The document gives an introduction to climate change. it gives a definition for weather, climate and climate change. it gives the causes and effects of climate change and strategies that can be implemented to mitigate climate change.

1. Colin Mattis
Climate Change Officer
National Climate Change Office
Ready Preparedness Proposal (R-PP) Consultation
August 20th 2013

2. 
What is Climate Change

The Causes of Climate Change

Some evidences of Climate Change

The Effects of Climate Change

Dealing with Global Climate Change

3. Weather: the state of the
atmosphere at some particular
time and place…
It is measured through
wind, temperature, humidity,
atmospheric
pressure, cloudiness, and
precipitation.
Is it raining outside? How hot
is it? Is it windy?

4. 
Climate is defined as an area's long-term
weather patterns
 The average temperature and precipitation over
time
 The type and the timing of precipitation
 The average wind speeds and directions

Food, water, and energy supply systems are
optimized to the current average climatic
conditions

5. 
Any significant change in the measures of
climate lasting for an extended period of time
(10 to 100s of years). In other words, climate
change includes major changes in:





Temperature
Precipitation
Winds
other indicators
Climate change can involve both changes in
average
conditions
and
changes
in
variability, including, for example, extreme
events.

6. 
Life on Earth is possible
because of the warmth of the
sun.
 Some radiation trapped by a
delicate balance of gases making
up the atmosphere.
Without this layer of
insulation, Earth would simply
be another frozen rock hurtling
through space.
 Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the
most important gas in this
layer of insulation.

Natural greenhouse effect

7. 
Major turning point in
History
 Hand production methods
to machines
 New chemical
manufacturing and iron
production processes
 Development of machine
tools

Shift from wood and
other bio-fuels to Fossil
Fuels

8. 
Sources of Emissions
 Transportation-cars, trucks, ships, trains, and





planes
Electricity production
Manufacturing Industry
Agriculture
Commercial and Residential
Land Use and Forestry

10. 


Atmosphere contains 32 per
cent more carbon dioxide than
at the industrial revolution.
Atmosphere is now like a
thick, heat-trapping blanket
Atmospheric balance
disrupted that keeps climate
stable
 climate changes, and it gets
warmer
Enhanced greenhouse effect

13. 
Earth's average temperature has risen by
1.4°F over the past century
 Projected to rise another 2 to 11.5°F over the next
hundred years.

Each year of the 21st century has ranked
among the 14 hottest since record keeping
began in 1880.
 2010 is the warmest year of the 21st Century

14. 1957
1998
Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles)
of ice per year between 2002 and 2006

16. 
The oceans have
absorbed much of this
increased heat, with
the top 700 meters
(about 2,300 feet) of
ocean showing
warming of 0.302
degrees Fahrenheit
since 1969.

18. Green = increasing, Brown = decreasing

19. 


World’s industrial powers (OECD) account for
20% world’s population, but are responsible
for >50 % of global emissions – the cause of
global warming and resultant climate change.
Developing countries emit < 25 % of total
GHG emissions.
Countries such as Belize emit < 1% of global
emissions.
 Belize is among the most vulnerable groups to
GCC

20. 
GCC will affect how
much energy we need
and when we need it.
 As temperature
rises, more energy
needed

Harder to produce
certain types of
electricity, such as
hydropower.

21. 

GCC will affect
where, when, and how
much water is available for
use
Rising
temperatures, changing
precipitation patterns, and
increasing droughts will
affect the amount of water
in lakes, rivers, and streams

22. 
Increased number of heat-related illnesses
and deaths

23. 
Difficult to anticipate
 Productivity will increase in some areas and decrease in others




Rise in sea level will inundate flood plains and river
valleys (lush farmland)
Proliferation of pests and diseases
Warmer temperatures will decrease soil moisturerequiring more irrigation
Location (i.e. elevation and altitude) where certain crops
can be grown may have to change

24. 

Disappearing
habitats- up to
one/fourth of all the
plants and animals
on Earth could
become extinct
within 100 years
Migration of species
to cooler locations

25. 
Coral reefs can be bleached (right) due to
increase in water temperature
 Loss of attractiveness of the region as a destination
 Loss Employment

26. 

Wildfires start more
easily, spread
faster, and burn
longer.
Bark beetle
infestation affected
75% of the pine
forest

27. 



Increased coastal
flooding
Rising sea levels erode
beaches and damage
many coastal
wetlands
Total destruction of
certain beaches and
islands
Increased storms

28. 

To avoid the worst of climate change, CO2
levels must be stabilized at 550ppm
Two ways to attempt to manage climate
change
 Mitigation
▪ Focuses on limiting greenhouse gas emissions to
moderate global climate change
 Adaptation
▪ Focuses on learning to live with to the environmental
changes and societal consequences brought about by
global climate change

30. End of Presentation
Thank You