'Drowning Earth' - Magazine-style report on Climate Change. - Data Visualization

1National College of Ireland, (Module - Data Visualization)
DROWNING
E A R T H

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.The Climate Change
1.2.Global Warming
1.3.The Paris Agreement
2. PRESENT STATE: GLOBAL WARMING
2.1.Sources of Greenhouse Gases
2.2.Historic Development of CO2, CH4 & N2O
2.3.Largest Contributing Sectors
3. THE ENERGY PROBLEM (DEMAND, GROWTH & PROJECTIONS)
3.1.Consumption of Renewable Energy
3.2.New Investment in Renewable Energy Sector
3.3.Projected Sources of Energy Generation (2050)
4. CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

1.1. The Climate Change
Since 1979, the global average temperature
has been steadily increasing, and
thermometers tracking atmospheric
modifications throughout the globe indicate
an unprecedented rise in median earth
temperature. On 13 June 2019 this month,
when Danish Meteorological Institute
researcher published a picture showing
melted ice water layer making a pond on top
of the frozen sea, it got immediate coverage
from worldwide media owing to exceptionally
early warming in the Arctic region. It was
recorded while gathering scientific devices
from north-west Greenland and on the other
side India this summer hits by the extreme
50C+ heatwave in some of the states. These
are just a few of alarming events unfolding
across the regions and clearly indicating a
rapid change in the earth's atmosphere,
shattering predictable weather cycle that has
been in the position for years. This
phenomenon is famously regarded as
'Climate Change'. Climate change directly
affects natural life, frequent earthquakes,
floods, the extension of deserts, droughts,
severe thermal shocks, sea-level increase
owing to melting frozen sea/glaciers, and so
on, and it is expected to annually cause
nearly 150k fatalities worldwide.
1.2. Global Warming
Climate change and the global warming are
largely misconceived and misunderstood.
One of the major factors for climate change
is the average global increase in
temperature, while climate change is not
only limited to warming but also
encapsulates the wider impacts of global
warming on nature. Scientists acknowledged
in the mid-20th century that human actions
are generating global warming, largely by
emitting greenhouse gasses into the
atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2), Nitrous
Figure 1 Variation on the earth's surface temperature from 1964-2018; Data Source: NASA's Goddard Institute for Space
Studies (GISS), 2018; Tool: QlikSense
1. INTRODUCTION

Oxide (N2O) and Methane (CH4) are the
major contributors to greenhouse gases.
1.3. The Paris Agreement
Countries following United Nations
Framework Conference (UNFC), In Paris
gave a significant commitment in 2016 on
managing the impacts of climate change and
decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions,
as well as provided guidance to legislative
authorities on emission measurement and
control. Today, after 3 years of the Paris
Agreement, the goal of maintaining the
global average temperature change well
below 2C already seems lacking the effort
and attempts made so far to decrease
greenhouse gases emission are still not
enough. (Figure 2) features the ranking of
top 20 nations based on best practices and
policies pushed by nation on controlling the
greenhouse gases emission published by
International Climate Action Network,
Germanwatch and NewClimate Institute.
Figure 2 the Climate Change Performance Index (Top20-
CCPI) by Country; Data Source: Germanwatch,
NewClimate Institute, CAN, 2019; Tool: Datawrapper

Figure 4 Aggregated greenhouse gases generated in 2017
by EU counties; Data Source:Greenhouse gas inventories
(UNFCCC), 2019; Tool: Tableau
.1. Industry structure
2.1. Sources of Greenhouse
Gases
Climate regulatory institutions have been
constantly pushing for measures to eliminate
greenhouse gas emissions from countries in
the Paris treaty, and EU28 stats are no
exception. It is largely contributed by bigger
countries whose total national output is large,
but there are some highly developed nations
in the EU whose carbon footprint is lower
than the magnitude of the country's
economy (i.e. Switzerland). However, this
also confirms that major emission of all
greenhouse gases is largely caused by the
industrial revolution.
Figure 3. Describes the percentage of the
overall total contribution of all the
greenhouse gases from 1990 till 2017 by
each EU state. It indicates that Germany, the
biggest economy by GDP in the EU,
accounts for 18.3% of the total share.
While Turkey (10.6%), despite being
comparatively smaller economy as
compared to Germany, France, UK, Italy,
Spain, Netherland and Switzerland by GDP,
It is still the second largest greenhouse
contributor in EU followed by the UK (9.5%),
France (9.3%) and Italy (8.3%). Together top
5 EU nations are responsible for more than
50% of the total EU contribution since 1990.
Figure 4. Depicts aggregated
greenhouse gases generated only in 2017
by each EU nations from 194 Gg
(Liechtenstein) to 906,611 Gg being highest
2. PRESENT STATE: GLOBAL WARMING
“From Greenland's melting sea ice
to the 50C heatwave scorching
India, the impacts of the climate
emergency are playing out all
around us.”
- Rosie Rogers, Senior
Climate Campaigner @
Greenpeace UK
Figure 3 Percentage of the overall total contribution of all
the greenhouse gases (1990-2017); Data
Source:Greenhouse gas inventories (UNFCCC), 2019;
Tool: PowerBI

