PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 1

CLIMATE
CHANGE
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
SCHOOL PROJECT FOR APPLICATION OF RESOURCES AND ENERGY
2 CLIMATE CHANGE

CLIMATE CHANGE -
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Oslo 2009

SPARE (School Project for Application of Energy and Resourses) is the largest international school project on
energy, climate and environment. 4500 schools and 175.000 pupils in so far 16 countries participate annually
in the SPARE educational program. The SPARE program was created in 1996, by the Norwegian Society for the
Conservation of Nature (Norges Naturvernforbund).
Through SPARE pupils learn how to use energy and resources efficiently. Active SPARE schools conduct educa-
tion on sustainable use of energy and resources, implement practical measures on energy efficiency or re-
newable energy, and finally inform the neighborhood about their achievements. SPARE educational activities
in each country are coordinated by national NGOs who also promote education on energy and environment
into the national educational plans as well as simple technologies for energy efficiency and use of renewable
energy sources.
A large number of serious ecological problems of world scale are connected with the production and use of
energy. The idea of the SPARE program is to go from a discussion of global problems to practical actions of
schoolchildren, to receive an answer to the question: How can we satisfy our need for energy (heating, light,
transport) without dangerous and devastating consequences for nature?

18 pages.
Published by Norges Naturvernforbund through
SPARE - THE LARGEST INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PROJECT
ON ENERGY, CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT

Authors:
Kay Asbjørn Knutsen Schjørlien, Dag Arne Høystad, Bård Lahn, John Lineikro
Design:
Kay Asbjørn Knutsen Schjørlien
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 3

CONTENTS
THE CLIMATE 4
THE NATURAL CLIMATE CHANGE 5
HUMAN INFLUENCE ON CLIMATE 6
MAJOR ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES OF GREENHOUSE GASES 7
Power stations 7
Industry 7
Transport 7
Farming 8
Deforestation 8
EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE 9
Effects on nature 9
Effects on humans 10
GLOBALWARMING ALERTS 13
HOW DO WE SOLVE CLIMATE CHANGE? 14
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS 16
4 CLIMATE CHANGE

THE CLIMATE
Carbon dioxide (CO2) along up the weather conditions over day, but the climate changes very
with other greenhouse gases a longer period of time, and slowly, over decades or centuries.
(GHG) warm the surface of the see if days are mainly rainy, The climate has continuously
planet naturally by trapping calm or sunny. Then we also changed ever since the origin of
solar heat in the atmosphere. need to know average tem- our planet. It has been depend-
This is a good thing because peratures, to see what type of ing on the different geological
it keeps our planet habitable. temperature regime is prevail- and astronomical changes such
However, by burning fossil ing, that is if days are mostly as volcanic activity, solar activity
fuels such as coal, gas and oil mild, very warm or cold. That and the Earth’s orbit variations.
and clearing forests we have is how we will get the main Also, the development of life on
dramatically increased the climatic characteristic. Hence, earth has been depending on the
amount of carbon dioxide in the weather is a current stage climate as well. These changes in
the Earth’s atmosphere and of atmospheric conditions, over climate regime have taken place
temperatures are rising. a rather short period of time. over millions of years.
Climate is a stable parameter
and characterizes particular re-
The climate is an average stage gions, while weather is unstable
of weather conditions over and changeable, and the same
a long period of time. This weather can appear in different
means that even though the regions of the world, and differ-
weather can be rainy, or sunny, ent climate zones. The weather
windy or calm, we would add can also change from day to
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 5

THE NATURAL CLIMATE CHANGE

The climate on earth has colder Colder and warmer periods
and warmer periods. Scientists have been succeeding one
use different methods to deter- another, and scientists have
mine how the climate has been named these periods glacial
changing in the past geological and interglacial, respectively.
eras, and it is known today that Today, the planet is in the
it has been varying significantly interglacial period, which
over the time. started some 10 000 years
Different average temperatures ago. Accordingly, the next gla-
create the main distinction cial period will peak in about
between different climate peri- 80 000 years, but it is uncer-
ods, which has a consequence tain exactly when it will start.
in change of life forms (both In terms of geology this is a
plants and animals). rather short period of time,
however in terms of human
history, this period is indeed
long.

