What is Climate Change? | Start Here

Summary

Climate change is a pressing global crisis driven by human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and increased methane emissions. Despite international efforts like the Paris Agreement, carbon dioxide levels continue to rise. This results in severe consequences, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather, and food shortages. While some countries make progress with renewable energy and sustainable practices, significant systemic changes are necessary. The video emphasizes the urgency of collective action and highlights the need for everyone to adopt more sustainable habits to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Climate change is considered the crisis of our time.
• 📊 Human activities, particularly since the industrial revolution, have caused a significant spike in carbon dioxide levels.
• 🔥 There is a 95% chance that human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels, is the main cause of climate change.
• 🌡️ The Earth's temperature has increased by about 1 degree Celsius since pre-industrial times.
• ⏳ The current rate of warming is alarming, with a projected increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next decade.
• 🚨 Climate change is already causing severe weather events, food and water shortages, and rising sea levels.
• 🏠 Millions of people may be displaced due to rising sea levels and extreme weather.
• 📉 The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, but progress has been slow.
• 🌿 Some countries are making strides with renewable energy projects and other initiatives to combat climate change.
• 🔄 To effectively address climate change, a systemic shift is needed, including transitioning to renewable energy, reducing car usage, and consuming less meat.

Q & A

Why is climate change referred to as the 'crisis of our time'?

Climate change is referred to as the 'crisis of our time' because it poses significant and urgent threats to the environment, human health, and global stability, with potential catastrophic impacts if not addressed promptly.

What is the significance of the spike in carbon dioxide levels mentioned in the script?

The spike in carbon dioxide levels, which began during the industrial revolution, signifies the start of rapid increases in greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels, leading to accelerated global warming.

How do scientists determine that human activity is the main cause of climate change?

Scientists determine that human activity is the main cause of climate change through extensive research and data analysis, showing a 95% probability that activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation are responsible for the increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

What is the 'Greenhouse Effect' and why is it important?

The 'Greenhouse Effect' is the process where greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to global warming. It is important because it explains how human activities are causing the Earth's temperature to rise, impacting climate patterns and ecosystems.

Why is the rate of warming more concerning than the actual increase in temperature?

The rate of warming is more concerning than the actual increase in temperature because rapid changes in temperature can cause more severe and unpredictable disruptions to ecosystems, weather patterns, and human societies, leaving less time for adaptation.

What are some of the impacts of climate change that we are already experiencing?

Some impacts of climate change already being experienced include more intense and frequent natural disasters, rising sea levels, prolonged droughts, severe storms, and disruptions to food and water supplies.

What are the main goals of the Paris Agreement?

The main goals of the Paris Agreement are to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an aim to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees, to mitigate the most severe impacts of climate change.

Why are global CO2 levels still rising despite the Paris Agreement?

Global CO2 levels are still rising despite the Paris Agreement because many countries have not set or met ambitious targets, and some, like the US, have withdrawn from the agreement. Additionally, global reliance on fossil fuels and industrial activities continues to drive emissions upward.

What role do renewable energy projects play in combating climate change?

Renewable energy projects play a crucial role in combating climate change by providing cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting sustainable energy practices.

What actions can individuals take to help mitigate climate change?

Individuals can help mitigate climate change by reducing energy consumption, using public transport, cycling, eating less meat, supporting renewable energy initiatives, and advocating for stronger climate policies.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 The Climate Change Crisis

Climate change is being recognized as the crisis of our time. The science behind it is complex and often entangled in political discourse. World leaders are currently meeting in Madrid to address the issue amidst public pressure for decisive action. Despite repeated promises, little progress has been made. This paragraph delves into the basic science of climate change, emphasizing the significant rise in carbon dioxide levels since the industrial revolution, largely attributed to human activities like burning fossil fuels and population growth. The effects include the 'Greenhouse Effect' which leads to global warming. Scientists highlight the urgency of the issue, noting that while a slight temperature increase might be manageable, the rapid pace of warming poses a severe threat. This section also underscores the current impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels and extreme weather events, and warns of the catastrophic potential if warming continues unchecked.

05:02

🔄 Global Response and Challenges

The response to climate change includes the Paris Agreement, where world leaders pledged to limit temperature rises. Despite these commitments, global CO2 levels continue to increase, with significant contributors like the US withdrawing from the agreement and other countries setting insufficient targets. This paragraph discusses the political and practical challenges in implementing effective climate policies. It acknowledges the efforts of some countries making progress through renewable energy projects and innovative measures like free public transport. The narrative emphasizes the need for systemic changes and collective action to combat climate change effectively. The section concludes by urging individuals to adopt sustainable practices, though it recognizes that significant change requires broader systemic shifts.

