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CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE WORLD

1824

▶ French physicist Joseph Fourier publishes the theory about the greenhouse effect. His theory stated that part of the solar energy that was reflected by the oceans and Earth's surface into space was "trapped" in the form of heat in the atmosphere due to water vapor and other gases, comparing the effect to a closed glass vase.

1861

▶ Irish physicist John Tyndall discovers that some gases can block infrared radiation. He suggests that changes in the concentration of gases could cause climate change. Average world temperature (1850-1870) was about 13.6° C

1896

▶ Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius hypothesizes that the burning of fossil fuels could increase global warming. According to their calculations, doubling the concentration of carbon dioxide would cause an increase of 5°C

1900

▶ Swedish physicist Knut Angstrom discovered that CO2 found in the atmosphere, even in minimal concentrations, intensely absorbs parts of the infrared spectrum

1930

▶ The world population reaches 2 billion people

1947

▶ The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was created by the Washington Convention on October 11, as a successor body to the International Meteorological Organization

1957

▶ Oceanographer Roger Revelle, working with chemist Hans Suess, suggests that man-made CO2 will not be easily absorbed by the oceans, as it was assumed by many

1960

▶ The world population reaches 3 billion people

1966

▶ Emiliani analyzes deep ocean cores and Broecker analyzes ancient corals and shows that the timing of ice ages was created by small orbital changes, suggesting that the climate system is sensitive to small changes

1970

▶ Creation in the USA of NOAA – “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration”, the world's leading funder of climate research

1975

▶ The world population reaches 4 billion people

 

▶ American scientist Wallace Broecker puts the term "global warming" into the public domain by using it in the title of one of his scientific papers

1981

▶ James Hansen, American climatologist, shows that sulfate aerosols can cool the climate significantly, increasing confidence in the results shown by models that take the greenhouse effect into account

1987

▶ The world population reaches 5 billion people

 

▶ Nations reach an agreement creating the Montreal Protocol, restricting the use of chemical materials that destroy the ozone layer

1989

▶  The Basel Convention is adopted by 183 countries to regulate the movement and disposal of hazardous waste

 

▶ Carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning and industrial activity reach 6 billion tons per year

 

▶The Montreal Protocol comes into force

1991

▶ United Nations Member States establish the Environment Fund (GEF)

1995

▶ IPCC finalizes its 2nd Assessment report, and suggests that global warming is caused by man

▶ COP1 – Held in Berlin, Germany, from March 28 to April 7, 1995


▶ Creation of the State Climate Change Program of the State of São Paulo (PROCLIMA)

1997

▶ During Cop 3, the Kyoto Protocol was agreed, industrialized nations committed to reducing their GHG emissions by 5.2% in relation to 1990 emissions, in the period between 2008 and 2012. The American Senate immediately declares that it will not ratify the agreement

1999

▶ The world population reaches 6 billion people

▶ COP5 in Bonn, Germany. Determined the steps for the next year (2000) adjusting to the Buenos Aires Action Plan

2001

▶ COP7 in Morocco. The IPCC has finalized the 3rd Assessment Report and indicates "new and stronger evidence" that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are the main cause of the warming seen in the second half of the 20th century

▶ United States President George W. Bush withdraws the country from the Kyoto Protocol

2003

▶ COP9 in Milan, Italy. It was proposed to make an inventory of existing technologies. They discussed market mechanisms and alliances between the public and private sector

2005

▶ Kyoto Treaty comes into force, signed by the main industrialized nations, except the USA

▶ Hurricane Katrina. COP11 took place in Montreal, Canada

2007

▶ COP13 was held in Bali, Indonesia, governments agreed to sign the "Bali roadmap", an agreement that provided for the drafting of a new global treaty at the end of 2009

▶ The IPCC's fourth assessment report concludes that there is more than a 90% chance that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are responsible for modern climate change

▶ LAW No. 3,135, OF JUNE 5, 2007 – Establishes the State Policy on Climate Change, Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development of Amazonas, and establishes other measures

▶ The IPCC and former American vice-president Al Gore win the Nobel Peace Prize for their actions on climate change

2009

▶ COP15 / MOP5 – took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, governments from 192 countries around the world meet at the UN climate summit, the result was only the acceptance of the Copenhagen Agreement, which points out the need to maintain the maximum temperature rise in 2°C, but does not mention emission reduction targets