(Germany) in CO2 equivalent. As of May
2019 released data of national greenhouse
gas emissions presented to the UNFCCC by
EU countries, the last recorded year (2017)
is not showing any significant shift in existing
emissions landscape.
2.2. Historic Development CO2,
CH4 & N2O
The concentration of greenhouse gases
together make a greenhouse effect on the
earth's atmosphere increasing surface and
sea temperature. The concentration consists
primarily of four substances recognized as
Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Methane (CH4),
Carbon Dioxide and Fluorinated Gases.
Overall, CO2 accounts for nearly 75% of all
manmade natural gasses, while all the other
greenhouse gases stand for the remaining
25%.
The human involvement is far less opposed
to CO2 produced by the natural system, but
naturally produced CO2 is ruled out by
nature itself, while man-made CO2 is an
added strain to the stable naturally balanced
system. CO2 is predominantly produced by
the use of fossil fuels, soil conversion to
meet human needs and deforestation.
Together, N2O and CH4 make the second
biggest addition to the greenhouse effect
and its origin are mainly chemical
processing/production industries, natural
farming operations and human-generated
waste management processes. F-gases are
primarily produced in a tiny quantity near to
1% by certain manufacturing procedures
opposed to other gases.
The sort of country-generated greenhouse
gas is also reflective of the general reliance
on specific greenhouse gas for industrial
operations. Figure 5. Shows the average
emission of all three greenhouse gases by
each EU country from 1990 to 2017 as
compared to other EU countries. The first
bubble graph shows CO2 emissions where
Germany is the main emitter accompanied
Figure 5 CO2, CH4 & N2O contribution by EU nations during 1990 to 2017; Data Source: Greenhouse gas inventories
(UNFCCC), 2019; Tool: Tableau

by the United Kingdom but the second (CH4)
chart shows that the United Kingdom takes
over Germany with regard to CH4 emissions.
N2O is a smaller contributor as compared to
other greenhouse gases where Germany
and France are the largest generators.
2.3. Largest Contributing
Sectors
To eliminate or decrease greenhouse
gas emissions, industries contribute the
biggest amount of greenhouse gases
needed to adapt to the alternative solutions
that prevent environmental harm.
Figure 6. Shows four major sectors
average contribution of greenhouse gases.
Waste management stands at the lowest
compared to other sectors below 5 M Gg
which are largely generated by the
processes needed for industrial and
consumer waste management as
decomposition of food waste and other bio-
waste discharge methane and some solid
metal waste also leads to land degradation
over time. On the other side, the energy
sector is well ahead of the other sector,
which releases substantial amounts of
greenhouse gases above 115 M Gg. The
energy sector is one of the oldest and
rapidly growing sector and since long fossil
fuels are the major energy producing source
among others. It is largely consumed to fulfil
Figure 6 Greenhouse gases contribution by Sector in
(1990-2017) by EU Nations; Data Source: Greenhouse
gas inventories (UNFCCC), 2019; Tool: Tableau
Figure 7 Year-to-year gases emission f top 7 contributing EU Nations (1990-2017); Data Source: Greenhouse Gas Inventories
(UNFCCC), 2019; Tool: PowerBI

the industrial processes and human
transport and domestic needs. Other energy
sources like nuclear power are also
detrimental to the environment due to its
radioactive waste.
Governments and environmentalists
across the nations are significantly
endorsing the renewable energy sources
built around solar energy, hydro-pressure
and wind energy as an alternative to replace
existing energy sector non-renewable
sources.
2.4. Trends in Greenhouse Gas
Reduction
The European Union has shown solid
support for tackling the climate change issue
and has been successfully able to control
the emission despite 58% growth in the
economy. By streamlining power supplies to
sustainable fuels, the EU is on the track to
decrease 40% of emissions by 2030.
Figure 7. Describes overall greenhouse
gases emissions by year and top 7
contributing nations of EU and its year-to-
year progress. It is apparent that most
countries are able to control their emission
however Turkey is demonstrating constant
growth since 1990 and is still increasing,
surpassing all other 5 nations in 2017 except
Germany.

