Introduction

What is climate change?

The planet's climate has constantly been changing over geological time. The global
average temperature today is about 15C, though geological evidence suggests it has
been much higher and lower in the past.

However, the current period of warming is occurring more rapidly than many past
events. Scientists are concerned that the natural fluctuation, or variability, is being
overtaken by a rapid human-induced warming that has serious implications for the
stability of the planet's climate.

Human activities have increased greenhouse gas

concentrations in the atmosphere
Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide began to rise
around two hundred years ago, after changing little since the end of the last ice age thousands
of years earlier. The concentration of CO2 has increased from 280 parts per million (ppm)
before 1800, to 396 ppm in 2013. This history of greenhouse gas concentrations has been
established by a combination of modern measurements and analysis of ancient air bubbles in
polar ice
Particularly important is CO2. Enormous amounts of it are continually exchanged between the
atmosphere, land and oceans, as land and marine plants grow, die and decay, and as carbon-

1
rich waters circulate in the ocean. For several thousand years until around 200 years ago, this
‘carbon cycle’ was approximately in balance and steady. Since the 19th century, human-
induced CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, cement manufacture and deforestation
have disturbed the balance, adding CO2 to the atmosphere faster than it can be taken up by the
land biosphere and the oceans (Figures 3.1 and 3.2). On average over the last 50 years, about
25% of total CO2 emissions were absorbed by the ocean making sea water more acidic and 30%
was taken up on land, largely by increased plant growth stimulated by rising atmospheric CO2,
increased nutrient availability, and responses to warming and rainfall changes (though the mix
of these mechanisms remains unclear). The other 45% of emissions accumulated in the
atmosphere. These changes to the carbon cycle are known from measurements in the
atmosphere, on land and in the ocean, and from modelling studies.

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Objectives

Causes of climate change

There is nothing new about climate change. For hundreds of millions of years
the Earth’s temperature has been influenced by continental shifts, which
have triggered volcanic eruptions among other things. Sometimes these
shifts released large volumes of CO2 which heated up the Earth. They also
caused young rocks to rise to the surface, which chemically bound CO2. As a
result, CO2 was dispelled from the atmosphere in the longer term.

Today, natural phenomena still make a deep impression on the climate. Take, for example,
El Niño, which occurs at intervals of three to seven years. When the trade winds ease, the
warm water from the Western Pacific (Indonesia, Philippines) moves east and causes a rise
in sea temperature in an area west of Peru. This occurrence creates worldwide deviations
in cloud patterns, precipitation and temperature.
So, the causes of climate change are many and varied. And the effects on our climate system
are complex.

Influence of humans
Humans have been influencing the climate since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Since
then, the average world temperature has risen by approximately 0.8 degrees Celsius. In
North-West Europe (including the Netherlands) the average temperature has risen by 1.5
degrees. The sea level has risen by around twenty centimetres and most of the glaciers
have shrunk dramatically.
Up to 1950 the influence of nature was more important than human influence. After that,
the pattern in the average world temperature can only be explained by factoring in the
human influence.
Even so, a slight decline in temperature did appear from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. It
was linked to a dramatic increase in cooling aerosols from the post-war industrialisation in
the western world. It was also caused by a mild decline in solar activity and some major
volcanic eruptions in the second half of this period.
According to the latest IPCC report, it is more than likely (more than 90 per cent
probability) that most of the global warming in recent decades is attributable to the
observed increase in greenhouse gases.

CO2 and climate change

The most well-known and the most important greenhouse gas is CO2. The concentration of
CO2 in the atmosphere is subject to variation even without human intervention. The
carbon cycle causes an exchange of CO2 between the biosphere and the oceans on the one

3
hand and the atmosphere on the other.
Vast amounts of CO2 are also released by the burning of fossil fuels. There is
incontrovertible evidence that the CO2 concentration in the air has never been so high in
800,000 years (probably even 60 million years) as it is now. The trend suggests that CO2
emissions will continue to rise globally, although the economic crisis did prevent a rise in
2009. The Netherlands (per head of population) is high on the list of CO2 emitters in the
world.
Besides CO2 , methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), fluorinated gases, ozone (O3) and water
vapour are important greenhouse gases. Water vapour plays a unique role as it strengthens
the heat-trapping effect caused by other greenhouse gas emissions. This is because a
warmer atmosphere retains more water. The amount of water vapour cannot be artificially
increased or decreased.

Aerosols
Aerosols are less well-known than greenhouse gases. Aerosols are dust particles which, in
addition to CO2, are released into the atmosphere in large quantities when wood and fossil
fuels are burned. Some aerosols have a cooling effect on the climate, others have a warming
effect. On balance they have a cooling rather than a warming effect, but no-one can give a
clear idea of the magnitude, because we still do not understand how aerosols influence the
occurrence and characteristics of clouds.

