What are the five features climate change shares with other environmental problems?
1: Since climate change is impacted by greenhouse gasses, the annual flow of emissions is causing the quantity of greenhouse gasses to increase, causing it to worsen. 2: The increase in CO2 in our air is partially irreversible, so changes are relatively permanent. 3: There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the magnitude, timing, and global pattern of climate change’s effects, however, most experts agree that the consequences of climate change could be catastrophic. 4: Since climate change is a global issue, addressing it would require some degree of cooperation across some of the larger nations. 5: There are many perspectives to consider when addressing climate change: those of different economic statuses, those of different geographical locations, those of different generations, etc. Therefore, it becomes difficult to account for the needs of all these groups.

How is CO2 produced and how does it impact the environment?
The CO2 present in our world is created from power generation, industrialization, and land-use changes where 36 billion tons are produced each year. CO2 damages the earth by allowing incoming sunlight to pass through but trapping the heat on earth, causing increases in temperature. CO2 can also be absorbed into the ocean, increasing its acidity and killing marine life.

How has CO2 concentration evolved over the years?
As of now, CO2 concentration in the air is projected to increase by 2-3 parts per million each year; since 1800, concentration has increased by 120 parts per million. The global rise in CO2 concentration is also connected to the global temperature rise, with the temperature deviation increasing as CO2 amounts increase.

How is climate change impacted by CO2?
Climate change is dependent on the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Meaning, it’s the greenhouse gasses stored in the air that is more significant than the flow of yearly emissions, which is why cutting emissions isn’t quite enough to address climate change.

Why are CO2 levels rising?

Simply put, we produce more CO2 than the amount that is decaying and being absorbed, causing a surplus. Practices such as deforestation in favor of agricultural activities further worsen the issue as reducing the size of forests decreases the rate of CO2 outflow while introducing agricultural activities creates more emissions.

How much old CO2 do we still have left to decay?
Two-thirds of the CO2 caused by coal burning since the Industrial Revolution will still be here in one hundred years; In one thousand years from now, over a third of that quantity will still remain.

How much more can we emit before inducing worse consequences?
We can only emit about 1 to 1.5 trillion tons more of CO2 if we want to prevent a temperature increase of 2℃ or 35.6℉ since pre-industrial times. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an increase of over 1.5°C or 34.7℉ would cause a significant increase in temporary and permanent damage to the earth and its inhabitants. However, even if we meet that limit, there is still an extremely small threat of an above 6°C or 42.8℉ increase, opening the door for global economic catastrophe.

Global warming: long-term tempurature increase

Climate change: long-term changes in weather and temperature

Greenhouse gasses: gases released into air that contribute to global warming

Stock and flow: amount measured at particular point vs amount measured over period of time

Reserves and resources: discovered resources of known quantity vs amount of commodity both discovered and undiscovered

Climate change shares several features with other environmental problems. Firstly, the annual flow of emissions, primarily greenhouse gases, contributes to the worsening of climate change. Secondly, the increase in CO2 concentration is partially irreversible, resulting in relatively permanent changes. Thirdly, there is significant uncertainty regarding the magnitude, timing, and global effects of climate change, although experts agree on the potential catastrophic consequences. Fourthly, addressing climate change requires cooperation among nations due to its global nature. Finally, addressing climate change involves considering various perspectives, such as economic status, geographical location, and generational differences, making it challenging to account for the needs of all groups. CO2 is produced through power generation, industrial processes, and land-use changes, resulting in an annual production of approximately 36 billion tons. It impacts the environment by trapping heat on Earth, leading to temperature increases. Additionally, CO2 absorption into the ocean increases its acidity and harms marine life. Over the years, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has been increasing, projected to rise by 2-3 parts per million annually. Since 1800, CO2 concentration has increased by 120 parts per million. This rise in CO2 concentration is closely linked to global temperature increases. CO2 plays a crucial role in climate change, as it is the greenhouse gases stored in the atmosphere that significantly impact the climate, rather than just the flow of yearly emissions. Therefore, simply reducing emissions is not sufficient to address climate change. CO2 levels are rising due to human activities that produce more CO2 than what naturally decays or gets absorbed. Practices like deforestation and agricultural activities exacerbate the issue by reducing the outflow of CO2 and increasing emissions. A significant portion of the CO2 emitted from coal burning since the Industrial Revolution will remain in the atmosphere for a long time. Two-thirds of it will still be present after one hundred years, and over a third will remain after one thousand years. To prevent worse consequences, we have a limited carbon budget. Emitting only about 1 to 1.5 trillion more tons of CO2 would help prevent a temperature increase of 2℃ since pre-industrial times. Exceeding this limit could lead to significant damage to the Earth and its inhabitants. Even meeting the limit still poses a small risk of a temperature increase above 6℃, which could result in global economic catastrophe.

The change in CO2 and climate by proxy has resulted in the continual melting of ice caps.