Climate

Change
&
I
This booklet is part of a Series of 6 Booklets on
Environmental Sustainability with a special focus
on Climate Change. Each booklet aims to motivate
individuals to take action to mitigate global warming
by providing basic information in an easy to
understand manner.
Climate
Change
&
I
Copyright © 2008
Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE)

ISBN 978-81-902018-4-1

PUBLISHER - Centre for Environmental Research

and Education (CERE)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

copied, transmitted or reproduced in a retrieval
system in any form or by any means without prior
permission of the Publisher.

This booklet is printed using environmentally-friendly

materials. The inks used are vegetable oil-based inks and
the paper is wood-free and chlorine-free.
 CLIMATE CHANGE?

Imagine a world where temperatures

regularly reach 50 °C, where New
York, Venice, Mumbai and Hong Kong
have disappeared under the sea; where
malaria is rampant in Canada; where
rice is scarce in India; where the
Ganga and Yamuna have dried up
and the Himalayas have no snow left.

Impossible? Think again…

this is the world of climate change and
it’s beginning to happen right now.

3
 Everything I do...

Fly for
Drive to a holiday
Leave the
work
lights on

Use paper
Eat meat

Leave the Litter

tap running
Use an
AC

I am RESPONSIBLE
for Climate Change...

4
...impacts the climate!

Impact on
agriculture
Melting
ice caps Rising
sea levels

Frequent Drying
floods rivers

Frequent Spread of
Increasing
droughts diseases
temperature

...and so are YOU!

5
 WHAT IS
CLIMATE CHANGE?

Climate change is a symptom of a sick

earth. Our planet is suffering because of
the way human activities are destroying
and changing the surface of the earth.
One of the biggest reasons for climate
change and the one many scientists and
environmentalists are worried about
today is global warming.

6
 Some radiation Greenhouse gases trap
is reflected by solar radiation within
the earth and the the earth’s atmosphere,
atmosphere. heating it.

Solar radiation
passes through
the atmosphere.
Some radiation is
absorbed by the earth’s
surface, warming it.

What is Global Warming?

Global warming is a natural phenomenon that
has been happening for millions of years. The
Earth’s atmosphere has gases called
greenhouse gases (GHG) like carbon dioxide
and water vapour that act like the glass of a
greenhouse. They trap the sun’s energy within
the atmosphere, making our planet warmer -
this is the natural greenhouse effect.
DID YOU

KNOW...
The natural greenhouse effect keeps the Earth’s
average surface temperature at a comfortable 15 °C,
without the GHGs the temperature would be -19 °C.

7
 CO2 (ppm) Since the
Source: www.ipcc.ch

Radiative forcing (wm-2)

360 1.5 I n d u s t r i a l
carbon dioxide
340 1.0 R e v o l u t i o n
320
concentration
300 0.5 the amounts
280 0.0 of GHGs
260
in the
1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
atmosphere
have been increasing at an alarming pace
because of human activities. Waste
production, burning of fossil fuels,
deforestation and agriculture have all led to
increases in the three main GHGs: carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous
oxide (N2O). This has led to an average
temperature increase of 0.7 °C. This is called
the Anthropogenic (man-made)
Greenhouse Effect.

CO2 levels in the atmosphere

have increased from 280
parts per million (ppm) in
FAC
pre-industrial times to 379 T
ppm in 2005, largely due to
burning of fossil fuels.

8
The man-made greenhouse effect leads to
global warming, which in turn drives
climate change. This is already having an
impact on our world and will have even
more serious implications in the years to
come.

BRain TEASE S
R

After China and USA, which country emits the

greatest quantity of greenhouse gases per year?
CO2 annually - almost entirely from deforestation.
but Indonesia, which emits 3.3 billion tonnes of
It is not high-tech Japan or industrial Germany,

9
 HOW WILL GLOBAL
WARMING CHANGE EARTH’S
CLIMATE & CONDITIONS?

Temperature Rise:
Temperatures on
Earth have already
increased by 0.7 °C.
If global warming
continues the way it is right now,
temperatures could climb even higher. In
fact, global mean temperatures are expected
to rise by about 4 °C in the next 100 years.

Twelve of the last 13 years

FACT (1995-2007) rank among
the warmest years in the
record of global surface
temperature since 1850.

KNOW...
DID YOU

2002 and 2003 saw some of the hottest

summers in Andhra Pradesh in India. These
heat waves caused the deaths of thousands of
people and even destroyed crops and farmland.

10
 John McConnico
Sea Level Rise: As
temperatures increase, sea
levels will rise as warmer
waters in the oceans expand
and melting polar ice
increase water volumes.
Global sea levels have risen
by nearly 200 cm over the
last century.

