If we assume that there will be some kind of global framework of regulations on climate change that keep the world within cooee of 2°C of warming then there are going to be a lot of fossil fuels left underground.
Forests are a good example: they provide not merely wood, but also water storage, habitat for many species and regulation of climate.
We have developed spatially explicit models of indicators of important ecosystem services in New Zealand: regulation of climate, control of soil erosion, regulation of water flow (quantity), provision of clean water (quality), provision of food and fibre, and provision of natural habitat.
Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and produce natural capital like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value.
Marine ecosystems provide a wide variety of services, including provision of food, regulation of climate, support via primary production and nutrient recycling, and cultural enrichment [1].
We know that this vast realm and the organisms living in it provide globally important ecosystem services [11], including the support of fisheries, the provision of a range of natural products of potential use in medicine and other applications, as well as the regulation of climate and ocean chemistry through the capture and storage of atmospheric carbon and the production of marine carbonate.
To get an idea of the range of ecosystem services that we use daily, think of how much energy and time it would cost to make Mars (or some other Earth-like planet) hospitable for human life, for example, in terms of atmosphere regulation, freshwater production, soil formation, nutrient cycles, regulation of climate, etc.
Nearly all Republicans elected in the midterm election expressed doubt about the science of global warming and opposed regulation of climate-altering gases.
The statement formally affirms an agency announcement last month that it would phase in the regulation of climate-altering gases over several years, starting with the largest sources.
Ms. Harbert and other business lobbyists also welcomed the administration's hesitancy to undertake regulation of climate-altering gases under E.P.A. authority, saying the matter should be fully aired before Congress so that all interests and regions could be heard.