ppm
This figure shows how the temperature and the concentration of CO2 on the
earth have changed the last 400 000 years. It’s very precise because of measures
made in the Antarctic ice. Take a look on what has happened with the concentra-
tion of CO2 the last 100 years. If the temperature will follow the concentration of
CO2 as it has done in all history, what will happen with the temperature then?
6 CLIMATE CHANGE

Suggestions for further

HUMAN INFLUENCE ON CLIMATE reading:
The climate change that’s de- keeps more heat on earth than
bated today is different. It has before. The phenomenon, which
taken place within the period of appeared due to the greenhouse Climate Change Science. UNFCCC
a human life and is mainly caused effect caused by human activity, is website
by human activity. Our modern called global warming, since one
[Link]
lifestyle has contributed to the in- of the major consequences of this
ground/feeling_the_heat/
crease of greenhouse gases in the effect is the global temperature
items/[Link]
atmosphere. Use of fossil fuels re- rise.
leases CO2 that has been trapped
in the ground for millions of years, Intergovernmental Panel on
and increases its concentrations in It took a long time for effects
Climate Change report: “Climate
the atmosphere. Modern agricul- of GHG accumulation to have a
Change – the physical science ba-
ture - crops growth, animal breed- strong influence on the climate on
sis”, Summary for Policy Makers.
ing and deforestation, also results earth; it will probably take even
longer to diminish the effects of [Link]
in huge greenhouse gases (GHG)
the amounts of these gases in the ment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-
release.
atmosphere today. [Link] (english)

Even though the greenhouse ef-

fect is a naturally occurring phe- The increased greenhouse gases
nomenon, it has however been emission is a consequence of rap-
aggravated by human activities id development of the world after
during the 20th century, and today the industrial revolution, in the
we see devastating consequences 19th century. Our industrializa-
of a human induced greenhouse tion has been developing on the
effect. As we mentioned that massive use of fossil fuels such
carbon dioxide is a part of pro- as coal, oil and gas. When burnt,
cesses in nature, we must realize these fuels release CO2 into the
that the amount of this gas in the atmosphere. This has been the
atmosphere exceeds by far the main contribution to the man-
necessary amounts for natural made greenhouse effect. Over the
cycles. Moreover, CO2 is not the decades, these changes gradually
only gas that creates the green- became more apparent and more
house effect. Other gases released harmful.
in the air due to human activities
are part of the greenhouse effect, Today, the world average annual
like nitrogen oxide, N2O, which emission of CO2 is 4 tons per
is also toxic and methane, CH4, capita. However, in the USA the
which is flammable. However they average amount is about 25 tons
only make a small share of gas per capita (2008), due to their
mixture in the atmosphere. Not massive use of fossil fuels. Other
to forget ozone, O3, a gas which countries, particularly in less
is necessary in the higher layers developed regions of the world,
of atmosphere since it protects have CO2 emissions way below
life on earth from UV rays, but in average, in Mali the average is
the lower parts it contributes to about 0,1 tons per capita (2002) .
the greenhouse effect. Therefore,
this layer of greenhouse gases
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 7

MAJOR ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES

OF GREENHOUSE GASES
Today, we have every reason to Transport
believe that the human activities
Transport is the second biggest
have started a chain of reactions
source of CO2 emission, and it is
resulting in changes in the atmo-
constantly growing. In Europe one
sphere, water, soil and life on the
fifth of the CO2 emission comes
planet, due to first and foremost
from traffic, while in the USA the
extensive emission of the green-
transportation sector emits one
house gases.
third of the amount of CO2 in
the atmosphere. It is important
Power stations to note that cars exhaust does
not only contain CO2 but also
Power stations generate elec- induce forming of ozone, due to
tric power from different energy the chemical reaction with the
sources, traditionally from fossil sunlight. Ozone in the lower layers
fuels. These plants convert dif- of the atmosphere also acts like a
ferent forms of energy (such as greenhouse gas, capturing infra-
chemical, or heat) into the usable red sun rays reflected from the
form. Power plants that use fossil earth’s surface.
fuels, such as coal, oil or natural
gas, are the biggest greenhouse
gas source on earth, and carbon
dioxide in particular. In a mixture
of greenhouse gases, carbon diox-
ide comprises 72% of the green-
house gases and it is therefore the
most important contributor to the
global warming.

