1- What it is and why it matters

GLOBAL 3- Data

Greenhouse gas emissions 2016

For the last 40 years, we’ve seen the global annual
temperature rise much more rapidly than ever before in WARMING
history. So much so, that climate scientists have concluded
2- Why it occurs
Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO 2) and
3%
18%
24%
other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere, as they
that we must limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 5%
absorb solar radiation that would normally escape into 16%
2040 if we are to avoid a future in which everyday life 18%
space. They trap the heat and cause the planet to get
around the world is marked by its worst, most devastating
hotter. This is called the greenhouse effect.
effects: the extreme droughts, wildfires, floods, tropical
storms, and other disasters. These effects are felt by all You must be wondering why these air pollutants are getting
people in one way or another but are experienced most stuck in the atmosphere, right? It’s due to human activity –
acutely by the underprivileged for whom climate change is specifically it’s due to our burning of fossil fuels. So, let’s Energy industry Energy transport
often a key driver of poverty, displacement, hunger, and take a look at what we use fossil fuels for! Energy buildings Industry
social unrest. Waste Land use
4- Causes and solutions

1- We burn fossil fuels to generate electricity and
heat. Globally, residential and commercial buildings
consume over half of all electricity.
Most electricity is still produced from fossil fuels;
only about a quarter comes from wind, solar and
other renewable sources.
What to do about it?
Small actions
As an individual, use less energy by lowering your
heating and cooling, switching to LED light bulbs
and energy-efficient electric appliances, washing
your laundry with cold water, or hanging things to
dry instead of using a dryer
Large-scale actions
Technological developments have allowed us to
find better, cheaper, more efficient alternatives
than thermoelectric and hydroelectric energies.
With proper long-term planning, nations can opt
for small wind, solar, geothermal, oceanic and
other projects that adapt to a place’s unique
characteristics.
2- Manufacturing and industry burn fossil fuels to
produce energy for making things like cement, iron, steel,
electronics, plastics, clothes and other goods. Producing
food also causes emissions, when running farm
equipment and fishing boats, when using fertilisers and
when packaging and distributing food.
What to do about it?
Growing populations drive up emissions and deplete
the planet’s resources, so each of us should aim to limit
our carbon footprint to lessen the overall impact on the
environment.
In terms of food: consume local products, cut down on
meat consumption, select food from sustainable
sources
In terms of consumption: buy second-hand products,
buy products made from recycled material
In terms of transport: Cycle or use public transport. Be
smart bout when and how you drive
In terms of energy use: Recycle your waste, don’t
waste energy (water, electricity…), select energy
3- Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures,
or for other reasons, causes emissions, since trees,
when they are cut, release the carbon they have
been storing. This accounts for 10% of global
warming pollution. What’s more, since forests
absorb carbon dioxide, destroying them also limits
nature’s ability to keep emissions out of the
atmosphere.
What to do about it?
The good news is that tropical deforestation can be
reduced A variety of approaches, from recognizing
Indigenous groups’ sovereignty over their lands to
civil society pressure on corporate deforesters to
paying tropical countries that reduce their
deforestation emissions (called “REDD+”), have
shown promising results.
Continuing progress will require a sustained
commitment by governments, businesses, and civil
society worldwide to the goal of ending tropical
deforestation.