Climate Change Essay for Students and Children

500+ words climate change essay.

Climate change refers to the change in the environmental conditions of the earth. This happens due to many internal and external factors. The climatic change has become a global concern over the last few decades. Besides, these climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways. These climatic changes are having various impacts on the ecosystem and ecology. Due to these changes, a number of species of plants and animals have gone extinct.

climate change essay pdf for students

When Did it Start?

The climate started changing a long time ago due to human activities but we came to know about it in the last century. During the last century, we started noticing the climatic change and its effect on human life. We started researching on climate change and came to know that the earth temperature is rising due to a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The warming up of earth surface causes many ozone depletion, affect our agriculture , water supply, transportation, and several other problems.

Reason Of Climate Change

Although there are hundreds of reason for the climatic change we are only going to discuss the natural and manmade (human) reasons.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Natural Reasons

These include volcanic eruption , solar radiation, tectonic plate movement, orbital variations. Due to these activities, the geographical condition of an area become quite harmful for life to survive. Also, these activities raise the temperature of the earth to a great extent causing an imbalance in nature.

Human Reasons

Man due to his need and greed has done many activities that not only harm the environment but himself too. Many plant and animal species go extinct due to human activity. Human activities that harm the climate include deforestation, using fossil fuel , industrial waste , a different type of pollution and many more. All these things damage the climate and ecosystem very badly. And many species of animals and birds got extinct or on a verge of extinction due to hunting.

Effects Of Climatic Change

These climatic changes have a negative impact on the environment. The ocean level is rising, glaciers are melting, CO2 in the air is increasing, forest and wildlife are declining, and water life is also getting disturbed due to climatic changes. Apart from that, it is calculated that if this change keeps on going then many species of plants and animals will get extinct. And there will be a heavy loss to the environment.

What will be Future?

If we do not do anything and things continue to go on like right now then a day in future will come when humans will become extinct from the surface of the earth. But instead of neglecting these problems we start acting on then we can save the earth and our future.

climate change essay pdf for students

Although humans mistake has caused great damage to the climate and ecosystem. But, it is not late to start again and try to undo what we have done until now to damage the environment. And if every human start contributing to the environment then we can be sure of our existence in the future.

{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [ { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is climate change and how it affects humans?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Climate change is a phenomenon that happens because of human and natural reasons. And it is one of the most serious problems that not only affect the environment but also human beings. It affects human in several ways but in simple language, we can say that it causes many diseases and disasters that destroy life on earth.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Can we stop these climatic changes?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Yes, we can stop these climatic changes but for that, every one of us has to come forward and has to adapt ways that can reduce and control our bad habits that affect the environment. We have to the initiative and make everyone aware of the climatic changes.” } } ] }

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

tutor

  • Travelling Essay
  • Picnic Essay
  • Our Country Essay
  • My Parents Essay
  • Essay on Favourite Personality
  • Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
  • Essay on Knowledge is Power
  • Essay on Gurpurab
  • Essay on My Favourite Season
  • Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

Google Play

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

  • About YPCCC
  • Yale Climate Connections
  • Student Employment
  • For The Media
  • Past Events
  • YPCCC in the News
  • Climate Change in the American Mind (CCAM)
  • Publications
  • Climate Opinion Maps
  • Climate Opinion Factsheets
  • Six Americas Super Short Survey (SASSY)
  • Resources for Educators
  • All Tools & Interactives
  • Partner with YPCCC

Home / For Educators: Grades 6-12 / Climate Explained: Introductory Essays About Climate Change Topics

Climate Explained: Introductory Essays About Climate Change Topics

Filed under: backgrounders for educators ,.

Climate Explained, a part of Yale Climate Connections, is an essay collection that addresses an array of climate change questions and topics, including why it’s cold outside if global warming is real, how we know that humans are responsible for global warming, and the relationship between climate change and national security.

More Activities like this

climate change essay pdf for students

Climate Change Basics: Five Facts, Ten Words

Backgrounders for Educators

To simplify the scientific complexity of climate change, we focus on communicating five key facts about climate change that everyone should know. 

climate change essay pdf for students

Why should we care about climate change?

Having different perspectives about global warming is natural, but the most important thing that anyone should know about climate change is why it matters.  

climate change essay pdf for students

External Resources

Looking for resources to help you and your students build a solid climate change science foundation? We’ve compiled a list of reputable, student-friendly links to help you do just that!  

Subscribe to our mailing list

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Yale Program on Climate Change Communication:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

climate change essay pdf for students

Climate Change Essay

500+ words essay on climate change.

