A presentation on responding to climate change - risks and vulnerability

1. VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE
GLOBAL
CLIMATE
Prepared by Grace Akambe and Mary-Ann Washington

2. OUTLINE OF
PRESENTATION
Impacts and Effects of the disparities in
exposure to climate change
Important Definitions
Factors affecting vulnerability to climate
change
Case studies on climate change vulnerability
Government Strategies for climate change
Carbon Emissions trading & offsetting
Technological Fixes and Geoengineering

3. IMPACTS & EFFECTS OF
THE DISPARITIES IN
EXPOSURE TO CLIMATE
CHANGE

4. IMPACTS AND EFFECTS OF THE DISPARITIES IN
EXPOSURE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
The impact of climate change
varies at different scales
Some countries are exposed
more to the risk of climate
change while others are not in
the short term.
The power to mitigate climate
change is spread unevenly among
countries and individuals.
LICs like Bangladesh who suffer more
from the impacts of climate change do
not necessarily have the economic and
technological capacity to take action
towards the mitigation or adaptation of
climate change

5. ! ADAPTATION
Actions taken to protect people from the harmful
effect of climate change without tackling the problem
itself.
RESILIENCE
The capacity of individuals, societies, organisations or
environments to recover and resume ‘business as
usual’ functions and operations following a hazard or
other system shock.
MITIGATION
Any action taken to reduce GHG emissions such as
using less fossil fuel energy, thereby helping to slow
down or ultimately stop climate change. Mitigation
can occur at varying scales by different stakeholders
e.g. an individual putting off the light to reduce energy
consumption.

6. Factors affecting
vulnerability to
climate change

7. Location and
Vulnerability
Places like islands, coastal regions, high
or low altitude regions, etc. are more
vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change hence may want action to be
taken to combat it. E.g. Kiribati Islands
which is 1.8m above sea level and is
predicted to be submerged by water this
century due to rising sea levels. Kiribati
has also experienced floods in some of
its island forcing people to migrate to
New Zealand. The Maldives is also
another Island at risk of climate change
impacts

8. Wealth,
Education and
Vulnerability
Some countries may not be aware of
the impacts of climate change or even
its existence hence may fail to take
action towards mitigating climate
change. Other countries may also be
educated on climate change but may
feel that they have the capacity to invest
in climate change adaptation
infrastructures.

9. Age, Gender
and
Vulnerability
Young people may be more concerned
about climate change due to the
irreversible impacts it may have on their
future if global temperature is to
increase by 20c. This may cause them to
campaign for governments to take
action towards climate change hence
reducing their vulnerability if campaigns
are successful. For example the #School
Strike 4 Climate campaign started by
Greta Thunberg who skipped school and
sat in front of the Swedish Parliament
building as a way to campaign for the
climate. This has led to multiple school
strikes in the UK.

10. Risks
perceptions
and
vulnerability
Some people are sceptical about the
existence of climate change – whether
it’s truly anthropogenic factors changing
the earth’s climate or the earth’s natural
milankovitch cycles. For example Donald
Trump is sceptical about the existence of
climate change hence his withdrawal
from the Paris Climate Change Deal in
2017.

11. Case studies of climate
change vulnerabilities

12. Climate
Change
Vulnerability
London, UK
They could afford to built the Tharnes
Flood Barrier
As a result of continuous climate change,
plans are being made to build a new
$6billion flood barrier or a $ 30 billion
tidal barrage.

13. Climate
Change
Vulnerability
THE PHILIPPINES
Has a GDP per captita of US$8200(2017)
and have therefore has been unable to
put major schemes in place to help solve
the problem

14. Government
Strategies for climate
change

15. Mitigation &
Adaptation
Investing in renewable energy use
• Investing in sustainable transportation e.g.
electric cars, public transport use, improved fuel
efficiencies
• Building green infrastructures e.g. Beddington
Zero Energy Development in London, City hall in
Chicago (City hall has 1405m2 green roof).
• Carbon sinks and storage .i.e. afforestation
THROUGH MITIGATION
Building higher flood defences
• Investing in drought-resistant crops
• Green infrastructure
• Health Programmes to cater for climate
change related illnesses
ADAPTATION

16. Global Geopolitical
Efforts

17. Timeline of the agreements
and actions
1992
Key political players began to
discuss the findings of the IPCC
in the Earth Summit in Rio. 190
countries signed a treaty
agreeing that actions needed to
be taken to reduce GHG
emissions to prevent dangerous
interference to the climate
system
1988
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) was established by the
UN Environmental Programme and
the World Meteorological
Organisation. IPCC began research on
the greenhouse effect and
anthropogenic factors that have led to
increased levels of CO2, methane and
nitrous oxide in the atmosphere
1997
The agreement made in 1992 was
developed into a legal binding
agreement to reduce GHG
emissions, called the Kyoto
Protocol. Countries were required
to sign the protocol as a pledge to
reduce their emissions however
some countries e.g. the US refused
to sign the protocol.

