Final Project for Climate Change: I create a digital artifact (a resource) that conveys an action or program that a community, country or region can implement to respond to climate change. The artifact is accessible to viewers by a link and available to view openly without needing to create an account or password.

1. Course: Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C
Warmer World Must be Avoided
Final Project
Submitted By:
Maryam Izadifar
M.Sc. Civil Engineering for Risk Mitigation
Target Audience:
University Students
May 2015
Course by:
World Bank Group
Online Course by:
coursera.org

2. What we know?
The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have
increased, causing the Earth’s temperature to rise.
One greenhouse gas in particular, carbon dioxide (CO2) has
steadily increased over the past century largely due to human
activity (anthropogenic).
We know that emissions have a significant impact on the world
around us. How can we reduce the amount of carbon that is
emitted?

3. Climate is affected by many factors
ABIOTIC FACTORS:
Latitude
Altitude
Ocean Currents
Topography
Solar Radiation
Evaporation
Orbital Variations
Volcanic Activity
BIOTIC FACTORS:
Transpiration
Respiration
Photosynthesis
Decomposition
Digestion

4. Greenhouse Gases are essential to our climate
http://www.larryjzimmerman.com/wproblems/warming/greenhouse.gif

5. Glaciers are melting away
worldwide
Agassiz Glacier,
Montana, in
1913…
Pasterze Glacier,
Austria, in
1875…
…and in 2005
…and in 2004

6. Other evidence of Climate Change
• Glacier retreat
1875 2004

8. NASA photograph
Extent of Arctic summer ice in
1979 (top satellite image) and in
2003 (lower satellite image).
North Polar ice cap is sea ice -- it’s
floating and so does not change
sea level when it melts.
But the reduced reflectivity when
the ice is replaced by water
amplifies the warming effect of
greenhouse gases.
Sea ice is shrinking

9. What is mitigation?
• To decrease force or intensity. To lower risk.
• Earthquake mitigation
• Flood mitigation
• Climate change mitigation

10. Global disaster losses from 1980–2012

11. Source:
MunichRe

12. Comparison of current Index of Risk Preparation with projected poverty risk by 2030

13. The Rise of CO2 Concentrations and Emissions

14. Rising Sea Levels

15. Increasing Loss of Ice

16. Ocean Acidification
Observed changes in ocean acidity (pH) compared to concentration of carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater (p
CO2) alongside the atmospheric CO2 record from 1956. A decrease in pH indicates an increase in acidity

17. Heat Waves and Extreme Temperatures
Excess deaths observed during the 2003 heat wave in France. O= observed; E= expected.

18. Drought and Aridity Trends
Drought conditions experienced on August 28 in the contiguous United States.

19. Agricultural Impacts
Since the 1960s, sown areas for all major crops have increasingly experienced drought, with drought
affected areas for maize more than doubling from 8.5 percent to 18.6 percent
global crop production has been negatively affected by climate trends, with maize and wheat
production declining by 3.8 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.
The high sensitivity of crops to extreme temperatures can cause severe losses to agricultural yields
Climate change will depress agricultural yields in most countries in 2050

20. 4°C warming is not inevitable and that
warming can still be limited to 2°C or
lower with sustained policy action
Perspective for 21st Century

21. How Likely is a 4°C World?
Median estimates (lines) from probabilistic temperature projections for two non-mitigation emission
scenarios (SRES A1FI and a reference scenario close to SRESA1B), both of which come close to, or
exceed by a substantial margin, 4°C warming by 2100

22. Increase in Heat Extremes
Multimodel mean of monthly warming over the 21st century (2080–2100 relative to present day) for the
months of JJA (left) and DJF (right) in units of degrees Celsius (top) and in units of local standard
deviation of temperature (bottom). The intensity of the color scale has been reduced over the oceans
for distinction.

23. The Impacts of More Frequent Heat Waves
Prolonged heat waves are generally the most destructive as mortality and morbidity rates are
strongly linked to heat wave duration, with excess deaths increasing each additional hot day
Temperature conditions experienced during these recent events would become the new norm
in a 4°C warmer world and a completely new class of heat waves, with magnitudes never
experienced before in the 20th century, would occur regularly.
Unusual heat extremes, like the heat extremes we’ve seen in Europe 2003, the Russian
heat wave of 2010, the recent US heat wave, these we classify as unusual. They’re one in
many hundred‐year events that we wouldn’t expect to see again, in a stationery world, a
world that has not been affected by climate change.

24. Food
In Africa the study projected that we'd get an increase in verity in dryness, in droughts and
up to 40 percent of the current crop land that's used for corn production might become
less suitable for corn production. Now this is worrying because corn is a major food crop
for people in Africa.
some parts of Africa, the Eastern part mainly, might become wetter. Although, in the first
instance, it might seem a good outcome, some of those landscapes aren't able to hold
that much water when it comes in.
increase in rainfall then those landscapes might actually show more floods or might
experience greater flooding unless communities and governments might prepare for them
In India, for example, there may not be enough water for irrigation so agriculture
productivity would be impacted.

25. Food
In certain parts of the continent, nearer Bangladesh, there may be excess rainfall coming
down and so that would mean water coming down the hills in addition to sea level rise.
We're seeing an increased likelihood of more intense cyclones and we just heard of a very
devastating cyclone that struck the Philippines.
The third factor that might impact livelihoods related to food systems is the sea level rise
will impact coral systems together with ocean acidification. The ocean is getting more acid.
That means coral systems might be damaged, and that will impact the production of fish.

27. • Work in pairs to talk about ways in which we could
reduce (mitigate) carbon emissions in the following
areas. Feel free to write your answers in the
appropriate column on the board:
• Transportation
• Heating and Cooling Buildings
• Industry Carbon Output
• Electricity Use
How can we reduce carbon
emissions?

28. Mitigation Strategy #1:
Transportation Efficiency
A car that gets 30 mpg releases 1 ton of carbon into the air
for every 10,000 miles of driving
Fuel efficient cars get more miles per gallon (mpg)
Increasing the fuel efficiency of cars will reduce the amount
of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere

29. Mitigation Strategy #2:
Transport Conservation
With more cars on the road, the amount of CO2 emitted
steadily increases.
Reducing the time and number of cars on the road will
reduce emissions.
Increasing the use of public transportation would reduce the
amount of individual driving time.

30. Mitigation Strategy #3:
Building Efficiency
Providing electricity, transportation, and heat for buildings produces high
levels of CO2 emission.
Reducing heating and energy use would reduce the amount of carbon
released into the atmosphere.
Insulating buildings, using alternative energy sources, and solar water
heating are ways to reduce emissions.

31. Mitigation Strategy #4:
Efficient Electricity Production
25% of the world’s carbon emissions come from the production of
electricity at coal plants.
Since nearly 50% of electricity comes from coal combustion, improving
coal plant efficiency will significantly reduce carbon emission.
To do this requires alternative ways of using coal to produce electricity.

32. There’s no place like home…
…and there may never be again. Do your part.