Industry
Production and material process-
ing is also one of the greatest GHG
emitters. Combustion of woods
and fossil fuels, chemical indus-
try, cement and lime production
as well as iron and steel industry
substantially contribute to the
GHG emission, particularly to the
CO2 amounts in the atmosphere.
The energy used by the industry
sector has grown 61% from 1971
to 2004.
8 CLIMATE CHANGE

Farming
Animal farming is one of the main
sources of the greenhouse gas –
methane. Cattle, chicken and pigs
make up to 40% of man induced
methane emission. Methane is
emitted from the digestive process
of the livestock, as well as from

manure handling and other farm cut and burned in forest fires,
related processes. Field crops are which is approximately 4 times the
the biggest source of nitrogen in size of Denmark. In the forest cut
the atmosphere (but also in the areas, frequent rains wash away
waters), particularly due to the the soil, and there is a danger of a
overuse of artificial fertilizers. desert forming. The world’s natu-
ral forests store vast amounts of
carbon in its soils and biomass,
Deforestation when these forests are burned
There has never been so much or clear-cut, most of this carbon
forest cutting as today, with is released to the atmosphere.
most rapid disappearance Approximately 1/5 of all anthro-
of the rain forests, which pogenic greenhouse gas emissions
covers the tropical are from deforestation.
region. Every year
17 million hect-
ares of rain
forests
are
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 9

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Effects on nature
Several decades ago, the climate
of different regions in the world
started to became less typical,
i.e. it showed signs unusual for
the season. Typhoons, floods,
snowstorms and droughts started
to appear in areas where they
were not common and at times
not expected. The average annual
temperatures, particularly in bo-
real regions, showed signs of slow
gradual rising. The glaciers at high
mountain ranges such as European
Alps or American cordilleras were
melting more rapidly during warm
seasons than earlier recorded, and
were rebuilding their winter ice
masses slower than before. The ice
and snow of northern Europe and
Greenland, as well as Northern up these create a clearer image.
Canada and Siberia were show- We have every reason to believe
ing signs of disappearance. Birds that the climate on our planet is
started to change their migration changing.
patterns, and are slowly shift- On a more global scale, it is
ing their migration, mating and likely that the ocean currents will
nesting seasons. Other animals change their directions at least
are also showing changes in their slightly, as the temperature of
annual schedule and plants are the currents may change, since
blossoming prior to their time. there is a great inflow of fresh
cold water from ice and snow
Either of these events may not be melting. The level of the sea is
alarming on their own, but added likely to rise significantly in the
10 CLIMATE CHANGE

next decades. All of these events pacts are already threatening the
will have a strong influence on survivability of animals and habi-
both ocean life and coastal ecosys- tats, and illustrates the urgency
tems. of preparing for and adapting to a
rapidly changing climate.