Climate change is a major global challenge today, and the world is becoming more vulnerable to this change. Climate change refers to the changes in Earth’s climate condition. It describes the changes in the atmosphere which have taken place over a period ranging from decades to millions of years. A recent report from the United Nations predicted that the average global temperature could increase by 6˚ Celsius at the end of the century. Climate change has an adverse effect on the environment and ecosystem. With the help of this essay, students will get to know the causes and effects of climate change and possible solutions. Also, they will be able to write essays on similar topics and can boost their writing skills.

What Causes Climate Change?

The Earth’s climate has always changed and evolved. Some of these changes have been due to natural causes such as volcanic eruptions, floods, forest fires etc., but quite a few of them are due to human activities. Human activities such as deforestation, burning fossil fuels, farming livestock etc., generate an enormous amount of greenhouse gases. This results in the greenhouse effect and global warming which are the major causes of climate change.

Effects of Climate Change

If the current situation of climate change continues in a similar manner, then it will impact all forms of life on the earth. The earth’s temperature will rise, the monsoon patterns will change, sea levels will rise, and storms, volcanic eruptions and natural disasters will occur frequently. The biological and ecological balance of the earth will get disturbed. The environment will get polluted and humans will not be able to get fresh air to breathe and fresh water to drink. Life on earth will come to an end.

Steps to be Taken to Reduce Climate Change

The Government of India has taken many measures to improve the dire situation of Climate Change. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is the nodal agency for climate change issues in India. It has initiated several climate-friendly measures, particularly in the area of renewable energy. India took several steps and policy initiatives to create awareness about climate change and help capacity building for adaptation measures. It has initiated a “Green India” programme under which various trees are planted to make the forest land more green and fertile.

We need to follow the path of sustainable development to effectively address the concerns of climate change. We need to minimise the use of fossil fuels, which is the major cause of global warming. We must adopt alternative sources of energy, such as hydropower, solar and wind energy to make a progressive transition to clean energy. Mahatma Gandhi said that “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not any man’s greed”. With this view, we must remodel our outlook and achieve the goal of sustainable development. By adopting clean technologies, equitable distribution of resources and addressing the issues of equity and justice, we can make our developmental process more harmonious with nature.

We hope students liked this essay on Climate Change and gathered useful information on this topic so that they can write essays in their own words. To get more study material related to the CBSE, ICSE, State Board and Competitive exams, keep visiting the BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions on climate change Essay

What are the reasons for climate change.

1. Deforestation 2. Excessive usage of fossil fuels 3. Water, Soil pollution 4. Plastic and other non-biodegradable waste 5. Wildlife and nature extinction

How can we save this climate change situation?

1. Avoid over usage of natural resources 2. Do not use or buy items made from animals 3. Avoid plastic usage and pollution

Are there any natural causes for climate change?

Yes, some of the natural causes for climate change are: 1. Solar variations 2. Volcanic eruption and tsunamis 3. Earth’s orbital changes

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

climate change essay pdf for students

  • Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

close

Counselling

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Please click here to see any active alerts .

Climate Change Resources for Educators and Students

The earth’s climate is changing. While the planet’s climate has changed before, this time is different. People are causing these changes, which are bigger and happening faster than any climate changes that modern society has ever seen.

This page provides federal and non-governmental resources for  students and educators  to learn about and teach climate change.

On this page:

Federal Resources for Educators

Federal resources for students, other educational resources.

  • Climate Change Indicators : This website describes observed changes in the environment, society, and ecosystems. An easy-to-understand, data-rich resource for teaching about causes and effects of climate change.
  • Climate Change Science : Learn about the science of climate change with information on climate change basics and causes.
  • Climate Change Impacts : Explore information on climate change impacts to communities, ecosystems, and industries in the United States.
  • What You Can Do About Climate Change : Find and share strategies for taking individual climate action with students or peers.
  • Generate!—Board Game on Climate Change : This interactive board game enables players to explore energy choices and the environment and gets students “energized” in some friendly competition.
  • ENERGY STAR Kids : Find out why energy efficiency is so important to addressing climate change and what you can do to help.

Woman teaching a class online from her home.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Climate Education This site is NOAA’s gateway to many of their educational pages for students and teachers on earth sciences, including climate change.

NOAA Climate.gov This site provides learning activities, curriculum materials, and multimedia resources for teaching about climate and energy.

NOAA: Data in the Classroom This site hosts curriculum modules that demonstrate techniques for using real climate change data in the classroom.

NOAA National Ocean Service Education Content and Modules This site provides students and educators with ocean, coastal, and climate literacy resources, including activities on ocean and climate literacy, sea level rise, and increasing your city’s resilience to climate change.