Low lying coastal areas will

sink if sea levels rise, leading
to the displacement of about C T
634 million people who live FA
in these areas. About 75% of
them live in Asia.

KNOW...
DID YOU

In 2002, an ice shelf (Larsen B) the size of the

state of Goa, broke off from the Antarctic
Polar Ice, shattered and drifted out to sea.
Most scientists believe that if global
warming continues larger and larger bodies
of ice will break off from the polar ice caps,
melt and raise sea levels around the world.

11
 Extreme Weather
Patterns: As the
planet heats up, it
will witness changes
in climate and
weather patterns.
Rainfall is expected
to increase in the temperate zones but decrease
in the tropics and sub-tropics. These changes
will lead to stronger and more prevalent
storms, droughts and floods.

Storms along the coast of West Bengal and

Bangladesh, for example, have become a
recurrent feature over the past couple of years.
Every year thousands of lives are lost and crores
of rupees worth of property damaged.

KNOW...
DID YOU

More intense and longer droughts have

been observed since the 1970s, particularly in the
tropics and subtropics.

12
HOW DO MY ACTIONS LEAD
TO CLIMATE CHANGE?
Global warming and climate change are
‘global problems’ but are caused by each and
every one of us. Things that we do on a daily
basis lead to the production of GHGs that are
the main cause of global warming.

When I bathe, use electricity, travel to work or

school, use resources or even when I eat, I am
indirectly producing GHGs. GHGs like CH4
and N2O are mostly produced from landfills
and agriculture, while CO2 is produced by the
burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

BRain TEASE S
R

Which activities contribute to Climate Change?

† Cutting down a tree † Flying for a holiday
† Eating imported fruits † Playing golf
† Washing clothes † Watching a movie
† Working on my computer
ALL of them!

13
 THE IMPLICATIONS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE

Temperature Precipitation

Sea level rise

14
 Health Agriculture Forest
impacts impacts impacts

z Weather related z Crop yields z Forest composition

infectious diseases z Irrigation z Geographic
z Air-quality and demands range of trees
respiratory illnesses z Forest health and
productivity

Water resources Impacts on Species and

impacts coastal areas natural areas

z Water supply z Erosion of z Loss of habitat

z Water quality beaches and species
z Competition for z Inundation of
water coastal lands
z Additional costs
to protect coastal
communities
15
 HOW DOES
CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT
THE ENVIRONMENT?

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
Marine Habitats: As water
temperatures increase,
particularly in oceans and
seas, habitats are adversely
impacted. This is due to a
host of reasons such as
increases in acidity, salinity
and decreased oxygen; each
of which affect marine plant
and animal life.

KNOW...
DID YOU

If climate change is not stopped,

coral bleaching - ‘the whitening’ of coral
colonies due to environmental stress - will
steadily increase in frequency and intensity
around the world, until it occurs annually by
2030 - 2070. This would devastate coral reefs
to such an extent that they could be eliminated
from most areas of the world by 2100.

16
 Terrestrial Habitats:
Many land-based
habitats/ecosystems
are also threatened by
climate change. As
land is lost to rising
ocean levels and temperatures rise, habitats
will need to change, adapt or move with
changing climatic conditions. Today
however, with all the human roadblocks
these changes will be much harder to make
and many ecosystems may disappear
altogether. The evergreen forests of the
Himalayas are likely to be some of the first
victims of global warming.
KNOW...
DID YOU

During the last ice age, evergreen forests

moved further south at a rate of 100 feet
per year. This helped them survive the harsh
pre-historic conditions prevalent more than 14,000
years ago. Scientists predict that to keep up with
the changes brought on by climate change these
very same forests may need to move as fast as
1,000 feet per year.While this may not seem very
fast, it’s ‘speeding’ for a forest.

17
HOW WILL CLIMATE CHANGE
AFFECT BIODIVERSITY?

Asia’s
Snow Leopard
Didier B.

Australia’s South Africa’s

Boyd Forest Dragon King Protea

What do they have in common?

The threat of EXTINCTION!
Separated by geographical, biological and
meteorological barriers, it’s difficult to
recognise that these species and many others
are threatened by climate change.

18
 The extinction of the
Golden Toad of
Costa Rica is directly
linked to the effects of
global warming.
T
FAC

Extinction: Climate change poses many

threats to biodiversity and species. It causes
the loss of habitats, it forces animals and
plants to change their lifecycles and migrate
to more suitable climates. Ultimately, if
species are unable to adapt, it will cause their
extinction.

