International Waters learning Exchange & Resource Network

The economic effects of climate change (2009)

Greenhouse gas emissions are fundamental both to the world's energy system and to its food production. The production of C02, the predom inant gas implicated in climate change, is intrinsic to fossil fuel combus tion; specifically, thermal energy is generated by breaking the chemical bonds in the carbohydrates oil, coal, and natural gas and oxidizing the components to C02 and H20. One cannot have cheap energy without carbon dioxide emissions. Similarly, methane (CH4) emissions, an important greenhouse gas in its own right, are necessary to prevent the build-up of hydrogen in anaerobic digestion and decomposition. One cannot have beef, mutton, dairy, or rice without methane emissions.

14 sep. 2018

2.3 MB

English

The economic effects of climate change (2009).pdf