National Park Service Lesson Plans Search through lesson plans about America’s National Parks, including lessons about how they are being affected by climate change.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Global Climate Change in Perspective Learn about global climate change now and across geologic time, and access related resources, including study guides and videos.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Hot Potato: Climate Change, Food Systems, and You This site provides access to a museum-educator-led virtual program examining the relationship between climate and food systems, as well as other videos and resources related to climate change.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Find articles, videos, and resources about forests and climate change, including tips on using Forest Service research in the classroom.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): Resources for Educators A collection of resources in English and Spanish on energy efficiency and renewable energy, including videos, lesson plans, and coloring books.

Students building a robot.

Elementary to Middle School

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Climate Kids Explore this interactive website with activities, articles, videos, and more about climate change, why it is happening, how it is impacting the earth, and how and why NASA studies the planet.

U.S. Energy Information Administration: Energy Kids Learn about different energy sources and get tips to save energy in your home. Then test your energy knowledge with fun games and quizzes.

Middle to High School

NASA: Eyes on the Earth With this app, monitor the earth’s vital signs, such as sea level height, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, and Antarctic ozone.

NASA: SciJinks Explore the world of weather through games, videos, downloadable posters, bookmarks, and more.

Content on non-Federal websites is not endorsed by EPA and is not subject to Federal information quality, privacy, security, and related guidelines.

American Museum of Natural History: OLogy Check out some of these games, stories, hands-on activities, and videos for learning about climate change.   Environmental Solutions Initiative at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ESI at MIT): TILclimate Guides for Educators These “Today I Learned: Climate” guides comprise flexible, ready-to-use activities for high school teachers, designed to bring concepts from energy to hurricanes to food into the classroom. They are an extension of the TILclimate Podcast series and complement other learning resources on the MIT Climate Portal .   National Geographic Find lesson plans, articles, activities, and more for K-12 educators on earth science, climatology, conservation, and geography. Activities geared directly to students can be found at National Geographic Kids .  

  • Climate Change Home
  • What EPA Is Doing
  • Partnership Programs
  • What You Can Do

The importance of storytelling in fighting climate change

In a webinar on April 19, we'll explore how climate organizations are currently using storytelling in their work, the impacts of these stories, and lessons learned from other movements.

Knowledge is power

climate change essay pdf for students

Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Yale Climate Connections

Yale Climate Connections

Essay: A student deals with hope and fear over climate change

' src=

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window)

ClimAct gathering

A ppalachian State University, Boone, N.C. – Growing up in the era of accelerating climate change means finding a balance between fear and hope. As a 21-year-old college student, I search for this balance through the people I spend time around and work with – including through Appalachian State University’s Climate Action Collaborative (ClimAct).

As part of the Global Climate Strike, ClimAct this past September 20 hosted a rally that drew several hundred people to march through our small town in the mountains of North Carolina. From kindergartners to retirees and every age in between, our community really showed up. We drew out animal life too – a few dogs marched, and some protesters carried larger than life-sized paper mâché representations of some of the region’s species that are losing their habitat in a warming climate, including the giant hellbender salamander.

Most marchers were college students from App State, including march leaders who called chants with a megaphone (“no more coal, no more oil, keep the carbon in the soil”) and led protest songs in front of our county courthouse and town hall buildings. The feeling of so many passionate people uniting was positively electric; a spirit of hope and possibility emerged.

ClimAct gathering

The journey leading up to that march had begun the previous October, with the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report . University faculty organized a town hall meeting to discuss how the community should respond to the climate experts’ call for rapid, transformative change.

That IPCC Report awakened me to the very real and pressing reality of climate change. I remember for the first time fearfully recognizing that climate change is devastating the world before my eyes. In that state of panicked realization, I calendared the town hall meeting, eager to heed the call to action. None of us could foresee the size of the crowd that would gather just a week later – standing room only, and walls lined with people – or the movement that would grow out of it.

Over the past year, the shared climate concern that brought so many from our community together at that 2018 town hall has blossomed into a thoughtfully structured movement and many positive actions. It’s been enormously gratifying to put the climate science, outreach, and environmental justice lessons learned in classes into practice through ClimAct. Engaging actively with a passionate community to build climate resilience, offered a sense of agency in the face of this overwhelming issue. I have drawn confidence in my ability to organize and faith in the power of people united to meet the urgency of the climate crisis.

