In 2011, the Earth’s surface temperature was around 0.51 Celsius degrees warmer than the 20th century average. The global anomaly in surface temperature might be the cause of an increase in sea level, a decrease in arctic ice and the growing number of weather-related catastrophes, including storms, floods and droughts. The economic loss due to the 2011 drought in the United States reached around eight billion U.S. dollars, making it the country’s most costly drought in history.

Between November 26 and December 7 2012, Doha hosted the 18th session of the United Nations' Framework Conference on Climate Change. The objective of the annual conference is to tackle climate change, stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, and to reach a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement. The Kyoto Protocol was initially adopted in 1997, when global energy-related CO2 emissions stood at around 24.4 billion metric tons. Today, this figure is significantly higher: about 34.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide was emitted worldwide in 2011. China is currently the largest producer of CO2 emissions. In order to reduce the production of carbon dioxide, several countries have started issuing tradable green certificates. In 2012, the global carbon market is projected to reach a value of around 85 billion U.S. dollars. The increase in energy generation from renewable energy sources is seen as another way to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. Photo: sxc.hu / barunpatro, iprole

• • Overview
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Weather-related changes
• • Tackling climate change
  • Outlook