"In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate."
The long-term change in the Earth's climate, primarily due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
Global Warming: Refers to the steady increase in Earth's surface temperature over the past century, primarily caused by human-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse Gases: Gases released into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, that trap heat and cause the greenhouse effect.
Climate System: Refers to the complex interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, land masses, and biosphere that influence global climate patterns.
Climate Models: Mathematical simulations that use computational algorithms to predict future climate scenarios based on current data.
Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, produced by an individual, organization or product.
Energy Production: The production and consumption of energy, including fossil fuels, renewable energy, and nuclear power.
Weather Events: The occurrence of extreme weather events, including heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, and flooding, which are increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change.
Ocean Acidification: The acidification of Earth's oceans due to the absorption of excess carbon dioxide, which threatens marine ecosystems and fisheries.
Biodiversity: The variety of life on Earth, which is threatened by habitat loss, pollution, and climate change.
Climate Policy: National and international policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the impacts of climate change, including the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol.
Carbon Trading: A market-based approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by allowing companies to buy and sell carbon credits that represent a reduction in emissions.
Climate Adaptation: Strategies to help individuals, communities, and ecosystems adapt to the impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, increased heatwaves, and changing precipitation patterns.
Climate Justice: The recognition that the people most affected by climate change are often those who have contributed least to the problem, and efforts to ensure that the burden of climate change is fairly shared across populations and nations.
Sustainable Development: Policies and practices aimed at achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability, which is closely linked to addressing climate change.
Carbon Capture and Storage: A technology aimed at capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, industry, and other sources, which has the potential to mitigate climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions: This refers to the release of gases that trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change. These gases primarily emit from human activities such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and agricultural activities.
Deforestation: This refers to the loss of forests and other vegetation, which are important for carbon sequestration that involves the ability of trees to store carbon dioxide (CO2) in their trunks, branches, foliage, and soils.
Industrialization: This refers to the industrial activities that emit a large amount of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other pollutants.
Agriculture: This refers to farming activities like animal husbandry, which involves raising livestock, and releases Methane, one of the greenhouse gases. Also, fertilizers naturally emit nitrous oxide, enhancing the greenhouse effects.
Urbanization: This generally relates to how humans build their homes and infrastructure, consuming a lot of energy and resources from fossil fuels that contribute significantly to climate change.
Melting of Ice caps: This refers to the melting of ice caps and glaciers leading to sea-level rise, and a decrease in the Arctic's albedo. As a result, they impact the ecosystem and contribute to global warming.
Ocean acidification: This refers typically to the increased acidity of seawater due to large amounts of carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere.
Extreme weather: This refers to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods, hurricanes, and drought conditions. Extreme weather events are made more severe by climate change.
Ozone depletion: This refers to the thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer that protects Earth's surface from the most harmful effects of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays, leading to global warming and climate change.
"The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels."
"Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane."
"Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming."
"Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to melting permafrost, glacial retreat, and sea ice loss. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes."
"Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct."
"Even if efforts to minimise future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification, and sea level rise."
"Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result."
"The World Health Organization (WHO) calls climate change the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century."
"Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached."
"Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change."
"Many climate change impacts are already felt at the current 1.2 °C (2.2 °F) level of warming."
"Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nations collectively agreed to keep warming 'well under 2 °C'."
"With pledges made under the Agreement, global warming would still reach about 2.7 °C (4.9 °F) by the end of the century."
"Limiting warming to 1.5 °C will require halving emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050."
"Reducing emissions requires generating electricity from low-carbon sources rather than burning fossil fuels."
"This change includes phasing out coal and natural gas-fired power plants, vastly increasing use of wind, solar, nuclear and other types of renewable energy."
"Carbon can also be removed from the atmosphere, for instance by increasing forest cover and farming with methods that capture carbon in soil."
"Electricity generated from non-carbon-emitting sources will need to replace fossil fuels for powering transportation, heating buildings, and operating industrial facilities."
"Carbon can also be removed from the atmosphere, for instance by increasing forest cover and farming with methods that capture carbon in soil."