While ClimAct stirred hope in the power of collective changemaking, it has also caused me to confront the climate crisis on a more uncomfortably personal level than I had before. I am privileged enough that climate change impacts have not yet significantly threatened my family’s finances or physical safety. Previously, my efforts to address climate change had consisted mostly of superficial lifestyle adjustments – reducing waste, eating a plant-based diet, and using public transportation or walking when possible. Reading the IPCC Special Report and working with ClimAct has changed things. Although engaging in collective climate action has helped soften the sense of remote helplessness, it also means acknowledging the severity of the crisis: This once seemingly abstract issue of climate change a matter of personal relevance and meaning.

I now think about, and feel confronted by, the climate crisis and the pressing nature of its implications multiple times a day. Frustration and fear clash with my desire to kindle hope.

I’m by no means alone in this, as my generation is increasingly experiencing fear and anger about climate change . There is hope that the science community regularly finds more evidence to support constructive action, even as many policy makers seem not to notice or care enough to act. Short timetables, and a running clock, only heighten the need for immediate efforts to yet avoid the worst consequences of further warming.

As I look forward to soon graduating, my own future and my hopes and plans for it are shrouded by the looming uncertainties of potential climate catastrophe. Conflicting thoughts about graduate school vie with anxiety about a narrow window to prevent the worst climate impacts. Far better, perhaps to address the urgent need to commit time and energy to climate action.

As I struggle with climate grief and anxiety, how could I now consider raising a young child to navigate this world? It’s a concern many others in my generation share , the sense that we should deny part of the essence of our humanity and biology as part of our climate crisis response.

I vacillate from hope to fear and back to hope again. Our recent march raises hope that is contagious. So when I feel the weight of climate change, I think back to these moments of building local and global momentum: They hold out the promise that if we work collectively in hope, we can accelerate the change we want and need to see.

It is from this place that I try to plan my future. While I have struggled with the reality of the climate crisis, I know I must face it bravely and translate my awareness into action. As I recognize that climate disruption is already wreaking devastation and that it will get worse before it gets better, I commit myself to working harder. I am dedicated to joining countless climate activists in doing all I can in the next 10 years and those that follow to ensure a safe and beautifully transformed future for my generation and those to come.

Chloe Fishman (fishmanca @ appstate.edu) is a senior majoring in sustainable development at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.

climate change essay pdf for students

Library Home

Introduction to Climate Science - 1st Edition

(2 reviews)

climate change essay pdf for students

Andreas Schmittner, Oregan State University

Copyright Year: 2017

Last Update: 2018

Publisher: Oregon State University

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Nyasha Dunkley, Adjunct Faculty, Massasoit Community College on 6/22/21

Great comprehensiveness look at a challenging subject. It covered all of the necessary introductory content for a climate science course. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Great comprehensiveness look at a challenging subject. It covered all of the necessary introductory content for a climate science course.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is accurate and frequently includes references to outside resources to help validate information and provide more detailed explanations.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The textbook is written so that it is easy to incorporate it into courses with current data and discussions.

Clarity rating: 5

Written very clearly and easy to understand for the non-science majors.

Consistency rating: 4

The text makes a good attempt at consistency, but falls a bit short as it relates to the tone and style of each chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter provides sufficient material to be used in sections of a climate course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The content in each chapter is presented in an organized and clear manner that is easy to follow.

Interface rating: 5

I especially appreciate the clarity of the images and charts utilized in each section.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Just a few small grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Text appears culturally sensitive and unoffensive.

Very good introductory climate science textbook overall.

Reviewed by George Nolly, Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 7/11/20

Very comprehensive treatment of a complex subject. I was especially impressed with the currency of the information, including reference to the Corona Virus we are currently experiencing. My only disappointment was in the omission of any discussion... read more

Very comprehensive treatment of a complex subject. I was especially impressed with the currency of the information, including reference to the Corona Virus we are currently experiencing. My only disappointment was in the omission of any discussion of hydrothermal vents in the discussion of the ocean's effect on climate.

The book is filled with links to external sources from government resources and formulas to explain various processes.

The inclusion of the mention of the Corona Virus indicates that the discussions in the book are timely and relevant.

The book clearly explains climate processes in a forthright manner.

Consistency rating: 3

Because the chapters were written by different authors/sets of authors, the chapters are noticeably different in their tone and substance.

The chapter divisions make it easy to use relevant material from one chapter without relying on information from another chapter.

I thought the organization was comprehensive and clear. It is easy to find information on a single aspect of climate science without interference from other sections.

Each chapter is a stand-alone text for the discrete subject, including references and footnotes.

I found a few spelling/grammatical errors, but they were minor.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The book clearly has a liberal bias, and I found it absurd to include a quote from a twelve-year-old about climate in what otherwise is an erudite book.

