Climate Change & Anthropocene Lecture Notes PDF

11/16/24, 12:51 PM OneNote Oct. 15th Lecture 7th Thursday, October 10, 2024 4:07 PM Climate Change and the Anthropocene Global Warming The Greenhouse Effect- C02 is em...

11/16/24, 12:51 PM OneNote Oct. 15th Lecture 7th Thursday, October 10, 2024 4:07 PM Climate Change and the Anthropocene Global Warming The Greenhouse Effect- C02 is emitted into the atmosphere making it warmer Every year 40 billon tonnes of man-made CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere Our industrial civilization is powered on oil and gas We have emitted so much C02 and other GHG that is it heating up the planet to a dangerous level -The safe level is 350ppm (parts per million c02 molecules in the atmosphere) 2013 reached 400ppm Today it is approx. 427ppm rising Atmospheric CO2 is now more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels The highest it has been in almost one million years. Global heating is an energy transition position Global Supply Chains Airplane cargo represents 35% of global trade Types of goods: Medical supplies, electronics, pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, minerals and metals, fresh food and flowers, beauty products, engine parts, etc. Paris Agreement 2015 A legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) In 2015 countries agreed to hold warming to "well below 2 degrees C" What do we need to do? Move from a high carbon intensive economic system to a low-carbon energy system We need: ○ rapid decarbonisation ○ Cut fossil fuel use ○ Ramp up investment in renewable energy Advanced economies continue to have relatively high per capita emissions, at about 70% higher than the global average in 2023 The Anthropocene and the Great Acceleration The human population and economic wealth of the world have increased resource consumption significantly Since 1950 we have seen the fasted and most intense transformation recorded The Keeling Curve :a daily record of global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration The majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at the rate of roughly 0.15C to 0.20C per decade 93% of the CO2 has been absorbed by the oceans Anthropocene: viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment Biosphere: interrelated parts of the planet – hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere – where all biological life exists Fossil Fuel Industrialisation Key energies: oil, gas, and coal Globalisation has been about the globalising of fossil fuels industrialisation 50% of global lifestyle emissions are emitted by just 10% of the population The bulk of total emissions from the global top (1% of the world population) comes from investments (investing in fossil fuels) rather than from their consumption Amazon forest is now a CO2 net contributor. It now emits more Co2 than it absorbs Normalcy Bias and Climate Change Normalcy Bias: refers to an attitude that is entered when facing a disaster People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. They tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible. Optimism Bias: optimistic about the probability of negative events. We underestimate them and conversely we overestimate the probability of positive events Vocab Gross Domestic Product: only counts money-transactions- all the goods and services within a year. It take no account of damage done to the environment, or tell anything about human well-being Externalities: the impact of pollution on the environment is not priced into economic transactions. Refers to the benefits and cost arising from commercial activities for which the price is unknown Pollution, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and ocean acidification are all defined as externalities Market Failure: arises when the market doesn't represent the true cost of a good or resource. https://uccireland-my.sharepoint.com/personal/124108725_umail_ucc_ie/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={15ee684e-b88a-4394-803d-c463642d404… 1/2 11/16/24, 12:51 PM OneNote Price Mechanism: the manner in which the profits of goods or services affects the supply and demand of goods and services Consumption and production externalities- example: pollution to atmosphere is not factored into the price of a new car Sustainable Development: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs Ecology: he study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment Net Zero: balance between amount of GHG produced and removed from the atmosphere. We reach net zero when the amount we add is no more than the amount taken away The Commons: a shared resource-forest, sea or even and urban garden. The opposite is an area that is privately owned The Tragedy of the Commons: when short-term self-interest lead to tragedy for all Intrinsic Value: the anticipated or calculated value of a company, stock, currency or product determined through fundamental analysis. It includes tangible and intangible factors. Exchange Value: something to be brough and sold and always subject to profit maximisation Tragedy of the Commons Economic incentives are financial motivations for people to take certain actions Economic actors pursuing their own self-interest and advantage under particular economic incentives Global Over-fishing: the share of fish stocks which are overexploited – meaning we watch them faster than they can reproduce to sustain population levels The Great Transformation Rise of a market society and creation of capitalism during the industrial revolution Commodification of land, nature and even humans is the reduction of these things to a monetary value Unique Features to Climate Change as an Externality 1. Cross international boarders 2. The impacts are long-term and persistent 3. There are uncertainties 4. Effects may be large and irreversible https://uccireland-my.sharepoint.com/personal/124108725_umail_ucc_ie/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={15ee684e-b88a-4394-803d-c463642d404… 2/2