3.1. Consumption of
Renewable Energy
Meeting global energy demand with
renewable energy remains a challenge, but
Figure 8. Shows that renewable energy
consumption has risen from 44 M Mt to 486
M Mt over the past 20 years since 1997.
Steps were originally narrower, but after
2010, it took major steps towards creating
renewable sources as a major source of
energy.
3.2. New Investment in
Renewable Energy Sector
It is necessary to maintain the research
field investment up as needed in the
renewable energy industry to meet the
consumption growth pace in order to satisfy
the increasing demand from industries and
governments.
Figure 9. Illustrates current global regions
share of new investment in renewable
energy sector growth. Chine with Europe
and US leading largest investment
worldwide where Brazil seems lagging
behind in the newer investment.
3.3. Projected Sources of
Energy Generation (2050)
3. THE ENERGY PROBLEM
Figure 8 Global Renewable Energy Consumption in MMt
(1998-2017); Data Source: BP Statistical Review of World
Energy, 2018; Tool: Tableau
Figure 9 New Investment in Renewable Energy by Regions
(2017); Data Source: Bloomberg (UNEP,FS-UNEP)
Collaborating Centre, 2018; Tool: Infogram
Figure 10 Projected Source of Global Energy; Data
Source: International Energy, 2017; Tool: Python

In International Energy Outlook 2017, it is
estimated that natural gas and renewable
energy will develop as a global supply of
electricity where liquid fuels are projected to
decrease as an electricity source. Figure 10.
Describes projected source of electricity
generation between 2015 and 2050 and it is
visible that natural gas and renewable
sources are showing strong growth from
2015 to 2050 in trillion kilowatt. Nuclear and
coal based generation will occupy the same
amount of market share though the growth is
expected to be lower as compared to other
sources.

is r
This report explores the current climate
change landscape in depth and understands
the past and present effect and contribution
of greenhouse gases by each EU nation.
The magnitude of the economic activities of
the nation’s indicates a greater overall share
with Germany, France, the United Kingdom
and Italy being the largest contributors with
Turkey as an exception as a large
contributor despite the comparatively smaller
economy.
It is also evident that there is a need for
nation-specific strategies to tackle the
emissions as the reliance on the nation's
industrial operations on distinct gasses in
each country would not be the same. After
the Paris agreement, EU nations have been
pushing great effort and largest top 7
contributors have been able to control or
reduce the growth with exception of Turkey
where emission has been growing with the
same pace.
Energy is the world's biggest contributor
industry to global warming, above all other
industries, and therefore needs the greatest
amount of commitment in developing or
finding new methods to satisfy the increasing
requirement and investment by authorities
for the use of renewable energies. A
significant amount of growth has been
witnessed already in the sector and it is
projected to grow even more as global
reliance on renewable energy is expected to
rise.
References
[1] Walking on water: Scarcely-credible
https://www.independent.ie/world-
news/europe/walking-on-water-
scarcelycredible-photo-of-greenland-
huskies-rings-alarm-over-global-
warming-38232712.html
[2] Department of the Environment and
Energy. Department of the Environment
and Energy. Available at:
https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-
change/climate-science-data/climate-
science/greenhouse-effect
[3] Union of Concerned Scientists.
Environmental Impacts of Renewable
Energy Technologies. Available at:
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-
energy/renewable-energy/environmental-
impacts
[4] What are the main man-made greenhouse
gases?. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/environme
nt/2011/feb/04/man-made-greenhouse-
gases
[5] Environmental impacts | Green Choices.
Available at:
https://www.greenchoices.org/green-
living/waste-recycling/environmental-
impacts
[6] European Environment Agency.
Available at:
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climat
e/faq/everything-on-climate-change-in-
226-words
[7] Progress made in cutting emissions -
Climate Action - European Commission.
Available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strateg
ies/progress_en
[8] There's some really intense melting in the
Arctic right now. Available at:
https://mashable.com/article/arctic-
melting-
records/?europe=true&utm_source=social
&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaig
n=mash-com-fb-main-
link&utm_content=science&fbclid=IwA
R2scxAu3Pzte5fkLx6Ld-
pJ906anjz48V0yjUkLkx8_FU-
daBGtVKNpgwQ
[9] Causes of Climate Change Over the Past
1000 Years. Available at:
4. CONCLUSION

