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Global Climate Change:A Monumental Mitigation Challenge
Citation:
Princiotta, F. Global Climate Change:A Monumental Mitigation Challenge. Presented at "Dupont Summit, Washington, DC, December 04, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of the Dupont Summit is to promote interdisciplinary dialogue about pressing issues related to science, technology and the environment.The objective of my presentation is to discuss the factors influencing the ability of humanity to mitigate climate change. The focus is on low carbon technologies in the power generation, industrial and mobile source sectors. A per capita analysis is utilized to help quantify by comparing current per capita emissions of CO2 with the reductions needed in 2050 to limit warming to 2 C.
Description:
A holistic view of long-term sustainability cannot ignore humanity’s ever-growing demands on fossil fuels, water, and other finite geological resources. Figure 1 (Princiotta et. al., 2014) illustrates the key factors that are responsible for potentially unsustainable global impacts, with a focus on climate change. Such impacts have the potential to modify the planet so that it is inhospitable to the needs of the growing population, expected to pass 9 billion by mid-century.