Keywords

💡Climate Change

Climate change refers to significant changes in global temperatures and weather patterns over time. While climate change is a natural phenomenon, the video highlights that human activities have accelerated the process, particularly since the industrial revolution. The term is central to the video's message, discussing how the rapid increase in CO2 levels is causing global warming and leading to various environmental impacts.

💡Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere. The video explains how CO2 levels have spiked dramatically since the industrial revolution due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. This increase in CO2 is identified as a primary driver of climate change, contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

💡Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is the process by which greenhouse gases, such as CO2, trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to an increase in global temperatures. The video uses this concept to explain how human activities have intensified this natural process, resulting in the current climate crisis. The trapped heat causes the planet to warm, which has numerous environmental consequences.

💡Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution, starting in the late 18th century, marks a period of major industrialization and increased use of fossil fuels. The video points to this era as the beginning of significant human impact on the environment, with a sharp increase in CO2 emissions contributing to climate change. This historical reference helps illustrate the timeline of human influence on global warming.

💡Methane

Methane is another potent greenhouse gas, often released by livestock and other agricultural activities. The video mentions methane as a significant contributor to climate change alongside CO2. Methane's impact on global warming is substantial because it traps heat much more effectively than CO2, although it remains in the atmosphere for a shorter period.

💡Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is an international treaty adopted in 2016 aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, with an aspirational target of 1.5 degrees. The video discusses the agreement as a critical global effort to combat climate change, highlighting both its significance and the challenges in achieving its goals, including the withdrawal of the US and insufficient targets by some countries.

💡Sea Level Rise

Sea level rise refers to the increasing level of the world's oceans due to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers and the thermal expansion of seawater as it warms. The video describes how this phenomenon is already displacing people and threatens to submerge entire coastal cities and island nations. It illustrates one of the severe impacts of climate change on human habitation.

💡Renewable Energy

Renewable energy comes from natural sources that are constantly replenished, such as solar, wind, and hydro power. The video promotes renewable energy as a crucial solution to reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change. Examples given include the large-scale renewable energy projects in countries like India and Morocco, which are making significant progress towards sustainable energy.

💡Mass Extinction

Mass extinction refers to a rapid and widespread decrease in the biodiversity on Earth, typically characterized by the loss of many species in a relatively short period. The video asserts that we are currently experiencing the sixth mass extinction event, driven by human-induced climate change. This highlights the severe ecological impact of global warming and the urgent need for action.

💡United Nations (UN)

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among countries. In the context of the video, the UN is a key player in addressing climate change, providing scientific reports, setting global warming targets, and facilitating agreements like the Paris Agreement. The UN's assessments and recommendations form the basis for many of the arguments and solutions discussed in the video.

Highlights

Climate change is the crisis of our time, with dense science and political obstacles complicating the issue.

World leaders met in Madrid under pressure from millions to take concrete action on the climate crisis.

Despite promises, inaction persists, raising the question of what is being done wrong and how to fix it.

Basic science is crucial for understanding climate change, starting with carbon dioxide levels over time.

A significant spike in CO2 levels occurred during the industrial revolution, driven by fossil fuel use.

Human activity is likely the cause of climate change, with a 95% chance according to scientists.

Global population growth and increased consumption of animal products contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

The 'Greenhouse Effect' is the trapping of heat by greenhouse gases, leading to global warming.

The concern is not that Earth is warming, but the unprecedented speed at which it is happening.

The UN states that a 1.5-degree increase is manageable, but the current trajectory is alarmingly fast.

Climate change is already causing severe weather events and mass extinction, with tangible consequences.

Rising sea levels and melting ice sheets threaten coastal cities and island nations with submersion.

The Paris Agreement aims to cap global temperature rise, but global CO2 levels continue to rise.

Some countries, like the US, have withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, hindering collective efforts.

Despite skepticism and political challenges, there is positive momentum with some countries making progress.

Renewable energy projects and public transport initiatives are examples of positive steps taken by some nations.

Experts call for a systemic change to combat climate change, moving away from business as usual.

Individual actions, such as using renewable energy and reducing car use, are part of the solution.

The expert advice emphasizes that collective and systemic changes are needed to mitigate climate change.

Transcripts

Let’s talk about climate change.

People are calling it the crisis of our time, and it is.

“climate change

“climate

change”

“climate

changes”

“climate

change”

But it’s easy to get lost in this story.

The science is dense, and politics get in the way.

World leaders are meeting in Madrid to talk about the climate crisis

and how to slow it down.

And they’re under pressure from millions of people

around the world calling for concrete action.

The empty promises are the same and the inaction is the same.

So what exactly are we doing wrong and how do we fix it?

We’re going to kick this off with some basic science.