KNOW...
DID YOU

The Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is a

unique ecosystem in India. The vast area of
seasonal salt lakes supports huge
populations of flamingoes and is the only
remaining habitat for 2,000 Asiatic Wild Asses.
The area is likely to become inundated by sea
level rise, thus destroying the habitat and
threatening all the species within it.

19
 HOW DOES CLIMATE
CHANGE AFFECT ME?

Human Health:
Climate change directly
affects human beings
through the impact of
extreme temperatures
and weather patterns.
The most common
cause of death and the
most serious illness directly related to heat is
heatstroke, a condition in which the body
temperature is greater than 40.6 °C.

KNOW...
DID YOU

In 2003 a massive heat wave hit large

parts of western and central Europe.
Temperatures, especially in France, rose to
5 - 10 °C above their summer average. The
heat wave resulted in the death of over 35,000
people, mostly the elderly and
young children.

20
 Rising temperatures also leads to an
increased prevalence of diseases like malaria
and dengue as vectors like mosquitoes move
to previously unaffected cooler regions.

Climate change can also indirectly affect

human health and cause injuries and deaths
from extreme events like droughts, storms
and flooding. Water-borne diseases like
cholera, gastro-enteritis, typhoid and jaundice
will also increase in disaster affected areas.

KNOW...
DID YOU

Modelling of climate change effects on

malaria indicate that the global population
at risk of malaria would increase by an
extra 260-320 million people in the 2080s.

21
 Water resources:
The impact of
climate change on
water is complex and
differs from place to
place. Areas like
Europe and Canada
will see more
rainfall, while Africa
and the Indian subcontinent will see
decreases in rainfall. The repercussions
include droughts, spread of water-borne
diseases, rivers drying up and even flooding.

KNOW...
DID YOU

The availability of water in the rivers of India,

Africa, Southern America, Europe & the Middle
East is expected to decrease over the years.
In fact by 2030, the Ganga could dry out as
the water supply in the mountains runs low.
This will endanger the lives of about
400 million people who depend upon it for
their supply of water.

22
 Agriculture: Climate change
will dramatically alter cropping
patterns across the globe.
Farmers in different parts of the
world will not be able to produce
the crops they have been growing
for centuries due to variations in
weather conditions like prolonged summers,
unseasonal rainfall and shorter winters.
Change in weather conditions also increase the
pest susceptibility of crops.

It has been predicted that wheat will no

longer grow in Punjab.

KNOW...
DID YOU

The 2001 IPCC Third Assessment

Report concluded that the poorest countries would
be hardest hit, with reductions in crop yields in
most tropical and sub-tropical regions due to
decreased water availability, and new or changed
insect pest incidence. Falls in agricultural
productivity of upto 30% over the 21st century
are projected.

23
 Displacement:
Christian Aid recently
released a report,
Human Tide: The
Real Migration Crisis
that suggests that between 2007 and 2050 a
quarter of a billion people across the world,
will be “permanently displaced by climate
change-related phenomena such as floods,
droughts, famines & hurricanes.”

Forced migration is likely to fuel existing

conflicts and generate new ones in those
areas of the world where resources are
most scarce.

24
 Economy: Global
warming and climate
change have
numerous impacts on
human society,
natural resources and
biodiversity. Some of
these changes are beneficial, while most are
harmful to the environment and human
populations.

These impacts also have economic

implications. While the costs of mitigation of
climate change are high, the costs of looking
the other way are even higher…

KNOW...
DID YOU

India will suffer an estimated 5% loss

of GDP due to climate change with a
change of 2.5 °C. This is twice the cost to
the EU, and over 1% higher than the cost to
Africa. If temperatures increase by over 6 °C our
GDP losses can be as high as 15%.

25
 CLIMATE CHANGE...

Arctic

Drowning
Polar Bears
Arctic, since 1970s

USA
Hurricane
Katrina
New Orleans, 2005

Retreating
Glaciers
Patagonia
Argentina

26
 ...IS ALREADY HERE

Flooding
Venice, 2003

Drought and
Heat Waves
Italy Andhra Pradesh,
2002-2003

India
Africa

Desertification
Sahel Grasslands

27
WHAT CAN I DO TO PREVENT
GLOBAL WARMING?

It is the little things we do

everyday that leads to the
accumulation of GHGs like CO2.
It is the little things that we can change
to lower our carbon footprint.

A Carbon Footprint measures

the impact of your activities
C T on the environment in terms
FA of the amount of greenhouse
gases produced in units of
carbon dioxide.