Natural phenomena, greenhouse gases and aerosols create an imbalance in the incoming
and outgoing radiation in the atmosphere. This process is known as radiative forcing. When
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the Earth heats up, the short-wave radiation from the sun that enters the atmosphere is
greater than the long-wave radiation that exits the atmosphere. The temperature changes
on Earth will not stop until the radiation balance is restored. Given the immense capacity of
oceans to absorb heat, it will take a long time to strike a new balance.

Uncertainty
The extent of global warming in the future is swathed in uncertainty; -first , because we
have no idea of how much of an increase to expect in greenhouse gases (depending on
economic growth), and secondly, because we do not know exactly how our climate system
will respond (climate sensitivity).

5
  United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate ChangeThe United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) i
an internationalenvironmental treaty adopted on 9 May 1992 and opened
for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.
It then entered into force on 21 March 1994, after a sufficient number of
countries had ratified it. The UNFCCC objective is to "stabilize greenhouse
gasconcentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system The
framework sets non binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for
individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. Instead, the
framework outlines how specific international treatie (called "protocols"
or"Agreements") may

betreatitospecifyfurtheractiontowardstheobjectiveoftheUNFCCC .
Initially, an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) produced the text of the
Framework Convention during its meeting in New York from 30 April to 9 May 1992.

The UNFCCC was adopted on 9 May 1992, and opened for signature on 4 June
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1992.theUNFCCC has 197 parties as of December 2015. The convention enjoys broad
legitimacy, largely due to its nearly universal membership.
The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the
Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change. In 1997, the Kyoto
Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for developed
countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the period 2008-2012.the
2010 Cancún agreements state that future global warming should be limited to below
2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industrial level The Protocol was amended in 2012 to
encompass the period 2013-2020 in the Doha Amendment, which -as of December
2015- had not entered into force. In 2015 the Paris Agreement was adopted, governing
emission reductions from 2020 on through commitments of countries in ambitious
Nationally Determined Contributions. The Paris Agreement entered into force on
November 4, 2016.
One of the first tasks set by the UNFCCC was for signatory nations to establish national
greenhouse gas inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, which
were used to create the 1990 benchmark levels for accession of Annex I countries to
the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment of those countries to GHG reductions.
Updated inventories must be submitted annually by Annex I countries.
"UNFCCC" is also the name of the United Nations Secretariat charged with supporting
the operation of the Convention, with offices in Haus Carstanjen, and the UN Campus
(known as Langer Eugen) in Bonn, Germany. From 2010 to 2016 the head of the
secretariat was Christiana Figueres. In July 2016, Patricia Espinosa from Mexico
succeeded Figueres. The Secretariat, augmented through the parallel efforts of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), aims to gain consensus
through meetings and the discussion of various strategies.

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Function of ipcc:-

Overview
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by the
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) to assess climate change based on the latest science.

Through the IPCC, thousands of experts from around the world synthesize the most
recent developments in climate science, adaptation, vulnerability, and mitigation every
five to seven years. Governments request these reports through the intergovernmental
process and the content is deliberately policy-relevant, but steers clear of any policy-
prescriptive statements. Government representatives work with experts to produce the
"summary for policymakers" (SPM) that highlights the most critical developments in
language accesible to the world's political leaders. Scholars, academics and students can
dig into the chapters and supplementary materials for a thorough and deeper
understanding of the evidence The IPCC has issued comprehensive assessments in1990,
1996, 2001, 2007 and 2013, methodology reports, technical papers, and periodic special
reports assessing specific impacts of climate change (the latest ones in the works: oceans
and ice cover, land degradation, impacts of 1.5°C warming).

The fifth assessment report, AR5, is the most comprehensive synthesis to date. Experts
from more than 80 countries contributed to this assessment, which represents six years
of work. More than 830 lead authors and review editors drew on the work of over 1000
contributors. About 2,000 expert reviewers provided over 140,000 review comments.

AR5 assessed more extensively than prior assessments the socioeconomic impacts of
climate change and the challenges for sustainable development. The inclusive process by
which IPCC assessments are developed and accepted by its members ensures
exceptional scientific credibility. For this reason, AR5 serves as the basis to inform
domestic and international climate policies. Many countries draw upon the IPCC in
their national climate assessments. Such as the November 2017 release of the first
volume of the U.S. fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), also referred to as the
Climate Science Special Report

IPCC history and mission

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 under
the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World
Meteorological Organization for the purpose of assessing “the scientific, technical and
socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced

8
climate change. It does not carry out new research nor does it monitor climate-related
data. It bases its assessment mainly on published and peer reviewed scientific technical
literature.” The goal of these assessments is to inform international policy and
negotiations on climate-related issues.

