CLIMATE CHANGE
global warming driven by
human emissions of greenhouse gases
large-scale shifts in weather patterns

EFFECTS

CAUSE

SOLUTIONS

oceans absorb heat
glaciers melt and shrink

CO2 in the atmosphere
makes water more acidic

accelerated sea level rise

wipe out species that are super-sensitive to pH

more droughts
longer frost-free season
more intense hurricanes
more intense heat waves

Mitigation

Adaptation

Legislation

reducing emissions of
heat-trapping greenhouse gases

adapting to the climate change

reducing our vulnerability to
the harmful effects of climate change

making the most of any potential
beneficial opportunities

stabilising the levels of
heat-trapping greenhouse gases

reducing the flow of
the gases into the atmosphere

reducing sources of the gases

enhancing the “sinks” that
accumulate and store the gases

enacting policies that encourage a speedy transition to clean energy such as wind and solar

accelerating the transition to clean energy

setting state-wide standards for
renewable energy production

establishing renewable portfolio standards

human activity
land-use changes
industrial processes
burning of fossil fuels
energy politics concentrated on fossil fuels

increased concentration of
atmospheric carbon dioxide
(one of the Earth’s greenhouse gases
which create the insulating effect )

carbon dioxide is piling up in the
lower layers of the atmosphere

heat is held in by the atmospheric greenhouse effect
excessive heat can't escape back to space