Global Warming?

Global Warming. Climate Change. Greenhouse Gases. Terms we hear on an almost daily basis and should be familiar with. A quick explanation follow below. Please note that these are, as stated below the quotations, NOT MY OWN WORDS and I am merely copy/pasting small sections of text while giving credit where it's due.

Scientists have spent decades figuring out what is causing global warming. They've looked at the natural cycles and events that are known to influence climate. But the amount and pattern of warming that's been measured can't be explained by these factors alone. The only way to explain the pattern is to include the effect of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by humans.

To bring all this information together, the United Nations formed a group of scientists called the International Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. The IPCC meets every few years to review the latest scientific findings and write a report summarizing all that is known about global warming. Each report represents a consensus, or agreement, among hundreds of leading scientists.
One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2.
Since 1990, yearly emissions have gone up by about 6 billion metric tons of "carbon dioxide equivalent" worldwide, more than a 20% increase.

Source: National Geographic

"For more than a century, people have relied on fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas for their energy needs. Burning these fossil fuels releases the greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Other, even more potent greenhouse gases are also playing a role, as well as massive deforestation.
Certain gasses in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, create a "greenhouse effect", trapping heat and keeping the Earth warm enough to sustain life as we know it. Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, etc.) releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Although not the most potent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide is the most significant in terms of human effects because of the large quantities emitted.
Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are now the highest in 150,000 years."

Source : Greenpeace

The issue of the impacts of climate change on World Heritage natural and cultural properties was brought to the attention of the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2005 by a group of concerned organisations and individuals. The World Heritage Committee requested the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO ...  to convene a broad working group of experts on the impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage. The Committee took this decision noting "that the impacts of Climate Change are affecting many and are likely to affect many more World Heritage properties, both natural and cultural in the years to come".

The expert meeting took place on 16 and 17 March, 2006 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and resulted in the preparation of a report on predicting and managing the effects of climate change on World Heritage, as well as a strategy to assist States Parties to the WH Convention to implement appropriate management responses.

At its 30th session in July 2006, the World Heritage Committee reviewed these two documents and took the decision to request all the States Parties to implement the strategy so as to protect the outstanding universal values, integrity and authenticity of the World Heritage sites from the adverse impacts of climate change.

The Committee also requested the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and States Parties to develop and implement pilot projects at specific World Heritage sites, especially in developing countries so as to define best practices for the strategy. The World Heritage Committee further requested the World Heritage Centre to develop, through a consultative process, a policy paper on Climate Change and World Heritage to be presented to it at the 31st session in 2007.

Source : UNESCO