Your Climate Change IQ

Climate change is a change in the average weather –temperature, precipitation and wind– over a over period of time, usually 30 years. Although weather can change in just a few hours, the climate takes longer to change.

The climate is changing due to increasing GHG emissions from energy generation, mainly produced from fossil fuels. Also contributing are deforestation and wildfires, as well as agricultural production, including rice cultivation and livestock production.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) accounts for 76% of all GHG emissions: 65% due to fossil fuel burning to generate energy and 11% due to land use changes, such as deforestation, land-use management, agriculture, forest fires, among others.

Electricity and heat generation is the largest source, accounting for 42% of the global CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Transportation is the second largest source, with about 25%.

Wind, solar and nuclear do not produce CO2 emissions. Wind and solar are renewable sources of energy, while nuclear energy does not burn fossil fuels.

President Barack Obama said "We’re the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it,” during his remarks at the U.N. Climate Summit in 2014.

An increase in global temperature of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times means that the risks and negative impacts of climate change would increase rapidly. That is why the Paris Agreement set the 2 degrees Celsius temperature target as its goal.

Global average temperature was 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times in 2017, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Global average temperature would reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times by 2030, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on 1.5 Degrees.

Global average temperature would reach 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times by 2050, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as reflected in our report The Truth About Climate Change.

Of the 195 Parties to the Paris Agreement, 184 have ratified it as of November 4, 2018, according to the Climate Change Convention Secretariat.

Nicaragua and Syria were the latest two countries to join and ratify Paris Agreement in October and November, 2017, respectively.

The Paris Agreement establishes a ‘pledge and review’ system, based on pledges to combat climate change submitted by all countries –the Nationally Determined Contributions—to be reviewed every five years. These pledges are not legally binding.

China is the world’s largest emitter of CO2, accounting for 28% of global emissions, followed by the U.S., with 15%, according to the Global Carbon Atlas (2016).

Curacao has the highest CO2 emissions per capita, followed by Qatar, according to the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (2016)

Hurricanes cause the most damage and economic losses. For example, in the Unites States, hurricanes (or tropical cyclones) caused, on average, $46 billion in economic losses each, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Texas suffered 54 extreme weather events influenced by human-induced climate change in the last decade: 39 severe storms, one hurricane, 4 major flooding, as well as 6 droughts and 4 wildfires. These events caused $307 billion in economic losses in Texas, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Holding global temperature increase to below 2 degrees Celsius is possible only if countries work together to reduce CO2 emissions.

80% of the energy (electricity, fuel and natural gas) in the world is produced by fossil fuels, burning 26% of coal, 33% of oil and 22% of natural gas, according to the International Energy Agency.

The best option to control climate change is to reduce and remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Reducing CO2 emissions is critical, but removing CO2 through capturing and storing carbon is crucial too, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.