodiversity , sea level rise , increased frequency and severity of some extreme weather events , and acidification of the oceans . Economists have attempted to quantify these impacts in monetary terms , but these assessments can be controversial .   The two main policy responses to global warming are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and to adapt to the impacts of global warming ( e.g. , by building levees in response to sea level rise ) . Another policy response which has recently received greater attention is geoengineering of the climate system ( e.g. injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth 's surface ) .   One of the responses to the uncertainties of global warming is to adopt a strategy of sequential decision making . This strategy recognizes that decisions on global warming need to be made with incomplete information , and that decisions in the near term will have potentially long-term impacts . Governments might choose to use risk management as part of their policy response to global warming . For instance , a risk-based approach can be applied to climate impacts which are difficult to quantify in economic terms , e.g. , the impacts of global warming on indigenous peoples .   Analysts have assessed global warming in relation to sustainable development . Sustainable development considers how future generations might be affected by the actions of the current generation . In some areas , policies designed to address global warming may contribute positively towards other development objectives . In other areas , the cost of global warming policies may divert resources away from other socially and environmentally beneficial investments ( the opportunity costs of climate change policy ) .

negative: Census of Coral Reefs The Census of Coral Reefs ( CReefs ) is a field project of the Census of Marine Life that surveys the biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems internationally . The project works to study what species live in coral reef ecosystems , to develop standardized protocols for studying coral reef ecosystems , and to increase access to and exchange of information about coral reefs scattered throughout the globe .   The CReefs project uses the implementation of autonomous reef-monitoring structures ( ARMS ) to study the species that inhabit coral reefs . These structures are placed on the sea floor in areas where coral reefs exist , where they are left for one year . At the end of the year , the ARMS is pulled to the surface , along with the species which have inhabited it , for analysis .   Coral reefs are thought to be the most organically different of all marine ecosystems . Major declines in key reef ecosystems suggest a decline in reef population throughout the world due to environmental stresses . The vulnerability of coral reef ecosystems is expected to increase significantly in response to climate change . The reefs are also being threatened by induced coral bleaching , ocean acidification , sea-level rise , and changing storm tracks . Reef biodiversity could be in danger of being lost before it is even documented , and researchers will be left with a limited and poor understanding of these complex ecosystems .   In an attempt to enhance global understanding of reef biodiversity , the goals of the CReefs Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems were to conduct a diverse global census of coral reef ecosystems . And increase access to and exchange of coral reef data throughout the world . Because coral reefs are the most diverse and among the most threatened of all marine ecosystems , there is great justification to learn more about them .

negative: Global stilling Global stilling is the decrease of wind speed observed near the Earth ´ s surface ( ~ 10-meter height ) over the last three decades ( mainly since the 1980s ) , originally termed `` stilling '' . This slowdown of surface winds has mainly affected mid-latitude regions of both hemispheres , with a global average reduction of -0.140 m s-1 dec-1 ( meters per second per decade ) or between 5 and 15 % over the past 50-years . The weakening of winds has mainly occurred over continental surfaces , whereas winds has tended to strengthen over ocean regions . In the last few years , a break in this decrease of wind speed has been detected with a recovery at global scales since 2013 .   The exact causes of the global stilling are uncertain and has been mainly attributed to two major drivers : ( i ) changes in large scale atmospheric circulation , and ( ii ) an increase of surface roughness due to e.g. forest growth , land use changes , and urbanization .   Under a global warming scenario , changes in wind speed are currently a potential concern for the society , due to their impacts on a wide array of spheres , such as wind power generation , ecohydrological implications for agriculture and hydrology , wind-related hazards and catastrophes , or air quality and human health , among many others .