Class 2 - Climate change

Question 1

What is climate change?

Answer 1

A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and is in addition to natural climate variability

Question 2

What is UNFCCC

Answer 2

UN framework convention on climate change. Internatial treaty adopted in 1992. A forum, no binding obligations

Question 3

What is the objective of the UNFCCC?

Answer 3

To stabalize greenshouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system

Question 4

What is the IPCC?

Answer 4

The intergovernmental panel on climate change. An international body of climate cgange scientists. They release assesment reports. 195 member states

Question 5

What does the AR6 from the IPCC highligt?

Answer 5

Humans have warmed the atmosphere, the sea and land. The surface temp was 1.09 degrees higher in 2011-2020 than in 1850-1900. Each of the last four decades have been warmer than any decade before 1850. The temp is rising faster since 1970 than in any other 50 year period the past 2000 years

Question 6

What is happening to ecosystem extent and condition?

Answer 6

Ecosystems have declined by 47%

Question 7

What is happening to species extinction risk?

Answer 7

25% of species are already threatened with extinction

Question 8

What is happening ecological communities?

Answer 8

The abundance of naturally-present species have declined by 23%

Question 9

What is happening with biomass?

Answer 9

Biomass of wild mammals hs fallen by 82% since 1970

Question 10

What do the IPCC predict will happen if we continue?

Answer 10

Increase in global temp between 1.2 and 5.7 degrees at the end of the century. Sea level rise between 28 to 101 cm. Change in rainfall patterns. Increased frequency of extreme rain events. Increased droughts. Increased heat waves.

Question 11

Which parts of the world will recieve the most changed heat?

Answer 11

The poles

Question 12

Which parts of the world will recieve the biggest change in rain?

Answer 12

Eqautor and the poles

Question 13

What are the two things we can do?

Answer 13

Adaptation (adressing the impacts) or mitigation (Adressing the causes)

Question 14

What are examples of mitigation?

Answer 14

Energy conservation, energy effeciency, renewable energy

Question 15

What is energy conservation?

Answer 15

Any behaviour that results in the use of less energy

Question 16

What is energy efficency?

Answer 16

Using less energy to provide the same service eg through design and technology

Question 17

What is renewable energy?

Answer 17

Wind, solar, hydro, biogas, geothermal

Question 18

What is Power to X?

Answer 18

Excess wind or solar energy is used to slip water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can be used as fuel to produce electricity or combined to make other fuels

Question 19

What are nature-based solutions?

Answer 19

Actions to protect, manage, and erstore natural or modified ecosystems which benefits humans - for example to gain ES

Question 20

Example of NbS and ES

Answer 20

Protection of forests and wetlands can reduce the impact of extreme rainfall and high temp

Question 21

How can we protect costs from surges?

Answer 21

Mangroves and concrete structures

Question 22

Examples of watershed management

Answer 22

Terracing, check dams, vegetation, infiltartion trenches, constructed wetland

Question 23

How can we plan cities differently to avoid floods?

Answer 23

Avoid placing homes in flood risk areas, maintain infiltration and retention capacity, urban watershed management

Question 24

What are sustainable drainage systems?

Answer 24

Adress infiltration, transportation, storage, delay, or evaporation of rainwater

Question 25

Examples of sustainable drainage systems

Answer 25

Soak-aways, underground area which can store water. Water from roofs channeled to water gardens. Green roofs

Question 26

What is loss and damage?

Answer 26

Climate related impacts and risks from sudden-onset extreme events and slow-onset events

Question 27

What are losses

Answer 27

Irreversible

Question 28

What are damages

Answer 28

Can be alleviated or repaired

Question 29

What does the Paris agreement aim for?

Answer 29

Encompass all countries, have a bottom-up structure with individual and voluntary commitments. Hold global temps below 2 degrees, aim of 1.5

Question 30

How did the COP27 decision in Egypt aim to mitigate loss and damage?

Answer 30

Establish new funding arrangements for assisting developing countries who are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Establish a transitional committee and make reccomendations

Question 31

What are some tipping points

Answer 31

Amazon forest die, Gulf stream overturns circulation, coral reefs bleech and die

Question 32

What is attribution science?

Answer 32

Simulating an extreme weather event without climate change and comparing it to see if it was caused by climate change

Question 33

What is the human climate niche?

Answer 33

The historically highly conserved distribution of relative human population density with respect to mean annual temperature. We show that climate change has already put ~9% of people (>600 million) outside this niche. By end-of-century (2080–2100), current policies leading to around 2.7 °C global warming could leave one-third (22–39%) of people outside the niche