date: 13-nov-15 as global challenges unit 1 mitigation and adaptation

Date: 20 Apr 2023 AS Global Challenges Unit 1

Mitigation and Adaptation


Aims

To understand how can we limit or adapt to climate change.

What are the national and small scale strategies for limiting or coping with climate change?

What are the contributions of individuals to help reduce the impacts of climate change ?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nALyKU_N5x0


Enquiry

What are the strategies for dealing with climate change?

Mitigation

Means reducing the output of greenhouse gases and increasing the size of carbon sinks.

Examples of mitigation are:

•Setting targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions

•Switching to renewable energy, such as wind power

•Capturing carbon emissions from power stations and storing them

– what do you think?


AdaptationAdaptation

Adaptation means changing our lifestyles to cope with a new Adaptation means changing our lifestyles to cope with a new environmentenvironment

rather than trying to stop climate change .rather than trying to stop climate change .

Examples of adaptation include:Examples of adaptation include:• Managed retreat of coastlines vulnerable to sea level riseManaged retreat of coastlines vulnerable to sea level rise• Developing drought resistant cropsDeveloping drought resistant crops• Enlarging existing conservation areas to allow for shifting habitat Enlarging existing conservation areas to allow for shifting habitat

zones zones

Many scientists argue that climate change would still occur even if we Many scientists argue that climate change would still occur even if we stopped polluting the atmosphere now so even 100% mitigation stopped polluting the atmosphere now so even 100% mitigation would require some adaptation. would require some adaptation.

-what do you think?-what do you think?

Date: 20 Apr 2023 AS Global Challenges Unit 1 The UN Environment The UN Environment

Programme strategies to Programme strategies to climate changeclimate change

Most of these strategies need resources, which many LEDCS lackMost of these strategies need resources, which many LEDCS lack

Date: 20 Apr 2023 AS Global Challenges Unit 1 There is much disagreement There is much disagreement

about how to deal with about how to deal with climate changeclimate change

•For human systems like the economy For human systems like the economy mitigation would involve an upfront cost to mitigation would involve an upfront cost to reduce atmospheric pollution to ‘safe reduce atmospheric pollution to ‘safe levels’. levels’. •Adaptation might mean the costs were Adaptation might mean the costs were spread over a longer time scale and were spread over a longer time scale and were more gradual.more gradual.•For natural systems like ecosystems, For natural systems like ecosystems, mitigation could limit the damage. mitigation could limit the damage. •Adaptation might condemn natural Adaptation might condemn natural systems which cannot adapt to climate systems which cannot adapt to climate change. Species may become extinct and change. Species may become extinct and biodiversity be degraded as threats to biodiversity be degraded as threats to ecosystems increased. ecosystems increased.


• The value of natural ecosystems is a strong argument for acting now The value of natural ecosystems is a strong argument for acting now to reduce the worst impacts of climate change. to reduce the worst impacts of climate change.

• MEDCS may have the resources to act now but parts of the world that MEDCS may have the resources to act now but parts of the world that are LEDCS lack the adaptive capacity.are LEDCS lack the adaptive capacity.

• This means that they do not have the human, physical or financial This means that they do not have the human, physical or financial resources to cope with climate change. resources to cope with climate change.

• To increase climate adaptive capacity they need:To increase climate adaptive capacity they need:

To reduce poverty to meet the costs of adaptationTo reduce poverty to meet the costs of adaptation

Increased access to resources including energy resources and Increased access to resources including energy resources and materialsmaterials

Improved education and skills to develop understanding of Improved education and skills to develop understanding of the challenges the challenges and the ability to and the ability to changechange

Improved healthImproved health

Improved infrastructure such as roads, energy supply and Improved infrastructure such as roads, energy supply and communicationscommunications

• So the ability to adapt is linked to developmentSo the ability to adapt is linked to development• Most adaptive strategies will be LOCAL in scale as they will be tailored Most adaptive strategies will be LOCAL in scale as they will be tailored

to the local impacts of climate change. to the local impacts of climate change. • Mitigation can occur at a range of scales.Mitigation can occur at a range of scales.


Scales of mitigationScales of mitigation

International agreements are important, but individual governments decide how International agreements are important, but individual governments decide how agreements should be implemented. agreements should be implemented.

Often it is the local agencies (eg local councils) who decide how to make individuals to make Often it is the local agencies (eg local councils) who decide how to make individuals to make the right choices. the right choices.