28
 A typical person’s Carbon Footprint

3%
Financial
services

14% 12%
Recreation Share of
& leisure public
9% services
House

Source: carbonfootprint.com
& furniture 15%
Gas, oil
7% in car & coal
manufacture

12%
Electricity
5%
Food 10%
6%
Private
Flights Transport
4%
Clothes &
Personal
effects
3%
Public
transport

29
Reduce your carbon footprint: Reducing
your carbon foot print can involve anything
from changing the way you travel to the
lighting in your house. It can involve eating
less meat, recycling your dry waste and even
the way you dress. In fact, anything that you
can do to reduce the amount of ‘energy’ you
use (and that does not mean only electricity)
will help you reduce your carbon footprint.

The best place to start is calculating your

carbon footprint - figuring out how many
resources you consume, how this compares to
the Earth’s ability to sustain you and
identifying areas where you produce a lot of
GHGs.

You can calculate your own carbon footprint by going to

any of the following websites:
1. BT’s Carbon calculator:
http://www.btplc.com/ClimateChange/CarbonCalculator/i
ndex.cfm
2. Time for Change - Offline Carbon calculator:
http://timeforchange.org/offline-carbon-footprint-calculator
3. EnergyRace - Calculate and reduce your carbon
footprint:: http://energyrace.com/

30
 HANDY TIPS

This section has some down-to-earth

and practical tips to reduce your
carbon footprint that each of us can
easily adopt in our everyday lives.

31
 TURN OFF APPLIANCES
„ Turn off your appliances when not in use -
turn them off from the mains and even pull
out the plug. Stand-by appliances still
consume energy.

Source: The Sustainable Girton Project

Appliance Stand-by (watts) On (watts)

Stereo 12 22

TV 10 100

Video recorder 1 13

DVD Player 7 12

PC+peripherals 15 130

PC monitor 11 70

Laptop 2 29
Broadband
14 14
modem
Cell phone
1 5
charger
Digital TV
5 6
top box
32
 AT YOUR HOME
„ Turn the AC thermostat up by 1-2 °C,
or if you’re comfortable, use the fan.

Fact: Adjusting your AC

thermostat’s setting up
by 1 to 2 °C can save 3
T
FAC
to 4 % on cooling costs.

„ Run your dish washer and washing machine

at full load - it saves water and electricity.
„ Eat less meat! Producing, processing and
transporting meat uses up a lot more energy
than growing vegetables.
„ Switch to energy efficient CFL bulbs. They
may cost a little more but are 75% more
efficient, last for years instead of months and
save you money on your electricity bill as
well.
„ Grow some plants - they look nice,
produce oxygen and absorb CO2.
„ Recycle! Everything you recycle saves
energy and earns you some money too.
33
SUCCESS STORY
The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change

2500 + scientific reviewers

800 + contributing authors
450 + lead authors from
130 + partnering countries.
Six years of work and four volumes compiled
into one report called ‘Climate Change 2007’.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

and the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) formed the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988.

The IPCC has atmospheric scientists,

oceanographers, ice specialists, economists and
other experts. It is now recognized as the world’s
scientific authority on global warming and
climate change after being declared the joint
winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007.

Mr. Pauchari, Chairman of IPCC rightly

remarked, “We face a true planetary emergency.
The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a
moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity.”

34
 WHEN SHOPPING
„ Do your weekly shopping in a single trip
instead of making 5 different trips for 5
different things.
„ Buy products made from recycled material.
„ Buy local fruits and vegetables, or even
try growing your own.
„ Try to buy products made locally, for
example, buy clothes that are made in
India and not in China.
„ Don’t buy products with excess
packaging.

KNOW...
DID YOU

Plastic: 1.4 tonnes of GHG saved for

every tonne recycled.
Glass: Each recycled tonne avoids the use of a
tonne of raw materials and saves another 300kg of
GHGs. Paper & cardboard: Every tonne
recycled saves over 2 tonnes of GHG emissions
Metals: Recycling just one tonne of aluminium
will save 14 tonnes of GHGs.

35
 AT SCHOOL
„ Use as little paper as possible, ask your
teacher if you can hand in your homework
on either recycled paper or paper that is
only used on one side.
„ Re-use your old note books or give them to
underprivileged children.
„ Take the school bus or form a car pool to
get to school.
„ Turn off the lights and fans when you leave
your classroom.
„ Bring fresh lunch with you from home in
a re-usable lunch box and even carry your
water with you in a bottle.

WHILE TRAVELLING
„ Use public transport, walk or ride a bike.
„ Use a fuel efficient car if you have to drive.
„ Restrict your air-travel whenever possible
and have video conferencing instead.