The assessments and climate action

The First Assessment Report (FAR) of the IPCC (1990), as well as a supplemental report
prepared in 1992, supported the establishment of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED, commonly known as “The Earth Summit”)
held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. The UNFCCC treaty, which the United States has
signed, serves as the foundation of international political efforts to combat global
warming.

The IPCC’s reports were also influential at the first Conference of the Parties
(COP) to the Climate Convention, held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. Attendees
produced the so-called Berlin Mandate, setting out the terms for a negotiation process
that would produce binding commitments by industrial countries to reduce their heat-
trapping emissions after the year 2000.

The significantly strengthened Second Assessment Report (SAR, 1996), along with
additional special materials on the implications of various potential emission limitations
and regional consequences, provided key input to the negotiations that led to the
adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC in 1997. The Kyoto Protocol is an
international agreement that establishes binding targets for reducing the heat-trapping
emissions of developed countries. After the SAR was published, a number of technical
papers and special reports have been prepared on the impact of aircraft, land use,
technology, and changing emission levels on global warming.

The Third Assessment Report (TAR, 2001) concluded that temperature increases over
the twenty-first century could be significantly larger than previously thought, and that
the evidence for human influence on climate change was stronger than ever.

The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4, 2007) emphasized that “the warming of the
climate system is unequivocal” and that it is affecting ecosystems worldwide. And the
Fifth Assessment Report (AR5, 2013/14) asserted that “[h]uman influence on the
climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the
highest in history.” These findings informed the climate negotiations resulting in the
Paris Agreement of 2015, in which 197 countries committed to limiting global warming
to below 2°C.

In tandem with the Paris agreement, the Conference of Parties (COP) invited the IPCC
to provide a special assessment on the impacts of climate change when global
temperature reaches 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The special report will be
released in 2018 and will serve as basis to discuss adaptation options in the context of
sustainable development and poverty eradication.

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IPCC structure
Historically, the IPCC has been organized into three working groups, a variety of task
forces or special committees, and a small secretariat in Geneva. The topics assigned to
the working groups have evolved somewhat over time. For the AR5, Working Group
I summarized the physical science basis of climate change. Working Group
II addressed the vulnerability of human and natural systems to climate change (i.e., the
negative and positive consequences of global warming) and options for adapting to the
changes. Working Group III assessed options for limiting heat-trapping emissions,
evaluated methods for removing them from the atmosphere, and examined other means
of slowing the warming trend, as well as related economic issues.

A separate Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories oversees the

compilation of global warming emissions and removals by country.

Each of these working groups has two co-chairs—one from a developed country and
one from a developing country. An additional set of governmental representatives
(frequently scientists) have been nominated by their countries to serve on the bureau of
each working group. Together, the two co-chairs and the bureau members function as
an executive committee, while the team of scientists drafting individual chapters of each
working group’s assessment is sometimes referred to as the scientific core.
Coordinating the efforts of each working group is a small technical support unit
(TSU) that provides both technical and administrative support to the bureau and the
scientific core.

Authors, contributors, and reviewers

The technical support units, co-chairs, and bureaus of each working group together
assemble a list of proposed authors for its assessment, but the lead authors are selected
by the entire working group. Governments and non-governmental organizations around
the world are invited to nominate potential authors.

A government nomination does not imply that the scientist’s views are endorsed by that
government, or that the scientist is expected to represent his or her government’s view.
It may mean that a government has provided a scientist with financial support, but
many scientists receive no direct financial support for their contributions to the IPCC
and others are merely reimbursed for travel expenses. Experts from developing nations
who have received no financial support from their government are supported through
the IPCC trust fund.

From these nominations, the full working group membership confirms 5 to 10 lead and
coordinating lead authors, as well as two review editors, for each chapter of its
assessment; every working group must have at least one co-chair from a non-OECD
country.

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In general, the appointed authors are widely recognized experts who represent a broad
range of subject areas and opinion. They may come from academia, research facilities,
industry, government, and non-government organizations (NGOs). A complete list of
the lead authors is available at the IPCC website .

Lead authors and coordinating lead authors prepare a first draft of their chapter
over a period of several months, reviewing and synthesizing peer-reviewed scientific
literature. Lead authors also consult with expert scientists in the field, inviting those
with needed expertise to serve as contributing authors.

