The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" presented by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Al Gore mainly revolves around the former US Vice President's efforts in ascertaining unequivocal facts among the public that global warming is occurring and that its implications are severe. The documentation of efforts that an individual can put in to address global warming is a twist from the conventional climate change mitigation strategies that require joint efforts of environmental and special interest groups. Although Al Gore has resources that many individuals lack; political influence, financial backup, and scientific database, he proved that individual efforts can contribute to solving global warming by reaching out to the public and educating the masses about global warming. Collective efforts, however, are still the most effective measure to counter the global issue of climate change as individual efforts are rarely noticed. Environmental and special interest groups are more likely to garner support in their causes and contribute to solving global warming than individuals undertaking the same path. Al Gore is truly an exception in this matter.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), a sub-organization of the United Nations (UN) is among the forerunners in combating climate change. UNEP serves to oversee the development of environmentally sound policies and encourages sustainable development in those countries. Other priorities of UNEP include constantly reviewing the global environment and bringing pressing issues of global warming to the attention of governments and the international community. UNEP has attained many achievements through its 7 divisions in the combat against environmental issues thus far. One of the most prominent achievements is the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with the World Meteorological Organization (IMO). IPCC is a scientific body that aims to provide scientific information related to climate change. UNEP has also successfully launched India Solar Loan Programme in 2007; a programme that provided 18000 households in India with photovoltaic electrical energy supply.1 This type of initiatives is not limited to domestic households as UNEP also encourages the use of renewable and clean energy among industries in the developing world through the Rural Energy Enterprise Development (REED). The REED is responsible for the injection of more than USD$10 million in Brazil, China, Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Tanzania and Zambia to develop renewable energy technologies in the aforementioned countries. IPCC, India Solar Loan Programme and REED make up only a tiny fraction of the UNEP list of measures adopted to address global climate change, with more programmes to be developed and undertaken as a result of active collaboration to governments and non-governmental organizations alike.

The IPCC main focus is to establish a database of global warming-related scientific literature. The panel evaluates risk of climate change induced by human activities and provide scientifically feasible suggestions for adoption and mitigation to policy makers all over the world. Ever since its inception in 1988, the IPCC has published 4 reports, one each in 1992, 1995, 2001 and 2007. The reports mainly consists of data of environmental issues, their possible causes, observed and projected impacts on the environment and followed up by outlines of measures that can be taken in various socio-economic sectors. In its recent report, the IPCC has included energy supply as one of the key factors in tackling climate change. As of now, the IPCC has identified that high-carbon emission energy generation technology is the mainstream energy supply globally and widespread adoption of low-carbon emission technology may takes decades to realise. The growing demand for energy from current economic giants and emerging economies such as China and India calls for energy sources of higher capacities and efficiency as energy consumption is projected to increase drastically in years to come. Even though low-carbon technology may not be able to fully replace high-carbon technology in the short run in terms of energy output, it certainly has the potential in the long run. Renewable energy sources identified by the panel includes hydropower, solar, wind, and geothermal, which leave less to no undesirable impacts on the environment as compared to conventional energy sources such as coal and oil, with the exception of hydropower. These sources do not require extraction process similar to those of fossil fuels and there is hardly any emission of green house gases (GHG) from power plants which utilize these sources as no combustion is involved. The panel then further elaborated on policies and measures related to adoption of clean and renewable energy sources proven to be effective and their key constraints in implementation. Other key points covered in the IPCC reports were subjected to the same argument. By providing comprehensive studies in the cause and effect of climate change, the panel is able to provide extensive information needed to tackle global warming. As much as drastic actions need to be taken when it comes to global warming, taking the right action is just as important and in that sense the IPCC can provide the essence of taking the right actions in tackling global warming.

Both UNEP and IPCC operate at a global scale and thus their efforts have far-reaching impacts. This type of top down approach, however, often fails to display the urgency in dealing with pressing issues such as global warming. Their efforts are often hampered by constraints in various level of governance. Governments may not adopt suggestions drafted because consensus that these bodies achieved are not obligatory and more than often the measures suggested do not agree with economic interests that are lobbied by groups with vested interests. Economic constraints aside, it is observed that political will is still lacking when it comes to adopting necessary changes to tackle global warming. The situation might change for better in the future as impacts of global warming become more prominent.

Reference :

Laurie David,Lawrence Bender, Scott Z. Burns (Producers) &
David Guggenheim (Director). 2006.
An Inconvenient Truth [Motion Picture].
United States : Paramount Classics.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2007).
Climate Change 2007 : Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers
Retrived January 30, 2009, from 
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf

United Nation Environment Programme. (2007).
UNEP 2007 Annual Report
Retrieved January 30, 2009, from
http://www.unep.org/PDF/AnnualReport/2007/AnnualReport2007_en_web.pdf