Overall, very comprehensive treatment of climate science.

Table of Contents

  • 2. Observations
  • 3. Paleoclimate
  • 6. Processes
  • 9. Economics
  • 11. Solutions

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This book describes how Earth's climate is changing, how it has been changing in the recent geological past and how it may change in the future. It covers the physical sciences that build the foundations of our current understanding of global climate change such as radiation, Earth's energy balance, the greenhouse effect and the carbon cycle. Both natural and human causes for climate change are discussed. Impacts of climate change on natural and human systems are summarized. Ethical and economical aspects of human-caused climate change and solutions are presented.

About the Contributors

Andreas Schmittner , Oregan State University

Contribute to this Page

Illustration of a question mark that links to the Climate Kids Big Questions menu.

A Guide to Climate Change for Kids

Have you heard your parents or people in videos talking about climate change? Ever wondered what it is and why we care about it so much? NASA scientists have been studying Earth’s climate for more than 40 years. We used what we’ve learned in that time to answer some of your biggest questions below!

Click here to download this guide as a printable PDF!

Illustration of snow falling outside a window.

What is the difference between weather and climate?

The main difference is time. Weather is only temporary. For example, a blizzard can turn into a flood after just a few warm spring days. Climate, on the other hand, is more than just a few warm or cool days. Climate describes the typical weather conditions in an entire region for a very long time – 30 years or more.

Click here to learn more about the difference between weather and climate!

Illustration of a tree in snowy weather in 1970 and then the same tree, now larger, in a green landscape in 2010.

What is climate change?

Climate change describes a change in the typical weather for a region — such as high and low temperatures and amount of rainfall — over a long period of time. Scientists have observed that, overall, Earth is warming. In fact, many of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 20 years. This rise in global temperature is sometimes called global warming.

Click here to learn more about climate change!

Illustration of Earth with a thermometer next to it.

How do we know Earth’s climate is getting warmer?

Scientists have been observing Earth for a long time. They use NASA satellites and other instruments to collect many types of information about Earth's land, atmosphere, ocean, and ice. This information tells us that Earth's climate is getting warmer.

Click here to learn more about how we know the climate is changing!

Illustration of the Sun sending heat toward Earth, with some of it staying in Earth's atmosphere.

Why is Earth warming?

Some of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap heat from the Sun—like the glass roof and walls of a greenhouse. These greenhouse gases keep Earth warm enough to live on. But human activities, such as the destruction of forests and burning fossil fuels, create extra greenhouse gases. This traps even more of the Sun’s heat, leading to a warmer Earth.

Click here to learn more about the greenhouse effect!

Illustration of smoke stacks and vehicles releasing smoke into the air.

What does carbon have to do with it?

Carbon is in all living things on Earth. As plants and animals die, they get buried in the ground. After enough years, these squished underground remains can turn into fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. When we burn those fuels, the carbon that was in the ground goes into the air as a gas called carbon dioxide, or CO2. Plants and trees can absorb some of this extra carbon dioxide. But a lot of it stays in the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas that warms up the planet.

Click here to learn more about carbon!

Illustration of a brown mammoth with a light blue circle behind it.

Has the climate ever changed before?

Yes, but this time is different. Over millions of years, Earth's climate has warmed up and cooled down many times. In the past, Earth often warmed up when the Sun was very active. But nowadays, we can carefully measure the Sun’s activity. We know Earth is warming now, even when the Sun is less active. Today, the planet is warming much faster than it has over human history.

Illustration of the ocean floor with coral, a sea turtle, various fish and a shark.

It doesn’t feel hotter where I live. Why does climate change matter?

The average air temperatures near Earth's surface have gone up about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the last century. A couple of degrees over a hundred years may not seem like much. However, this change can have big impacts on the health of Earth's plants and animals.

Click here to learn more about how we know the climate is changing!!

Illustration of a mountain, beach and ocean with a measurement stick in it to measure sea level.

What does climate change do to the ocean?

As Earth warms, NASA has observed that sea levels are rising. This is partly due to melting ice. Glaciers and ice sheets are large masses of ice that sit on the land. As our planet warms, this ice melts and flows into the oceans. More water in the oceans makes sea level higher. Also, water expands as it gets warmer. So, warm water takes up more room in our oceans – making sea levels higher.

The properties of ocean water are also changing. One change is called ocean acidification and it can be harmful for plants and animals. Scientists have observed that the ocean is becoming more acidic as its water absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Click here to learn more about how we measure sea level!

