query: Arctic, Antarctic and Greenland ice loss is accelerating due to global warming.

positive: Deglaciation Deglaciation describes the transition from full glacial conditions during ice ages , to warm interglacials , characterized by global warming and sea level rise due to change in continental ice volume ( IPCC AR5 ) . Thus , it refers to the retreat of a glacier , an ice sheet or frozen surface layer , and the resulting exposure of the Earth 's surface . The decline of the cryosphere due to ablation can occur on any scale from global to localized to a particular glacier . After the Last Glacial Maximum ( ca. 21k years ago ) , the last deglaciation begun , which lasted until the early Holocene .   The previous deglaciation took place between approximately 22ka until 11.5 ka . This occurred when there was an annual mean atmospheric temperature on the earth that increased by roughly 5 ° C , which was also accompanied by regional high-latitude warming that exceeded 10 ° C . This was also followed by noteworthy deep-sea and tropical-se warming , between about 1-2 ° C ( deep-sea ) and 2-4 ° C ( tropical sea ) . Not only did this warming occur , but the global hydrological budget also experienced noticeable changes and regional precipitation patters changed . As a result of all of this , the worlds main ice sheets , including the ones located in Eurasia , North America and parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheets melted . As a consequence , sea levels rose roughly 120 metres ) . These processes did not occur steadily , and they also did not occur at the same time .

positive: North Pole The North Pole , also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole , is ( subject to the caveats explained below ) defined as the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth 's axis of rotation meets its surface .   The North Pole is the northernmost point on the Earth , lying diametrically opposite the South Pole . It defines geodetic latitude 90 ° North , as well as the direction of true north . At the North Pole all directions point south ; all lines of longitude converge there , so its longitude can be defined as any degree value . Along tight latitude circles , counterclockwise is east and clockwise is west . The North Pole is at the center of the Northern Hemisphere .   While the South Pole lies on a continental land mass , the North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean amid waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice . This makes it impractical to construct a permanent station at the North Pole ( unlike the South Pole ) . However , the Soviet Union , and later Russia , constructed a number of manned drifting stations on a generally annual basis since 1937 , some of which have passed over or very close to the Pole . Since 2002 , the Russians have also annually established a base , Barneo , close to the Pole . This operates for a few weeks during early spring . Studies in the 2000s predicted that the North Pole may become seasonally ice-free because of Arctic ice shrinkage , with timescales varying from 2016 to the late 21st century or later .   The sea depth at the North Pole has been measured at 4261 m by the Russian Mir submersible in 2007 and at 4,087 m ( 13,410 ft ) by USS Nautilus in 1958 . The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island , off the northern coast of Greenland about 700 km away , though some perhaps non-permanent gravel banks lie slightly closer . The nearest permanently inhabited place is Alert in the Qikiqtaaluk Region , Nunavut , Canada , which is located 817 km from the Pole .

positive: Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly .   Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. .  Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century .   Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems .

positive: Arctic The Arctic ( -LSB- ˈɑrktɪk -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɑrtɪk -RSB- ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth . The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean , adjacent seas , and parts of Alaska ( United States ) , Canada , Finland , Greenland ( Denmark ) , Iceland , Norway , Russia and Sweden . Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover , with predominantly treeless permafrost-containing tundra . Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places .   The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth 's ecosystems . For example , the cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions . In recent years , Arctic sea ice decline has been caused by global warming . Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice , zooplankton and phytoplankton , fish and marine mammals , birds , land animals , plants and human societies . Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic .

positive: Climate change in the Arctic The effects of global warming in the Arctic , or climate change in the Arctic include rising temperatures , loss of sea ice , and melting of the Greenland ice sheet with a related cold temperature anomaly , observed in recent years . Potential methane release from the region , especially through the thawing of permafrost and methane clathrates , is also a concern . The Arctic warms twice as fast compared to the rest of the world . The pronounced warming signal , the amplified response of the Arctic to global warming , it is often seen as a leading indicator of global warming . The melting of Greenland 's ice sheet is linked to polar amplification . According to a study published in 2016 , about 0.5 ◦ C of the warming in the Arctic has been attributed to reductions in sulfate aerosols in Europe since 1980 .

negative: Arctic resources race The Arctic resources race refers to the competition between global entities for newly available natural resources in the Arctic . As the ice in the Arctic melts at a record rate and the sea ice extent continues to decrease due to global climate change , the Arctic waters become more navigable and Arctic resources -- such as oil and gas , minerals , fish , as well as tourism and new trade routes -- are becoming more accessible . Under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea , five nations have the legal right to exploit the Arctic 's natural resources within their exclusive economic zones : Canada , Russia , Denmark , Norway , and the United States ( though the U.S. has yet to ratify the treaty , it considers the treaty to be customary international law and abides by it ) .   The Arctic region and its resources have recently been at the center of controversy and pose potential conflicts between nations that have differing opinions of how to manage the area , including conflicting territorial claims . In addition , the Arctic region is home to an estimated 400,000 indigenous people . If the ice continues to melt at the current rate , then these indigenous people are at risk of being displaced . The acceleration of ice depletion will contribute to climate change as a whole : melting ice releases methane , ice reflects incoming solar radiation , and without it will cause the ocean to absorb more radiation ( albedo effect ) , heating up the water causing more ocean acidification , and melting ice will cause a rise in sea level .

negative: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment ( ACIA ) is a study describing the ongoing climate change in the Arctic and its consequences : rising temperatures , loss of sea ice , unprecedented melting of the Greenland ice sheet , and many impacts on ecosystems , animals , and people . The ACIA is the first comprehensively researched , fully referenced , and independently reviewed evaluation of Arctic climate change and its impacts for the region and for the world . The project was guided by the intergovernmental Arctic Council and the non-governmental International Arctic Science Committee . Three hundred scientists participated in the study over a span of three years .   The 140-page synthesis report Impacts of a Warming Arctic was released in November 2004 , and the scientific report later in 2005 .   The ACIA Secretariat is located at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks .

negative: Retreat of glaciers since 1850 The retreat of glaciers since 1850 affects the availability of fresh water for irrigation and domestic use , mountain recreation , animals and plants that depend on glacier-melt , and , in the longer term , the level of the oceans . Studied by glaciologists , the temporal coincidence of glacier retreat with the measured increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases is often cited as an evidentiary underpinning of global warming . Mid-latitude mountain ranges such as the Himalayas , Alps , Rocky Mountains , Cascade Range , and the southern Andes , as well as isolated tropical summits such as Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa , are showing some of the largest proportionate glacial losses .   Glacier mass balance is the key determinant of the health of a glacier . If the amount of frozen precipitation in the accumulation zone exceeds the quantity of glacial ice lost due to melting or in the ablation zone a glacier will advance ; if the accumulation is less than the ablation , the glacier will retreat . Glaciers in retreat will have negative mass balances , and if they do not find an equilibrium between accumulation and ablation , will eventually disappear .   The Little Ice Age was a period from about 1550 to 1850 when the world experienced relatively cooler temperatures compared to the present . Subsequently , until about 1940 , glaciers around the world retreated as the climate warmed substantially . Glacial retreat slowed and even reversed temporarily , in many cases , between 1950 and 1980 as global temperatures cooled slightly . Since 1980 , a significant global warming has led to glacier retreat becoming increasingly rapid and ubiquitous , so much so that some glaciers have disappeared altogether , and the existences of many of the remaining glaciers are threatened . In locations such as the Andes of South America and Himalayas in Asia , the demise of glaciers in these regions has the potential to affect water supplies in those areas .   The retreat of mountain glaciers , notably in western North America , Asia , the Alps and tropical and subtropical regions of South America , Africa and Indonesia , provide evidence for the rise in global temperatures since the late 19th century . The acceleration of the rate of retreat since 1995 of key outlet glaciers of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets may foreshadow a rise in sea level , which would affect coastal regions .

negative: Copenhagen Diagnosis The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a report written by twenty-six climate scientists from eight countries . It was published in 2009 and was a summary of the peer-reviewed literature to date .   The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a follow-up of the previous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 's Working Group 1 Report . The studies summarized , which date back to the cutoff point of the Working Group 1 Report , are those that authors viewed most relevant to the discussions at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference . The Copenhagen Diagnosis served as the midpoint between IPCC -- AR4 and IPCC-AR5 .   In total , the Copenhagen Diagnosis contains eight main sections , which are :   Surging Greenhouse gas emissions  Since 1990 , the combined global emission of carbon dioxide from various origins , such as cement production , deforestation , and fossil fuel burning , has increased 27 % .  Human-induced warming  Studies conducted by Lee and Rind show that only 10 % of global warming over the past century was due to the Sun .  Acceleration of melting ice caps  Glaciers and melting ice caps can contribute to about 8/10ths of a meter to global sea level rise .  Rapid Arctic sea-ice decline  According to simulations run by NCAR Climate System Model version 3 , the Arctic summer is expected to be ice-free by 2040 .  Underestimation of changing sea levels  In contrast to previous IPCC , the rate of sea level rise ( 3.4 mm/yr over the past 15 years ) has increased around 80 % faster than previously predicted .  Damage due to inaction  A region of permafrost , called the Yedoma , stores about 500 Gt of CO2 and , once released due to rising global temperatures , will increase global temperatures even more .  Turning point must come soon  The largest climate science conference , held in 2009 , has stated , `` Temperature rises above 2 ° C will be difficult for contemporary societies to cope with , and are likely to cause major societal and environmental disruptions through the rest of the century and beyond . ''  The Future  By 2100 , global mean air-temperature is projected to warm by 2 ° C -- 7 ° C above pre-industrial levels .

negative: Sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes . Because ice is less dense than water , it floats on the ocean 's surface ( as does fresh water ice , which has an even lower density ) . Sea ice covers about 7 % of the Earth 's surface and about 12 % of the world 's oceans . Much of the world 's sea ice is enclosed within the polar ice packs in the Earth 's polar regions : the Arctic ice pack of the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic ice pack of the Southern Ocean . Polar packs undergo a significant yearly cycling in surface extent , a natural process upon which depends the Arctic ecology , including the ocean 's ecosystems . Due to the action of winds , currents and temperature fluctuations , sea ice is very dynamic , leading to a wide variety of ice types and features . Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs , which are chunks of ice shelves or glaciers that calve into the ocean . Depending on location , sea ice expanses may also incorporate icebergs .

negative: Antarctic sea ice Antarctic sea ice is the sea ice of the Southern Ocean . It extends far north in winter and retreats almost to the coastline each summer . Sea ice is frozen seawater that is usually less than a few meters thick . This is in contrast to ice shelves , which are formed by glaciers , float in the sea , and are up to a kilometer thick . There are two subdivisions of sea ice : fast ice , which is attached to land ; and ice floes , which are not .   Sea ice in the Southern Ocean melts from the bottom instead of from the surface like Arctic ice because it is covered in snow . As a result , melt ponds are rarely observed . On average , Antarctic sea ice is younger , thinner , warmer , saltier , and more mobile than Arctic sea ice . Due to its inaccessibility , it is not as well-studied as Arctic ice .

negative: Ice-sheet model In climate modelling , Ice-sheet models use numerical methods to simulate the evolution , dynamics and thermodynamics of ice sheets , such as the Greenland ice sheet , the Antarctic ice sheet or the large ice sheets on the northern hemisphere during the last glacial period . They are used for a variety of purposes , from studies of the glaciation of Earth over glacial -- interglacial cycles in the past to projections of ice-sheet decay under future global warming conditions .

negative: Antarctic ice sheet The Antarctic ice sheet is one of the two polar ice caps of the Earth . It covers about 98 % of the Antarctic continent and is the largest single mass of ice on Earth . It covers an area of almost 14 e6km2 and contains 26.5 e6km3 of ice . Approximately 61 percent of all fresh water on the Earth is held in the Antarctic ice sheet , an amount equivalent to about 58 m of sea-level rise . In East Antarctica , the ice sheet rests on a major land mass , but in West Antarctica the bed can extend to more than 2,500 m below sea level . Much of the land in this area would be seabed if the ice sheet were not there .   In contrast to the melting of the Arctic sea ice , sea ice around Antarctica was expanding . The reasons for this are not fully understood , but suggestions include the climatic effects on ocean and atmospheric circulation of the ozone hole , and/or cooler ocean surface temperatures as the warming deep waters melt the ice shelves .

