Global Warming - mitigation and adaptation

1. Kkkh4284
Sustainable urban planning
Task 6: global warming
NAME : RoshafizahBtRoslan
MATRIC NUMBER : A133549
LECTURER : Prof. Ir. Dr. RizaAtiq Abdullah Bin O.K Rahmat
Dr. Muhammad Nazri Bin Borhan
PuanNorliza Bt. MohdAkhir

2. Task 7:Supposed you are living in a coastal city. The city administrator has noticed that the
mean sea level has been rising for the past 50 years. The raising is small but over a long period
of time it may cause problems in the city centre as the level of that part of the city is quite low. If
you are hired as a consultant, write a plan of action on what can be done to reduce or mitigate
the problems.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Core samples, tide gauge readings, and, most recently, satellite measurements tells that over the
past century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 10 to 20 centimeters. However,
the annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 3.2 millimeters a year, roughly twice the
average speed of the preceding 80 years.
Over the past century, the burning of fossil fuels and other human and natural activities
has released enormous amounts of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. These emissions
have caused the Earth's surface temperature to rise, and the oceans absorb about 80 percent of
this additional heat.
The rise in sea levels is linked to three primary factors which are the thermal expansion,
melting of glaciers and polar ice caps and also the ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica,
all induced by this ongoing global climate change.
1. Thermal expansion: When water heats up, it expands. About half of the past century's rise
in sea level is attributable to warmer oceans simply occupying more space.
2. Melting of glaciers and polar ice caps: Large ice formations, like glaciers and the polar
ice caps, naturally melt back a bit each summer. But in the winter, snows, made primarily
from evaporated seawater, are generally sufficient to balance out the melting. Recently,
though, persistently higher temperatures caused by global warming have led to greater-
than-average summer melting as well as diminished snowfall due to later winters and
earlier springs. This imbalance results in a significant net gain in runoff versus
evaporation for the ocean, causing sea levels to rise.

3. 3. Ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica: As with glaciers and the ice caps, increased
heat is causing the massive ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica to melt at an
accelerated pace. Scientists also believe melt water from above and seawater from below
is seeping beneath Greenland's and West Antarctica's ice sheets, effectively lubricating
ice streams and causing them to move more quickly into the sea. Moreover, higher sea
temperatures are causing the massive ice shelves that extend out from Antarctica to melt
from below, weaken, and break off.
2.0 MITIGATION
Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to
enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of global warming. This is in distinction to adaptation
to global warming, which involves taking action to minimise the effects of global
warming. Scientific consensus on global warming, together with the precautionary principle and
the fear of non-linear climate transitions, is leading to increased effort to develop new
technologies and sciences and carefully manage others in an attempt to mitigate global warming.
No single technology can provide all of the mitigation potential in any sector. The
economic mitigation potential, which is generally greater than the market mitigation potential,
can only be achieved when adequate policies are in place and barriers removed. There are several
of the selected examples of key sectorial mitigation technologies such as:
1. Energy supply
Improved supply and distribution efficiency, fuel switching from coal to gas,
nuclear power; renewable heat and power (hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal
and bioenergy), combined heat and power, early applications of carbon dioxide
capture and storage, CCS for gas, biomass and coal-fired electricity generating
facilities, advanced nuclear power, advanced renewable energy, including tidal
and wave energy, concentrating solar, and solar photovoltaics.
2. Transport
More fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrid vehicles, cleaner diesel vehicles, biofuels,
modal shifts from road transport to rail and public transport systems. non-

4. motorised transport (cycling, walking), land-use and transport planning, second
generation biofuels, higher efficiency aircraft, advanced electric and hybrid
vehicles with more powerful and reliable batteries.
3. Buildings
Efficient lighting and daylighting, more efficient electrical appliances and heating
and cooling devices, improved cook stoves, improved insulation, passive and
active solar design for heating and cooling, alternative refrigeration fluids,
recovery and recycling of fluorinated gases, integrated design of commercial
buildings including technologies, such as intelligent meters that provide feedback
and control and also solar photovoltaics integrated in buildings.
4. Industry
More efficient end-use electrical equipment, heat and power recovery, material
recycling and substitution, control of non-CO2 gas emissions, and a wide array of
process-specific technologies, advanced energy efficiency; CCS for cement,
ammonia, and iron manufacture and also inert electrodes for aluminum
manufacture.
5. Agriculture
Improved crop and grazing land management to increase soil carbon storage,
restoration of cultivated peaty soils and degraded lands, improved rice cultivation
techniques and livestock and manure management to reduce CH4 emissions,
improved nitrogen fertilizer application techniques to reduce N2O emissions,
dedicated energy crops to replace fossil fuel use, improved energy efficiency and
also make improvements of crop yields.
6. Forestry
Afforestation, reforestation, forest management, reduced deforestation, harvested
wood product management, use of forestry products for bioenergy to replace
fossil fuel use, tree species improvement to increase biomass productivity and
carbon sequestration, improved remote sensing technologies for analysis of
vegetation carbon sequestration potential and mapping land-use change.

5. 7. Waste
Landfill CH4 recovery, waste incineration with energy recovery, composting of
organic waste, controlled wastewater treatment, recycling and waste
minimization, biocovers and biofilters to optimise CH4 oxidation.
3.0 ADAPTION
Adaptation means anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate
action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause, or taking advantage of opportunities
that may arise. It has been shown that well planned, early adaptation action saves money and
lives later.
Some planned adaptation to climate change is already occurring on a limited basis.
Adaptation can reduce vulnerability, especially when it is embedded within broader sectoral
initiatives. There is high confidence that there are viable adaptation options that can be
implemented in some sectors at low cost, or with high benefit-cost ratios. However,
comprehensive estimates of global costs and benefits of adaptation are limited. There are several
selected examples of planned adaptation by sector such as:
1. Water
Expanded rainwater harvesting, water storage and conservation techniques, water
re-use, desalination and water-use and irrigation efficiency.
2. Agriculture
Adjustment of planting dates and crop variety, crop relocation and improved land
management as example erosion control and soil protection through tree planting.
3. Infrastructure/settlement (including coastal zones)
Relocation, seawalls and storm surge barriers, dune reinforcement, land
acquisition and creation of wetlands as buffer against sea level rise and flooding
and also protection of existing natural barriers.
4. Human Health
Heat-health action plans, emergency medical services,improved climate-sensitive
disease surveillance and control and safe water and improved sanitation.

6. 5. Tourism
Diversification of tourism attractions and revenues.
6. Transport
Relocation, design standards and planning for roads, rail and other infrastructure
to cope with warming and drainage.
7. Energy
Strengthening of overhead transmission and distribution
infrastructure;,underground cabling for utilities, energy efficiency, use of
renewable sources and also reduced dependence on single sources of energy.
Adaptive capacity is intimately connected to social and economic development but is unevenly
distributed across and within societies.
4.0 CONCLUSION
To conclude, mitigation and adaptation are vastly different strategies, however they both need to
be used in order to not only save national economies from future recessions, but to save the
natural and human world from physical disaster.