The chapter teams hold several author meetings to clarify the issues and reach
agreement on the text’s scope, balance, and conclusions. Contributing authors help
write specific sections, contribute specific data, or represent particular perspectives.
Though lead authors typically solicit such contributions, scientists are also encouraged,
both individually and by their countries, to become contributing authors by submitting
relevant material directly to the working group’s chairs.

The resulting first draft of a chapter then undergoes two rounds of scientific review and
revision (described more fully below) before being finalized. Scientists are also
encouraged to submit comments—AR5 WG1 alone generated 54,677 review comments.
Many authors attest that this review process ranks among the most extensive for any
scientific document. For comparison, a paper published in a peer-reviewed science
journal is typically reviewed by only two or three experts.

The revised chapters are then combined into a technical report by the technical
support units and circulated to governments and NGOs accredited by the IPCC before
being considered and “accepted” at the working group’s plenary session. Acceptance in
this context means that government representatives to the IPCC agree that the
documents present an objective, comprehensive, and balanced scientific review of the
subject matter.

Government representatives are not permitted to edit these book-length reports. In the
end, it is the authors who bear the sole responsibility for the content of their chapters.
Government representatives, however, do participate in the line-by-line review and
revision of the much shorter summary for policymakers, or SPM, for each technical
report. The working group’s lead authors write the SPM, technical experts review it first,
and then government representatives provide a second round of reviews before the
working group’s plenary session accepts it. Each SPM is released separately over the
course of several months.

Government representatives may certainly try to influence the SPM wording in ways
that support their negotiating positions, but the many other government representatives
and experts in the session would ensure the language does not veer away from the
evidence. The overriding goal of this process (and a key challenge) is to ensure that the
SPM adequately and appropriately represents the underlying technical report prepared
by the scientific community. Therefore, all of the lead authors and at least several
contributing authors are expected to attend their working group’s plenary session so

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they can render interpretations, suggest clarifications, and ensure scientific integrity.
Differing views are welcomed as long as there is empirical evidence or plausible reasons
to support them.

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 Impact of climate change :-
Global warming is already having significant and costly effects on our communities, our
health, and our climate.

Unless we take immediate action to reduce global warming emissions, these impacts will
continue to intensify, grow ever more costly and damaging, and increasingly affect the
entire planet — including you, your community, and your family.

Rising seas and increased coastal flooding

Average global sea level has increased eight inches since 1880, but is rising much faster
on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Global warming is now accelerating the rate
of sea level rise, increasing flooding risks to low-lying communities and high-risk coastal
properties whose development has been encouraged by today's flood insurance system.

Learn more:

 When Rising Seas Hit Home: Hard Choices Ahead for Hundreds of US Coastal Communities
 Causes of Sea Level Rise: What the Science Tells Us
 Encroaching Tides: How Sea Level Rise and Tidal Flooding Threaten U.S. East Coast and Gulf
Coast Communities over the Next 30 Years
 Surviving and Thriving in the Face of Rising Seas

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 Longer and more damaging wildfire seasons

Wildfires are increasing and wildfire season is getting longer in the Western U.S. as
temperatures rise. Higher spring and summer temperatures and earlier spring snow-
melt result in forests that are hotter and drier for longer periods of time, priming
conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread.

Learn more:

 Playing with Fire: How Climate Change and Development Patterns Are Contributing to the
Soaring Costs of Western Wildfires

More destructive hurricanes

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 While hurricanes are a natural part of our climate system, recent research indicates that
their destructive power, or intensity, has been growing since the 1970s, particularly in
the North Atlantic region.

Learn more:

 Hurricanes and climate change >

More frequent and intense heat waves

Dangerously hot weather is already occuring more frequently than it did 60 years ago—
and scientists expect heat waves to become more frequent and severe as global warming
intensifies. This increase in heat waves creates serious health risks, and can lead to heat
exhaustion, heat stroke, and aggravate existing medical conditions.

Learn more:

 Heat in the Heartland: 60 Years of Warming in the Midwest

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 Military bases at risk

Rising seas will increasingly flood many of our coastal military bases.

Learn more:

 The US Military on the Front Lines of Rising Seas >

National landmarks at risk

The growing consequences of climate change are putting many of the country's most
iconic and historic sites at risk, from Ellis Island to the Everglades, Cape Canaveral to
California's César Chávez National Monument.

Learn more:

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 National Landmarks at Risk: Rising Seas, Floods, and Wildfires Are Threatening the United
States' Most Cherished Historic Sites

Widespread forest death

in the Rocky Mountains

Tens of millions of trees have died in the Rocky Mountains over the past 15 years,
victims of a climate-driven triple assault of tree-killing insects, wildfires, and stress from
heat and drought.