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: Arctic methane emissions Arctic methane release is the release of methane from seas and soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic . While a long-term natural process , it is exacerbated by global warming . This results in a positive feedback effect , as methane is itself a powerful greenhouse gas .   The Arctic region is one of the many natural sources of the greenhouse gas methane . Global warming accelerates its release , due to both release of methane from existing stores , and from methanogenesis in rotting biomass . Large quantities of methane are stored in the Arctic in natural gas deposits , permafrost , and as undersea clathrates . Permafrost and clathrates degrade on warming , thus large releases of methane from these sources may arise as a result of global warming . Other sources of methane include submarine taliks , river transport , ice complex retreat , submarine permafrost and decaying gas hydrate deposits .   Concentrations in the Arctic atmosphere are higher by 8 -- 10 % than that in the Antarctic atmosphere . During cold glacier epochs , this gradient decreases to practically insignificant levels . Land ecosystems are considered the main sources of this asymmetry , although it has been suggested that `` the role of the Arctic Ocean is significantly underestimated . '' Soil temperature and moisture levels have been found to be significant variables in soil methane fluxes in tundra environments .

negative: Tipping points in the climate system A tipping point in the climate system is a threshold that, when exceeded, can lead to large changes in the state of the system. Potential tipping points have been identified in the physical climate system, in impacted ecosystems, and sometimes in both. For instance, feedback from the global carbon cycle is a driver for the transition between glacial and interglacial periods, with orbital forcing providing the initial trigger. Earth's geologic temperature record includes many more examples of geologically rapid transitions between different climate states.Climate tipping points are of particular interest in reference to concerns about global warming in the modern era. Possible tipping point behaviour has been identified for the global mean surface temperature by studying self-reinforcing feedbacks and the past behavior of Earth's climate system. Self-reinforcing feedbacks in the carbon cycle and planetary reflectivity could trigger a cascading set of tipping points that lead the world into a hothouse climate state.Large-scale components of the Earth system that may pass a tipping point have been referred to as tipping elements. Tipping elements are found in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, possibly causing tens of meters of sea level rise. These tipping points are not always abrupt. For example, at some level of temperature rise the melt of a large part of the Greenland ice sheet and/or West Antarctic Ice Sheet will become inevitable; but the ice sheet itself may persist for many centuries. Some tipping elements, like the collapse of ecosystems, are irreversible.

negative: Climate of the Arctic The climate of the Arctic is characterized by long , cold winters and short , cool summers . There is a large amount of variability in climate across the Arctic , but all regions experience extremes of solar radiation in both summer and winter . Some parts of the Arctic are covered by ice ( sea ice , glacial ice , or snow ) year-round , and nearly all parts of the Arctic experience long periods with some form of ice on the surface . Average January temperatures range from about − 34 ° C to 0 ° C ( − 40 to +32 ° F ) , and winter temperatures can drop below − 50 ° C ( − 58 ° F ) over large parts of the Arctic . Average July temperatures range from about − 10 to +10 ° C ( 14 to 50 ° F ) , with some land areas occasionally exceeding 30 ° C ( 86 ° F ) in summer .   The Arctic consists of ocean that is largely surrounded by land . As such , the climate of much of the Arctic is moderated by the ocean water , which can never have a temperature below − 2 ° C ( 28 ° F ) . In winter , this relatively warm water , even though covered by the polar ice pack , keeps the North Pole from being the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere , and it is also part of the reason that Antarctica is so much colder than the Arctic . In summer , the presence of the nearby water keeps coastal areas from warming as much as they might otherwise .

negative: Uunartoq Qeqertaq Uunartoq Qeqertaq , Greenlandic for `` The Warming Island '' , is an island off the east central coast of Greenland , 550 km north of the Arctic Circle . It became recognised as an island only in September 2005 , by US explorer Dennis Schmitt . It was attached to the mainland of Liverpool Land by glacial ice even in 2002 , when the ice shelves began retreating rapidly in this area , so that by 2005 it was no longer attached to the mainland . Members of the scientific community believe this newly discovered island is a direct result of global warming . The island has three large peninsulas , and thus resembles the letter W , or the Chinese character 山 .

negative: Angaangaq Lyberth Angaangaq Lyberth is a politician from Greenland . He has been quoted on the effects of global warming in Greenland . He has represented Arctic peoples in the United Nations General Assembly , and frequently speaks before governments and universities .

negative: Climate system Earth's climate arises from the interaction of five major climate system components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things). Climate is the average weather, typically over a period of 30 years, and is determined by a combination of processes in the climate system, such as ocean currents and wind patterns. Circulation in the atmosphere and oceans is primarily driven by solar radiation and transports heat from the tropical regions to regions that receive less energy from the Sun. The water cycle also moves energy throughout the climate system. In addition, different chemical elements, necessary for life, are constantly recycled between the different components. The climate system can change due to internal variability and external forcings. These external forcings can be natural, such as variations in solar intensity and volcanic eruptions, or caused by humans. Accumulation of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, mainly being emitted by people burning fossil fuels, is causing global warming. Human activity also releases cooling aerosols, but their net effect is far less than that of greenhouse gases. Changes can be amplified by feedback processes in the different climate system components.

negative: Climate inertia Climate inertia describes the widespread inherent characteristic of the climate , ecological , and socio-economic systems . Inertia from anthropogenic impacts may be slow to become apparent , or could be irreversible if climate change crosses associated thresholds . Melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica take time to respond to the emissions of fossil fuel carbon in the climate system . The global warming also causes thermal inertia , thermal expansion of the oceans , which contributes to sea level rise . It has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 meters for each degree of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years .

negative: Konrad Steffen Konrad `` Koni '' Steffen ( born 1952 ) is a glaciologist and the former director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder , a position he held from 2005 until he took office as the director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest , Snow and Landscape Research on July 1 , 2012 . He is known for his research into Arctic sea ice and the glaciers of Greenland , and how they are affected by global warming . He has often traveled to Greenland to study these glaciers firsthand ; for example , when studying Petermann Glacier for three weeks in 2004 , Steffen did so from a camp set up 4,000 feet up the flanks of the glacier 's ice cap . He also operates a network of 20 weather stations on the Greenland ice sheet , the first of which , Swiss Camp , he established in 1990 . He has argued that due to this ice sheet melting faster than anticipated , sea levels could rise by about 3 feet by 2100 , considerably higher than the IPCC 's upper limit of 59 cm , and that Greenland might lose all its ice in 10,000 years , but Antarctica would take considerably longer , since it is so much bigger .

negative: Ice sheet An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km2 , thus also known as continental glacier . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland ; during the last glacial period at Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) the Laurentide ice sheet covered much of North America , the Weichselian ice sheet covered northern Europe and the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered southern South America .   Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers . Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km2 are termed an ice cap . An ice cap will typically feed a series of glaciers around its periphery .   Although the surface is cold , the base of an ice sheet is generally warmer due to geothermal heat . In places , melting occurs and the melt-water lubricates the ice sheet so that it flows more rapidly . This process produces fast-flowing channels in the ice sheet -- these are ice streams .   The present-day polar ice sheets are relatively young in geological terms . The Antarctic Ice Sheet first formed as a small ice cap ( maybe several ) in the early Oligocene , but retreating and advancing many times until the Pliocene , when it came to occupy almost all of Antarctica . The Greenland ice sheet did not develop at all until the late Pliocene , but apparently developed very rapidly with the first continental glaciation . This had the unusual effect of allowing fossils of plants that once grew on present-day Greenland to be much better preserved than with the slowly forming Antarctic ice sheet .

