Climate Change
Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and weather patterns. Unexpected changes in weather patterns make it difficult to maintain and grow crops in regions that rely on farming because expected temperature and rainfall levels can no longer be counted on. Climate change has also been connected with other damaging weather events, such as more frequent and more intense hurricanes, typhoons, floods, downpours, and winter storms. Climate change is largely caused by human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas. Carbon emissions from fossil fuels, methane, and nitrous oxide, among others, are called “greenhouse gases.” When released into the Earth’s atmosphere, these gases trap heat from the sun’s rays causing Earth’s average temperature to rise. This rise in the planet's temperature is called global warming. While the climate has continually changed throughout the Earth's history, it has usually been a slow process over thousands of years. Climate change caused by human activity is occurring at a much faster and more dangerous rate.
Events and Articles
Showing 171 - 180 of 429 results
Bonn Climate Change Conference - May 2017
The “elephant in the room” of continued US participation in the Paris Agreement soon became a non-issue as the Trump administration delayed its decision, allowing negotiators to settle back into a “business as usual” mode of work and incrementally advance efforts to operationalize the Paris Agreement through technical discussions under the three subsidiary bodies.
45th Session of the IPCC (IPCC-45)
IPCC-45 focused on the outlines for the special reports on: climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security and GHG fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems (SRCCL); and oceans and the cryosphere in a changing climate (SROCC).
Marrakech Climate Change Conference - November 2016
The Marrakech Climate Change Conference COP 22 was perceived to have two tasks. To the outside world, delegates had to demonstrate the UNFCCC could contribute to the momentum generated post-Paris by the actions of non-state actors, as well as other international processes. Internally, delegates had considerable technical work at hand, to build a foundation for the accelerated completion of the modalities, procedures and guidelines that will make the Paris Agreement implementable.
44th Session of the IPCC (IPCC-44)
By the end of the meeting, the outlines for two important IPCC reports—one on limiting global warming to 1.5ºC and the other on a refinement to the 2006 National GHG Inventory Guidelines—were approved.
Bonn Climate Change Conference - May 2016
Taking place in the shadow of the historic COP 21, the Bonn gathering was a low-profile meeting with an ambitious agenda aimed at rapidly taking up the technical work needed to operationalize the Paris Agreement.
43rd Session of the IPCC (IPCC-43)
The IPCC agreed to undertake three special reports on: the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above preindustrial levels and related global GHG emission pathways; climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security and GHG fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems; and on climate change and oceans and the cryosphere.