Illustration of a satellite orbiting Earth.

How are scientists studying climate change?

Scientists study Earth’s climate using lots of tools on the ground, in the air, and in space. For example, NASA satellites are orbiting Earth all the time. They measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They monitor melting ice and measure rising seas and many other things, too. This information helps scientists learn more about Earth’s changing climate.

Click here to learn more about why NASA studies Earth!

Illustration of a green sprout with 3 leaves growing from the dirt.

What can I do?

Climate change seems big, but it’s something that we can learn about and work on together! NASA’s scientists are studying and monitoring climate change—and there are a few ways you can help them learn more.

Learn. Have more questions about climate change? Read, play, and watch more about it on NASA Climate Kids .

Do. Want to collect real data for climate scientists? Check out these NASA citizen science projects to see how you can contribute to what we know about our planet. Some examples include:

  • Globe Observer
  • Community Snow Observations
  • Air Quality Citizen Science

Screenshot of the A Guide to Climate Change for Kids PDF, which contains all the information from this web page.

  • Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Lesson of the Day

Explore 7 Climate Change Solutions

In this lesson, students will use a jigsaw activity to learn about some of the most effective strategies and technologies that can help head off the worst effects of global warming.

climate change essay pdf for students

By Natalie Proulx

Lesson Overview

Earlier this summer, a report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , a body of scientists convened by the United Nations, found that some devastating impacts of global warming were unavoidable. But there is still a short window to stop things from getting even worse.

This report will be central at COP26 , the international climate summit where about 20,000 heads of state, diplomats and activists are meeting in person this week to set new targets for cutting emissions from coal, oil and gas that are heating the planet.

In this lesson, you will learn about seven ways we can slow down climate change and head off some of its most catastrophic consequences while we still have time. Using a jigsaw activity , you’ll become an expert in one of these strategies or technologies and share what you learn with your classmates. Then, you will develop your own climate plan and consider ways you can make a difference based on your new knowledge.

What do you know about the ways the world can slow climate change? Start by making a list of strategies, technologies or policies that could help solve the climate crisis.

Which of your ideas do you think could have the biggest impact on climate change? Circle what you think might be the top three.

Now, test your knowledge by taking this 2017 interactive quiz:

climate change essay pdf for students

How Much Do You Know About Solving Global Warming?

A new book presents 100 potential solutions. Can you figure out which ones are top ranked?

After you’ve finished, reflect on your own in writing or in discussion with a partner:

What solutions to climate change did you learn about that you didn’t know before?

Were you surprised by any of the answers in the quiz? If so, which ones and why?

What questions do you still have about solving climate change?

Jigsaw Activity

As you learned in the warm-up, there are many possible ways to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Below we’ve rounded up seven of the most effective solutions, many of which you may have been introduced to in the quiz above.

In this jigsaw activity, you’ll become an expert in one of the climate solutions listed below and then present what you learned to your classmates. Teachers may assign a student or small group to each topic, or allow them to choose. Students, read at least one of the linked articles on your topic; you can also use that article as a jumping-off point for more research.

Climate Change Solutions

Renewable energy: Scientists agree that to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, countries must immediately move away from dirty energy sources like coal, oil and gas, and instead turn to renewable energy sources like wind, solar or nuclear power. Read about the potent possibilities of one of these producers, offshore wind farms , and see how they operate .

Refrigerants: It’s not the most exciting solution to climate change, but it is one of the most effective. Read about how making refrigerants, like air-conditioners, more efficient could eliminate a full degree Celsius of warming by 2100.

Transportation: Across the globe, governments are focused on limiting one of the world’s biggest sources of pollution: gasoline-powered cars. Read about the promises and challenges of electric vehicles or about how countries are rethinking their transit systems .

Methane emissions: You hear a lot about the need to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but what about its dangerous cousin, methane? Read about ideas to halt methane emissions and why doing so could be powerful in the short-term fight against climate change.

Agriculture: Efforts to limit global warming often target fossil fuels, but cutting greenhouse gases from food production is urgent, too, research says. Read about four fixes to earth’s food supply that could go a long way.

Nature conservation: Scientists agree that reversing biodiversity loss is a crucial way to slow climate change. Read about how protecting and restoring nature can help cool the planet or about how Indigenous communities could lead the way .

Carbon capture: Eliminating emissions alone may not be enough to avoid some of the worst effects of climate change, so some companies are investing in technology that sucks carbon dioxide out of the air. Learn more about so-called engineered carbon removal .

Questions to Consider

As you read about your climate solution, respond to the questions below. You can record your answers in this graphic organizer (PDF).

