2.3 - Respoding To Climate Chnage And Building Relilence Flashcards
Define resilience
The capacity of individuals, societies, organisations or environments to recover and resume ‘business as usual’ functions and operations following a hazard event or other system shock.
What characteristics might affect someone’s vulnerability to climate change
- location and vulnerability
- wealth, eduction and vulnerability
- age gender and vulnerability
- risk perceptions and vulnerability
How can location affect vulnerability
- temperature
- coastline or continental interior
- high or low latitude
How does wealth and eduction affect vulnerability
- low or high income countries
- are citizens well educated about climate change risk and resilience
How does age and gender affect vulnerability
- older people or younger people
- men or women
How does risk perception affect vulnerability
- what does government and the media say about climate change
What are two broad ways in which describe the government response to climate change
- Mitigation: Any action intended to reduce GHG emissions, such as using less fossil fuel-derived
energy. Mitigation can also be practiced by stakeholders at different scales, from switching a light off, to a government setting strict national targets for reduced carbon emissions. - Adaptation: Any action designed to protect the people from the harmful impacts of climate change but without tackling the underlying problem of GHG emissions.
What does litigation involve
Reducing energy consumption, using alternative sources of energy to fossil fuels and geo engineering
What are 6 ways to mitigation strategies
- cap&trade
- carbon capture & sequestration
- carbon offset schemes
- carbon taxes
- ocean fertilisation
- geo engineering
What is cap and trade
Carbon trading is an attempt to create a market in which permits issued by governments to emit carbon dioxide can be traded. In Europe, carbon permits are traded through the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Governments set targets for the amount of carbon dioxide that industries can emit. Plants that exceed that limit are forced to buy permits from others that do not. → EUETS (EU Emissions Trading System), worlds largest CET scheme introduced in 2003, has not been particularly successful.
What is carbon capture and sequestration
Currently, when fossil fuels are burned, the carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. One potential solution is to capture the CO2, there are two main ways to do this:
○ Directly capturing the CO2 at the site it’s released.
○ Allowing the CO2 to enter the atmosphere, but then removing it using a system
called “direct air capture”
What is carbon offset schemes
These are designed to neutralize the effects of GHG emissions by
investing in projects that cut carbon emissions elsewhere. → some believe this is dangerous as it dissuades people from changing their behaviour. E.g. pay 50cts extra when mailing a letter to offset the carbon.
What is carbon taxes
Used to encourage producers to limit GHG emissions. CO2 incurs fairly large costs to society, however the emitters don’t pay for the social costs they impose (negative externalities).
What ocean fertilisation
Carbon dioxide absorption can be increased by fertilizing the ocean with compounds of iron, nitrogen and phosphorus. This introduces nutrients to the upper oceans, increases marine food production and takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It may trigger an algal bloom, which can trap carbon dioxide and sink to the ocean floor.
what is geo engineering
The deliberate, large scale manipulation of the planetary environment in order to counteract anthropogenic climate change, they tend to be fairly radical, expensive and perhaps unworkable ideas. For example, sulphate aerosol particles in the air could be used to dim the incoming sunlight and thereby cool the planet. → Unknown consequences.
