A Guide to Climate Change

Transcription

1 A Gude to Clmate Change What s clmate change and how wll t affect you? What s causng clmate change? What efforts are beng made to tackle clmate change? What s a carbon footprnt? What can you do to help tackle clmate change?

2 Clmate Change Gude What s clmate change and how wll t affect me? Clmate change s the name gven to the change n our clmatc patterns, both at a regonal and global level, partcularly over the last few decades. In Scotland we expect more extreme weather events, wetter wnters and drer summers. Ths wll ncrease floodng and damage to nfrastructure. It wll also affect the crops we can grow, our ecosystems and our natural plants and anmals. Some of these changes are happenng now. Worldwde we also expect more extreme weather events as well as unpredctable and changng weather patterns resultng n droughts, floodng and dsrupton to ecosystems. Ths wll affect global food and water supply, the lvelhoods of mllons, and wll result n clmate refugees. Clmate change often has the greatest mpact on people who have contrbuted least to causng t and are least able to adapt to t. Worldwde glacers and ce sheets are meltng and sea levels are rsng. Many coastal ctes and whole slands are at rsk of beng flooded by the rse n sea levels. Q Why not have a conversaton wth frends and famly about how clmate change wll affect you? Learn more

3 What s causng clmate change? Naturally occurrng greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun, keepng our planet warm enough to sustan lfe. Snce the ndustral revoluton humans have ncreased the amount of greenhouse gases n the atmosphere to ther hghest level n over 400,000 years. Ths ncrease has been caused by actvtes ncludng: Burnng fossl fuels such as coal, ol and gas to heat and lght our homes, fuel our vehcles and create stuff The way we produce food Deforestaton of trees that absorb greenhouses gases Landfllng our waste More greenhouse gas n the atmosphere means more heat from the sun s beng trapped, causng our planet to heat up. Ths s called global warmng and snce 1880 global average temperatures have ncreased by 0.8 c. The global warmng of our planet s causng clmate change. 14 of the 15 hottest years on record have occurred snce 2000, accordng to the UN World Meteorologcal Organsaton. Q Why not try to explan what s causng clmate change to a frend? Vew our anmated clmate change flm at

4 Clmate Change Gude What efforts are beng made to tackle clmate change? Work s underway to cut or prevent the emsson of greenhouse gases. Ths s known as mtgaton. At the Unted Natons Clmate Change Negotatons n Pars an agreement was reached by countres around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emssons to keep average global temperature rse below 2 c, and am to lmt t to 1.5 c. In 2009 the Scottsh Parlament passed the Clmate Change (Scotland) Act. Ths ncluded world-leadng clmate change polces and targets of a 42% reducton n greenhouse gas emssons by 2020, and 80% by To acheve these targets there wll need to be many changes to our nfrastructure and the way we lve and work n Scotland by 2020 ncludng: 100% of electrcty generated to come from renewables. 11% of warmth to come from bomass, solar thermal panels, energy from waste and heat pumps. Increasng plantng of trees to 10,000 hectares per year. At least 10% of all journeys made by bcycle. Efforts to lower the rsks assocated wth the mpacts of clmate change are known as adaptaton and these nclude: Flood rsk management Bodversty acton plannng Urban greenng Read more about clmate polcy at

5 What s a carbon footprnt? Your carbon footprnt s the total quantty of greenhouse gases that you create from your day-to-day lfe through home energy use, the way you travel, what you eat and the stuff you buy. In Scotland, each of us creates over 10 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year. These break down nto four key themes. 1 Housng: 29% How we heat and lght our home. Our carbon footprnt whch we can nfluence: Transport: 29% How we travel to work, school, for lesure and holdays. 10 tonnes Food: 21% The food and drnk we choose to eat and what we waste. Stuff: 15% The thngs we buy and waste. Other: 6% If we all work to reduce our carbon footprnts we can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases n the atmosphere and start to tackle global warmng and clmate change. Vew our carbon footprnt flm at

6 Clmate Change Gude What can I do to help tackle clmate change? Have a dscusson wth a frend about how you could make reductons to your carbon footprnt to help tackle clmate change. Reducng your carbon footprnt could save you money and be good for your health! Tck the actons you are already takng. Is there more you could do? Reduce your home energy use Install a more effcent heatng system Install draught proofng and nsulaton Addtonal benefts: Saves money on energy blls. Turn thermostat down by 1 c Swtch lghts off when not n a room Carry out a home energy audt Eat local and seasonal Buy local frut and vegetables that are n season Addtonal benefts: Improved det, health benefts of gardenng, saves money. Avod food waste Grow your own food

7 Greener travel Fly less Enjoy actvtes close to home Addtonal benefts: Can mprove ftness, reduce stress and saves money. Walk or cycle nstead of car travel Use publc transport nstead of the car Car share Drve effcently Reduce, reuse and recycle Cut down the stuff you use Consder buyng second hand Addtonal benefts: Saves money. Fnd new uses for tems rather than throwng out Recycle tems at the end of ther lfe Read more about ways to take clmate acton at: Why lve greener? We can do so much f we do t together. Watch the flms from Greener Scotland to fnd out what could happen f everyone n Scotland joned together to lve a greener lfestyle.

8 The Clmate Challenge Fund s a Scottsh Government grant programme that we manage and admnster. We provde support, resources and tranng and organse events to support communty groups takng acton on clmate change. The carbon emssons generated by prntng wll be offset by plantng broadleaved trees n a local communty woodland. T: E: ccfenqures@keepscotlandbeautful.org ISO 14001:2015 Certfcaton No Keep Scotland Beautful s a regstered Scottsh charty. Number SC Copyrght Keep Scotland Beautful All rghts reserved.