18. Impacts of the Paris
Agreement on the actions
of Governments

19. AFRISCOUT
IN KENYA
Is an app that uses satellite
images to point herders to
grazing areas for their cattle.
This project was sponsored by
the US foreign aid as part of
the contribution the Paris
agreement compels
countries to pay to support
developing countries with
mitigation and adaptation to
climate change.
CHILE CLIMATE CHANGE
LAWS
Countries who have signed
the Paris agreement, have
implemented laws towards
climate change mitigation.
An example is Chile’s plan
to reform its coal-heavy
power sector which began
in 2017.
INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS
TOWARDS MITIGATING
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change mitigation
actions can occur at varying
scales, that is, individuals,
local communities,
government etc. An example
of an individual action to
conserve and enhance the
natural environment – one of
the aims of the Paris
agreement – is Jadev Payang,
IMPACTS OF THE PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE AGREEMENT ON THE ACTIONS OF
GOVERNMENTS TO MITIGATE OR ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE

20. AfriScout in Kenya
an app that uses satellite images to point herders
to grazing areas for their cattle. This project was
sponsored by the US foreign aid as part of the
contribution the Paris agreement compels
countries to pay to support developing countries
with mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
Chile Climate change
laws
Countries who have signed the Paris
agreement, have implemented laws
towards climate change mitigation. An
example is Chile’s plan to reform its
coal-heavy power sector which began in
2017.
Strengths & Weaknesses of the
Paris Agreement

21. CARBON
EMISSIONS
TRADING AND OFFSETTING

22. CAP & TRADE CET
This is an environmental policy that
places limits on the amount of
natural resources that can be used,
identifies the resource users, divides
this amount into shares among the
users and allow users to sell their
shares if they are not willing to use
it.
Carbon Emissions trade(CET) involves
giving firms and industries a limit to their
emissions and fining firms who exceed
this limit. The CET also allows for trade of
carbon shares between firms and is done
in the form of Cap and Trade. This is a
scheme which allows for gradual
reduction of GHG emissions by industries
and firms without much government
intervention.

23. CASE STUDY:THE EU EMISSIONS
TRADING SYSTEM (EUETS)
1
The EUETS was developed in 2005 and
is the largest Carbon Emissions Trade in
the world.
2
The scheme encompasses many
industries: power stations, oil refineries,
cement factories, among others
3
The EU gives tradable permissions
allowance or credit to all firms in the
industries involve. One allowance allows
the holder to emit 1 tonne of CO2.
4
Firms who exceed this limit are fined
increasing the price of their products to
the detriment of the firm.

24. CASE STUDY:THE EU EMISSIONS
TRADING SYSTEM (EUETS)
5
Other firms who do not exhaust their
limit sell their credit to firms who have
reached their limit creating potential
profit for their firm
6
Overtime, the tradable emissions
allowance is reduced by the EU
gradually cutting GHG emissions
significantly and moving the economy
towards more sustainable sources of
energy.

25. Weaknesses of EUETS

26. CARBON
OFFSETTING
This is a scheme that encourages or
requires businesses to sponsor activities
or projects to reduce the amount of
carbon in the atmosphere e.g. planting
of trees as a way to compensate for their
own emissions. In simpler words, carbon
offsetting is a way of compensating for
our emissions. Carbon offsetting can
occur at varying scales. For example,
individuals can pay offset cost which is
extra cost placed on a good which is
used to fund climate change mitigation
projects by the business or firm (this is
referred to as offsetting service provided
by some commercial organisations).

27. Critisisms of
Carbon
Offsetting
Carbon offsetting schemes do not
directly provide a direct mitigation
for climate change. It indirectly
encourages emissions as the action
taken to compensate for individual
emissions do not fully cover the
environmental cost of the emission.
Also it is difficult to determine the
degree of action a person needs to
take to completely offset their
emissions.

28. Technological fixes &
geo-engineering

29. CAPTURING
CARBON &
STORAGE(CCS)
This technology aims at capturing
released carbon dioxide from the
burning of fossil fuels and burying it deep
underground. Considering the fact that
for years to come the burning of coal will
continue to have a very significant part in
the global energy budget as its abundant
and at a low cost.

30. HOW CCS WORKS
1
The carbon dioxide is separated from
the power station emissions
2
The gas is compressed and transported
by pipeline to storage areas.
3
It is injected into porous rocks deep
underground or below the ocean for
permanent storage(geo-sequestration)

31. EVALUATION
Pilot projects in the UK were cancelled recently owing to the rising
cost (of over US $1billion). The plan had been for carbon to be
transported by a pipeline to the North Sea and stored in depleted
gas reservoirs. The UK government has cut public spending in
many areas because of the global financial crisis and its after-
effects
The technology is not yet mature as it has been piloted at only a
handful of coal-fired power stations worldwide.
The cost of running this technology is forseen to be expensive the
technology is complex and still being developed
A lot of accuracy is required in the execution of this project as in
order for carbon dioxide to be trapped underground there must
be no possibility of any leak to the surface. This therefore raises the
uncertainty of how successful this technology may be.

32. SOLAR
REFLECTION
METHODS(SRM)
SRM technologies aim to readjust the
global energy balance by reducing
incoming solar radiation. This would help
in to offsetting the global heating caused
by rising greenhouse gas emissions.

33. HOW SRM WORKS
1
Placing mirrors in near-earth space orbit
in order to reflect more sunlight back
into space.
2
Mimicking the global dimming effect of huge
volcanic eruptions by injecting tiny sulphate
aerosol particles into the stratosphere where
they would scatter sunlight back to space.
3
Whitening lo-level marine clouds by spraying seawater into
them, the increased albedo would lead to more reflected
sunlight.

34. EVALUATION
Aerosol particles destroy stratospheric ozone depletion allows
cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation to penetrate the atmosphere.
The costs and safety risks associated with this technology raises
concern as it requires millions of orbital mirrors making it likely to
be highly expensive.
Stratospheric aerosol injections might disturb regional weather
systems around the world, including storm systems.
Geopolitical tensions may arise if one country using this
technology disrupts another country’s weather.
Screening out some of the Suns radiation will reduce the
efficiency of solar power systems.