Faster warming.
Three ways we’re tackling climate change.
1. Promoting behaviors and actions that reduce carbon emissions.
2. Helping people and nature adapt to the impacts of climate change.
3. Surfacing, spotlighting, and accelerating solutions to climate change.
What Is Climate Change?
Climate change describes a change in the average conditions — such as temperature and rainfall — in a region over a long period of time. For example, 20,000 years ago, much of the United States was covered in glaciers. In the United States today, we have a warmer climate and fewer glaciers. Global climate change refers to the average long-term changes over the entire Earth. These include warming temperatures and changes in precipitation, as well as the effects of Earth’s warming, such as:
• Rising sea levels.
• Shrinking mountain glaciers.
• Ice melting at a faster rate than usual in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic.
• Changes in flower and plant blooming times. Earth’s climate has constantly been changing — even long before humans came into the picture.
However, scientists have observed unusual changes recently. For example, Earth’s average temperature has been increasing much more quickly than they would expect over the past 150 years. Some parts of Earth are warming faster than others. But on average, global air temperatures near Earth's surface have gone up about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years. In fact, the past five years have been the warmest five years in centuries. Many people, including scientists, are concerned about this warming. As Earth’s climate continues to warm, the intensity and amount of rainfall during storms such as hurricanes is expected to increase. Droughts and heat waves are also expected to become more intense as the climate warms. When the whole Earth’s temperature changes by one or two degrees, that change can have big impacts on the health of Earth's plants and animals, too. Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. Climate change could refer to a particular location or the planet. Climate change may cause weather patterns to be less predictable. These unexpected weather patterns can make it difficult to maintain and grow crops in regions that rely on farming because expected temperature and rainfall levels can no longer be relied on. Climate change has also been related to other damaging weather events such as more frequent and more intense hurricanes, floods, downpours, and winter storms. The cause of current climate change is largely human activity, like burning fossil fuels, like natural gas, oil, and coal. Burning these materials releases what are called greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere. There, these gases trap heat from the sun’s rays inside the atmosphere, causing Earth’s average temperature to rise.
This rise in the planet's temperature is called global warming. The warming of the planet impacts local and regional climates. Throughout Earth's history, climate has continually changed. When occurring naturally, this is a slow process that has taken place over hundreds and thousands of years. The human influenced climate change that is happening now is occurring at a much faster rate. Faster warming It provides new estimates of the chances of crossing the global warming level of 1.5° C in the next decades, and finds that unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5° C or even 2° C will be beyond reach. The report shows that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1° C of warming since 1850-1900, and finds that averaged over the next 20 years, global temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5° C of warm the report pin. This assessment is based on improved observational datasets to assess historical warming, as well as progress in scientific understanding of the response of the climate system to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. “This report is a reality check,” said IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Valerie. “We now have a much clearer picture of the past, present and future climate, which is essential for understanding where we are headed, what can be done, and how we can prepare.” Three ways we’re tackling climate change.
1. Promoting behaviors and actions that reduce carbon emissions, We make climate-friendly behaviors easier to adopt. Using the science of human behavior, we engage local natural resource users, like fishers and farmers, and U.S. consumers in adopting behaviors that reduce their climate impact and protect nature’s best carbon sinks.
2. Helping people and nature adapt to the impacts of climate change We empower local resource users to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural climate solutions, like mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and soils, that reduce peoples’ vulnerability to climate changes impacts.
3. Surfacing, spotlighting, and accelerating solutions to climate change We produce original research, host engaging events, and develop innovative partnerships to catalyze the adoption of climate-friendly behaviors.
You must be logged in to post a comment.