Learn more:

 Rocky Mountain Forests at Risk

Costly and growing health impacts

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 Climate change has significant implications for our health. Rising temperatures will
likely lead to increased air pollution, a longer and more intense allergy season,
the spread of insect-borne diseases, more frequent and dangerous heat waves,
and heavier rainstorms and flooding. All of these changes pose serious, and costly, risks
to public health.

Learn more:

 Climate Change and Your Health

An increase in extreme weather events

Strong scientific evidence shows that global warming is increasing certain types of
extreme weather events, including heat waves, coastal flooding, extreme precipitation
events, and more severe droughts. Global warming also creates conditions that can lead
to more powerful hurricanes.

Learn more:

 Infographic: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

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 Heavier precipitation and flooding

As temperatures increase, more rain fallsduring the heaviest downpours, increasing the
risk of flooding events. Very heavy precipitation events, defined as the heaviest one
percent of storms, now drop 67 percent more precipitation in the Northeast, 31 percent
more in the Midwest and 15 percent more in the Great Plains than they did 50 years ago.

More severe droughts in some areas

Climate change affects a variety of factors associated with drought and is likely to
increase drought risk in certain regions. As temperatures have warmed, the prevalence

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 and duration of drought has increased in the western U.S. and climate models
unanimously project increased drought in the American Southwest.

Learn more:

 Causes of Drought: What's the Climate Connection?

Increased pressure on groundwater supplies

As the climate changes in response to global warming, longer and more severe droughts
are projected for the western US. The resulting dry conditions will increase the pressure
on groundwater supplies as more is pumped to meet demand even as less precipitation
falls to replenish it. In California, water and wastewater utilities have an opportunity
to significantly increase clean energy in the state's water sector.

Growing risks to our electricity supply

Our aging electricity infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to the growing

consequences of global warming, including sea level rise, extreme heat, heightened
wildfire risk, and drought and other water supply issues.

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 Learn more:

 Lights Out? Storm Surge, Blackouts, and How Clean Energy Can Help >

Changing seasons

Spring arrives much earlier than it used to — 10 days earlier on average in the northern
hemisphere. Snow melts earlier. Reservoirs fill too early and water needs to be released
for flood control. Vegetation and soils dry out earlier, setting the stage for longer and
more damaging wildfire seasons.

Melting ice

Temperatures are rising in the planet's polar regions, especially in the Arctic, and the
vast majority of the world's glaciers are melting faster than new snow and ice can
replenish them. Scientists expect the rate of melting to accelerate, with serious
implications for future sea level rise.

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 Disruptions to food supplies

Rising temperatures and the accompanying impacts of global warming — including

more frequent heat waves, heavier precipitation in some regions, and more severe
droughts in others — has significant implications for crop and meat production. Global
warming has the potential to seriously disrupt our food supply, drive costs upward, and
affect everything from coffee to cattle, from staple food crops to the garden in your
backyard.

Destruction of coral reefs

As global temperatures rise, so too do average sea surface temperatures. These elevated
temperatures cause long-term damage to coral reefs. Scientists have documented that
sustained water temperatures of as little as one degree Celsius above normal summer
maxima can cause irreversible damage.

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 Plant and animal range shifts

A changing climate affects the range of plants and animals, changing their behavior and
causing disruptions up and down the food chain. The range of some warm-weather
species will expand, while those that depend on cooler environments will face shrinking
habitats and potential extinction.

The potential for abrupt climate change

Scientists know that Earth's climate has changed abruptly in the past. Even though it is
unlikely to occur in the near future, global warming may increase the risk of such events.
One of the most significant potential mechanisms is a shift in an ocean circulation
pattern known as thermohaline circulation, which would have widespread consequences
for Europe and the U.S. East Coast

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 Methodology
Reasons behind climate change :-Natural causes
There are a number of natural factors responsible for climate change. Some of the more prominent ones
are continental drift, volcanoes, ocean currents, the earth's tilt, and comets and meteorites. Let's look at
them in a little detail.

Continental drift
You may have noticed something peculiar about South America and Africa on a map of the world - don't
they seem to fit into each other like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle?
About 200 million years ago they were joined together! Scientists believe that back then, the earth was
not as we see it today, but the continents were all part of one large landmass. Proof of this comes from
the similarity between plant and animal fossils and broad belts of rocks found on the eastern coastline of
South America and western coastline of Africa, which are now widely separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
The discovery of fossils of tropical plants (in the form of coal deposits) in Antarctica has led to the
conclusion that this frozen land at some time in the past, must have been situated closer to the equator,
where the climate was tropical, with swamps and plenty of lush vegetation.