▶ Hackers download a huge portion of emails from a server at the climate research unit at the University of East Anglia, in the United Kingdom, and release part of the content on the internet, an episode known as "ClimateGate"

▶ LAW No. 12,114, OF DECEMBER 9, 2009 – Creates the National Fund on Climate Change, amends arts. 6th and 50th of Law No. 9,478, of August 6, 1997, and provides other measures

▶ LAW No. 12,187, OF DECEMBER 29, 2009 – which established the National Policy on Climate Change (PNMC), which included the voluntary national targets for reducing greenhouse gases proposed by Brazil: between 36.1% and 38 .9% by 2020

2011

▶ The human population reaches 7 billion people

▶ COP17 took place in Durban, South Africa

▶ Data shows that greenhouse gas concentrations are increasing at a faster rate than in previous years

2013

▶ Presentation of the Status of Preparation of the First National Report on Climate Change

▶ COP 19 took place in Warsaw, Poland

▶ Data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii report that the average daily concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has already exceeded 400 ppm for the first time since measurements began in 1958

▶ IPCC publishes AR5 (Fifth Assessment Report)

2015

▶ Launch of the first report of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change

▶ COP21 – took place in Paris, France, and created the Paris agreement

2017

▶ COP23 - took place in Bonn, Germany between the 6th and 17th of November 2017

2019

▶ IPCC finalizes its 2nd Assessment report, and suggests that global warming is caused by man

▶ COP1 – Held in Berlin, Germany, from March 28 to April 7, 1995


▶ Creation of the State Climate Change Program of the State of São Paulo (PROCLIMA)

2021

▶ The sixth IPCC report, AR6, begins to be published

▶ COP 26 - took place in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021

▶ Torrential rain in Australia

▶ Fires in California. Floods in Germany. Hurricane Ida

▶ Water crisis in Brazil and cyclones in Bahia

1800

▶ World population reaches 1 billion people

1856

▶ Eunice Foote, using sunlight, showed that carbon dioxide could absorb heat

1879

▶ The International Meteorological Organization is established

1897

▶ American geologist Thomas Chamberlin produces a global carbon exchange model, including feedbacks

1927

▶ Carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels with industrialization reaches 1 billion tons per year.

1938

▶ British engineer Guy Callendar argues that an increase in CO2 results in an increase in the greenhouse effect. The "calendar effect" is largely disregarded by meteorologists but revives interest in the climate issue

1955

▶ American researcher Gilbert Plass analyzes in detail the infrared absorption of different gases and concludes that, by doubling the concentration of CO2, the temperature will be raised between 3ºC and 4ºC

1958

▶ For the first time, carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere are monitored by Charles David Keeling, who accurately measures CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere and detects an annual increase. The level is 315 ppm

 

▶ Global average temperature (five-year average) is 13.9°C

1965

▶ United States Presidential Advisory Commission warns that the greenhouse effect is a "real concern"

1969

▶ Nimbus III satellite begins providing comprehensive measurements of global temperature and atmosphere

1972

▶ The first UN conference on the environment is held in Stockholm. The item on climate change barely appears on the agenda, which was concentrated on topics such as chemical pollution, nuclear tests and whaling. As a result, UNEP, the UN agency for the environment, is created

1979

▶ 1st World Climate Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland and provided for the formation of the World Climate Program, the World Climate Research Program

1985

▶ Villach Conference (Austria) declares consensus among experts that global warming appears inevitable and calls on governments to consider international agreements to restrict emissions

1988

▶ The IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was created, responsible for evaluating and disseminating knowledge about climate

▶ The 1st World Climatological Conference was held in Toronto, where there was consensus on neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions

1990

▶ 2nd World Climatological Conference, in Geneva, the 1st IPCC Report was analyzed,  The document concludes that, in the last century, there was an increase in global temperature between 0.3ºC and 0.6ºC

 

▶ The UN General Assembly creates the Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee (CIN) – responsible for drafting the Convention on Climate Change

1992

▶ Earth Summit - Rio 92 creates the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which establishes that by the year 2000, industrialized countries should return their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990s levels

1996

▶ COP2 in Geneva, Switzerland, from July 8 to 19, 1996. The 2nd Assessment report carried out by the IPCC was officially presented – an instrument of great importance in the negotiations

