Climate Change: Impacts on Human and
Ecological Health in Germany

von: Stefan Krauss

Table of Content

1 INTRODUCTION 0

2 THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND CLIMATE CHANGE 1

3 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON ECOLOGICAL HEALTH 2

3.1 IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEMS  2

3.1.1 Temperature, precipitation, and carbon dioxide 2
3.1.2 Shift of the vegetation zones 3
3.1.3 Composition of species and biodiversity 3

3.2 IMPACTS ON LANDSCAPE  4

4 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH 4

4.1 DIRECT IMPACTS  5

4.1.1 Thermal extremes 5
4.1.2 Weather extremes 6

4.2 INDIRECT IMPACTS  6

4.2.1 Vector-borne diseases 6
4.2.2 Impacts on food supply 7

5 MITIGATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS HEALTH BENEFITS 7

5.1 MITIGATION ON A GLOBAL SCALE  7
5.2 POLICIES IN GERMANY  8
5.3 HEALTH BENEFITS  8

6 SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK 9

7 REFERENCES 10

If atmospheric pollution increases, if infectious disease vectors extend their domain because of climatic change, if food supplies become endangered by loss of arable land and by acidification of w aterways and if social organisations break down under demographic strain, economic deprivation or competition for dwindling resources, then the health and survival of human populations is endangered.

1 Introduction

In these days, global climatic changes that can be observed are rooted in human activities. The prevailing carbon-based economy makes issues like heating and electricity, population growth and industrialisation, transportation and mobility, over-consumption and globalisation the main contributors of emission of greenhouse gases, with the consequence (among others) of global warming, and thus a changing climate. These global changes have heightened awareness that the health of populations depends on the stability and functioning of the biosphere’s ecological, physical, and socio-economic systems. The world’s climate system is an integral part of the complex web of life-supporting processes. Climate and weather have always had a powerful impact on human health and well-being. But like other large natural systems, the global climate system is coming under pressure from human activities. Global climate change is, therefore, a newer challenge to ongoing efforts to protect human health.

This essay examines the mentioned connectedness of human behaviour and the natural world. More specifically, it deals with the global issue of human induced climate change and its impacts on ecological health (? 3) and human health (? 4), focusing on Germany. Following on from this, global and German mitigation policies are introduced and the health benefits are outlined (? 5). The starting point marks a brief discussion of the link between greenhouse gases and climate change (? 2). In connection with the issues of the ′greenhouse effect′ and ′climate change′, stratospheric ozone depletion is often also discussed. Undoubtedly, stratospheric ozone depletion has impacts on ecological and human health, however it is left out of consideration in this essay due to the word limit, and to the complexity of its relationship to the greenhouse effect and climate change.

2 The Greenhouse effect and climate change

On earth, human life would be not possible without a natural greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases let unhindered pass the entering short-wave sun radiation. At the same time however, they prevent part of the long-wave radiation getting back into the universe through absorption. Due to this, on earth is at an average temperature of 15°C, otherwise it would be an inhospitable minus 18°C.

The climate change is, above all, a consequence of the growing greenhouse effect. The academic community assumes that the increasing emission of greenhouse gases by humans results in an increase of the average world temperature from 1990 to 2100 of 1.4 to 5.8 °C.2 The main ′natural′ greenhouse gases are CO2, H2O,, CH4, N 20, and O 3. Since 1940, humans have produced industrial greenhouse gases like CFC′s, HCFs, HCFC′s, PCFs, and SF6. The impact of each single gas on the greenhouse effect is different. CO2 contributes the most to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. Humans burden the environment with CO2 through heating, electricity, and mobility. However, some emit more than others. Each German emits annually 10 tons of CO2, a citizen of the US double that amount and an Indian just a tenth.3 The amount of greenhouse gases is just circa one per cent of the total atmosphere, however its influence on temperature is decisive. An increase of its concentration in the atmosphere changes the global climate.

3 Climate change impacts on ecological health

3.1 Impacts on ecosystems

3.1.1 Temperature, precipitation, and carbon dioxide

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1 McMichael 1993, p.79.

2 Treber et al. 2001, p.5/8.

3 IEA 2002, p.50f.