Je voetafdruk
Je voetafdruk
Scientists already understood how climate warming works in the 19th century. It began with a woman named Eunice Foote (1819-1888). She was, as far as is known, the first to discover that air with CO2 retains much more of the sun’s heat than air without CO2. This was later called the greenhouse effect, and it is the underlying cause of the current climate crisis.
In this 1856 article, Foote shares the results of her research. She also concluded that our Earth will experience a higher temperature if more CO2 enters the atmosphere.
Foote, E. (1856). Circumstances affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays. The American Journal of Science and Arts, 22(2), 382-383. Link to article
Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927) was a Swedish scientist who, in 1896, was the first to propose that the burning of fossil fuels could eventually lead to global warming. Like Eunice Foote, he recognized the relationship between the concentrations of CO2 in the air and temperature.
This article from 1912 shows that scientists already knew at the time that CO2 emissions caused climate warming. “It may well be that the enormous present-day combustion of coal is producing carbon dioxide so fast that it will have important climate effects.” Several impacts are mentioned, including heat, storms, floods, and the melting of sea ice. However, the article could not predict the speed at which CO2 emissions and warming would increase.
Molina, F. (March 1912). Remarkable Weather of 1911. Popular Mechanics, 339-342. Link to article
In 1968, the Club of Rome was established by European scientists and entrepreneurs to raise awareness about the future of the world. Four years later, in 1972, they published the influential report The Limits to Growth, which examined the relationship between economic expansion and its environmental consequences. This report was one of the first to sound the alarm about the long-term sustainability of continuous growth, highlighting the potential for resource depletion, pollution, and climate disruptions.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a United Nations organization tasked with assessing the risks of climate change. The panel consists of hundreds of climate scientists from around the world. Approximately every six years, the IPCC releases a report. These reports have a significant influence on the climate policies of countries. The first report, for example, played a crucial role in the negotiation and signing of the global Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992.
In 1992, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed by nearly all United Nations member countries, including the Netherlands. The goal of the treaty is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent the undesirable consequences of climate change. Since 1995, countries have met annually to assess their progress in meeting the commitments made under the convention. The first conference, known as the Conference of the Parties (COP), took place in Berlin.
On December 12, 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was signed by nearly all countries around the world (COP21), marking a breakthrough in global climate policy. The goal of the agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while aiming not to increase 1.5°C. This historic accord represents a collective commitment to take significant action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the impact of climate change.
The likelihood that the Netherlands will meet its legally binding climate targets is extremely low. According to the Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving (PBL) in its latest Climate and Energy Outlook (KEV), with the current government’s climate policy, the chances are even less than five percent. Only additional policies that lead to rapid CO2 reductions can bring the 2030 target closer.
