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Ice road: Environmental Atlas of Europe - Finland
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If you want to go to the island of Hailuoto in the Gulf of Bothnia during winter, it’s faster to take the 8 km ice road rather than go by ferry. But the ice has to reach 70 cm in thickness before it’s safe enough to drive over.
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Ice road
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Video
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Global warning: early warnings on adaptation
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Climate change is the ever growing reality faced by the inhabitants of the Arctic regions. They must adapt to the changing landscapes, increasing temperatures, disappearing species, new hunting techniques.
In this video, several leaders of indigenous peoples' organizations, represented in the Arctic Council, share their thoughts and concerns about the changes in their lifestyles brought on by the changing climate.
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Climate change
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Multimedia
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One degree matters
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'One degree matters' follows social and business leaders as they travel to Greenland and experience for themselves the dramatic effects of the melting of the ice cap and come to understand the planetary effects of climate change and the impacts these will have on society and the economy. The film brings to the screen the latest science from the Arctic and shows why a further rise in global temperature of one degree matters for the future of humankind.
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Living with Climate change
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Global warming is happening. Temperatures have already risen by 0.76 degrees since the industrial revolution and are projected to rise further by 1.8 - 4 degrees by the end of the century. The last time climate change happened at this pace was 125,000 years ago and led to a 4-6 metre sea level rise.
Global warming at the upper end of the scale predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change would have catastrophic consequences for Europe. Up to 30% of plant, animal and bird species would be wiped out and the threat of natural disasters such as landslides, floods and mudslides would increase significantly.
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Climate change
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Multimedia
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Europe leads the fight against climate change
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The Earth is rapidly getting warmer, threatening serious and even catastrophic disruption to our societies and to the natural environment on which we depend. Over the course of the 20th century the average temperature increased by around 0.6 C globally, by almost 1 C in Europe and by no less than 5 C in the Arctic. This man-made warming is already having many disruptive effects around the globe.
Sea levels are rising as a result of melting glaciers and ice sheets, threatening to flood low-lying communities. Extreme weather conditions; floods, droughts, storms are becoming more severe, more frequent and more costly in some parts of the world. And many endangered species may be pushed to extinction over the coming decades as climate change affects their traditional habitats.
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Climate change
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Multimedia
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Emissions trading - putting a price on carbon
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The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is a world first and a major weapon in Europe's fight against climate change. The innovative system has turned carbon dioxide emissions into a tradeable commodity. They can now be bought and sold like any other of the thousands of products traded on world markets today.
The scheme works by placing a limit or a 'cap' on the amount of carbon dioxide participating installations - currently around 10,500 across the European Union - can emit every year. If an installation emits more than its allowance, it must either pay a very hefty fine or buy surplus allowances from companies that have managed to stay below their limit. The system ensures that overall CO2 emissions from the plants covered are cut in the most cost effective way.
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Climate change
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Multimedia
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Reducing climate impacts from international aviation: Europe leads the way
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The European Commission is proposing legislation to bring the aviation sector into the European Union's pioneering emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) in order to control the rapid growth in CO2 emissions from air travel. Until now airlines have not been subject to the constraints on energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions that other businesses have to live with. Emissions from domestic flights are covered by the Kyoto Protocol's emission targets for developed countries, but international aviation - which makes up the vast majority of flights - is not. In addition, jet fuel for international flights has historically been exempted from taxation. Hence the need for policy action.
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Emissions trading
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(This video has audio)
An explanation of emissions trading.
Source: EU Emissions Trading - An Open Scheme Promoting Global Innovation to Combat Climate Change (Nov. 2004), by the EU Publications Office
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Climate change
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Multimedia
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Effects of climate change
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In the past 100 years, the number of cold and frost days has decreased in most parts of Europe, whereas the number of days with temperatures above 25°C and the number of heatwaves have increased. The frequency of very wet days has significantly decreased in recent decades in many places in southern Europe, but increased in mid and northern Europe. Cold winters are projected to disappear almost entirely by 2080 and hot summers are projected to become much more frequent. This will have a continuing effect on mountain regions. For every 1°C increase in temperature, the snowline rises by 150 metres. And by 2050, three-quarters of today's glaciers in parts of the Alps are expected to have disappeared.
Source: State of the Environment Report No 1/2005 "The European environment - State and outlook 2005" (published 29 Nov 2005)
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Environmental topics
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Climate change
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Multimedia
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Rising snowline in the Alps
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(This video has no audio.)
It is estimated that, as global warming proceeds, regions currently receiving snowfall will increasingly receive precipitation in the form of rain. For every 1ºC increase in temperature, the snowline rises by about 150 metres. As a result, less snow will accumulate at low elevations. As a consequence, nearly half of all ski resorts in Switzerland, and even more in Germany, Austria and the Pyrenees, will face difficulties in attracting tourists and winter sport enthusiasts in the future.
Source: EEA Report No 2/2004 "Impacts of Europe's changing climate" (published 18 Aug 2004)
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