Think Global Act Local Coping with climate change

‘Think Global, Act Local’ Coping with climate change Understand why most people argue for ‘think global, act local’. Understand that management is needed at all scales and progress is likely to be incremental What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

What does this mean in terms of coping with climate change? What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Coping with climate change Adaptation • Most strategies are local • …because they need to be tailored to local impacts of climate change • E. g. compare the African continent with the Arctic Mitigation • Can happen at a range of scales • Global/international agreements are important • Individual governments must decide how to implement them ‘Think global, act local’ What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Global: The Kyoto Protocol is a global agreement National: The UK government set a target: 30% of domestic waste is to be recycled by 2010. The government fund advertising campaigns. For example: Local: Local government provides bins, boxes and skips and fine people who refuse to recycle. What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Local Action • Local action is critical in tackling climate change. • Local Agenda 21 (LA 21) came out of the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. • It calls on governments to encourage local authorities (councils in the UK) to implement sustainable strategies to improve the environment, and reduce carbon emissions. • Without local strategies, it hard for individuals to ‘do their bit’. Do you agree? What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

E. g. ‘Action Today to Protect Tomorrow’ The was launched in London in 2007 and plan commits the city to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions to 30% of 1990 levels by 2025 using: • • • the Green Homes Programme new building standards for energy efficiency ‘waste to energy’ schemes clean, efficient public transport local, small-scale renewable energy schemes What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Viewpoints There is no point in me reducing my carbon footprint. It will make no difference! In that case, everyone should be made to reduce their carbon footprint. Use the Climate change and you section on page 72 of the Warn textbook to respond to this viewpoint. What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Contraction and Convergence Model Ecological footprints by country (hectares person) 12 10 8 6 4 2 6+: USA, Canada, Sweden, Kuwait Contraction Convergence Developed nations work to reduce their ecological footprints Developing nations increase their footprints, bringing levels closer to contracted developed nations 4 -6: UK, France, Japan, Greece Current ecological footprint Average footprint required to equal Earth’s biocapacity 2 -4 Mexico, Iran, Latvia, Poland 1 -2: China, Jamaica, Nigeria, Egypt Future footprint based on contraction and convergence <1: India, Haiti, Nepal 0 Time What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Incremental Progress There is a scientific consensus that • global warming is happening and that action should be taken • >550 ppm CO 2 in the atmosphere will lead to dangerous climate change There is also a political consensus that action is required. But change is likely to be incremental (gradual and slower than many would like). What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Why is change likely to be incremental? Copy the diagram below and use page 75 of the Warn textbook to add to it. International agreements Uncertainty Costs Barriers to action Economics systems What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? Political inertia ‘Think Global, Act Local’

Examples of Strategies 1. Assess the successes and failures of schemes using the table you have been given. 2. Reach a rank order of which type of group you think has been most successful in cutting carbon emissions. Homework: How far do these organisations prove that, in order to cut emissions, we need to ‘think global, act local’? What are the strategies for dealing with climate change? ‘Think Global, Act Local’