What opportunities does the future hold as the world climate changes?
Chapter overview
Why are you studying this?
In Discover Geography 7, you found out that the climate is changing and that most of the impacts of this are negative. In this chapter, you will discover that, while climate change is certainly not a positive thing, there are many reasons to be hopeful. The way that geographers think about the world means that they are well placed to use their knowledge and skills to be part of the climate change solution.
Skills
In this chapter, you will learn about:
• images and graphs and how to interpret them
• applying knowledge and creativity to solve problems.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you will understand:
• the difference between mitigation and adaptation
• responses to climate change at different scales
• the importance of green skills and jobs
• how people respond to a changing climate in the M iddle East.
What are the connections?
This chapter builds on what you learned about the causes and impacts of climate change in Discover Geography 7, Chapters 1 and 6. In this chapter, you will use this knowledge to begin to think about climate change solutions.
Where are you going?
The key location in this chapter is the Middle East. This region of the world faces extreme heatwaves, declining precipitation, extended droughts, more intense sandstorms and floods,
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and rising sea levels. All of these climate change effects threaten water security, food production, infrastructure and livelihoods. Looking at how people in the Middle East have responded to climate change can give us an insight into some of the potential solutions.
Opportunities in a changing climate
While people could respond to climate change in a negative way, this chapter is all about the positive ways that individuals, organisations and governments can respond to one of the most significant issues of our time.
The people of the Middle East have been impacted by many of the negative impacts of climate change, such as water scarcity and drought. However, they have sought opportunities to reduce and live with these impacts.
Discuss
1 What do you or your family do to help the environment? Which actions do you think make the biggest difference?
2 What would you say to someone who thinks that “normal people cannot do much to stop climate change”?
3 How do you feel about climate change? Does it make you want to take action or not?
▲ Figure 2.2 Abu Dhabi in the Middle East is located in the desert.
What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation?
When evaluating opportunities in relation to climate change, you need to understand the concepts of mitigation and adaptation, because they address different responses to the problem of climate change and are both necessary for effective climate action.
A solution to climate change?
Is it possible to ‘solve’ the issue of climate change?
Using the term ‘solution’ when talking about dealing with climate change is problematic. This is because it suggests that there is a single way to fix it. In reality, climate change is a complex, interconnected and ongoing challenge.
Responses to climate change can be split into two different types: mitigation and adaptation.
Mitigation
Mitigation means actions that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, or enhance carbon sinks that absorb these gases. This limits global warming to make the impacts less severe. Examples of mitigation include: shifting away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, industry and transport, and sustainably managing forests.
Mitigation is essential for achieving international climate targets, such as those set by the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Mitigation alone cannot prevent all climate impacts, because some change is unavoidable due to past actions.
While all individuals have a responsibility to engage with mitigation strategies, Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and governments have much more influence and therefore a bigger responsibility to act.
Adaptation
Adaptation is the process of adjusting natural or human systems in response to the impact of climate change. It assumes that, despite mitigation, the climate is likely to change and so the aim of adaptation is to reduce the harm it causes. This involves actions designed to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to extreme weather, sealevel rise, drought, and food or water insecurity.
▲ Figure 2.3 Moving from fossil fuels to renewable power generation, such as wind, is an example of mitigation.
▲ Figure 2.4 This sea defence is an adaptation measure to protect Male, the capital of the Maldives, from sea-level rise.
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Adaptation measures include:
• building infrastructure such as seawalls or flood defences
• developing policies or early warning systems
• planting drought-resistant crops.
These can be reactive (responding to events as they occur) or proactive (preparing for future climate changes).
▲ Figure 2.5 There are a number of possible mitigation and adaptation strategies to respond to climate change.
Key terms
Adaptation: Changing or adjusting processes and behaviour.
Carbon sink: A reservoir that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases.
Mitigation: Reducing the impact of an event so it is less severe.
Paris Agreement: A 2015 international treaty which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 °C, preferably 1.5 °C, above pre-industrial levels.
Activities
1 Why is it problematic to talk about ‘solutions’ to climate change?
2 Create a poster to explain the difference between mitigation and adaptation.
3 Why are both mitigation and adaptation strategies needed to respond to climate change?
4 Look at the following list of climate change responses. Say if they are mitigation or adaptation strategies:
• planting trees to absorb carbon dioxide
• building flood defences along coastlines
• switching to renewable energy sources like solar or wind
• improving energy efficiency in buildings
• creating water conservation plans for drought-prone areas.
What are some mitigation strategies?
To understand more fully the opportunities climate change presents, you need to consider mitigation strategies in more detail.
Transition to renewable energy
The transition to renewable energy is the global shift from fossil fuels – such as coal, oil and natural gas – to energy sources that are cleaner and emit little or no greenhouse gases, such as wind, solar, hydropower and geothermal energy. Historically,
about 80 per cent of global energy has come from fossil fuels. However, to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, fossil fuel use must fall to provide only 20 per cent of energy by 2050. To meet this target, elec tricity grids need to be upgraded to connect
▲ Figure 2.6 Some parts of the world are making the transition to renewable energy faster than others. Can you work out which regions have a greater capacity for renewable energy?
Carb on capture utilisation and storage
▲ Figure 2.7 The process of carbon capture and storage could be a way of mitigating climate change.
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the places where the energy is generated to consumers, and there will need to be batteries which store energy because wind and solar power are intermittent.
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage is a technology for reducing carbon emissions. It involves capturing CO2 at the source and storing it underground to stop it being released into the atmosphere (see Figure 2.7). In 2024, there were about 45 facilities worldwide, capable of capturing 50 million tonnes of CO2 every year. That is the same amount of CO2 generated by Sweden or the equivalent of 44 million petrol cars! It sounds great, but at the moment the technology is very expensive and capacity is too low to meet global carbon targets.
The circular economy
The circular economy is designed to minimise waste and maximise the efficient use of resources by keeping them in use for as long as possible. It contrasts with the traditional linear economy, which follows a ‘take, make, dispose’ pattern – extracting resources, producing goods and then discarding them as waste after use.
Key terms
Consumer: Someone who purchases products.
Intermittent: Not steady – stops and starts.
Life cycle (product): The process a product goes through from its initial introduction to customers until it is eventually removed from the market.
Products are designed to prevent waste and pollution in the first place, and their life cycle is extended through reuse, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing or recycling. Waste from one process can become a raw material for another, which saves resources and reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
This concept can help to tackle the impacts of fast fashion and redundant technology, such as old mobile phones.
Activities
1 Why is it important to mitigate against climate change?
2 Think of an item that you use every day. What changes could be made in order for it to become part of the circular economy?
3 If you could only invest in one type of mitigation, which would it be, and why?
▲ Figure 2.8 The circular economy minimises waste and maximises the efficient use of products.