So bear with me, because this is important.

Look at this graph.

These are the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere

over hundreds of thousands of years.

But this spike in carbon dioxide at the very end?

That took off during the industrial revolution.

We started breaking CO2 records in 1950, and we haven’t stopped since.

why?

Well, scientists say there’s a 95% chance that human activity is the cause.

We’ve been burning more and more fossil fuels like oil and coal, which

release CO2, to power our homes, factories, airplanes and cars.

There’s also a lot more of us. The global population

has tripled in the past 70 years.

And we’re consuming more products from animals

that release another pollutant called Methane.

So all those gases are in the air, and when sunlight gets into the earth’s

atmosphere, some of the heat gets trapped, and the planet gets warmer.

That’s why they call it the “Greenhouse Effect”.

But the concern is not that the earth is getting warmer.

But the concern is not that the earth is getting warmer.

“It’s actually the warmest temperature on Earth since the last ice age

since 10 thousand years ago.”

The UN says that right now, our world is about 1 degree hotter

than pre-industrial times. That’s around the year 1800.

Which is okay. In fact, the UN says if we warm by 1.5 degrees

before the end of the century we should be fine.

The UN says even 2 degrees would 'probably' be alright.

But again, the problem is speed. Because right now, we are

on track to hit 1.5 degrees in only ten years.

And If we don't slow that warming down, it could mean catastrophe

within my lifetime, and maybe yours too.

And we’re already getting a taste.

“Climate change is here. Climate change is happening. We are well into

the 6th mass extinction event.”

”Europe is currently colder than the Artic.”

“More than a thousand people being rescued just in

the early morning hours of Sunday.”

“Millions of people are likely to suffer worsening food and water shortages.”

‘The drought that’s now in its tenth year is a phenomena that’s here to stay.’

“We’ve never seen a year’s worth of rain in less than seven days.”

Sea levels are rising about 3 millimetres a year

because seawater expands as temperatures get warmer.

Melting ice sheets and glaciers also add trillions

of tons of freshwater into our oceans.

People around the world are already losing their homes.

And if things carry on, millions more of us will have to pack up too.

Entire coastal cities could be underwater within 80 years.

Like Miami in the US

or Osaka in Japan.

Entire island nations in the pacific could completely disappear.

“Natural disasters becoming more and more intense, more frequent

with devastating consequences. The dramatic impacts of droughts

in different parts of the world, all of this is creating a situation

that is a real threat to humankind. And we are not doing enough.”

“If 99% of doctors said to you, ‘take this medicine, or you will get really sick and

probably die’ you would take it , who wouldn’t take it?

the problem is, at the moment, we don’t have any medicine.”

Now, there is a plan to slow all this down.

Back in 2016, world leaders signed the so-called ‘Paris Agreement’.

And the big pledge is to cap temperatures rising by 1.5 degrees

or a maximum of 2, before the year 2100.

So countries set their own targets on how much CO2 they emit.

But here’s the thing

Three years after the agreement, global CO2 levels are still going up.

“CO2 emissions have been going up the last year by two per cent

so that's actually above the average of the last ten years.

So it's started to increase again and it doesn't look too good.

In some ways, we’re going backwards.

"The United States will cease all implementation of the nonbinding

Paris accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens

the agreement imposes on our country."

The US, one of the world’s biggest polluters, has pulled out

of the Paris deal. Russia and China are accused of not giving themselves ambitious targets in the first place.

ambitious targets in the first place.

Turkey and Poland want to build more power plants that use coal.

And then there’s the sceptics.

It’s a political decision, that it’s man-made global warming.

We forced the computer models to say AHA!

Human influence, CO2 and other stuff.

“The ground base temperature data has been massaged to show

an increase but the satellite data shows no increase.”

On the other hand, there is positive momentum. There’s more awareness

and some countries are making progress. India, Morocco, and

The Gambia have massive renewable energy projects.

There are different countries doing different things really successfully

some countries are, for example, making all public transport free

in the cities. What a great way to encourage people out of their cars.

But experts say what’s needed now is an even bigger push

to change everything about the way we run our world.

Business as usual has got to change. Politics as usual has got to change

In order to combat that we have to change the system that

has allowed it to happen. You can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet.

And everyone can do that by shifting to renewable energy, reducing

the use of cars, use trains more, cycle more, eat less meat

consume a bit more carefully.

So where does that leave us? Well there’s only so much bike-riding

and light-bulb replacing you and I can do everyday.

But the truth is that it’s those everyday things

that are going to change anyway.

Even coffee could run out if farmers can’t grow it.

So the expert advice? Is that it’s down to all of us, to change our ways and

shake things up, or climate change is going to do it for us.