geog book 3 chap 3 Flashcards
what is climate action?
stepped up efforts to combat climate change and its impact
what are mitigation strategies?
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon sinks, involving changing how societies to produce and use energy and land
place and context specific and thus there is no one size fits all approach
effectiveness vary across places, and may be limited by country’s technological, social, economic and instituitional challenges
what are adaptation strategies
efforts to adjust to climate change and its efforts in order to minimise harm to people properties and the environment
place and context specific and thus there is no one size fits all approach
effectiveness vary across places, and may be limited by country’s technological, social, economic and instituitional challenges
what does climate action do?
helps build community resilience and achieve sustainable development
when implemented well, communities are better able to resist, absorb, adapt to and recover from the impacts of climate change
what are the 4 mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
international agreements and cooperation
use of low carbon technologies
use of clean energy sources
changes in consumption patterns
how effective are international agreements and cooperation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
UNFCCC aims to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions, supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts globally, with developed countries leading and providing financial and technological assistance to developing countries.
how may the effectiveness of international agreements and cooperation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions be limited
institutional limitations
implementation of the Convention is dependent on the commitment of the parties to act and countries have different priorities, thus varying commitment
contributions to reduce gge are not legally binding and thus any country that refuses to take action will not have legal action taken against them
give an example of the effectiveness of international agreements and cooperation in reducing greenhouse gas emissiond may have institutional limitations
President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of USA from the Paris Agreement in 2017 as he believes that it will undermine USA’s economy
how effective are use of low carbon technologies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
low carbon technologies emit low levels of greenhouse gases
these are such as carbon capture and utilisation and storage of carbon
what is carbon capture
process of separating and capturing CO2 from power plants and other industrial sources of emissions
what is the utilisation and storage of carbon
after CO2 is captured it is stored for a long period of time to prevent it from reaching the atmosphere
it is stored in oceans
co2 is used as a raw material to produce useful materials
products created can be sold for profit
cement can be made from stored co2
what are the limitations of using low carbon technologies
economic:
expensive and requires public funding and subsidies for private research and development
technological:
there are concerns that stored carbon may leak out overtime
give an example od an economic limitation of using low carbon technologies
in 2020 the sg govt announced that $49m will be set aside to fund low carbon energy research and to test the effectiveness ot carbon capture and the utilisation and storage of carbon
how effective is the use of clean energy sources in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
clean energy sources come from renewable sources which dont emit greenhouse gases or pollute the atmosphere when used
examples
solar energy
hydroelectric power
geothermal energy
nuclear energy
what is solar energy? and give an example of its usage
energy from the Sun converted into thermal and electrical energy
cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available
by 2030 sg wants to increase its solar capacity to meet around 4% of its total electricity demand
what is hydro-electric power?
hydropower plants capture the energy of moving water such as rivers to generate energy
what is geothermal energy?
derived from heat in the earth’s crust
beneath the earth’s surface, hot rocks heat up groundwater forming steam used to generate electricity
what is nuclear energy? and give an example of its usage
derived from the splitting up of radioactive atoms that generate heat
this produces steam harnessed to generate electricity
more stable in terms of its supply
what are the limitations of using clean energy sources
economic
development and construction of renewable energy technologies are expensive
it depends heavily on government policies and financial support to make renewable energy cost competitive
give an example of the economic limitations of the use of clean energy sources
in indonesia, installing a solar system may cost around USD900 to USD1300 per kW
and thus solar energy only accounts for 1.7% of the country’s total electricity in 2019
how effective are changes in consumption patterns in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
household consumption of good contributes to our carbon footprint as gge are released during production and transportation of these goods
food choices
food waste
use of plastics
production of fashion
how do food choices increase greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce it
food choices are responsible for more than 25% of all gge
types of food you can eat emit different amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and have varied environmental impacts
eating less meat and increasing vegetables as shitfing to plant based diet will reduce agricultural emissions
buying local produce uses less transportatiom reducing carbon emissions
how does food waste increase gge and how to reduce it
when food waste enters the landfills and rots it produces methane contributing to climate change
buying only what we need to avoid overbuying and repurposing food waste are ways to reduce food waste and gge
how does the usage of plastics increase gge and how to reduce it
Here’s a simplified version:
Plastics from fossil fuels release greenhouse gases
Refusing single-use plastics, using reusable products
and recycling correctly can reduce plastic waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
how does the production of fashion increase gge and how to reduce it
The production of clothing contributes to gge
due to high energy and water consumption
- Buying sustainable clothing
- Upcycling old clothes
- Donating unused clothes
- Buying only what’s needed
- Opting for second-hand clothing
These actions can minimize the environmental impact of the fashion industry
what are the limitations of changing consumption patterns
social
takes a long time to change ppls mindset and consumption patterns
economic
companies may be reluctant to change consumption patterns as it will reduce profits
give an example of limitations of changing consumption patterns
despite the availability of drinkable tap water in singapore, singaporeans consumed more than 467 millions of bottled water in 2018
as people thought tap water was unclean and bottled water is more convenient
why are carbon sinks important?
more than 50% of emitted carbon is reabsorbed by forests and oceans decreasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
forests absorb co2 through photosynthesis
oceans reabsorb co2 through planktons, coral, fish and algae
why is land use change important to protect environments?
land use change accounts for around 1% of global emissions
co2 is emitted during deforestation
ch4 is emitted by rearing livestocj and cultivating rice
how is reducing deforestation effective in protecting environments through managing land use change?
deforestation increases the concentration of greenhouse gases as lesser trees absorb co2
deforestation causes soil erosion as soil particles are no longer anchored by roots of trees
when soil enter rivers and oceans, it covers and suffocates corals and aquatic plants
reducing deforestation ensures the natural system’s capacity in absorbing co2 is not reduced
how can deforestation be reduced?
