CAN THE UNITED NATIONS KEEP CLIMATE CHANGE UNDER CONTROL?

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1 CAN THE UNITED NATIONS KEEP CLIMATE CHANGE UNDER CONTROL? Climate change is one of the major challenges of our time and adds considerable stress to our societies and to the environment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly. United Nations statement DEFINITION: Unprecedented Something that has not happened before THE DILEMMA An important annual conference on how to tackle climate change is taking place in Poland between 2 and 14 December. It is called COP24. The United Nations (UN) is organising the event. They say: The key objective of the meeting is to adopt the implementation guidelines of the Paris climate change agreement. The UN building in New York, USA The Paris Agreement was signed by 197 countries in October Each nation promised to take tough action to stop the threat of climate change. The main goal is to make sure a global temperature rise is less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (before the 19th century, when industry took off around the world more on that later). But in 2017, President Trump withdrew the US from the deal because, according to him, it was his duty to protect America and its citizens. He described the agreement as disadvantageous to the US and said it punished his country. The withdrawal process takes four years, so the US isn t out of the deal yet. However, Mr Trump s government is already pushing ahead with policies that encourage the use of fossil fuels, and they have removed many environmental protections introduced by previous presidents, including Barack Obama. With such a big country as the US pulling out of the Paris climate change agreement, what can the UN really do to keep climate change under control and help save the planet? Mr Trump has turned his back on the Paris Agreement

2 FACTS & FIGURES From 1880 to 2012, the average global temperature increased by 0.85 C. USA The USA is the second biggest polluter in the world. It contains around 5% of the world s population, but contributes about 15% of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions that are heating the planet. China is the biggest polluter, producing 30% of Earth s total carbon dioxide emissions. Historically, though, the US is the planet s number 1 polluter, according to records from In Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia, average temperatures have increased as much as 3 to 4 C in the past 50 years. From 1901 to 2010, the global average sea level rose by 19 cm as oceans expanded due to global warming and ice melted. The sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk in every decade since Global warming is likely to reach 1.5 C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate. Some good news: since 1990, total greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 41% in the UK, while carbon dioxide is down 36%. The United Nations is an international organisation founded in It is currently made up of 193 Member States, including the UK. One of its principles is to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems.

3 WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE? Climate change is a large and long-term change in the Earth s weather patterns and average temperatures. Since the last ice age about 11,000 years ago, our planet s climate the average temperature of its surface has been stable at about 14 C. But recently the average temperature has been increasing. According to US space agency NASA, the planet s average surface temperature has risen about 1.1C since the 19th century, due mostly to increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Although 1.1C may not sound a lot, it is a very high rise compared to other temperature changes in the history of the planet, and is already having a negative impact. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLIMATE AND WEATHER When there s an especially cold snap of weather in America, President Trump often tweets things like: Whatever happened to global warming? But, in saying that, he shows he doesn t understand the big difference between climate and weather. His own space agency, NASA, explains the difference like this: Weather describes conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time (minutes to months), and climate is how the atmosphere behaves over relatively long periods of time. When we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term averages of daily weather. THE CAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE The sudden and rapid increase in the Earth s average temperature has been caused by the greenhouse effect. This is the process whereby greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane enter our atmosphere, absorb then re-emit heat being radiated from the Earth. This traps the warmth and causes the average temperature of the Earth s surface to rise. Climate change is also referred to as global warming. GREENHOUSE GASES Greenhouse gases are gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation (heat). The main greenhouse gases in the Earth s atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Carbon dioxide in particular is emitted by the burning of coal, gas and oil and the chopping down of forests (deforestation). THE BIGGEST OFFENDERS Meat and dairy industry Animals that are farmed for food, such as cows and sheep, produce methane, a greenhouse gas. Raising livestock for meat, eggs and milk generates nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Burning fossil fuels When we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas to create electricity, we release CO 2 pollution into the atmosphere. The good news, though, is that greener alternatives, such as wind, solar or hydro energy, are becoming more and more popular as an energy source. Deforestation The destruction of forests to clear land for farming releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Up to 75% of Brazil s emissions come from deforestation, as large areas of the Amazon rainforest have been cleared. Transportation According to Government figures released earlier this year, most of Britain s greenhouse gas emissions come from transport. It now accounts for 26% of the UK s greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 25% coming from energy supplies. The main sources were petrol and diesel cars.

