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Climate change is perhaps the greatest
challenge that humanity has ever faced.
This phenomenon, as pointed out by the
international scientific community, has been
caused by human activities. It demonstrates
that the current model of production,
consumption and transportation, which is
based on the large-scale burning of fossil fuels,
has precipitated global warming because of
the tremendous amount of greenhouse gases
(GHG) emitted into the atmosphere.
Society and the environment have been
seriously affected by climate change.
Continuing the current trend of GHG
emissions will mean that temperature
rises will be greater with the effects being
worse, and increasingly so if we persist in
such emissions. The solution is to urgently
replace the current energy model with a more
sustainable template in line with the limits of
our planet. Time is of the essence.
We have prepared this report entitled:
“Climate
Change in Europe: Perceptions and Impacts.
1950-2050”
as a summary which gathers the
most relevant consequences observedbetween
1950 and today, along with the foreseeable
ramifications for the immediate future.
This report aspires to allow each reader to
understand climate change through daily
examples expressed in a simple and accessible
manner. Those examples will present to our
minds the experiences lived through by our
grandfathers and grandmothers, or mothers
and fathers, and through which our sons and
daughters will live. The intention is to make
the reader understand what climate change
has been like and how the population and its
surroundings will be affected.
The document is divided into three parts: the
first section explains what is climate change
and the scientific basis for understanding this
phenomenon; the second part describes the
impacts observed in Europe between 1950 and
2015, ending with a look ahead for the 2015-
2050 period; the final part is dedicated to the
particular case of Spain.
This report, based on a myriad of articles,
journals and conference proceedings, attempts
to be a practical tool for a public, worried about
this topic, as well as policy makers, journalists
and teachers.
Today, no doubt remains; climate change has
already produced an increase in the average
temperature of the planet, at the same rate as
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY