Climate action: 6 trends to watch in 2022 (2023)

FAQs

What is the current news on climate change 2022? ›

Continuing the planet's long-term warming trend, global temperatures in 2022 were 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.89 degrees Celsius) above the average for NASA's baseline period (1951-1980), scientists from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York reported.

Carbon dioxide emissions remain the biggest problem

CO₂ is by far the most important contributor to climate change.

Despite the last two years (2021 and 2022) not ranking among the five warmest years on record, the global annual temperature increased at an average rate of 0.08°C (0.14°F) per decade since 1880 and over twice that rate (0.18°C / 0.32°F) since 1981.

The annual mean global near-surface temperature for each year between 2023 and 2027 is predicted to be between 1.1°C and 1.8°C higher than the 1850-1900 average. This is used as a baseline because it was before the emission of greenhouse gases from human and industrial activities.

of aggressive climate change policies is that humanity is always about 10 years away from either catastrophic climate change, or some greenhouse gas emission “tipping point” at which such change will become inevitable.

Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions.

Around the world, the top five countries emitting GHGs are China (28%), the United States (18%), India (7%), Russia (5%), and Japan (3%).

More than 1 million species face extinction

While the expected rate of species extinction is usually around 5 species a year, we're currently losing up to 10,000 times the normal rate – this means that dozens of species go extinct every single day.

What are 4 problems brought by climate change? ›

More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people's livelihoods and communities.

Temperatures are rising, snow and rainfall patterns are shifting, and more extreme climate events – like heavy rainstorms and record high temperatures – are becoming more common. Many of these observed climate changes are linked to rising levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, caused by human activities.

The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

Official Definition Of Climate Change

These phenomena include the increased temperature trends described by global warming, but also encompass changes such as sea-level rise; ice mass loss in Greenland, Antarctica, the Arctic and mountain glaciers worldwide; shifts in flower/plant blooming; and extreme weather events.”

The study, published Jan. 30 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides new evidence that global warming is on track to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial averages in the early 2030s, regardless of how much greenhouse gas emissions rise or fall in the coming decade.

17 May: the WMO Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update projected that the chance of global near-surface temperature exceeding 1.5°C above preindustrial levels for at least one year between 2023 and 2027 is 66%, though it is unlikely (32%) that the five-year mean will exceed 1.5°C.

They predict that in three decades, more than 100 million Americans will live in an “extreme heat belt” where at least one day a year, the heat index temperature will exceed 125° Fahrenheit (52° Celsius) — the top level of the National Weather Service's heat index, or the extreme danger level.

According to the IPCC report, limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires a peak before 2025, reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, 60% by 2035 and reach net-zero in early 2050.

Without major action to reduce emissions, global temperature is on track to rise by 2.5 °C to 4.5 °C (4.5 °F to 8 °F) by 2100, according to the latest estimates. Thwaites Glacier. Credit: NASA. But it may not be too late to avoid or limit some of the worst effects of climate change.

What country pollutes the most? ›

Since 1959, the United States has put more 334 billion tons (303 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, about 21.5% of the global total. Those figures are based on how much carbon dioxide is spewed within national borders.

Air pollution is the most severe type of pollution given the danger air pollutants (such as CO2, methane, and particulate matter) cause to human health and global warming. According to the World Health Organisation, 7 million deaths per year have been linked to air pollution.

The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation.

Notes. Globally, the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions are electricity and heat (31%), agriculture (11%), transportation (15%), forestry (6%) and manufacturing (12%). Energy production of all types accounts for 72 percent of all emissions.

Power plants dominate the list of the nation's top greenhouse gas polluters: Ninety percent of the top 50 polluters are power plants that burn coal and/or gas. Together, those 45 power plants emitted 28% of all greenhouse gases from electricity generation nationwide, while generating only 11% of the nation's power.

Since 2006, China has been emitting more CO ₂ than any other country. When looking at CO₂ emissions per person, China's levels are less than half those of the United States (the next largest source of CO ₂ emissions) and about one-eighth of those of Palau (the biggest CO ₂ emitter per person).

The biggest culprit Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is by far the most abundant human-emitted greenhouse gas.

The six environmental objectives of the Taxonomy are: (1) climate change mitigation, (2) climate change adaptation, (3) sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, (4) transition to a circular economy, (5) pollution prevention and control, and (6) protection and restoration of biodiversity and ...

What are 6 natural causes of climate change? ›

There are many factors that influence the climate of an area, including global wind patterns, heat distribution through ocean currents, landforms such as mountains, continental movement, and human activities.

"The biodiversity crisis -- i.e. the rapid loss of species and the rapid degradation of ecosystems -- is probably a greater threat than global climate change to the stability and prosperous future of humankind on Earth.

NEW YORK (21 October 2022) – Human-induced climate change is the largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies the world has ever experienced, and the poorest countries are paying the heaviest price, a UN expert said.

Climate change could push 122 million more people, mainly farmers, into extreme poverty by 2030. Water scarcity affects 40% of the world's population. For every 1° C rise, 500 million additional people will face a 20% loss in renewable water resources. By 2050, climate change will increase cereal prices by 29%.

Symptoms of climate change are all around us: extreme weather, diminishing sea ice, year after year of record-breaking warmth, drought, fires, and stress to ecosystems. Many of these consequences will create hardship for humans.

The transportation sector accounts for largest share of U.S. energy-related CO₂ emissions. Consumption of fossil fuels accounts for most of the CO₂ emissions of the major energy consuming sectors: commercial, industrial, residential, transportation, and electric power.

What are USA views on climate change? ›

Mobilizing a whole-of-government approach, the United States is scaling up action at home and abroad to put the world on a path to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and to achieve the global goal on adaptation. Learn more about the United States at COP27 and the U.S. Center.

“Climate change” encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

Droughts are becoming longer and more extreme around the world. Tropical storms becoming more severe due to warmer ocean water temperatures. As temperatures rise there is less snowpack in mountain ranges and polar areas and the snow melts faster. Overall, glaciers are melting at a faster rate.

The Köppen climate classification divides climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are A (tropical), B (arid), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar).

Humans are adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at a rate far greater than it is removed by natural processes, creating a long-lived reservoir of the gas in the atmosphere and oceans that is driving the climate to a warmer and warmer state.

After more than three decades of diplomacy there is firm evidence that the world is making progress in controlling emissions that cause global warming. It is still likely that warming will far exceed the widely discussed 2 degree goal, but a new “theory of change” is emerging and having an impact.

The main threats of climate change, stemming from the rising temperature of Earth's atmosphere include rising sea levels, ecosystem collapse and more frequent and severe weather. Rising temperatures from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions affects planet-wide systems in various ways.

Natural Causes of Climate Change

Over the course of Earth's existence, volcanic eruptions, fluctuations in solar radiation, tectonic shifts, and even small changes in our orbit have all had observable effects on planetary warming and cooling patterns.

Climate change isn't just creating new extreme weather events, it exacerbates the risks we see today: hurricanes are stronger, bigger, and slower; the frequency and severity of land-falling “atmospheric rivers" on the U.S. West Coast will increase; wildfires are larger, hotter, and burn longer.

What is the state of climate change in 2023? ›

According to NCEI's Global Annual Temperature Outlook, it is virtually certain (> 99.0%) that the year 2023 will rank among the 10-warmest years on record.

Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale.

Pre-industrial CO2 levels were around 280 parts per million (PPM). In 2023, we are close to 420 PPM. The last time the atmosphere contained as much CO2 as it does now, according to WIRED, was more than three million years ago, when sea levels were much higher and trees grew on the South Pole.

With world temperatures set to rise more over the next 50 years than they have in the previous 6,000, scientists agree that far worse is still to come. Today, just one percent of the planet falls within so-called “barely liveable” hot zones: by 2050, the ratio could rise to almost twenty percent.

It says that global average temperatures are estimated to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels sometime around “the first half of the 2030s,” as humans continue to burn coal, oil and natural gas.

Holding temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius will require a clean energy transition to be far advanced by 2030. And the 2022 IPCC report made it clear that to keep temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius we have until 2050 to largely decarbonize the global economy.

Climate change the greatest threat the world has ever faced, UN expert warns.

Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth's temperature.

Chad. Chad ranks as the world's most climate-vulnerable country on the Notre Dame-Global Adaptation Initiative Index, which examines a country's exposure, sensitivity and capacity to adapt to the negative effects of climate change.