Allianz Group is one of the largest financial services providers in the world. It offers its customers tailor-made solutions in the fields of property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance, asset management and banking.
The Allianz Knowledge Initiative The company gathers information about the most pressing global issues of our age from within the Allianz Group and its partner organizations and makes it accessible to a broad international audience.
You can find some startling facts at the Allianz Knowledge web site:
Without greenhouse gases, average temperatures on Earth would be -18°C. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about 70% of man-made global warming. Most scientists say that global warming of more than 2°C would be disastrous. Emissions reductions of more than 80% by 2050 are necessary to limit warming to 2°C. Global temperatures have increased by a little less than 1°C during the last 100 years. Since 1750 methane levels have increased by about 150%. Methane locked in permafrost soils could trigger unstoppable climate change if released. Methane's warming potential is 25 times higher than that of CO2 over a 100 year period. Over a similar period, nitrous oxide is about 300 times stronger than CO2. Carbon dioxide, once emitted, has a warming effect over several hundred years. Emissions from aviation have nearly twice the warming effect than carbon dioxide emissions on the ground. Rail travel is on average 3-10 times less CO2 intensive compared to road or air transport.
