Unit 1: Coping with Climate Change Flashcards
Explain the difference between mitigation strategies and adaptation strategies.
Mitigation involves taking action to reduce how much climate change occurs. Eg reducing emissions so less temp increase so less ice melt + less sea level rise.
Adaptation involves taking action to reduce the impacts that the changes are having. eg sea level rise so more defences.
What are the main mitigation strategies. Describe 3?
1) CARBON TAX - taxing companies and people who produce CO2, increasing costs discourages overconsumption of energy.
2) CHANGING THE ENERGY MIX - changing the sources of energy - lower proportion from fossil fuels more from renewable sources.
3) MODIFIED AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES - cut methane production from farm animals eg changing their feed.
4) ENERGY CONSERVATION - using less energy (switching off appliances)
5) WASTE STRATEGIES - increase amount of waste that being recycled - directly cuts methane emissions from landfill
6) TREE PLANTING - new trees, will take in CO2, more CO2 stored as organic matter
7) CARBON OFFSETTING - companies + individuals pay for activities that take up the same amount of CO2 their activities are producing, eg planting trees
What are the main adaptation strategies. Describe 3?
1) LIFESTYLE ADAPTATION - people adapt the way they live to suit the new conditions. Eg UK planting yams if they have drought.
2) IMPROVED RISK ASSESSMENT - looking at likelihood that things will be damaged by climate change impacts. then evaluating the need for insurance policies.
3) FLOOD ADAPTATION- building physical defences such as flood barriers to reduce the impacts of flood barriers, better flood warning systems.
4) WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT- using freshwater resources more efficiently to cope with drought conditions. eg installing water meters in homes
5) COMMUNITY AWARENESS - educating local communities on the potential impacts of climate change and tailored emergency plans for specific communities.
What are the main adaptation strategies. Describe 3?
1) LIFESTYLE ADAPTATION - people adapt the way they live to suit the new conditions. Eg UK planting yams if they have drought.
2) IMPROVED RISK ASSESSMENT - looking at likelihood that things will be damaged by climate change impacts. then evaluating the need for insurance policies.
3) FLOOD ADAPTATION- building physical defences such as flood barriers to reduce the impacts of flood barriers, better flood warning systems.
4) WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT- using freshwater resources more efficiently to cope with drought conditions. eg installing water meters in homes
5) COMMUNITY AWARENESS - educating local communities on the potential impacts of climate change and tailored emergency plans for specific communities.
What are the key players in climate change?
Governments
Businesses
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
Communities and individuals
How are governments a key player in climate change?
develop strategies on international, national and local scale
How are businesses key players in climate change?
Responsible for contributing to climate change, can also help slow it down. –> may lobby governments to reduce restrictions and allow them to keep producing greenhouse gases or invest in new technologies to reduce greenhouse gases
How are NGOs key players in climate change?
Set up to tackle climate change. EG Greenpeace - persuades governments to take action against climate change
How are communities and individuals key players in climate change?
Strategies developed on large scale and carried out on a local level. Eg recycling is encouraged by government but recycling is done by individuals.
What is the Kyoto Protocol?
international agreement between more than 180 countries to monitor and cut greenhouse emissions by 2012.
Developed countries - aim to cut emissions by 5%
Developing countries - don’t have to cut emissions just monitor them.
What is the main strategy that the kyoto protocol uses to cut emissions?
Carbon credits - all countries and companies given a limit on the emissions they produce. If they are under this limit they can trade their extra credits to other countries/companies that need them.
What are the successes of the Kyoto Protocol?
More successes than failures
- Progresses made by some countries - high success for Denmark
- shows a united global front
- Allows flexible ways of meeting targets
- Further agreements have been made: EU Carbon Trading
What are the failures of the Kyoto Protocol?
- USA withdrew support, undermining the whole agreement.
- Globally, emissions have actually increased by over 35%
- China and India’s growth in emissions what not predicted to have risen so high, which was not accounted for
Explain what is meant by the term “Act local, think global”
International agreements help at the largest scale, but changes need to be co-ordinated at all levels, individuals can make small changes that can help the global problem, e.g reducing their carbon footprint.
What are the strategies for dealing with climate change?
Mitigation
Adaptation
Kyoto Protocol
(anything from this pack)
