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IMPACTS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE
The purpose of this module is to reinforce the urgency to act
by identifying the environmental and social consequences of
global warming.

ATHENAS is a multi-national Initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture

 Chapter outline
1. Macroeconomic Goals: Looking Forward
2. Macroeconomic and Ecological Sustainability
3. The Race between Technology and Resource Depletion
4. Climate Change
5. Economic Growth and the Environment
6. Are Stabilization and Sustainability in Conflict?
7. Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 19
ONE: HUMAN INFLUENCE
o Atmosphere and oceans have warmed

o Snow and ice have diminished

o Sea level has risen

TWO: WE MUST ACT QUICKLY
o Atmosphere and oceans have warmed o Collapse of ice sheets, flooding our coastal
cities
o Snow and ice have diminished
o Steady rise in our death toll, especially
among the world’s poorest
o Sea level has risen

o Extreme droughts and floods

Greenhouse emissions and global temperature change

• emissions of various greenhouse gases trap

heat near the earth’s surface, leading to:
– general warming trend
– sea-level rise
– ecological disruption
– increase in severe weather events (hurricanes,
floods, droughts…)
Chapter 19
Figure 19.1 Global temperature
trends, 1900–2100  Global average temperature is predicted to be between 3 and 7 degrees
Fahrenheit warmer in 2100 compared to preindustrial levels.
(degreesCelsius)
6

High
High Projection
5 Projection
Change(degrees

4
Temperature Change

3
Temperature

2
Celsius)

1
Low Projection
Low Projection

1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050 2100

Year Chapter 19
Year
 Costs of climate change
• costs of climate change in the 21st century between
5 % and 20 % of global GDP
• most severe effects of climate change could be avoided at a cost of
approximately 1 % of GDP
• most dangerous impacts of climate change are not likely to occur for
several decades or more, the actions taken in the next few decades
will almost surely have a profound effect on those ultimate impacts
• climate change is likely to exacerbate global inequalities and impede
economic development in poorer countries

Chapter 19
THREE: THE FUTURE
o Renewable energy is a real option

o Tremendous opportunity to improve

energy efficiency

o Further reduce emissions by stopping

deforestation
NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF
CLIMATE CHANGE
o Oxygen-poor ocean zones are growing o Changes in migration patterns of birds and
animals
o Rainforests are releasing CO2 (a
greenhouse gas) as regions become drier o Disruption to food chains

o Droughts are causing extensive vegetation o Species loss; for example coral reefs are
die-off and greater incidents of forest adversely affected by rising ocean
fires, which release CO2 into temperatures and acidification
the atmosphere
IMPACTS OF MELTING ICE CAPS