1998

▶ COP4 established the Buenos Aires Action Plan – which aimed to create a timetable for the agreement regarding the operational rules of the Kyoto Protocol

▶ "Super El Niño" causes climate disasters and 1998 is the hottest year ever recorded

2000

▶ COP6 in The Hague, Netherlands, there were no agreements and therefore, a new Conference was called in Bonn (Germany), known as COP6.5, which had a strong political content. It resulted in the Bonn Accords, which finalized elements expressed in the Buenos Aires Action Plan

2002

▶ Rio +10 in Johannesburg, aimed to adopt rules that guide development in a more sustainable direction. Brazil stood out with the “Brazilian Energy Initiative” – a proposal with the objective of increasing the fraction of renewable energy worldwide by 10% by 2010

▶COP 8 in New Delhi, India with the aim of continuing the RIO+10 negotiations on renewable energy, climate, biodiversity and desertification

2004

▶ COP10 / MOP5 in Buenos Aires. This COP was marked by Russian ratification, which will make the Kyoto Protocol come into force on February 16, 2005

▶ Publication of Brazil's Initial National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

▶ Hurricane Catarina (the First Hurricane recorded in the South Atlantic)

2006

▶ COP12 took place in Nairobi, Kenya. The Stern Report concludes that climate change could harm global GDP by up to 20% if not tackled - but tackling it would cost around 1% of global GDP

▶ Carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning and industrial activity reach 8 billion tons per year

2008

▶ COP14 was held in Poznan, Poland, presenting some significant advances, but few concrete results, highlighting the progress in the operationalization of the Adaptation Fund and the maintenance of the debate on the definition of global goals set out in Bali to reduce emissions of carbon (25% to 40% cuts)

▶ Half a century after the first observations at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, the Keeling project indicates that CO2 concentrations have increased from 315 parts per million (ppm) in 1958 to 380 ppm in 2008

2010

▶ COP 16 / MOP 6 – took place in Cancún, Mexico. There were a series of agreements concluded, but the decision on the future of the Kyoto Protocol was postponed until 2011

▶ Publication of Brazil's Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

2012

▶ United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20) in June 2012, in the city of Rio de Janeiro

▶ COP18 took place in Doha, Qatar

▶ Arctic ice covers an area of 3,410,000 km², the smallest area since satellite measurements began in 1979

2014

▶ In 2014, the British meteorological service, Met Office, published a poster with seven world maps based on modeling analyses, which illustrate the impact of climate and population changes on the themes, between the current baseline (1981-2010) and the final of the century (2071 – 2100)

▶ COP20 - took place in Lima, Peru

2016

▶ In October 2016, the States Parties to the Montreal Protocol decided, at the 28th Meeting of the Parties held in Kigali, Rwanda, to approve an amendment that includes hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the list of substances controlled by the Protocol 

 

▶ COP 22 - held in Marrakesh, Morocco, in November 2016, to define rules for the Paris Agreement

2018

▶ IPCC report released in 2018, analyzes the prospects of limiting global warming to 1.5°C in relation to the pre-industrial period. It was approved by 195 governments and was an important basis for COP24

▶ COP24 - took place in Katowice, Poland between December 3rd and 14th, 2018

2020

▶ COVID 19 global pandemic. Conferences canceled

▶ Hurricanes in the North Atlantic

▶ 2020 was one of the three hottest years on record, global average temperature about 1.2° Celsius above the pre-industrial level (1850-1900)

▶ Global average carbon dioxide (CO2) mole fractions reach 413.2 ppm worldwide (149% of pre-industrial levels)

2022

▶ The sixth IPCC report, AR6, is completely published

▶ COP 27 - took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022

▶ In the United Kingdom, temperatures exceeded 40º for the first time

▶ Record rainfall in Pakistan

▶ Hurricane Ian

▶ 43 thousand victims in Somalia due to extreme heat

1980
2010
2000
1990
1900
1960
2020
1970

2023

▶ 2023 is the hottest year in 174 years, reaching 1.4°C above the 1850/1900 average

▶ Worst fire season in history in Canada


▶ Worst fire in US history, takes place in Hawaii

▶ Cyclones in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)

▶ Cyclone Daniel

▶ Extreme drought in the Amazon

▶ COP 28 - took place in Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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