Energy Conservation is a Means of Climate Protection

The graph on the right shows the development of the average temperatures in the last 140 years. The trend shows a clear increase of temperatures. The graph also shows the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is mainly due to the burning of the fossil fuels coal, oil and gas.

During the last 50 years the mean temperature on earth increased by about 1degree. At first this does not sound too dramatic. But this increase has caused a dramatic reduction of the size of alpine glaciers and the beginning melting of huge areas of ice in the polar region.

Most important an increase of the average temperature by 1degree leads to an increase in the occurrence of weather extremes like periods of draught, storms, floods etc. Biological adaptation processes can not happen at that fast rate of change, the variety of species begins to decrease. Particularly within insurance companies there is a growing awareness that natural disasters are a consequence of climate change.

The causal correlation between climate change and the emission of carbon dioxide can at the moment not be proven with final certainty - but also the proof of the contrary is not possible. Yet all measurements confirm this theory. Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to take the consequences of our experiments with atmosphere - this should be reason enough for us to act.

If the prognosticated increase in energy demand is to be met by fossil fuels then the world-wide emissions of greenhouse gases will have doubled by 2030!