Effects on humans

Water
Within the last 10 years,
7 have been the warmest
recorded years in his-
tory; when the planet is
warming, drought accurse
more frequently in some
vulnerable regions and
after drought come the
Scientists have so far identified lack of water. In general terms,
only one viable mechanism to in- even though some countries have
duce large, global, abrupt climate enough water to waste, the world
changes: a swift reorganization is already facing a “water crisis”.
of the ocean currents circulating Up to 25% of the world population
around the earth. These currents, lack water and 40% do not have
collectively known as the Ocean basic sanitary conditions.
Conveyor, distribute vast quanti-
ties of heat around our planet, and
thus play a fundamental role in Communities worldwide depend
governing Earth’s climate. on the fresh water that flows in
their rivers from melting glaciers.
All this melting water is constantly
With a temperature regime replaced by fresh snow that
change, many terrestrial and compresses into ice over time and
aquatic habitats are already disap- subsequently melts into water.
pearing. Plants and animals used This cycle goes on and on main-
to certain conditions are often not taining a perfect balance in the
able to adapt to a changed envi- generation of fresh water and size
ronment in such a short notice, of the glacier.
which leads to a great biodiversity
loss. One example is the Polar
Bear, which is the first animal that Because of global warming, the
the U.S. government has listed as average global temperature keeps
threatened under the Endangered on increasing and ice from glaciers
Species Act (ESA), because of keep melting much faster. This
climate change. Climate change is can cause catastrophes of unimag-
destroying vital polar bear habi- inable proportions. The reduced
tat, putting the species at risk of ice cover over earth will cause
extinction. This decision clearly temperatures to rise further. Ice
indicates that climate change im- glaciers deflect almost 80% of
the heat from the sun and absorb
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 11

about 20% of the heat. When an to the north. This may have nu-
ice glacier vanishes and exposes merous consequences. Regions
the earth below, 80% of the heat with fertile soil and mild climate
from the sun is absorbed by the may experience frequent droughts
earth, and only about 20% of this and floods, which will affect the
heat is deflected back. agriculture. However, northern re-
gions with soil unsuitable for most
crops will enter the mild zone,
This increases the temperature with temperature regime suit-
of the earth, which increases the able for food production. In most
temperature of sea water. Sea northern regions, permanently
water expands with an increase in frozen ground would release great
water temperature and causes sea amounts of methane, as it starts to
levels to rise. Melting water from melt. The climate belt shift cre-
glaciers will finally empty into the ates excellent conditions for many
sea, causing a further increase in parasite species to expand, which
sea levels. agricultural plants are not adapted
to.
There are many more effects that
rapidly melting glaciers cause. Changes in the global climate
While some areas will witness pattern lead to a food production
unprecedented floods, other decline. Temperature regimes,
areas will witness severe draught. droughts and floods have a strong
Whether witnessing floods or influence on yield, and with the
draught, agriculture will be se- yield drop, the prices of food will
verely hit, causing scarcity of food start to grow rapidly.
grains. Nations depending on
hydroelectricity
will have to switch
over to other
sources to gener-
ate their electrici-
ty, in effect further
polluting the at-
mosphere. Forest
fires will happen
more frequently
(they already are
in Australia and
the US) causing
great stress to humans living in the Diseases and migrations
vicinity. The bad effects of rapidly With lack of water and food, hu-
melting ice glaciers are limitless. mans are more susceptible to dis-
eases. With the temperature rise,
Food tropical diseases may expand via
insects into areas where they pre-
The global temperature rise may viously did not exist. Other disease
cause climate belts shift, with carriers, such as mice also expand
warmer areas expanding further their ranges where temperatures
12 CLIMATE CHANGE

are becoming more suitable for ro- but also to all the other species
dents, hence bacteria and viruses living in coastal areas.
arrive to new areas, with people
unprepared for the diseases. Ma-
laria, cholera and Lyme disease are These and many other conse-
reaching higher up in mountain quences of the global warming
areas as well as further north on are yet ahead of us. Perhaps we
the planet. Changes in climate al- cannot even foresee a lot, and
ready cause great evacuations and only guess for many. Moreover, it
migrations of people due to de- is rather difficult to predict exactly
structive weather conditions and how and to which degree many of
destroyed crops, and it is expected the consequences will occur and
that the rate of human migrations, how exactly these would affect
in order to escape floods, droughts different areas of the world.
and famines, will increase in the
future.

