Foundations Of Climate Change

Description

The scientific community has a strong belief that the Earth is undergoing a warming process, primarily driven by human activities. There is a possibility that the temperature will rise by a few degrees Celsius in the next century, which is comparable to the warming observed since the last ice age. The specific degree of warming will have diverse consequences in different regions, as indicated by the IPCC.

This ongoing warming is already causing and will continue to cause various changes in the climate system. These changes include alterations in precipitation patterns and intensity, rising sea levels, modifications in ocean chemistry, and numerous other effects. There is also a potential for the climate system to reach a tipping point, resulting in a sudden shift to a new climate regime. These transformations will impact many aspects that are important to humans, such as the natural systems we rely upon.

In response to these challenges, humans have a range of options. We can attempt to prevent climate change by adopting mitigation measures, adapt to the changing climate, or explore strategies to engineer a more favorable climate through geoengineering. Much of the debate and disagreement surrounding climate policies revolve around efforts to mitigate climate change, which necessitate transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

The countries worldwide have committed to mitigation targets under the Paris Agreement. These targets aim to limit the temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an ambitious goal of capping it at 1.5°C. Achieving these objectives will be demanding, requiring accelerated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and reaching net-zero emissions sometime in the second half of this century. Additionally, it will entail negative emissions, where humans remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit, especially for the 1.5°C target.

What You Will Learn!

• Define climate change and differentiate between weather and climate.
• Know the general trends of modern climate change, such as observed surface temperature, sea ice coverage, etc.
• Describe how earth’s climate has changed over long periods of time & different methods for measuring non-anthropogenic climatic changes at different time frames
• Understand how the earth’s energy balance, greenhouse effect, and radiative forcing affect the climate.
• Know the primary greenhouse gases and aerosols, their sources, and relative contribution to climate change.
• Understand the implications of different greenhouse gas global warming potentials as well as atmospheric lifetimes.
• Summarize how humans have contributed to atmospheric CO2 increases and modern warming.
• Understand the distribution, frequency, and intensity of climate-driven economic and ecological impacts across geography and time.
• Understand contributors to, and risks from, sea level rise and ocean acidification.
• Describe extreme-event attribution science and the data and techniques scientists use to connect climate change to extreme events.
• Understand and describe how positive feedbacks influence climate change.
• Describe how climate tipping points could disrupt natural systems and harm human well-being.
• Explain the different approaches and key considerations of climate change adaptation, including maladaptation.
• Discuss trends in the energy system & how energy sources can contribute to or mitigate climate change. Understand relative carbon intensities of energy sources.
• Identify opportunities and strategies for renewable and low-emissions energy technology to act as climate mitigants.
• Understand the opportunities and drawbacks of implementing geoengineering techniques to combat climate change.
• Explain carbon budgets and emissions trajectories to stay within mitigation targets. Know key numeric global emissions limits, commitments, and scenario paths.

Who Should Attend!

• Students interested in learning about climate risk management.
• GARP's Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) Candidates.
• Teachers/instructors interested in developing a deeper understanding of how climate change works.
• Professionals interested in specializing in sustainability and climate risk management.

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