Wednesday 15 December 2010

UN Climate talks and invasive specie

Hot topic at the moment is the UN Climate Change talks held in Cancun, Mexico.

The aim of the talks was the establish the total amount of cuts needed for CO2 em missions, which was established at between a 13-16% globally. There has been tension however, that by the time it takes to reduce emission to these levels, the planet would have warmed by an approximate 4C, which will undoubtedly affect many areas severely due to droughts, desertification, and economic damages such as agricultural decline etc.


The problem with the talk is that they established how much to reduce CO2 emissions, but not how to. Secondly, several nations are using the Kyoto Protocol as a means of escaping the demands issued through these talks.

"The Green Climate Fund is intended to raise and disburse $100bn (£64bn) a year by 2020 to protect poor nations against climate impacts and assist them with low-carbon development."
The Green Climate fund will be managed by the World Bank as demanded by:
America, UK and Japan.
As per usual, it's the periphery which is affected most, therefore developing countries can now draw upon new sources of money to mitigate the affects they will experience due to climate change.


You may think that rabbits and squirrels look sweet, behave cutely and are simply adorable, but y'know, once you take a peek into the damages they cause, all these little rodents are a nuisance.

Research, conducted on behalf of DEFRA, estimates that non-native invasive species cost the UK economy £1.7bn per annum. "The study found that the rabbit was the most economically damaging species, followed by Japanese knotweed."
 Japanese Knotweed, as shown in Alaska.

"The cost was significantly higher at £1.3bn in England where invasive non-native species have become more established.
The price was put at £251m in Scotland and £133m in Wales."

Controlling these non-native invasive species is expensive short term, but in the long run the money saved supersedes that which  is used to cull or control certain pests.


It's been a while since I've written an update, just been so busy with universities, revision and exams. I've been so dedicated to work and personal development, I've hardly touched the new World of Warcraft expansion: Cataclysm. Maybe I've matured away from games and know prioritising work is better...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting blog. Will be following.