Sea level rise Note that due to the increase of

From 3 000 years ago until the temperature, warmer weather is
19th century the sea level has not the only consequence of the
been more or less constant, with a climate change, even though the
minor rise of max 0.2 mm per year. global warming is occurring. In
However, over the 20th century some places of the world due to
the average annual rise rate has the global disturbance of the cli-
been 1-2 mm, and since the 1990s mate, the temperature may drop
this rate reached over 3 mm. The as well as other unusual weather
rise of the sea level has been conditions may occur, such as
linked to global warming, and it blizzards, tornadoes, excessive
is likely the consequence of melt- precipitations or droughts, all as
ing snow and ice from northern consequences of changing climate
regions and high mountain ranges. patterns.
Presently almost 50% of the
world’s population lives in coastal
areas and sea level rise poses a
great threat, not only to humans,
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 13

GLOBAL WARMING ALERTS

We’re already seeing changes. -more than a million species
Glaciers are melting, plants and worldwide could be driven to ex-
animals are being forced from tinction by 2050
their natural habitat, and the All of these phenomena have
number of severe storms and indicated the same frightening
droughts is increasing. fact – this time humans have gone
too far. Global changes in yearly
Today we can see that… cycles of nature and temperatures
have all pointed in the same direc-
- The number of Category 4 and tion – something has to be done
5 hurricanes, which can wipe out before our planet hits the point
cities, has almost doubled in the of no return. There is reason to
last 30 year. believe, and increasing amount of
- malaria has spread to higher alti- evidence, that the climate changes
tudes in places like the Colombian are indeed caused mainly by hu-
Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level man activities, and more specifi-
- The flow of ice from glaciers in cally – greenhouse gas releases.
Greenland has more than
doubled over the past
decade
-at least 279 species of
plants and animals are
already responding to
global warming, moving
closer to the poles

If the global warming

continues with the pres-
ent rate, we can expect
catastrophic consequenc-
es:
-global sea levels could
rise by more than 10 meters with
the loss of shelf ice in Greenland
and Antarctica, devastating coastal
Suggestions for further
areas worldwide reading:
-the Arctic Ocean could be ice free Intergovernmental Panel on
in summer by 2050 Climate Change report: “Climate
-heat waves will be more frequent Change – Impacts, adaptation and
and more intense vulnerability”, Summary for Policy
Makers.
-droughts and wildfires will occur
more often [Link]
ment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-
-deaths from global warming will [Link] (English)
double in just 20 years to 300,000
people a year
 14 CLIMATE CHANGE

HOW DO WE SOLVE CLIMATE CHANGE?

Climate change is a global issue A team of international environ-
that will affect all of us. If we work mental researchers warned in
together and take immediate ac- 2009 that many effects of climate
tion we can stop dangerous cli- change are irreversible. The scien-
mate change. tists show how changes in surface
temperature, rainfall, and sea
level are largely irreversible for
more than 1,000 years even if car-
bon emissions can be halted. The
team warned that if carbon levels
in the atmosphere continued to
rise, there would be less rainfall
in already dry areas of southern
Europe, North America, parts of
Africa and Australia.
The scientists said that the oceans
are currently slowing down global
warming by absorbing heat, but
they will eventually release that
heat back into the air. When this
happens, it will already be too
late.
Humanity must face the un-
comfortable fact that industrial
civilization itself has become the
principal driver of global climate.
If we stay on our present course,
Insulate your windows! using fossil fuels to feed our grow-

The key ways to avoid dangerous climate change are:

• Use energy extremely efficient and reduce demand for it radically.
• Stop all burning of fossil fuel (especially coal and oil) and add a cost
on all carbon use.
• Globally boost renewable energy generation (wind, solar, tidal, micro
hydro, and bio-energy).
• Stop all broad-scale land clearing.
• Set legally binding targets to reduce our climate change pollution
• Shift from private cars to public transport.
• Develop a just transition for employees and communities affected by
the move to a new, cleaner economy.
• Contribute to the international effort to combat global warming by
ratifying Kyoto.
• Engage and educate your local community.
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 15