The continents that we are familiar with today were formed when the landmass began gradually drifting
apart, millions of years back. This drift also had an impact on the climate because it changed the physical
features of the landmass, their position and the position of water bodies. The separation of the
landmasses changed the flow of ocean currents and winds, which affected the climate. This drift of the
continents continues even today; the Himalayan range is rising by about 1 mm (millim eter) every year
because the Indian land mass is moving towards the Asian land mass, slowly but steadily.

Volcanoes
When a volcano erupts it throws out large volumes of sulphur dioxide (SO 2), water vapour, dust, and ash
into the atmosphere. Although the volcanic activity may last only a few days, yet the large volumes of
gases and ash can influence climatic patterns for years. Millions of tonnes of sulphur dioxide gas can
reach the upper levels of the atmosphere (called the stratosphere) from a major eruption. The gases and
dust particles partially block the incoming rays of the sun, leading to cooling. Sulphur dioxide combines
with water to form tiny droplets of sulphuric acid. These droplets are so small that many of them can stay
aloft for several years. They are efficient reflectors of sunlight, and screen the ground from some of the
energy that it would ordinarily receive from the sun. Winds in the upper levels of the atmopshere, called
the stratosphere, carry the aerosols rapidly around the globe in either an easterly or westerly direction.
Movement of aerosols north and south is always much slower. This should give you some idea of the
ways by which cooling can be brought about for a few years after a major volcanic eruption.

Mount Pinatoba, in the Philippine islands erupted in April 1991 emitting thousands of tonnes of gases into
the atmosphere. Volcanic eruptions of this magnitude can reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching
the Earth's surface, lowering temperatures in the lower levels of the atmosphere (called the troposphere),
and changing atmospheric circulation patterns. The extent to which this occurs is an ongoing debate.

Another striking example was in the year 1816, often referred to as "the year without a summer."
Significant weather-related disruptions occurred in New England and in Western Europe with killing
summer frosts in the United States and Canada. These strange phenomena were attributed to a major
eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia, in 1815.

The earth's tilt

The earth makes one full orbit around the sun each year. It is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to the
perpendicular plane of its orbital path. For one half of the year when it is summer, the northern
hemisphere tilts towards the sun. In the other half when it is winter, the earth is tilted away from the sun. If

24
there was no tilt we would not have experienced seasons. Changes in the tilt of the earth can affect the
severity of the seasons - more tilt means warmer summers and colder winters; less tilt means cooler
summers and milder winters.

The Earth's orbit is somewhat elliptical, which means that the distance between the earth and the Sun
varies over the course of a year. We usually think of the earth's axis as being fixed, after all, it always
seems to point toward Polaris (also known as the Pole Star and the North Star). Actually, it is not quite
constant: the axis does move, at the rate of a little more than a half-degree each century. So Polaris has
not always been, and will not always be, the star pointing to the North. When the pyramids were built,
around 2500 BC, the pole was near the star Thuban (Alpha Draconis). This gradual change in the
direction of the earth's axis, called precession is responsible for changes in the climate.

Ocean currents
The oceans are a major component of the climate system. They cover about 71% of the Earth and absorb
about twice as much of the sun's radiation as the atmosphere or the land surface. Ocean currents move
vast amounts of heat across the planet - roughly the same amount as the atmosphere does. But the
oceans are surrounded by land masses, so heat transport through the water is through channels.

Winds push horizontally against the sea surface and drive ocean current patterns.
Certain parts of the world are influenced by ocean currents more than others. The coast of Peru and other
adjoining regions are directly influenced by the Humboldt current that flows along the coastline of Peru.
The El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean can affect climatic conditions all over the world.

Another region that is strongly influenced by ocean currents is the North Atlantic. If we compare places at
the same latitude in Europe and North America the effect is immediately obvious. Take a closer look at
this example - some parts of coastal Norway have an average temperature of -2°C in January and 14°C
in July; while places at the same latitude on the Pacific coast of Alaska are far colder: -15°C in January
and only 10°C in July. The warm current along the Norewgian coast keeps much of the Greenland-
Norwegian Sea free of ice even in winter. The rest of the Arctic Ocean, even though it is much further
south, remains frozen.

Ocean currents have been known to change direction or slow down. Much of the heat that escapes from
the oceans is in the form of water vapour, the most abundant greenhouse gas on Earth. Yet, water vapor
also contributes to the formation of clouds, which shade the surface and have a net cooling effect.
Any or all of these phenomena can have an impact on the climate, as is believed to have happened at the
end of the last Ice Age, about 14,000 years ago.

Human causes
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw the large-scale use of fossil fuels for industrial activities.
These industries created jobs and over the years, people moved from rural areas to the cities. This trend
is continuing even today. More and more land that was covered with vegetation has been cleared to
make way for houses. Natural resources are being used extensively for construction, industries, transp ort,
and consumption. Consumerism (our increasing want for material things) has increased by leaps and
bounds, creating mountains of waste. Also, our population has increased to an incredible extent.

