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When talking about climate change, we must mention the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body made up of over 2000 scientists from all over the world which regularly publishes reports on global warming and its anthropogenic origin. In other words, it is human activity, through the emission of greenhouse effect gases, mainly CO2 and methane, that is causing an imbalance in the world climate which could have dramatic consequences in just a few years. 

Nevertheless, as with so many other current issues, there is no shortage of people who disagree, and there are other scientists that question the long-term reliability of the available climate forecasting models, are sceptical about the extent of the change that is exclusively due to increased CO2 and even reject the idea that a global temperature increase will really have the catastrophic long-term effects which are often predicted. 

As such, for example, the geographer and author of “History of the Earth’s Climate”, Antón Uriarte points out that the global temperature is currently lower than in previous periods during human history, such as that known as the “medieval optimum” and criticises the fact that the media links climate change to any natural disaster that occurs in the world, without knowing the true causes and creating alarmism. Furthermore, he states that upward temperature variations (0.7 degrees during the last century), which have always occurred have brought with them an increase in the biomass, in other words, a growth of the forest mass and harvests, which is why according to him, the predictions of a planet affected by desertification lack any true basis. 

Solar stains

Scientists at Denmark’s National Space Centre, on the other hand, believe that a factor independent of the increase in CO2 would be the variation of the solar magnetic field, which acts as a shield against the cosmic rays from other stars, which lead to an increase in cloud density, and result in a drop in temperature. In accordance with this approach, there would be a link between the cyclic appearance of solar stains which alter this magnetic field and the earth’s climate. However, the IPCC has stated that the available data does not support this hypothesis. 
 
Preventive measures

However, there is widespread agreement between the scientific community and public opinion concerning the IPCC’s theory, and as such many governments are starting to consider corrective measures for the coming years. Where measures for mitigating CO2 emission are concerned, it is thought that improved technological efficiency would lead to a reduction in energy consumption in all areas. 

More specifically, the leaders of France and the United Kingdom have recently expressed their desire to promote the use of nuclear energy, whilst other countries such as Spain, have seen increased use of renewable energy forms in recent years. 

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