ing energy-intensive life styles,

we risk returning the planet to
conditions when it was largely
ice free, when sea levels were
higher by 70 meters.
To keep our planet as it is today
we need to dramatically cut our
carbon emissions. The Europe-
an Union recently adopted the Travel by train!
2°C above pre-industrial global
temperature as a goal to limit
human-made warming. This
2°C limit implies a maximum
CO2 level of 450 ppm according
to the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. But some
scientists believe that if we
wish to preserve a planet simi-
lar to the one we have today,
CO2 will need to be reduced
from its current 390 ppm to at
most 350 ppm. New building standards.
To reach a goal of 350 ppm we
need to reduce our emissions
globally by 50 % within 2020
and 100 % by 2050.
We have the technology to
reduce our greenhouse pollu-
tion. Our government needs to
ratify the Kyoto Protocol and
legislate targets to reduce our
greenhouse pollution for this
potential to become reality.

More efficient energy use.

16 CLIMATE CHANGE

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Changes in the climate became developing countries have obliged
very apparent in the past 15 to monitor and report their emis-
- 20 years, even though the sions.
emission of greenhouse gases
from fossil fuels burning pro-
cesses started over 100 years The United Nations climate change
ago. conference in Bali in December
2007 was attended by 189 coun-
In 1988, The Intergovernmental tries’ representatives. The aim of
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the conference was to find further
was established by the World pathways in combating climate
Meteorological Organization change, and to reach a new agree-
and UN Environmental Pro- ment, which will succeed the
gram. The task of IPCC is to as- Kyoto protocol, expiring in 2012.
sess the risks of human induced In the future agreement, parties
climate changes and to pub- should set key areas that the new
lish reports important for the agreement would cover as well
implementation of the United as the timeline for ratification of
Nations Framework Convention a new protocol, before the end of
on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 2012.

UNFCCC is the treaty estab- The USA is the country with the
lished at the Earth Summit in highest rate of GHG emission
1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. in the world. The second posi-
The conference, under its of- tion belongs to China, the third
ficial title The United Nations to the EU and the forth to Rus-
Conference on Environment sia. Of European Union countries
and Development (UNCED), set Germany has the highest GHG
to combat the global warming, emission. The USA has declined
managed to achieve establish- to ratify the Kyoto protocol, while
ing of several protocols, from China has signed but is not obli-
which the most famous one gated to reduce emissions, being a
is the protocol established in developing country which progress
Kyoto, in December 1997. The strongly depends on industrial ex-
objective of this protocol is pansion. Germany and Russia have
“stabilization of greenhouse gas ratified the protocol in May 2002
concentrations in the atmo- and November 2004, respectively.
sphere at a level that would
prevent dangerous anthropo-
genic interference with the From January 2007 several states
climate system.” of the USA have started their
initiative, following California state
ground breaking decision in 2006
As of 2007, 175 states have rati- to reduce GHG emissions, putting
fied the Kyoto protocol. Out of the pressure to the federal au-
these, 36 developed countries thorities, regarding the emission
are required to reduce their rates. These northeast US states
greenhouse emission, while that participate in the common
 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 17

initiative have a total population of

46 million people. From December
4th 2007, 750 cities in 50 states of
America have initiated nationwide
efforts to meet the Kyoto protocol
demands.

Many other countries, through

their governments but also via civil
society initiatives, have started
to take measures to slow down Suggestions for further
the changes in climate regime.
reading:
Through educational programs in
schools as well as through media, Read more about the UNFCCC:
people are today able to learn [Link]
about the global situation, more ground/feeling_the_heat/
than they have ever been be- items/[Link]
fore. Information we get through
schooling, but also through radio
Read more about the Kyoto pro-
and TV programs, as well as inter-
tocol:
net can provide us with enormous
amounts of information on these [Link]
issues. items/[Link]

What is very important for you Climate Change information kit –

to remember is that if we work English:
together, we can fight the climate [Link]
change and every, even very small publications/infokit_2002_en.pdf
environmentally friendly act you
make, is a step forward to save our
planet.