6.3 Climate change—mitigation and adaptation

Objective notes

14 learning objectives

6.3.1Global action required

• Avoid catastrophic climate change

• International cooperation needed

6.3.2Decarbonization

• Reduce/end CO₂-emitting energy sources

• Replace with renewable energy

• Carbon neutrality goals

6.3.3Mitigation strategies

• Reduce global warming: household changes, geoengineering

• Reduce GHG production: energy efficiency, renewables, food changes, carbon tax

• Remove CO₂: carbon sinks, rewilding, afforestation, carbon capture

6.3.4Adaptation strategies

• Structural: flood defences, desalination, movable infrastructure

• Non-structural: agricultural adaptation, vaccination, land zoning, building codes

6.3.5Adaptation plans

• National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs)

• Individual to society scale

6.3.6(HL)—Response types

• Led by governments or non-governmental stakeholders

• Economic measures: carbon pricing, emissions trading, subsidies, tariffs

• Legislation: reduce carbon emissions

• Goal setting: B Corp, company goals

• Personal changes: reduce waste, meat, energy consumption

6.3.7(HL)—UN role

• UNFCCC, IPCC, COP summits

• Stabilize GHG concentrations

• Kigali Amendment controls HCFCs

6.3.8(HL)—IPCC emissions scenarios

• Five scenarios for future GHG emissions

• Targets to reduce catastrophic change risk

6.3.9(HL)—Technology development

• Aid climate change mitigation

6.3.10(HL)—Climate action barriers

• There are challenges to overcome in implementing climate management and intervention strategies

• Include: the following challenges and barriers

• Lack of belief that climate change is a serious problem

• Lack of financial resources or planning strategies from national governments

6.3.11(HL)—Geoengineering

• Geoengineering is a mitigation strategy for climate change, treating the symptom not the cause

• Geoengineering is a deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system, including but not limited to measures such as space mirrors, ocean fertilization

• However, it has disadvantages, such as potential high costs, uncertainty of impacts, political hesitancy, lack of convincing trials and the potential for geopolitical conflict

• Consider: arguments for and against the potential of geoengineering

6.3.12(HL)—Stakeholders and climate perspectives

• A range of stakeholders play an important role in changing perspectives on climate change

• Consider: how a range of stakeholders can influence an individual’s perspectives on climate change

• For example, stakeholders can include a charismatic individual, a local community group, NGOs, media and educational institutions

6.3.13(HL)—Variation in climate perspectives

• Perspectives on the necessity, practicality and urgency of action on climate change will vary between individuals and between societies

• Consider: differences in perspective between age groups, developed and developing societies, coastal and inland communities, and economies that profit from fossil fuels

6.3.14(HL)—Climate tragedy of the commons

• The concept of the tragedy of the commons suggests that catastrophic climate change is likely unless there is international cooperation on an unprecedented scale

• The atmosphere is common to all, but when one nation benefits from an action that harms the atmosphere (e.g., burning of fossil fuels), the costs are shared by all nations

• The reverse scenario is also true: the costs of restoring the atmosphere (e.g., by carbon capture and storage) might be borne by a single nation