Climate change coping Climate change coping strategiesstrategies


Mitigation Adaptation

Adapting to climate change?


Vector Eradication – airborne disease

Transit – public transport


Where does CO2 come from?

Media attention?


http://www.energyville.com/energyville/


Is mitigation free?


The costs of cutting carbon The costs of cutting carbon emissions in different waysemissions in different ways

P 50-51 OxfordP 50-51 Oxford


Wind Turbines

Biofuels

Improved building insulation

Afforestation

Large Dams

Low-till cultivation

Forest conservation

Forest pest control

Over to you – consider the statements – where would you place them? Think about would it affect biodiversity good or bad

Urban tree planting

Green rooftops

Increased farmland irrigation

Species translocation

Sea wall defence

Flood-control infrastructure

Ex situ conservation

New desalinisation plants


Over to you – consider the statements – where would you place them? Think about would it affect biodiversity good or bad

Win-Lose-Win

Win –Lose-Lose

Lose-Win-Lose

Lose-Win-Win


Carbon sequestration

This is a geoengineering technique for the long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon, for the mitigation of global warming.

Carbon dioxide is usually captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical or physical processes.

It has been proposed as a way to mitigate the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere released by the burning of fossil fuels. CO2 may be captured as a pure by-product in processes related to petroleum refining or from flue gases from power generation.

CO2 sequestration can then be seen as being synonymous with the storage part of carbon capture and storage which refers to the large-scale, permanent artificial capture and sequestration of industrially-produced CO2 using subsurface saline aquifers, reservoirs, ocean water, aging oil fields, or other carbon sinks.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/6161742/Contraception-cheapest-way-to-combat-climate-change.html


What should be done – What should be done – think wedges!think wedges!

The idea of stabilisation wedges from Princeton University provides a useful structure to allow a greater understanding to develop. The basic concept is shown here (adapted from ‘the Guardian’). The graph shows the predicted increase in carbon dioxide levels to 2030. An increase to 43.7 billion tonnes equates to a carbon dioxide concentration of 450-500 ppm – in other words about the level considered by many to be ‘dangerous’ (unavoidable increase of 2C).


Anglian Water


Thanks, DarlingThanks, Darling


VEDVED

Car tax, or VED (Vehicle Excise Duty) is one the minds of the average 17 year old!

The UK government is using VED as one of the key planks of its mitigation strategy.

The aim is to use the tax system to change our car buying behaviour.

VED linked to carbon dioxide emissions was first introduced in 1998 (see table, right)

% of UK car sales by VED tax band

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2000

2006

% all sales

A

B

C

D

E

F

G


They have become the fashionable target for environmentalists, but four-wheel-drive vehicles may be less damaging to the environment than the cows and sheep essential to the rural economy.

The methane emissions from both ends of cattle and sheep are causing so much concern in government that it has ordered researchers to find ways to cut down on the emissions from livestock, which account for about a quarter of the methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more powerful at driving global warming than carbon dioxide – pumped into the atmosphere in Britain. Each day every one of Britain’s 10 million cows pumps out an estimated 100-200 litres of methane.

This is the equivalent of up to 4,000 grams of carbon dioxide and compares with the 3,419g of carbon dioxide pumped out by a Land Rover Freelander on an average day’s drive of 33 miles.

With the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation predicting that methane emissions from livestock could increase by as 60 per cent by 2030, the issue is being treated with some urgency.

Scientists attempting to find new foods for cattle have already exploded the myth that most bovine emissions come from the rear. They have found the majority come from belching.


MitigationMitigation

European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) p 52 European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) p 52 OxfordOxford

Shell p 53 OxfordShell p 53 Oxford

London Congestion Charge p 53 OxfordLondon Congestion Charge p 53 Oxford

Bunge, Brazil p 53 OxfordBunge, Brazil p 53 Oxford

New York p 54 OxfordNew York p 54 Oxford

Nuclear in the UK p 57 OxfordNuclear in the UK p 57 Oxford

Kyoto Protocol (to come in class)Kyoto Protocol (to come in class)

AdaptationAdaptation

Tuvalu p 67 Philip AllanTuvalu p 67 Philip Allan


Essay

“Mitigation is the only way to manage climate change”. Discuss (15)

date: 13-nov-15 as global challenges unit 1 mitigation and adaptation

Documents