All this has contributed to a rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and
natural gas supply most of the energy needed to run vehicles, generate electricity for industries,
households, etc. The energy sector is responsible for about ¾ of the carbon dioxide emissions, 1/5 of the
methane emissions and a large quantity of nitrous oxide. It also produces nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
carbon monoxide (CO) which are not greenhouse gases but do have an influence on the chemical cycles
in the atmosphere that produce or destroy greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases and their sources

Carbon dioxide is undoubtedly, the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Changes in land

25
use pattern, deforestation, land clearing, agriculture, and other activities have all led to a rise in the
emission of carbon dioxide.

Methane is another important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. About ¼ of all methane emissions are
said to come from domesticated animals such as dairy cows, goats, pigs, buffaloes, camels, horses, and
sheep. These animals produce methane during the cud-chewing process. Methane is also released from
rice or paddy fields that are flooded during the sowing and maturing periods. When soil is covered with
water it becomes anaerobic or lacking in oxygen. Under such conditions, methane-producing bacteria and
other organisms decompose organic matter in the soil to form methane. Nearly 90% of the paddy -growing
area in the world is found in Asia, as rice is the staple food there. China and India, between them, have
80-90% of the world's rice-growing areas.

Methane is also emitted from landfills and other waste dumps. If the waste is put into an incineratoror
burnt in the open, carbon dioxide is emitted. Methane is also emitted during the process of oil drilling, coal
mining and also from leaking gas pipelines (due to accidents and poor maintenance of sites).
A large amount of nitrous oxide emission has been attributed to fertilizer application. This in turn depends
on the type of fertilizer that is used, how and when it is used and the methods of tilling that are followed.
Contributions are also made by leguminous plants, such as beans and pulses that add nitrogen to the
soil.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an intergovernmental treaty

developed to address the problem of climate change. The Convention, which sets out an
agreed framework for dealing with the issue, was negotiated from February 1991 to May
1992 and opened for signature at the June 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) — also known as the Rio Earth Summit. The UNFCCC entered into
force on 21 March 1994, ninety days after the 50th country’s ratification had been received.
By December 2007, it had been ratified by 192 countries.

Parties to the Convention continue to meet regularly to take stock of progress in

implementing their obligations under the treaty, and to consider further actions to address
the climate change threat. They have also negotiated a protocol to the Convention.
The Kyoto Protocol was first agreed in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, although ongoing
discussions were needed between 1998 and 2004 to finalize the “fine print” of the
agreement. The Protocol obliges industrialized countries and countries of the former Soviet
bloc (known collectively as “Annex I Parties”) to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases by
an average of about 5% for the period 2008-2012 compared with 1990 levels. However,
under the terms agreed in Kyoto, the Protocol only enters into force following ratification by
55 Parties to the UNFCCC, and if these 55 countries included a sufficient number of Annex I
Parties that at least 55% of that group’s total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990 were
represented. Although the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the United States,
rejected the Kyoto Treaty in 2001 after the election of President George W. Bush, a majority
of other Annex I Parties, including Canada, Japan, and the countries of the European Union
ratified the treaty. In November 2004, the Russian Federation also ratified the Protocol, thus
reaching the 55% threshold. The Protocol finally entered into force as a legally-binding
document on 16 February 2005. By December 2007, the Protocol had been ratified by 177
countries, including Annex I parties representing 63.7% of Annex I greenhouse gas
emissions in 1990.

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With the immediate future of the Kyoto Protocol secured by Russia’s ratification, an
increasing focus of discussions since 2005 has been on the multilateral response to climate
change post-2012, when the Protocol’s first commitment period expires. At the UN Climate
Change Conference in Bali in December 2007, delegates agreed on a “roadmap” for 2008
and 2009 designed to bring about an agreement by December

The IPCC was established to provide the decision-makers and others interested in
climate change with an objective source of information about climate change. The
IPCC does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or
parameters. Its role is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent
basis the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic literature produced
worldwide relevant to the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate
change, its observed and projected impacts and options for adaptation and
mitigation. IPCC reports should be neutral with respect to policy, although they need
to deal objectively with policy relevant scientific, technical and socio economic
factors. They should be of high scientific and technical standards, and aim to reflect a
range of views, expertise and wide geographical coverage.

The changing climate impacts society and ecosystems in a broad variety of

ways. For example, climate change can alter rainfall, influence crop yields, affect
human health, cause changes to forests and other ecosystems, and even impact
our energy supply. Climate-related impacts are occurring across the country and
over many sectors of our economy.

