There are three main approaches to tacking global warming: through policy measures, economic mechanisms and technological changes. These are obviously interdependent and should be tackled simultaneously.
The two big policy elephant’s in the room are economic growth and population growth which drive consumption and the release of greenhouse gases. Without subduing these, any attempts at mitigating global warming through technological means alone will be completely undermined. We also need to replace the flawed economic mechanisms which have proven largely ineffective due to the lobbying and corruption within corporations. The technological solutions themselves should focus initially on the sectors responsible for the greatest net warming over the short term. This will give us time to reduce greenhouse gases from other sectors which will exhibit greater net warming in the longer term. We now examine these in more detail. Continue reading