BaCCC/Module 2/Lesson 2/Part 1

Module 2, Lesson 2: The Urgency of Climate Change

Photos of extreme weather

Introduction

Based on what you learnt in Lesson 1 and have already experienced yourself in your area, do you have a sense that there is an urgency for everyone, especially children and youth, to learn about the impacts and consequences of climate change – and to do something about it? And do you now view climate change as an urgent emergency?

Lesson Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

• elucidate why climate change is an urgent emergency for humanity;
• explain why climate change is an urgent emergency for the rest of nature (plants and non-human animals); and
• discover what your elders have to say about the climate emergency.

Terminology

The following terms are important in understanding the science behind climate change. If you want to remember them, write their meanings in your learning journal as you encounter them in the course content.

• climate breakdown
• climate catastrophe
• climate chaos
• climate crisis
• climate destabilisation
• climate disruption

Why is climate change an urgent emergency?

Word Cloud Climate Change

Let’s examine, for a moment, the different terms used to describe climate change:

climate disruption, climate destabilisation, climate breakdown, climate crisis, climate chaos, climate catastrophe.

• What do they suggest or imply?
• Why are they used?

It is clear that climate change is now an urgent emergency. But how do we know that? In January 2021, almost two-thirds of over 1.2 million people surveyed worldwide said that climate change was a global emergency, urging greater action to address the crisis . . .

"UN News (2021, 27 January)"

“	“The results of the survey clearly illustrate that urgent climate action has broad support amongst people around the globe, across nationalities, age, gender and education level."	”
—Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator

CC global emergency headline

What is the evidence that climate change is an urgent emergency?