negative: Extinction risk from global warming The extinction risk of global warming is the risk of species becoming extinct due to the effects of global warming .

negative: West Spitsbergen Current The West Spitsbergen Current ( WSC ) is a warm , salty current that runs poleward just west of Spitsbergen , ( formerly called West Spitsbergen ) , in the Arctic Ocean . The WSC branches off the Norwegian Atlantic Current in the Norwegian Sea . The WSC is of importance because it drives warm and salty Atlantic Water into the interior Arctic . The warm and salty WSC flows north through the eastern side of Fram Strait , while the East Greenland Current ( EGC ) flows south through the western side of Fram Strait . The EGC is characterized by being very cold and low in salinity , but above all else it is a major exporter of Arctic sea ice . Thus , the EGC combined with the warm WSC makes the Fram Strait the northernmost ocean area having ice-free conditions throughout the year in all of the global ocean .

negative: Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( Grønlands indlandsis , Sermersuaq ) is a vast body of ice covering 1710000 km ² , roughly 80 % of the surface of Greenland .   It is the second largest ice body in the world , after the Antarctic ice sheet . The ice sheet is almost 2400 km long in a north-south direction , and its greatest width is 1100 km at a latitude of 77 ° N , near its northern margin . The mean altitude of the ice is 2135 m . The thickness is generally more than 2 km and over 3 km at its thickest point . It is not the only ice mass of Greenland -- isolated glaciers and small ice caps cover between 76000 and around the periphery . If the entire 2850000 km3 of ice were to melt , it would lead to a global sea level rise of 7.2 m . The Greenland Ice Sheet is sometimes referred to under the term inland ice , or its Danish equivalent , indlandsis . It is also sometimes referred to as an ice cap .

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: Effects of global warming on marine mammals The effect of global warming on marine mammals is a growing concern . Many of the effects of climate change are currently unknown due to its unpredictability , but many are becoming increasingly evident today . Some effects are very direct such as loss of habitat , temperature stress , and exposure to severe weather . Other effects are more indirect such as changes in host pathogen associations , changes in body condition because of predator -- prey interaction , changed in exposure to toxins , and increased human interactions . These are just a few examples of what marine mammals are dealing with as a result of rapid climate change . There are a number of marine mammals that have been affected by climate change including walruses , seals , penguins , and polar bears .

negative: Arctic geoengineering Temperatures in the Arctic region have tended to increase more rapidly than the global average . Projections of sea ice loss that are adjusted to take account of recent rapid Arctic shrinkage suggest that the Arctic will likely be free of summer sea ice sometime between 2059 and 2078 . Various climate engineering schemes have been suggested to reduce the chance of significant and irreversible effects such as Arctic methane release .   Several climate engineering proposals have been made which are specific to the Arctic . They are usually hydrological in nature , and principally centre upon measures to prevent Arctic ice loss .   In addition , other solar radiation management climate engineering techniques , such as stratospheric sulfate aerosols have been proposed . These would cool the Arctic by adjusting the albedo of the atmosphere .

negative: Abrupt climate change An abrupt climate change occurs when the climate system is forced to transition to a new climate state at a rate that is determined by the climate system energy-balance , and which is more rapid than the rate of change of the external forcing . Past events include the end of the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse , Younger Dryas , Dansgaard-Oeschger events , Heinrich events and possibly also the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum . The term is also used within the context of global warming to describe sudden climate change that is detectable over the time-scale of a human lifetime . One proposed reason for the observed abrupt climate change is that feedback loops within the climate system both enhance small perturbations and cause a variety of stable states .   Timescales of events described as ` abrupt ' may vary dramatically . Changes recorded in the climate of Greenland at the end of the Younger Dryas , as measured by ice-cores , imply a sudden warming of + 10 C-change within a timescale of a few years . Other abrupt changes are the + 4 C-change on Greenland 11,270 years ago or the abrupt + 6 C-change warming 22,000 years ago on Antarctica . By contrast , the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum may have initiated anywhere between a few decades and several thousand years . Finally , Earth Systems models project that under ongoing greenhouse gas emissions as early as 2047 , the Earth 's near surface temperature could depart from the range of variability in the last 150 years , affecting over 3 billion people and most places of great species diversity on Earth .

negative: North Water Polynya The North Water Polynya or Pikialasorsuaq in Greenlandic ( NOW ) is a polynya ( area of year-round open water surrounded by sea ice ) that lies between Greenland and Canada in northern Baffin Bay . The world 's largest Arctic polynya at about 85000 km2 , it creates a warm microclimate that provides a refuge for narwhal , beluga , walrus , and bowhead whales to feed and rest . While thin ice forms in some areas , the polynya is kept open by wind , tides and an ice bridge on its northern edge . Named the `` North Water '' by 19th century whalers who relied on it for spring passage , this polynya is one of the most biologically productive marine areas in the Arctic Ocean .

negative: Antarctic Cold Reversal The Antarctic Cold Reversal ( ACR ) was an important episode of cooling in the climate history of the Earth during the deglaciation at the close of the last ice age . It illustrates the complexity of the climate changes at the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene Epochs .   The Last Glacial Maximum and sea-level minimum occurred c. 21,000 years before present ( BP ) . Antarctic ice cores show gradual warming beginning 3000 years later . At about 14,700 BP , there was a large pulse of meltwater , identified as Meltwater pulse 1A , probably from either the Antarctic ice sheet or the Laurentide ice sheet . Meltwater pulse 1A produced a marine transgression that raised global sea level about 20 meters in two to five centuries and is thought to have influenced the start of the Bølling / Allerød interstadial , the major break with glacial cold in the Northern Hemisphere . Meltwater pulse 1A was followed in Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere by a renewed cooling , the Antarctic Cold Reversal , in c. 14,500 BP , which lasted for two millennia -- an instance of warming causing cooling . The ACR brought an average cooling of perhaps 3 ° C . The Younger Dryas cooling , in the Northern Hemisphere , began while the Antarctic Cold Reversal was still ongoing , and the ACR ended in the midst of the Younger Dryas .   This pattern of climate decoupling between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and of `` southern lead , northern lag '' would manifest in subsequent climate events . The cause or causes of this hemispheric decoupling , of the `` lead/lag '' pattern and of the specific mechanisms of the warming and cooling trends are still subjects of study and dispute among climate researchers . The specific dating and intensity of the Antarctic Cold Reversal are also under debate .   The onset of the Antarctic Cold Reversal was followed , after about 800 years , by an Oceanic Cold Reversal in the Southern Ocean .