1. What is the solution? How does it work?

2. What problem related to climate change does this strategy address?

3. What effect could it have on global warming?

4. Compared with other ways to mitigate climate change, how effective is this one? Why?

5. What are the limitations of this solution?

6. What are some of the challenges or risks (political, social, economic or technical) of this idea?

7. What further questions do you have about this strategy?

When you’ve finished, you’ll meet in “teaching groups” with at least one expert in each of the other climate solutions. Share what you know about your topic with your classmates and record what you learn from them in your graphic organizer .

Going Further

Option 1: Develop a climate plan.

Scientists say that in order to prevent the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold beyond which the dangers of global warming grow immensely, we will need to enact all of the solutions you learned about — and more. However, the reality is that countries won’t be able to right away. They will have to consider which can have the biggest or fastest impact on climate change, which are the most cost-effective and which are the most politically and socially feasible.

Imagine you have been asked to come up with a plan to address climate change. If you were in charge, which of these seven solutions would you prioritize and why? You might start by ranking the solutions you learned about from the most effective or urgent to the least.

Then, write a proposal for your plan that responds to the following questions:

What top three solutions are priorities? That is, which do you think are the most urgent to tackle right away and the most effective at slowing global warming?

Explain your decisions. According to your research — the articles you read and the quiz you took in the beginning of the lesson — why should these solutions take precedence?

How might you incentivize companies and citizens to embrace these changes? For some ideas, you might read more about the climate policies countries around the world have adopted to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Option 2: Take action.

Thinking about climate change solutions on such a big scale can be overwhelming, but there are things you can do in your own life and in your community to make a difference. Choose one of the activities below to take action on, or come up with one of your own:

Share climate solutions via media. Often, the news media focuses more on climate change problems than solutions. Counteract this narrative by creating something for publication related to one or more of the solutions you learned about. For example, you could submit a letter to the editor , write an article for your school newspaper, enter a piece in one of our upcoming student contests or create an infographic to share on social media .

Make changes in your own life. How can you make good climate choices related to one or more of the topics you learned about? For example, you could eat less meat, take public transportation or turn off your air-conditioner. Write a plan, explaining what you will do (or what you are already doing) and how it could help mitigate climate change, according to the research.

Join a movement. This guest essay urges people to focus on systems, not themselves. What groups could you get involved with that are working toward some of the solutions you learned about? Identify at least one group, either local, national or international, and one way you could support it. Or, if you’re old enough to vote, consider a local, state or federal politician you would like to support based on his or her climate policies.

Want more Lessons of the Day? You can find them all here .

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • View all journals
  • Explore content
  • About the journal
  • Publish with us
  • Sign up for alerts
  • Published: 13 April 2020

The effect of education on determinants of climate change risks

  • Brian C. O’Neill   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7505-8897 1 ,
  • Leiwen Jiang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2073-6440 2 , 3 ,
  • Samir KC 2 , 4 ,
  • Regina Fuchs 5 ,
  • Shonali Pachauri   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8138-3178 4 ,
  • Emily K. Laidlaw 4 ,
  • Tiantian Zhang 6 ,
  • Wei Zhou 6 &
  • Xiaolin Ren 7  

Nature Sustainability volume  3 ,  pages 520–528 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

3120 Accesses

37 Citations

94 Altmetric

Metrics details

  • Socioeconomic scenarios
  • Sustainability

Increased educational attainment is a sustainable development priority and has been posited to have benefits for other social and environmental issues, including climate change. However, links between education and climate change risks can involve both synergies and trade-offs, and the balance of these effects remains ambiguous. Increases in educational attainment could lead to faster economic growth and therefore higher emissions, more climate change and higher risks. At the same time, improved attainment would be associated with faster fertility decline in many countries, slower population growth and therefore lower emissions, and would also be likely to reduce vulnerability to climate impacts. We employ a multiregion, multisector model of the world economy, driven with country-specific projections of future population by level of education, to test the net effect of education on emissions and on the Human Development Index (HDI), an indicator that correlates with adaptive capacity to climate impacts. We find that improved educational attainment is associated with a modest net increase in emissions but substantial improvement in the HDI values in developing country regions. Avoiding stalled progress in educational attainment and achieving gains at least consistent with historical trends is especially important in reducing future vulnerability.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles

111,21 € per year

only 9,27 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

climate change essay pdf for students

Similar content being viewed by others

climate change essay pdf for students

Education outcomes in the era of global climate change

Caitlin M. Prentice, Francis Vergunst, … Helen L. Berry

climate change essay pdf for students

Right-wing ideology reduces the effects of education on climate change beliefs in more developed countries

