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| Lecture by British
Ambassador, June 2008 |
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On June 19 (Thu.) at 6:30pm, following the AGM, an audience of almost
80 people listened to the lecture delivered by the British Ambassador, Sir Graham Fry, at
the International House of Japan in Roppongi. He painted a clear and easy-to-understand
portrait of the essence of his theme, using slides of photos and graphs.
The carbon dioxide stored in the atmosphere surrounding our planet over 650,000 years
stayed at a level of below 270ppm since the Ice Age. From the Industrial Revolution this
increased to 380ppm. During the past 100 years the increase accelerated at an alarming
speed, so that it is predicted it will reach more than 650ppm by the year 2100. We must
act ourselves to prevent this, he urged.
The rise in carbon dioxide levels affects not only the temperature of the atmosphere but
also the ecology through changes in the levels of rainfall, etc., casting a serious shadow
over the maintaining of food production and water supply. Compared to the time of the
Industrial Revolution, the world temperature today is two degrees higher. If the rise
continues, the developing countries' harvests will decrease, many regions experience
drought, and major cities will be threatened by the rise in sea level. Collapse of coral
ecosystems, storms, forest fires, droughts, floods, and tidal waves are all growing in
intensity.
At present 60% of the world's total emissions are produced by the developed countries.
Recently, developing countries have rapidly increased economic growth, with the result
that they too are increasingly contributing to the emissions total. Clearly the problem is
one of global proportions and must be treated accordingly.
Ambassador Fry pointed out that Japan is responsible for 5% of emissions. Thus,
Japan has the experience and know how to contribute in the global fight against climate
change. If this problem isn't tackled now, the world will have to pay at least 5% of GDP
each year for the cure. Each individual should be pressed to follow the
"3R's"; Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle, and adopt other means such as using energy
efficient products, solar energy, etc. |
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