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/28
9/5477/270
[10] Causes of climate change -
Climate Action - European Commission.
Available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes_
en
Data Sources:
[1] https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-
maps/data/national-emissions-reported-
to-the-unfccc-and-to-the-eu-greenhouse-
gas-monitoring-mechanism-15#tab-
metadata) | Published May 2019
[2] https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/excel/a
pph_tables.xlsx | Published September
2017
[3] http://fs-unep-
centre.org/sites/default/files/publications/
gtr2018v2.pdf | Published April 2018
[4] https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/c
orporate/pdf/energy-
economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-
review-2018-full-report.pdf | Published
June 2018
[5] https://germanwatch.org/sites/germanwat
ch.org/files/CCPI2019_Results.pdf |
Published December 2018
Appendix (Code & Figures)
Python Pre-Processing & Plotting Script:
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import seaborn as sns
dv_data =
pd.read_csv('UNFCCC_v23.csv',
encoding = "ISO-8859-1")
dv_data=dv_data[dv_data['Sector_code
'].isin(['1','2','3','5']) &
dv_data['Pollutant_name'].isin(['CH4
','N2O','All greenhouse gases - (CO2
equivalent)','CO2']) &
~dv_data.Country.isin(['EU28
(Convention)','EU (KP)']) &
dv_data['Year']
]
dv_data.Sector_name =
dv_data.Sector_name.str.replace("[1,
2,3,5] - ", "")
dv_data['Year'] =
dv_data['Year'].astype(int)
dv_data.Sector_name.value_counts()
dv_data[dv_data['emissions']>=0].Sec
tor_name.value_counts()
dv_data=dv_data[dv_data['Year'] >=
1990]
dv_data[~dv_data.Country.isin(['EU28
(Convention)','EU
(KP)'])].Country.value_counts()
dv_data2 =
pd.read_csv('CompWorldEnergyReview.c
sv', encoding = "ISO-8859-1")
dv_data2.set_index('Year').T.plot(ki
nd='bar').set_title('Projected
electricity generation worldwide
from 2015 to 2050')

INDEX DESCRIPTION VISUALIZATION TOOLS
Figure 1
The filled line graph is used to show a rise in temperature
with colour and height reference because utilized data is
non-cyclic and presenting events over time for many
periods. Filled Line Graph QlikSense
Figure 2
A bar graph is used as a data point (country) are used for
purpose of between comparisons of a single category
(rank) and bars are kept horizontal because there are
many items and won't fit in single vertical bars screen. Horizontal Bar Datawrapper
Figure 3
Donut chart is used as it is to illustrate the composition of
overall one category and how much share is being held by
each individual item in that category. Donut Chart PowerBI
Figure 4
The filled map is used with colour reference of red to
yellow from high contributing nations to low on the
geographical layer to visualize the intensity of emission
region wise. Filled Map Tableau
Figure 5
Three bubble graphs are utilised as data points are
extracted to visualise the relationship between a large
numbers of items on 3 categories. Where items represent
country and category are greenhouse gases. Three Bubble chart Tableau
Figure 6
A bar graph is used as data point are for purpose of
between comparisons of a single item (emission) and bars
are kept horizontal to accommodate large bar category
text. Horizontal Bar Tableau
Figure 7
Multi line graph is used because it is to show change in
emission over time for certain years for many countries
with line size representing anomaly and colour to
differentiate each country is the best comparison option
for overtime period comparison. Line Chart PowerBI
Figure 8
Line graph with a step between each entry is used as it
helps visualise the strength of rising values over a period
of time where high vertical climb represents a strong hike
in value. Step Line Graph Tableau
Figure 9
The pie chart is used as it is to illustrate the composition of
global share for one category (investment) in terms of
percentage volume occupied by each individual item
(regions) in that category (investment). Infogram is used
due to the availability of intuitive colours and easy to build
UI. Pie Chart Infogram
Figure 10
A grouped bar graph is used as the purpose is to
visualisation easy to compare not only amongst the small
number of categories (type) but within group (years) items
comparisons as well.
Grouped Vertical
Bar Python

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