negative: Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) was the last period in the Earth 's climate history during the last glacial period when ice sheets were at their greatest extension . Growth of the ice sheets reached their maximum positions in about 24,500 BCE . Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere between approximately 18,000 to 17,000 BCE and in Antarctica approximately 12,500 BCE , which is consistent with evidence that it was the primary source for an abrupt rise in the sea level in about 12,500 BCE .   Vast ice sheets covered much of North America , northern Europe , and Asia . The ice sheets profoundly affected Earth 's climate by causing drought , desertification , and a dramatic drop in sea levels . It was followed by the Late Glacial .

negative: Greenland Sea The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west , the Svalbard archipelago to the east , Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north , and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south . The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean , sometimes as part of the Atlantic Ocean . However , definitions of the Arctic Ocean and its seas tend to be imprecise or arbitrary . In general usage the term `` Arctic Ocean '' would exclude the Greenland Sea . In oceanographic studies the Greenland Sea is considered part of the Nordic Seas , along with the Norwegian Sea . The Nordic Seas are the main connection between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and , as such , could be of great significance in a possible shutdown of thermohaline circulation . In oceanography the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas are often referred to collectively as the `` Arctic Mediterranean Sea '' , a marginal sea of the Atlantic .   The sea has Arctic climate with regular northern winds and temperatures rarely rising above 0 ° C . It previously contained the Odden ice tongue ( or Odden ) area , which extended eastward from the main East Greenland ice edge in the vicinity of 72 -- 74 ° N during the winter and acted as a key winter ice formation area in the Arctic . The West Ice forms in winter in the Greenland Sea , north of Iceland , between Greenland and Jan Mayen island . It is a major breeding ground of harp seal and hooded seal that has been used for seal hunting for more than 200 years .

negative: West Antarctic Rift The West Antarctic Rift is a major , active rift valley lying between East and West Antarctica . It encompasses the Ross Sea , the area under the Ross Ice Shelf and a part of West Antarctica . Its evolution is due to lithospheric thinning of the non-cratonic area of West Antarctica .   Exploration of the geology of the West Antarctic Rift is difficult , because , apart from peaks of the Transantarctic Mountains that protrude above the ice , the region is covered by the vast West Antarctic Ice Sheet . Thus , the rift is less well known than other major rift valleys . It is known , however , that like the East African Rift , the West Antarctic Rift is actually a number of much shorter rifts that cross Antarctica . There is also a sharp division between older , broader Paleogene rifts including the Ross Sea Basin and the younger , narrower Terror Rift . There are also a large number of failed rifts extending as far as Berkner Island .   Although many rifts within the West Antarctic Rift system are no longer active , it is now known that West Antarctica is moving away from the East Antarctic Craton in a north/northeasterly direction ( approximately in the direction of the South Georgia Islands ) at a rate of about 2 mm per year or 500,000 years per kilometre .   The West Antarctic Rift is the source of all the recently active volcanoes within Antarctica , and of most of the major Antarctic mountain systems outside the Antarctic Peninsula . It is also believed to have a major influence on ice flows in West Antarctica , because fast moving ice streams are believed to be influenced by the lubrication provided by water-saturated till , which some argue could help cause breakup of the ice sheet if global warming accelerates .

negative: Climate state Climate state describes a state of climate on Earth and similar terrestrial planets based on a thermal energy budget , such as the greenhouse or icehouse climate state .   The main climate state change is between periodical glacial and interglacial cycles in Earth history , studied from climate proxies . The climate system is responding to the current climate forcing and adjusts following climate sensitivity to reach a climate equilibrium , Earth 's energy balance . Model simulations suggest that the current interglacial climate state will continue for at least another 100,000 years , due to emissions - including complete deglaciation of the Northern Hemisphere .


query: However, volcanoes have had very little impact on the last 40 years of global warming.

positive: Ice age An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth 's surface and atmosphere , resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers . Within a long-term ice age , individual pulses of cold climate are termed `` glacial periods '' ( or alternatively `` glacials '' or `` glaciations '' or colloquially as `` ice age '' ) , and intermittent warm periods are called `` interglacials '' . In the terminology of glaciology , ice age implies the presence of extensive ice sheets in both northern and southern hemispheres . By this definition , we are in an interglacial period -- the Holocene -- of the ice age . The ice age began 2.6 million years ago at the start of the Pleistocene epoch , because the Greenland , Arctic , and Antarctic ice sheets still exist .

positive: Climate change (general concept) Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more. In the time since the industrial revolution the climate has increasingly been affected by human activities that are causing global warming and climate change.The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun. The climate system also radiates energy to outer space. The balance of incoming and outgoing energy, and the passage of the energy through the climate system, determines Earth\'s energy budget. When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, earth\'s energy budget is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is negative and earth experiences cooling.\nThe energy moving through Earth\'s climate system finds expression in weather, varying on geographic scales and time. Long-term averages and variability of weather in a region constitute the region\'s climate. Such changes can be the result of "internal variability", when natural processes inherent to the various parts of the climate system alter the distribution of energy. Examples include variability in ocean basins such as the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. Climate variability can also result from external forcing, when events outside of the climate system\'s components nonetheless produce changes within the system. Examples include changes in solar output and volcanism.\nClimate variability has consequences for sea level changes, plant life, and mass extinctions; it also affects human societies.

positive: Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas is a geological period from c. 12,900 to c. 11,700 calendar years ago ( BP ) . It is named after an indicator genus , the alpine-tundra wildflower Dryas octopetala . Leaves of Dryas octopetala are occasionally abundant in the Late Glacial , often minerogenic-rich , like the lake sediments of Scandinavian lakes . The Younger Dryas saw a sharp decline in temperature over most of the northern hemisphere , at the end of the Pleistocene epoch , immediately before the current warmer Holocene . It was the most recent and longest of several interruptions to the gradual warming of the Earth 's climate since the severe Last Glacial Maximum , c. 27,000 to 24,000 calendar years BP . The change was relatively sudden , taking place in decades , and resulted in a decline of 2 to 6 degrees Celsius , advances of glaciers and drier conditions , over much of the temperate northern hemisphere . It is thought to have been caused by a decline in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation , which transports warm water from the equator towards the North Pole , and which in turn is thought to have been caused by an influx of fresh cold water from North America into the Atlantic . The Younger Dryas was a period of climatic change , but the effects were complex and variable . In the southern hemisphere , and some areas of the north such as southeastern North America , there was a slight warming .   The presence of a distinct cold period at the end of the Late Glacial interval has been known for a long time . Paleobotanical and lithostratigraphic studies of Swedish and Danish bog and lake sites , e.g. the Allerød clay pit in Denmark , first recognized and described the Younger Dryas .   The Younger Dryas is the youngest and longest of three stadials that resulted from typically abrupt climatic changes that took place over the last 16,000 calendar years . Within the Blytt-Sernander classification of north European climatic phases , the prefix ` Younger ' refers to the recognition that this original ` Dryas ' period was preceded by a warmer stage , the Allerød oscillation , which in turn was preceded by the Older Dryas around 14,000 calendar years BP . This is not securely dated , and estimates vary by 400 years , but it is generally accepted that it lasted around 200 years . In northern Scotland the glaciers were thicker and more extensive than during the Younger Dryas . The Older Dryas , in turn , is preceded by another warmer stage , the Bølling oscillation that separates it from a third and even older stadial . This stadial is often , but not always , known as the Oldest Dryas . The Oldest Dryas occurred approximately 1,770 calendar years before the Younger Dryas and lasted about 400 calendar years . According to the GISP2 ice core from Greenland , the Oldest Dryas occurred between about 15,070 and 14,670 calendar years BP .   In Ireland , the Younger Dryas has also been known as the Nahanagan Stadial , while in Great Britain it has been called the Loch Lomond Stadial . In the Greenland Summit ice core chronology , the Younger Dryas corresponds to Greenland Stadial 1 ( GS-1 ) . The preceding Allerød warm period ( interstadial ) is subdivided into three events : Greenland Interstadial-1c to 1a ( GI-1c to GI-1a ) .