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 References
1. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014

United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United
States," Cambridge University Press, 2009

Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306
no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618

2. Mike Lockwood, “Solar Change and Climate: an update in the light of the current exceptional solar
minimum,” Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 2 December 2009, doi 10.1098/rspa.2009.0519;

Judith Lean, “Cycles and trends in solar irradiance and climate,” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews:
Climate Change, vol. 1, January/February 2010, 111-122.

 IPCC AR4 WG1 (2007). Solomon, S.; Qin, D.; Manning, M.; Chen, Z.; Marquis, M.; Averyt, K.B.; Tignor, M.;
Miller, H.L., eds. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to
the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridg
 University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88009-1. (pb: 978-0-521-70596-7).

 IPCC AR4 SYR (2007). Core Writing Team; Pachauri, R.K; Reisinger, A., eds. Climate Change 2007:
Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC. ISBN 92-9169-122-4..
 IPCC TAR WG1 (2001). Houghton, J.T.; Ding, Y.; Griggs, D.J.; Noguer, M.; van der Linden, P.J.; Dai, X.;
 Maskell, K.; Johnson, C.A., eds. Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working
Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 0-521-80767-0. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. (pb: 0-521-
01495-6).

 Commented [k1]:

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 Conculusion and suggestion
Get involved
Take a few minutes to contact your political representatives and the media to tell them
you want immediate action on climate change. Remind them that reducing greenhouse
gas emissions will also build healthier communities, spur economic innovation and
create new jobs. And next time you’re at the polls, vote for politicians who support
effective climate policies.

Be energy efficient
You already switch off lights — what’s next? Change light bulbs to compact fluorescents
or LEDs. Unplug computers, TVs and other electronics when not in use. Wash clothes in
cold or warm (not hot) water. Dryers are energy hogs, so hang dry when you can. Install
a programmable thermostat. Look for the Energy Star® label when buying new
appliances. And a home energy audit is cheaper than you think — book one today to
find even more ways to save energy.

Choose renewable power

Ask your utility to switch your account to clean, renewable power, such as from wind
farms. If it doesn’t offer this option yet, ask it to.

Eat wisely
Buy organic and locally grown foods. Avoid processed items. Grow some of your own
food. And eat low on the food chain — at least one meat-free meal a day — since 18 per
cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from meat and dairy production. Food writer
Michael Pollan sums it up best: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Trim your waste

Garbage buried in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Keep stuff out
of landfills by composting kitchen scraps and garden trimmings, and recycling paper,
plastic, metal and glass. Let store managers and manufacturers know you want products
with minimal or recyclable packaging.

Let polluters pay

Carbon taxes make polluting activities more expensive and green solutions more
affordable, allowing energy-efficient businesses and households to save money. They
are one of the most effective ways to reduce Canada’s climate impact. If your province
doesn’t have a carbon tax, ask your premier and MLA to implement one.

Fly less
Air travel leaves behind a huge carbon footprint. Before you book your next airline ticket,
consider greener options such as buses or trains, or try vacationing closer to home. You can
also stay in touch with people by videoconferencing, which saves time as well as travel and
accommodation costs.

Get informed
Follow the latest news about climate change. Join our community.

29
 Green your commute
Transportation causes about 25 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, so
walk, cycle or take transit whenever you can. You’ll save money and get into better
shape! If you can’t go car-free, try carpooling or car sharing, and use the smallest, most
fuel-efficient vehicle possible.

Support and Donate

Many organizations, including the David Suzuki Foundation, are working hard on
solutions to climate change and rely on financial support from citizens like you. Consider
making a donation today by calling 1-800-453-1533 or by visiting our secure website.
Though you might feel like your lifestyle

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 CONTENT
1.student declaration

2.Acknowlwdgement

3.Context

4 introduction

5.Objective

6.Methodology

7.Observation and findings

8.Conculusion
9.References
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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
i would like to express my sincere gratitude
to principal of Vidyasagar College For
Women Dr. (mrs.) Rupali Chaudhuri. Our
head of department Dr. Anushree
chakrabarty and our project guide ms. Bindia
gupta and co-ordinator sir mr.shouvic bala
for providing me an opportunity to do my
project work on CLIMATE CHANGE. I also
wish to express my sincere gratitude to the
non teaching staff of our college. I sincerely
thank to all off them in helping me to
carrying out this project work. Last but not
the least, I wish to avail myself to this
opportunity,to express a sense of gratitude
and love to my friends for their mutual
support, strength, help and for everything.

DATE…………………… signature…………………………….

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Vidyasagar college for women

CLIMATE CHANGE

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