encouraging consumers to only buy wood that is certified as sustainable
banning illegal deforestation through stricter laws
how effective are restoring mangroves in protecting environments through land use change
mangroves are important to coastal ecosystems as they are able to
absorb and store greenhouse gas emissions in their soils up to 4 times as much as other tropical forests
filter pollutants in rivers and prevent them from reaching the oceans and harming corals and aquatic species
what are some methods to restore mangroves
planting mangrove seedlings along coastal areas
creating the optimal conditions for mangroves to grow
correcting the problems that caused mangrove loss
what are the limitations of restoring mangroves
economic
difficult to reduce deforestation in growing economies as there is competing land use for industries, agriculture and urban spaces
give an example of an economic limitation of mangrove restoration
in indonesia
there is more than 100,000 hectares of forest cover in 2020
despite tightening government regulations, forests are still being cleared for resources
without deforestation, 3 million jobs are taken away
how effective is protection of forests through forest regeneration effective in enhancing carbon sinks
when trees grow, they absorb and store co2
afforestation and reforestation should be encouraged as it allows for different species to be grown effectively on a piece of land
what is afforestation and deforesation
afforesation: planting trees in a new area which previously did not have trees
reforestation: re-planting trees in an area that had trees in the past
what are the limitations of the protection of forests through fotest regeneration
social:
large-scale afforestation creates competition for land
limited land supply for agriculture will increase food prices and threaten food security
technological
a large-scale tree planting programme could take 50-100 years to have its full effect of removing 20 bil tonnes of co2 from the atmosphere
what is a sea wall
a wall constructed along the coast to prevent the sea from advancing onto the land
hence it protects people, properties and the environment from coastal floods
give an example of a sea wall
there is a sea wall at east coast park, singapore which protect the coastline from sea level rise
what are polders
low-lying land surrounded and protected by dykes
excess water is pumped out from the polder
hence this protects people, properties and environment from coastal floods and increasing sea level
give an example of a polder
the netherlands have been constructing polders since the 12th century
this helped protect communities from river and sea flooding
what are water storage tanks?
storage for excess stormwater during periods of excessive rainfall to slow the water from rushing into canals and drains
hence it prevents flooding in the canals and drains
give an example of a water storage tank
stamford detention tank in singapore allows excess water to flow into tank temporarily
when sensors detect that water levels in drains have fallen -> water in tank is released back into the drains
what is the economic limitation of adaptation strategies involving structural approaches in building community resilience?
it is costly to build structures strong enough to protect communities from flooding and sea level rise especially for developing countries
must be monitored and enhanced regularly to protect communities from rising flood levels as climate change worsens
give an example of the economic limitation of adaptation strategies involving structural approaches in building community resilience?
sea walls are still costly to build in Fiji even when local materials are used together with materials supplied by the government
it requires a lot of manpower which adds to the cost of building sea wallw
what is the social limitation of adaptation strategies involving structural approaches in building community resilience?
construction of these structures may involve the eviction of informal communities
they may resist against their eviction as they may not have anywhere to go
give an example of the social limitation of adaptation strategies involving structural approaches in building community resilience?
in cities such as Jakarta and Bangkok, informal communities have been evicted/ displaced to make room for construction of flood structures
large communities may not have suitable places to move to
how effective are adaptation strategies involving technological approaches in building community resilience to climate change?
technological adaptation strategies to produce food can help communities to remain food secure despite changing climactic conditions, increasing food security and community resilience
give and explain an example of adaptation strategy to produce food
Singapore’s 30 by 30 plan aims to produce 30% of residents’ nutritional needs locally by 2030.
• 90% of Singapore’s food is imported.
• Less than 1% of land is available for farming.
To address this, Singapore has adopted innovative methods:
1. High-tech vegetable farms with remote monitoring.
2. Automated egg farms for faster production.
3. High-tech fish farms with water quality monitoring.
These methods enable efficient, high-quality food production, increasing food security.
what are the limitations of adaptation strategies involving technological approaches in building community resilience to climate change
economic
these strategies are very costly, may not be possible to implement in countries with limitee funding
how effective are adaptation strategies involving social approaches in building community resilience to climate change
these strategies include raising awareness and educating communities on how to respond to impacts of climate change
this allows communities to be aware of the warning signs of possible climate hazards and take appropriate steps to protect themselves
what are the limitations of social adaptation strategies to build community resilience to climate change and give an example
social
people may not he willing to change their behaviour
for example in nepal, to cope with prolonged drought, communities are taught that they can plant more drought-resistant crops
some communities prefee to stick to their traditional ways of adapting such as
temporary migration to find alternative employment during periods of droughts
what are the aims of institutional adaptation strategies?
organise strategies on a national/regional scale which may otherwise he impossible if communities acted on their own due to lack of resources, expertise, and funding
give an example of a national policy organised
singapore has established organisations and agencies to coordinate climate action
the ministry of sustainability and the environment sees how singapore can be more climate resilient
centre for climate research conducts research in climate science
aims to develop understanding of the changing climate in singapore which is used to support resilience planning
give an example of a regional policy organised
ASEAN cooperation on Environment was set up to safeguard the interests of Southeast Asia
various regional strategies have been made such as the ASEAN climate outlook forum
it enables countries to collaboratively develop climate outlooks for the region
using these outlooks, countries can make decisions to manage and adapt to climate risks
what are the limitations of institutional adaptation strategies
institutional/economic
countries have competing regional priorities
and may not have the capacity to draw on their national budget to finance adaptation projects