4 WHY IS THIS HAPPENING NOW? THE UNITED NATIONS THE KYOTO AGREEMENT In 1997 the countries of the world came together at a big conference in Kyoto, Japan, to negotiate an agreement on what to do about climate change. The agreement, called the Kyoto Protocol, said that countries should cut their greenhouse emissions. Many countries signed up to the agreement, but not the USA or Australia. Some countries signed up but have not stuck to their promise. Developing countries were not forced to agree with the Protocol: one of these was China, which is now the world s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. The planet has gone through cycles of warming up and cooling down before, but the current warming trend is especially worrying because most of it is the result of human activity since the mid-20th century. There has been a big increase in the burning of fossil fuels and therefore the amount of greenhouse gas emitted since the Industrial Revolution, which took place in the 19th century. This was the period when machines began to do the jobs that were previously done by humans, and it is when coal began to be used in huge quantities to power those machines. In the 20th century, industry expanded, and as the global population enlarged, the burning of fossil fuels increased. Within the past 200 years or so, human activity such as building machinery, power plants, air and car travel has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 40%. The UN has been at the front of international efforts to tackle climate change for many years. In 1992, they produced a convention called the UNFCCC to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, which 197 countries signed up to. This was enlarged with the Kyoto Protocol in The Paris Agreement is a further extension to the UNFCCC. Next year, there will be a Climate Summit, where world leaders will report on what they are doing to reduce emissions and the UN will encourage them to do more. UN WARNING Earlier this year, a UN report written by the world s top scientists warned there are just 12 years left to keep global warming under 1.5C. After that, even a half a degree rise will worsen the risks of drought, floods and extreme heat. The UN is urging member states to uphold the Paris Agreement and take action quickly. They worry that we are nearing a point of no return, and say that some damage in ecosystems and the climate Flooding will become more common as our climate changes system may be impossible to reverse now. Here s what they say about the increase in global temperatures: It is likely that the end of this century will see a 1-2 C increase in global mean temperature above the 1990 level (about C above the pre-industrial level). The world s oceans will warm and ice melt will continue. Average sea level rise is predicted to be cm by 2065 and cm by 2100 [compared to ]. Most aspects of climate change will persist for many centuries, even if emissions are stopped.

5 YES, THE UN CAN KEEP CLIMATE CHANGE UNDER CONTROL NO, THE UN CANNOT KEEP CLIMATE CHANGE UNDER CONTROL 1. THEY BRING THE WORLD TOGETHER Only the United Nations can effectively bring all the countries of the world together on such an important issue as climate change. The UN helps countries see past their differences and work together. 2. THEY HAVE LED THE WAY FOR 25 YEARS Beginning with the Earth Summit in 1992, the UN has been getting countries to take action on global warming for a quarter of a century now. They will continue to take charge of the issue. 3. THEY HAVE A CLEAR PLAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE The UN s 2019 Climate Summit will challenge countries, citizens, companies and individual cities to improve action in six key areas, including moving to sustainable energy, such as solar and hydropower. 1. THE PROBLEM IS TOO BIG Climate change is such a huge issue, it s too big even for the UN to solve. With just 12 years to go before the point of no return, we should look to individual countries, cities and individuals to step up and do much more to deal with the problem. 2. THE USA ISN T HELPING It s all very well asking the UN to help control climate change, but the second biggest polluter in the world the USA has made it clear global warming is not a priority. Without American action, any UN efforts are doomed to fail. The US has quit the Paris Agreement, so it s going to be very hard, or even impossible, to keep global temperatures down. 3. ORDINARY PEOPLE NEED TO LEAD THE CHARGE The UN has good intentions, but it relies upon politicians to take action. We should all, as good citizens, take action to prevent climate change disaster. We can each change our habits and put pressure on our own councils and governments to make climate change a priority.

6 Should we be doing more to prevent climate change? What would you do to make the UK Government take action? Why might the UN be in a good position to help tackle climate change? Why might the UN struggle to get all its members to tackle climate change? Should we protect poor countries from the effects of climate change, or is it up to them to look after themselves? What do you think is the worst effect of climate change? How could climate change affect you directly? What can you personally do to help tackle climate change? Is there any issue more important than climate change? What do you think about President Trump s decision to quit the Paris Agreement?