Urgent: requiring immediate action or attention Emergency: a serious, unexpected and often dangerous situation'
Climate change has become a serious, unexpected and often dangerous situation that requires immediate action and attention.
Back in 2006, former United States vice-president Al Gore published the book An Inconvenient Truth. Its subtitle was The planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. That was probably the first time that climate change had been called an emergency.
Long before that, in 1988, NASA’s Dr James Hansen (known as the “godfather of climate science”) warned the American Congress that “the greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now.” (That is scientist-speak for “Alarm! Alarm! Alarm!” Scientists are typically pretty unflappable people.)
Here are some reasons we now know that climate change is the greatest threat ever to impact humanity. (Some would say that nuclear war is a greater threat to humanity, but no one has ever pressed the nuclear button. But our collective finger has been on the climate change button since the Industrial Revolution began in 1760.)
The science is clear: The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that human activities, the burning of fossil fuels in particular, are causing global temperatures to rise at an unprecedented rate. This warming is leading to devastating impacts on the planet’s ecosystems, and the window to act is rapidly closing.
Accelerating pace of warming: The rate at which the Earth is warming is accelerating, with the past decade being the hottest on record and each decade being hotter than the last. This means that the impacts of climate change are likely to be more severe and occur more rapidly than previously predicted. Take a loot at the graph available at this link:https://www.statista.com/chart/23942/global-warming-over-last-decades/
Amplification of extreme weather events: Climate change is making extreme weather events, like heatwaves, wildfires and floods, more frequent and even more severe. These events can cause loss of human lives and significant damage to infrastructure and property and can also lead to economic disruptions and social instability.
We are passing tipping points: A tipping point is a point of no return, a threshold, in the climate system when a small change triggers a large response that cannot be reversed. There may not be any noticeably immediate, drastic consequences of passing a tipping point, but passing it means those consequences become unavoidable, and over time, the impacts could be dramatic.
In 2008, Dr Hansen said,
We really have reached a point of a planetary emergency. And it’s because there are tipping points in the climate system, which we are really close to, and which if we pass, the dynamics of the system can take over. So the momentum of the system will carry you to very large changes that are out of your control.
In 2019, Timothy Lenton and other scientists identified nine climate tipping points:
1. West Antarctic ice sheet melting
2. Amazon rainforest becoming a carbon source rather than a “warehouse” of carbon (a carbon sink)
3. Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) slowing or stopping
4. Arctic sea ice melt
5. Greenland ice sheet melt
6. Boreal forests becoming carbon sources rather than carbon sinks
7. Permafrost melting
8. Warm-water corals dying off
9. Parts of East Antarctica melting
Professor Lenton highlighted the three most critical tipping points: the Amazon rainforest, the West Antarctic ice sheet and the Gulf Stream system (the AMOC). The West Antarctic ice sheet might have already passed a tipping point; the Amazon is losing its amazing biodiversity while also losing its capacity to store carbon; and the slowing of the AMOC has “the potential for profound changes with connected ramifications all around the planet.”
For example, a heatwave may cause drought conditions, which can lead to water shortages and crop failures. This, in turn, can lead to conflicts over resources and food insecurity. In addition, prolonged drought can increase the risk of wildfires, which can further damage ecosystems and people’s health, and release carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
Another example is sea level rise, which can exacerbate the impacts of storm surges and coastal flooding events. As sea levels continue to rise, the frequency and severity of these events can increase, leading to greater damage to infrastructure, property and human lives.
Loss of biodiversity: Climate change is causing the loss of biodiversity at an alarming rate, with many species already experiencing declines in populations and ranges. We are already in the sixth mass extinction, and climate change is exacerbating it. This not only has ecological consequences but also threatens food security and human well-being.
The time for action is now: After dipping slightly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, greenhouse gas emissions have been on the rise again since 2021. (You can track them at https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions.) Urgent and ambitious action is needed at all levels of society to rapidly reduce emissions and shift to an economy based on zero-carbon energy to avoid the very worst catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Limited time for action: The window of opportunity for taking action to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change is rapidly closing. If significant emission reductions are not achieved in the very near future, positive climate feedbacks could “kick in,” making the impacts of climate change both catastrophic and irreversible
In scientific terms, positive climate feedbacks are processes that amplify the effects of climate change, versus negative feedbacks, which are processes that dampen or counteract those effects. (In other words, when speaking of climate change, positive feedbacks are decidedly not the good ones.)
For example, a positive feedback in the climate system is the melting of Arctic sea ice. As the ice melts, it exposes darker ocean water, which absorbs more solar radiation and heats up the surrounding atmosphere, leading to further melting of sea ice. This positive feedback loop amplifies the warming effect of greenhouse gas emissions and can lead to significant changes in the global climate system.
The consequences of inaction are severe: If we fail to act urgently to address the climate emergency, we risk catastrophic impacts on human health, food security, and biodiversity, among other areas.
Disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities: The impacts of climate change are not distributed evenly, but often disproportionately affect vulnerable communities such as low-income populations, women and children, Indigenous peoples and people living in developing countries. This can make existing inequalities even worse and create new ones. Imagine being hit by an extreme weather event while you are still trying to recover from the last one. Vulnerable people and communities are those that do not have a high level of resilience. (See Module 3 on climate justice and Module 5 on intersectionality.)
The need for systemic change: Addressing the climate emergency requires systemic change at the global level, including transforming the way we produce and consume energy, reforming our economic systems to prioritise sustainability and equity, and ensuring that climate action is at the heart of decision-making across all sectors.
The importance of collective action: No one country, organisation or individual can solve the climate crisis alone. Collective action and global co-operation are essential for addressing the climate emergency, and everyone has a role to play in creating a sustainable and resilient future. We must all work together.
These points and evidence show the urgent need for action to address the climate emergency.

Activity

This would be a good time to take a moment. This might be the most difficult stuff you have ever had to learn. Breathe. Move about. Look out the window. Go for a walk. In your learning journal, write about something that you appreciate.

Now, find a piece of music or a poem – or write one – that reflects your feelings about the state of your planet. Or simply find something beautiful and uplifting.

You may want (need?) to read this book chapter, written by the founder of The Climate Mobilization, Margaret Klein Salamon (with Molly Gage), titled “Welcome Fear, Grief, and Other Painful Feelings”

"Facing the Climate Emergency"

As a psychologist, Dr Klein Salamon has also set up monthly climate emotions conversations, where you can share what you are feeling about the climate emergency online with people from around the world

"Climate Conversation"