Climate change greatest challenge of world today

We are already witnessing the effects of global warming. A recent report from the World Bank attributed almost a fifth of all ill health in poor countries and millions of deaths to environmental factors, including climate change.

The increasing temperature of the planet is believed to be associated with the production and consumption of carbon-based fuels coal, oil and gas which all increase levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas.

The temperature of the Earth depends on a balance between energy from the Sun and energy that is radiated from the planet's surface back into space. Carbon dioxide absorbs heat that would otherwise be lost to space. Some of this energy is re-emitted back to Earth, causing additional heating of the planet.

A significant rise in the Earth's surface temperature is thought likely to cause a rise in sea levels, causing widespread and potentially devastating flooding, and a greater frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts and heat waves. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the temperature of the Earth's surface could rise by between 1.4c and 5.8c by the end of this century.

The countries responsible for the largest volume of CO2 emissions are the US (5,800 million tonnes a year), China, (3,000 million tonnes) and Russia (2,000 million tonnes). The UK is responsible for 500m tonnes of emissions each year.

In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol marked the first steps towards concerted global action on climate change. In the same year, BP became the first major energy company to publicly acknowledge the urgent need to take steps to counteract the problem.

As a major supplier of energy, BP believes it has a responsibility to use the powers of research and innovation at its disposal to take a lead in finding and implementing sustainable solutions to climate change.

Based on scientific opinion, BP believes it is realistic to stabilise CO2 concentrations at around 500-550 parts per million, a level consistent with limiting global temperature rise by about 2c over the next century. One way to achieve this would be to ensure that global emissions in 2050 are no higher than they are today around 25 billion tonnes of CO2 a year.

However, as global energy use is predicted to double by that time, the task faced by energy suppliers is to meet the demand for fuel while producing half as much carbon per unit of energy consumed as is today.

BP is approaching the problem in a number of different ways. Between 1998 and 2001 the company reduced operational emissions by 10% through energy efficient measures such as controlling the flaring of unwanted gas in oil fields.

Since 2001 the reduction in emissions from energy efficiency projects has reached four million tonnes - equivalent to the annual emissions of a city the size of Bristol. Over the next four years, we plan to reduce operational emissions by another four million tonnes through new and continuing initiatives.

We have also launched a major project to capture CO2 at 1,600 power stations and store it underground, are developing methods for measuring emissions from the products we sell and continue to market cleaner fuels. In the UK, we are leading plans to use a power station that will generate electricity with 90% lower emissions.

BP was actively involved in preparations for the launch of the European Union's Emissions Trading System (ETS), a market-based 'cap and trade' mechanism that creates incentives for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by attaching a measurable value to emissions.

This type of system sets a real cost on emissions and provide incentives to reduce this cost by investing in better management, new technologies and improved processes. In the US, sulphur dioxide has been effectively traded for some time.

The ETS is the centrepiece of the EU's efforts to achieve GHG emissions reductions in line with those agreed at Kyoto. The new system currently covers over 12,000 major industrial plants across Europe, accounting for around 45% of emissions. 27 BP sites are included in the system.

And as part of our PEERs programme, we have studied how some of our formulated products, such as transport fuels and lubricants, can enable customers to use energy in cleaner, more efficient way.

The equation is simple: If the world is to have the energy it demands to sustain established and emerging economies without accelerating climate change, the energy we use must contain progressively less carbon in each unit used and consumers must use energy more efficiently.