positive: Huaynaputina Huaynaputina ( -LSB- wainapuˈtina -RSB- , Pronounced : -LSB- waɪnəpʊˈtiːnə -RSB- ; from young volcano , meaning `` Young Volcano '' ) is a stratovolcano in a volcanic upland in southern Peru . The volcano does not have an identifiable mountain profile , but instead is a large volcanic crater . It has produced high-potassium andesite and dacite . On 19 February 1600 , it exploded catastrophically ( Volcanic Explosivity Index -LSB- VEI -RSB- 6 ) , in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historic times . The eruption continued with a series of events into March . An account of the event was included in Fray Antonio Vázquez de Espinosa 's Compendio y Descripción de las Indias , which was translated into English as Compendium and description of the West Indies in 1942 .

negative: St. Andrew Strait St. Andrew Strait is a volcano in Papua New Guinea that has had eruptions in historical times . The volcano is not linked to any tectonic plates , the volcano is also in an area of very little earthquakes , this suggests that St. Andrew Strait is an Intraplate volcano . It consists of a group of Quaternary volcanic cones that are mainly rhyolitic in composition . The volcanism is curved , suggesting that the volcano has an ancient caldera . The centre of the volcano is Lou Island . Lou island last erupted in 240 BC ( give or take 100 years ) and 340 AD , both eruptions came from the Bendal volcano . Lou island is the largest eruptive centre of the volcano , with 6 volcanic vents . Also the Pam islands ( Pam Lin and Pam Mandian ) also contain fresh deposits . Historic eruptions have come from the Tuluman Islands .

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: 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: 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: Ellington (horse) Ellington ( 1853 -- 1870 ) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire . In a career that lasted from 1855 to 1856 he ran eleven times and won four races . A leading two-year-old in 1855 , when his wins included the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster , he won only one of his seven races the following year . That win , however , came in the Epsom Derby , where his ability to handle soft ground proved to be decisive . Ellington was retired to stud at the end of the his three-year-old season , but had very little impact as a sire .

negative: Effects of global warming on human health The effects of global warming include effects on human health . The observed and projected increased frequency and severity of climate related impacts will further exacerbate the effects on human health . This article describes some of those effects on individuals and populations .

negative: Thermal Credits Thermal credits is a new holistic concept which corresponds to the percentage of the climate impact saving obtained through mitigation and adaptation measures applied against global warming , taking as reference the global temperature rise projected in a given time scale . Thermal credits are measured in percentages of global warming reduction in a given time .

negative: Plantesamfund Plantesamfund - Grundtræk af den økologiske Plantegeografi , published in Danish in 1895 by Eugen Warming , and in English in 1909 as Oecology of Plants : An Introduction to the Study of Plant Communities , by Warming and Martin Vahl , was the first book to be published having the word ecology in its title . The book has had a lasting impact on the field of ecology , particularly in its German translation soon after its initial publication , and in its expanded and revised English translation .   The book was based on Warming 's lectures on plant geography at the University of Copenhagen . It gives an introduction to all major biomes of the world . Its aim was to explain how nature solved similar problems ( drought , flooding , cold , salt , herbivory ) in similar way , despite using very different raw material ( species of different descent ) in different regions of the world .   Warming , E. ( 1895 ) Plantesamfund - Grundtræk af den økologiske Plantegeografi . P.G. Philipsens Forlag , Kjøbenhavn . 335 pp .

negative: Global warming in Russia Global warming in Russia describes the global warming related issues in Russia . This includes climate politics , contribution to global warming and the influence of global warming on Russia . In 2009 Russia was ready to reduce emissions 20 -- 25 % from its 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 .

negative: List of scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming This is a list of scientists who have made statements that conflict with the scientific consensus on global warming as summarized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and endorsed by other scientific bodies . As approximately 97 % of publishing climate scientists support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change , this list represents a minority viewpoint .   The scientific consensus is that the global average surface temperature has risen over the last century . Scientific opinion on climate change was summarized in the 2001 Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) . The main conclusions on global warming at that time were as follows :  The global average surface temperature has risen 0.6 ± 0.2 ° C since the late 19th century , and 0.17 ° C per decade in the last 30 years .  `` There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities '' , in particular emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane .  If greenhouse gas emissions continue the warming will also continue , with temperatures projected to increase by 1.4 ° C to 5.8 ° C between 1990 and 2100 . Accompanying this temperature increase will be increases in some types of extreme weather and a projected sea level rise . The balance of impacts of global warming become significantly negative at larger values of warming .   These findings are recognized by the national science academies of all the major industrialized nations ; the consensus has strengthened over time and is now virtually unanimous . The level of consensus correlates with expertise in climate science .   There have been several efforts to compile lists of dissenting scientists , including a 2008 US senate minority report , the Oregon Petition , and a 2007 list by the Heartland Institute , all three of which have been criticized on a number of grounds .   For the purpose of this list , a `` scientist '' is defined as an individual who has published at least one peer-reviewed research article in the broad field of natural sciences , although not necessarily in a field relevant to climatology . Since the publication of the IPCC Third Assessment Report , each has made a clear statement in his or her own words ( as opposed to the name being found on a petition , etc. ) disagreeing with one or more of the report 's three main conclusions . Their views on climate change are usually described in more detail in their biographical articles . Few of the statements in the references for this list are part of the peer-reviewed scientific literature ; most are from other sources such as interviews , opinion pieces , online essays and presentations .   NB : Only individuals who have their own Wikipedia article may be included in the list .

negative: Coal in Europe Coal in Europe describes coal as energy fuel in Europe today . Coal includes hard coal , brown coal , and lignite .   Coal production in Europe is falling , and imports exceed production . If production and consumption continue at the present rate , proven and economically recoverable world reserves would last for about 150 years . According to IEA Coal Information ( 2007 ) world production and use of coal have increased considerably in recent years . There is , however , growing controversy in Europe over the use of coal , as many denounce it for reasons such as health risks and links to global warming .

negative: AGW AGW can refer to :    Anthropogenic global warming ; see the following :  Attribution of recent climate change  Human impact on the environment  Climate change  Global warming  Global warming controversy  Actual gold weight , a measure used in gold bullion , coin or bar  Agnew Airport , Queensland , Australia ( IATA code : AGW )  Access gateway , shorthand for multi-service access gateway ( MSAG ) , a device used in telecommunications .  Kahua language ( ISO 639-3 code : agw )

negative: Anthropogenic Anthropogenic is an adjective which may refer to :   pertaining to anthropogeny , the origin of humanity  Human impact on the environment or anthropogenic impact on the environment  Anthropogenic biome  Anthropogenic climate change , or global warming  Anthropogenic cloud  Anthropogenic greenhouse gases  Anthropogenic hazards  Anthropogenic metabolism

negative: Crude Impact Crude Impact is a 2006 film written and directed by James Jandak Wood . It is a documentary about the effect of fossil fuels on issues such as global warming , the environmental crisis , society and the questionable practices of oil companies .   Crude Impact was an official selection at over thirty film festivals around the world . The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada . It has been broadcast on television in several countries . Crude Impact has been translated into French , Spanish , Czech , Turkish and Finnish .

negative: Taupo Volcano Lake Taupo , in the centre of New Zealand 's North Island , is the caldera of a large rhyolitic volcano called the Taupo Volcano . This huge volcano has produced two of the world 's most violent eruptions in geologically recent times .   The Taupo Volcano forms part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone , a region of volcanic activity that extends from Ruapehu in the South , through the Taupo and Rotorua regions , to White Island , in the Bay of Plenty .   Taupo began erupting about 300,000 years ago , but the main eruptions that still affect the surrounding landscape are the Oruanui eruption , about 26,500 years ago , which is responsible for the shape of the modern caldera , and the Hatepe eruption , about 1,800 years ago . However , there have been many more eruptions , with major ones every thousand years or so ( see timeline of last 10,000 years of eruptions ) .

negative: Not Evil Just Wrong Not Evil Just Wrong is a 2009 documentary film by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer that challenges Al Gore 's An Inconvenient Truth by suggesting that the evidence of global warming is inconclusive and that the impact global warming legislation will have on industry is much more harmful to humans than beneficial . The movie was filmed in 2008 and was screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and at the RightOnline conference in 2009 .   Despite earlier screenings at conservative political conferences , filmmakers promoted a `` premiere '' on October 18 , 2009 . The film attempted to break a World Record for largest simultaneous premiere , which is currently held by the documentary The Age of Stupid , another global warming documentary . The film 's website claims that there were 6,500 U.S. screenings and 1,500 foreign screenings and reached 400,000 people .

negative: Yaodong A yaodong or `` house cave '' is a particular form of earth shelter dwelling common in the Loess Plateau in China 's north . They are generally carved out of a hillside or excavated horizontally from a central `` sunken courtyard '' .   The earth that surrounds the indoor space serves as an effective insulator keeping the inside of the structure warm in cold seasons and cool in hot seasons . Consequently , very little heating is required in winter , and in summer , it is as cool as an air-conditioned room .   The history of yaodongs goes back centuries , and they continue to be used . In 2006 , an estimated 40 million people in northern China lived in yaodongs .   In the last decade , yaodongs have been brought to the attention of scientists and researchers . These traditional dwellings have been regarded as an example of sustainable design .

negative: Last ice age Last ice age may refer to :   Quaternary glaciation , the period of the last few million years  Last glacial period , the most recent glacial period of the current ice age  Little Ice Age , a hundred years of relative cold in the Middle Ages after what historians term the Medieval Warm Period

negative: Hekla Hekla ( -LSB- 3 = Is-Hekla_pronunciation . ogg -RSB- ) , or Hecla , is a stratovolcano in the south of Iceland with a height of 1491 m. Hekla is one of Iceland 's most active volcanoes ; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874 . During the Middle Ages , Europeans called the volcano the `` Gateway to Hell '' .   Hekla is part of a volcanic ridge , 40 km long . The most active part of this ridge , a fissure about 5.5 km long named Heklugjá , is considered to be the volcano Hekla proper . Hekla looks rather like an overturned boat , with its keel being a series of craters , two of which are generally the most active .   The volcano 's frequent large eruptions have covered much of Iceland with tephra and these layers can be used to date eruptions of Iceland 's other volcanos . 10 % of the tephra created in Iceland in the last thousand years has come from Hekla , amounting to 5 km3 . The volcano has produced one of the largest volumes of lava of any in the world in the last millennium , around 8 km3 .

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: Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum The Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum ( PETM ) , alternatively ( ETM1 ) , and formerly known as the `` Initial Eocene '' or '' '' was a time period with more than 8 ° C warmer global average temperature than today . This climate event began at the time boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene geological epochs . The exact age and duration of the event is uncertain but it is estimated to have occurred around 55.5 million years ago .   The associated period of massive carbon injection into the atmosphere has been estimated to have lasted no longer than 20,000 years . The entire warm period lasted for about 200,000 years . Global temperatures increased by 5 -- 8 ° C . The carbon dioxide was likely released in two pulses , the first lasting less than 2,000 years . Such a repeated carbon release is in line with current global warming . A main difference is that during the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum , the planet was essentially ice-free .   The onset of the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has been linked to an initial 5 ° C temperature rise and to extreme changes in Earth 's carbon cycle . The period is marked by a prominent negative excursion in carbon stable isotope records from around the globe ; more specifically , there was a large decrease in 13C/12C ratio of marine and terrestrial carbonates and organic carbon .   Stratigraphic sections of rock from this period reveal numerous other changes . Fossil records for many organisms show major turnovers . For example , in the marine realm , a mass extinction of benthic foraminifera , a global expansion of subtropical dinoflagellates , and an appearance of excursion , planktic foraminifera and calcareous nanofossils all occurred during the beginning stages of PETM . On land , modern mammal orders ( including primates ) suddenly appear in Europe and in North America . Sediment deposition changed significantly at many outcrops and in many drill cores spanning this time interval .   At least since 1997 , the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has become a focal point of considerable geoscience research because it probably provides the best past analog by which to understand impacts of global climate warming and of massive carbon input to the ocean and atmosphere , including ocean acidification . Although it is now widely accepted that the PETM represents a `` case study '' for global warming and massive carbon input to Earth 's surface , the cause , details and overall significance of the event remain perplexing .

negative: Warm Jets Warm Jets were a British pop indie band , who had two UK top 40 singles and a top 40 album in 1998 .

