Climate Change Flashcards
(22 cards)
IPCC
Intergovernmental panel on climate change (assess CC related science, DON’T conduct or solve it)
UNFCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (more political, they help intergovernmental CC negotiations e.g. Conference of Parties)
Current temperatures trends predict
4 degrees C at end of century
Climate
average weather over class period (usually 30 years)
Climate system
interactive system made up of atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, land surface and biosphere
Cryosphere
Water is solid form
Biosphere
regions occupied by living organisms
Climate change
change of climate that is attributed to human activities that alter the composition of the global atmosphere (directly or indirectly)
Greenhouse effect
Solar radiation passes through atmosphere, warming earth’s surface, infrared radiation emitted from earth’s surface, some absorbed by GHG warming surface and lower atmosphere
Enhanced greenhouse effect
Increase in GHG (anthropogenic) means more heat trapped.
NOTE: Greenhouse effect natural phenomena, without it earth = -18 degree C
CC has caused global warming of about…
1 degree C above pre-industrial levels
Paris Agreement 2015
Long term temperature goal is to keep increase well below 2 degrees C and pursue efforts to limit increase to 1.5 degrees C
Worldwide emissions target
Zero emissions by 2050
NZ emissions target
reduce by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030
Adaption
The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects
Vulnerability
the propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected (capacity to adapt and cope)
Risk
the probability of occurrence of hazardous events or trends multiplied by the impacts if these events of trends occur (numerical value)
People who are marginalised/treated as insignificant (often natives) are
most vulnerable
Climate related risk consists of
hazard, exposure and vulnerability
Hazard
how much does the climate change
exposure
what kinds of assets of economic value are at risk
Vulnerability
sensitivity/potential harm for people in ecosystems