Climate Change Information
What is Climate Change?
Climate change describes the long-term shift in temperature and weather patterns.
What Causes Climate Change?
Climate change occurs due to a variety of factors. Some of these factors are natural, including changes in solar activity or large volcanic eruptions, but since the industrial revolution, the main driver of climate change has been due to human activity.
Why does Climate Change Happen?
Many industrial processes release greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse gasses, prominently including carbon dioxide and methane, trap the sun’s heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to an increase in global temperatures. Greenhouse gasses can be thought of as a blanket, wrapping around the Earth. Changes in temperature have a further influence on other global systems, including weather patterns.
What are the Consequences of Climate Change?
Climate change has a major influence on many things that humans depend on and value, including water, energy, transportation, wildlife, agriculture, and health. Climate change results in intense droughts, severe wildfires, rising sea levels, flooding, catastrophic storms, and ecological disaster.
How is the Climate Changing Currently?
A variety of organizations, including the World Meteorological Organization and the NOAA, are dedicated to answering this question. The following slider shows some of the major climate changes as of recent.
What Efforts are being taken to Reduce the Impact of Climate Change?
A variety of global frameworks are being developed to guide progress towards reducing climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals includes a call to action for all countries to protect the planet. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognizes and promotes ways that countries can adapt to climate change impacts. The Paris Agreement includes limits on global temperature increases and how emissions can be cut across the globe to stay within the acceptable temperature range.
What can I do to help Reduce the Impact of Climate Change?
The seven biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses (including China, the United States, India, the European Union, Indonesia, Russia, and Brazil) account for roughly 50% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. However, to limit the impacts of climate change, we all must take action, especially those with the largest emissions.
For more information on how you can make an impact on the environment personally, see our blog post.