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: Cloud feedback Cloud feedback is the coupling between cloudiness and surface air temperature where a surface air temperature change leads to a change in clouds , which could then amplify or diminish the initial temperature perturbation . Cloud feedbacks can affect the magnitude of internally generated climate variability or they can affect the magnitude of climate change resulting from external radiative forcings .   Global warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds . Seen from below , clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface , and so exert a warming effect ; seen from above , clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space , and so exert a cooling effect . Cloud representations vary among global climate models , and small changes in cloud cover have a large impact on the climate . Differences in planetary boundary layer cloud modeling schemes can lead to large differences in derived values of climate sensitivity . A model that decreases boundary layer clouds in response to global warming has a climate sensitivity twice that of a model that does not include this feedback . However , satellite data show that cloud optical thickness actually increases with increasing temperature . Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud ; details that are difficult to represent in climate models .

negative: Neenach Volcano Neenach Volcano is an extinct Miocene volcano in the Coastal Ranges of California . The volcano was split by a fault in the San Andreas fault system and over the last 23 million years the two halves of the volcano have moved about 200 miles apart .   The original volcano formed about 23 million years ago . It formed along a fault in the San Andreas fault system . Through tectonic plate motion the western half of the volcano moved north at about 1.5 cm per year . During the course of this movement the volcano also eroded away to the minor formations visible today .

negative: Apastepeque Volcanic Field The Apastepeque Volcanic Field is in El Salvador , Central America . The volcanic field is 8 kilometers north of a small town in central El Salvador called San Vicente . The last eruption of the volcano is unknown , however scientists have concluded that it was around 10 , 000 years ago .

negative: San Vicente (volcano) San Vicente ( also known as Chichontepec or Las Chiches ) is a stratovolcano in central El Salvador . It is located next to the town of San Vicente ( hence the name ) and is the second highest volcano in El Salvador . In the indigenous language Nahuat , Chichontepec means the mountain of the two breasts , because its double summit resembles a woman 's bosom . The volcano has two craters , one located in each summit , although not exactly at the top . Dense vegetation covers both summits . Numerous hot springs and fumaroles are found on the northern and western flanks of the volcano . To the northeast , at 820 metres in a ravine of 180 metres longitude , there are fumaroles -- fountains of clear and muddy water or small volcanoes of mud .   The last significant eruption occurred more than 1,700 years ago . The volcano may have had a very long history of repeated , and sometimes violent , eruptions , and at least once a large section of the volcano collapsed in a massive landslide .   On August 9 , 1995 , Aviateca Flight 901 crashed at the volcano , killing all 65 people on board .

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: Global warming in Norway Global warming in Norway discusses global warming issues in Norway .

negative: Scientific opinion on climate change The scientific opinion on climate change is the overall judgment among scientists regarding the extent to which global warming is occurring , its causes , and its probable consequences . The scientific consensus is that the Earth 's climate system is unequivocally warming , and that it is extremely likely ( meaning 95 % probability or higher ) that this warming is predominantly caused by humans . It is likely that this mainly arises from increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere , such as from deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels , partially offset by human caused increases in aerosols ; natural changes had little effect .   This scientific opinion is expressed in synthesis reports , by scientific bodies of national or international standing , and by surveys of opinion among climate scientists . Individual scientists , universities , and laboratories contribute to the overall scientific opinion via their peer-reviewed publications , and the areas of collective agreement and relative certainty are summarised in these respected reports and surveys .   National and international science academies and scientific societies have assessed current scientific opinion on global warming . These assessments are generally consistent with the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report stated that :  Warming of the climate system is unequivocal , as evidenced by increases in global average air and ocean temperatures , the widespread melting of snow and ice , and rising global average sea level .  Most of the global warming since the mid-20th century is very likely due to human activities .  Benefits and costs of climate change for -LSB- human -RSB- society will vary widely by location and scale . Some of the effects in temperate and polar regions will be positive and others elsewhere will be negative . Overall , net effects are more likely to be strongly negative with larger or more rapid warming .  The range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time .  The resilience of many ecosystems is likely to be exceeded this century by an unprecedented combination of climate change , associated disturbances ( e.g. flooding , drought , wildfire , insects , ocean acidification ) and other global change drivers ( e.g. land-use change , pollution , fragmentation of natural systems , over-exploitation of resources ) .   Some scientific bodies have recommended specific policies to governments , and science can play a role in informing an effective response to climate change . Policy decisions , however , may require value judgements and so are not included in the scientific opinion .   No scientific body of national or international standing maintains a formal opinion dissenting from any of these main points . The last national or international scientific body to drop dissent was the American Association of Petroleum Geologists , which in 2007 updated its statement to its current non-committal position . Some other organizations , primarily those focusing on geology , also hold non-committal positions .

negative: Maitland Volcano Maitland Volcano is a heavily eroded shield volcano that resides in the Northern Interior of British Columbia , Canada . It is located southeast of the small community of Telegraph Creek in what is now the Klappan Range of the northern Skeena Mountains . This multi-vent volcano covered a remarkably large area and was topped by a younger volcanic edifice . Little remains of Maitland Volcano today , limited only to eroded lava flows and distinctive upstanding landforms created when magma hardened within the vents of the volcano .   The shield is associated with an extensive group of related volcanoes called the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province ( NCVP ) . This forms part of the much larger Ring of Fire , which surrounds most of the Pacific Ocean basin . Geologic studies have shown that Maitland was a comparatively short-lived volcano . It had volcanic activity for less than a million years , a time span unique from other massive NCVP shields . The volcano is known to have produced at least four types of lava , namely alkali basalt , hawaiite , trachyte and trachybasalt . These have been studied by scientists since the 1950s .

negative: Haikou Volcanic Cluster Global Geopark Haikou Volcanic Cluster Global Geopark , also known as Haikou Scenic-Shishan Volcano Cluster , Leiqiong Global Geopark , Haikou Crater Park , and Hainan Crater Park is a national park located approximately 15 km west of Haikou , Hainan , China . It is named for a crater , one of many extinct volcanoes on the island .   The park has a total area of 118 square kilometres . It contains the two towns Shishan Town and Yongxing Town , and more than 40 Quaternary volcanoes . Part of the area is called Mount Maanling ( Saddle ) Crater Scenic Area . This area consists of the two major volcanoes , Mount Fengliung ( furnace ) and Mount Baoziling . Together they appear as a saddle , hence the name . Adjacent to these , there are another two volcanoes , one of which is called Mount Yanjinglin .