36
SUCCESS STORY
Al Gore
Al Gore has been speaking
about Climate Change for
more than 30 years and
has become synonymous
with Climate Change,
working tirelessly to capture the world’s
attention and winning numerous awards in the
process. Gore’s Oscar winning documentary
film An Inconvenient Truth has changed
people’s perception of Climate Change and the
subject is now being taken more seriously.

Gore says, “The struggle to save the global

environment is in one way much more difficult
than the struggle to vanquish Hitler, for this
time the war is with ourselves. We are the
enemy, just as we have only ourselves as allies.
In a war such as this, then, what is victory and
how will we recognize it?”

In 2007, Al Gore was declared a joint winner of

the Nobel Peace Prize, which catapulted both
Gore and Climate Change onto the centre stage
and singled out Climate Change as the most
important issue of this century.

37
 AT WORK
„ Create a paper-less office. Communicate
via phone and e-mail whenever possible.
„ See if your employer will let you work from
home once in a while, especially if you don’t
have to go into the office.
„ Spread the message of climate change
amongst your co-workers and encourage
them to change their lifestyles as well.

38
 REDUCING CO2 EMISSIONS:
LESSONS FOR OUR LEADERS

Source: IPCC
Sector (Selected) Key mitigation
technologies and practices
currently commercially
available.
Energy Supply Efficiency; fuel switching; nuclear
power; renewable energy
(hydropower, solar, wind,
geothermal, bioenergy); combined
heat and power; early applications
of CO2; capture and storage.
Transport More fuel efficient vehicles;
hybrid vehicles; biofuels; modal
shifts from road transport to rail
and public transport systems;
cycling, walking; land-use
planning.
Buildings Efficient lighting; efficient
appliances; improved insulation;
solar heating and cooling;
alternatives for fluorinated gases
in insulation and appliances.

39
Sector (Selected) Key mitigation
technologies and practices
currently commercially available.

Industry More efficient electrical equipment;

heat and power recovery; material
recycling; control of non-CO2 gas
emissions.

Agriculture Land management to increase soil

carbon storage; restoration of
degraded lands; improved rice
cultivation techniques; improved
nitrogen fertilizer application;
dedicated energy crops.

Forests Afforestation; reforestation; forest

management; reduced deforestation;
use of forestry products for
bioenergy.

Waste Landfill methane recovery;

composting; recycling and waste
minimisation.

40
INTERNATIONAL LEGISLATION

Kyoto Protocol (1997): The Kyoto Protocol

came into effect in 2005. It is an agreement
made under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
It has been ratified by 174 countries. After
the Australian ratification on 3 December
2007, the only notable exception is the
United States of America.

The objective of the protocol is to get

countries to reduce their emissions of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases, or
engage in emissions trading if they maintain
or increase emissions of these gases.

India and China have ratified

this protocol but are not
required to reduce their CO2
emissions under the current
agreement - which must change
if any real progress is to be
made.
FACT

41
 IMPORTANT RESOURCES

WEBSITES:
http://www.ipcc.ch
„ An informative website for any thing related to climate
change.

http://envfor.nic.in/cc/adapt.htm
„ The Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests’ Climate
Change website.

http://www.realclimate.org
„ It is discussion forum dedicated to climate change issues
and members include scientists and lay people.

http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/index.cfm
„ The NGO Environmental Defense’s website that covers
the basics of climate change and also has a carbon foot
print calculator.

http://www.unep.org/themes/climatechange/
„ The United Nations Environment Programme’s webiste
on climate change.

42
 IMPORTANT RESOURCES

ORGANISATIONS:
Advocacy: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
Tel: +91-11 29955124/125; 29956394
Fax: +91-11 29955870; 29955879
E-mail: cse@cseindia.org financial services cocerning
Website: http://www.cseindia.org
facturer of wind power equipment.
Carbon Credit: CARBONyatra
Tel: 91-022-26246021
Website: http://www.carbonyatra.comdian news portal
about carbon emissions.
Financial Services: CantorCO2e
email: mumbai@cantorco2e.com
Website: http://www.cantorco2e.com

Awareness: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Tel: +91 80 2535 6590 (5 lines)
Fax +91 80 2535 6589
E-mail terisrc@teri.res.in
Website: http://www.teriin.org

For information, contact:

Centre for Environmental Research and Education
Email: cere_india@yahoo.co.in
Website: www.cere-india.org
43
This Series of 6 Information Booklets on
Environmental Sustainability includes the titles:

Waste & I
Water & I
Energy & I
Biodiversity & I
Citizenship & I
Climate Change & I

The Centre for Environmental Research and

Education (CERE) is a Mumbai-based non-profit
organisation that works to promote environmental
sustainability.
 REALISE
RELEARN
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REVERSE

Climate
Change
ISBN 978-81-902018-4-1

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