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LEARN ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

12 facts about climate change that everyone should know

In the book There Is No Planet B author Mike Berners-Lee concludes with a few facts every politician should know about climate change. The team of Czech experts on environmental education adjusted his list so that it was easier for everyone to understand. In our opinion, they are a great summary of the essentials:

Sources

There Is No Planet B:
Berners-Lee, M. (2019). There Is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-11-084-3958-9.

Adjustment of list from “There Is No Planet B” book by Czech environmental education team:
Daniš, P., Březovská, R., Činčera, J., Kolenatý, M., Krajhanzl, J., Kulich, J., Medek, M., Svobodová, R., Žďárský, T. a kol. (2021). Klima se mění – a co my? Proč a jak se učit o změně klimatu. Doporučení Pracovní skupiny pro klimatické vzdělávání Rady vlády pro udržitelný rozvoj. Ministerstvo životního prostředí.

1. Climate change is caused by the release of greenhouse gases due to human activity.

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These additional gases reinforce the existing greenhouse effect in the atmosphere, leading to global warming and other related changes in the Earth’s climate. The main greenhouse gas emitted by humans is carbon dioxide (CO2).

2. Current science tells us that a global temperature rise of 2°C (compared to pre-industrial values) looks very risky, but 1.5°C is much less so.

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Keeping the warming within these limits is the aim of the Paris Agreement. It is not just about a warmer climate (more frequent heat waves, droughts, fires, floods, more intense hurricanes, etc), when a certain temperature is reached, it may activate tipping points, which will lead to an irreversible transformation of the climate (e.g., melting permafrost will release large amounts of methane, which will lead to further significant warming).

3. The increase in temperature roughly corresponds to the increase in greenhouse gasses (mainly CO2) in the atmosphere.

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This is true so long as we do not exceed the tipping point mentioned above. That means we have a certain carbon budget. This tells us how much CO2 we can still release into the atmosphere. Keeping warming below 1.5 °C will be difficult because it has already warmed by 1.2 °C since the pre-industrial era.

4. Global CO2 emissions have been growing steadily since the industrial revolution.

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The increase is not the same every year. In 2009, for example, emissions fell slightly due to the economic recession. A year later, they rose sharply again. If we do not take action quickly, we’re headed for several degrees of warming with dramatic consequences for the future of humankind on Earth.

5. It is still uncertain when we will be at the top of the CO2 emissions growth curve.

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But we need to get these emissions to zero as soon as possible! In 2020, there was a decrease in emissions due to the coronavirus crisis, but emissions are rapidly recovering after this temporary blip.

6. It takes a long time to put the brakes on.

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What we do in the next 10 years will determine in many respects whether climate protection will have a chance of success. CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gasses cannot be stopped overnight. First, we need to change the whole infrastructure of society: how we get energy, how we get food, how we transport goods, how we produce items, etc. Even when we get emissions to zero, some of the effects of climate change will have great inertia, for example, glaciers will continue to melt and sea levels will continue to rise for many decades.

7. Almost all fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) that get dug up get burned – so they have to stay in the ground.

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The carbon footprint of extracted fuels is practically identical to the carbon footprint of burned fuels plus the carbon footprint of all the consumer goods and services.

8. Growth in renewables, energy savings and other technological innovations will not be enough to stop emissions.

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They are absolutely major but the reverse effect of energy savings, a growing appetite for additional energy in an economy of endless growth and consumption, will still lead to emissions.

9. We need an agreement that will make burning fossil fuels too expensive, illegal or both.

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The best and most effective deal will be a global one. Until then, similar agreements and laws at the level of individual countries (and entities like the European Union) will help to reduce emissions and create pressure for a global agreement.

10. In a broader context, we need a whole new worldview.

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A new self-understanding, a new approach to the non-human world, a new goal – one that meets the basic needs of all people without exceeding the ecological limits of the planet (the UN Sustainable Development Goals, for example, are aimed at similar transformations by 2030).

11. Industrialised countries such as Czechia or Austria have a greater share of the responsibility for tackling the climate crisis.

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In our history and on the way to our wealth, we have burned more of the carbon budget than is attributed to each inhabitant on Earth. Therefore, we should be at the forefront of reducing emissions and contributing to the transformation of poorer countries.

12. It may be necessary to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

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But we have yet to find secure and affordable technology to do so. While it makes sense to develop these technologies quickly, we cannot rely on solutions that do not yet exist and further postpone the necessary cessation of emissions.

Want to know what other young people think about climate change? Take a look into our study results!