Gabriela Czarnek, Małgorzata Kossowska & Paulina Szwed

climate change essay pdf for students

The international role of education in sustainable lifestyles and economic development

Xiangdan Piao & Shunsuke Managi

Data availability

The samples of census datasets analysed during the current study are publicly available from IPUMS International at https://international.ipums.org/international/ . The national sample household survey data analysed for this study are publicly available for Brazil ( https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/sociais/habitacao/9050-pesquisa-de-orcamentos-familiares.html?=&t=downloads ), China ( https://opendata.pku.edu.cn/dataverse/CFPS?language=en ), India (Human Development Survey, https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/DSDR/studies/36151 ), Mexico ( http://en.www.inegi.org.mx/programas/enigh/tradicional/2005/ ), South Africa ( https://www.datafirst.uct.ac.za/dataportal/index.php/catalog/316 ) and Uganda ( http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/2059 ), after registering and submitting requests. The national survey data for some countries are available but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under licence for the current study and so are not publicly available. These include India (National Sample Survey 2004–2005 and 2011–2012, http://www.icssrdataservice.in/datarepository/index.php/ ) and Indonesia ( https://microdata.bps.go.id/mikrodata/index.php/catalog/SUSENAS ). While these original full datasets have restrictions on availability, tables of derived results from the original datasets can be provided upon request.

Code availability

The code for the version of the iPETS model used to produce economic and emissions projections for this analysis is available upon request. It will eventually be publicly available at ipetsmodel.com.

Smith, W. C., Anderson, E., Salinas, D., Horvatek, R. & Baker, D. P. A meta-analysis of education effects on chronic disease: the causal dynamics of the population education transition curve. Soc. Sci. Med. 127 , 29–40 (2015).

Article   Google Scholar  

Coady, D. & Dizioli, A. Income inequality and education revisited: persistence, endogeneity and heterogeneity. Appl. Econ. 50 , 2747–2761 (2018).

Hanmer, L. & Klugman, J. Exploring women’s agency and empowerment in developing countries: where do we stand? Fem. Econ. 22 , 237–263 (2016).

Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015).

A Guide to SDG Interactions: From Science to Implementation (International Council for Science, 2017).

McCollum, D. L. et al. Connecting the sustainable development goals by their energy inter-linkages. Environ. Res. Lett. 13 , 033006 (2018).

Pradhan, P., Costa, L., Rybski, D., Lucht, W. & Kropp, J. P. A systematic study of sustainable development goal (SDG) interactions. Earth’s Future 5 , 1169–1179 (2017).

Moyer, J. D. & Bohl, D. K. Alternative pathways to human development: assessing trade-offs and synergies in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Futures 105 , 199–210 (2019).

Gomez-Echeverri, L. Climate and development: enhancing impact through stronger linkages in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 376 , 20160444 (2018).

Oppenheimer, M. et al. in IPCC Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (eds Field, C. B. et al.) 1039–1100 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014) .

O’Neill, B. C. et al. Global demographic trends and future carbon emissions. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107 , 17521–17526 (2010).

Crespo Cuaresma, J., Lutz, W. & Sanderson, W. Is the demographic dividend an education dividend? Demography 51 , 299–315 (2014).

Lutz, W., Muttarak, R. & Striessnig, E. Universal education is key to enhanced climate adaptation. Science 346 , 1061–1062 (2014).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Gall, M. Indices of Social Vulnerability to Natural Hazards: A Comparative Evaluation (Univ. South Carolina, 2007).

Füssel, H.-M. Review and Quantitative Analysis of Indices of Climate Change Exposure, Adaptive Capacity, Sensitivity, and Impacts (World Bank, 2010); https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/9193

KC, S. & Lutz, W. The human core of the shared socioeconomic pathways: population scenarios by age, sex and level of education for all countries to 2100. Glob. Environ. Change 42 , 181–192 (2017).

O’Neill, B. C. et al. The roads ahead: narratives for shared socioeconomic pathways describing world futures in the 21st century. Glob. Environ. Change 42 , 169–180 (2017).

Riahi, K. et al. The shared socioeconomic pathways and their energy, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions implications: an overview. Glob. Environ. Change 42 , 153–168 (2017).

Ren, X. et al. Avoided economic impacts of climate change on agriculture: integrating a land surface model (CLM) with a global economic model (iPETS). Clim. Change 146 , 517–531 (2018).

Ren, X., Lu, Y., O'Neill, B. C. & Weitzel, M. Economic and biophysical impacts on agriculture under 1.5 °C and 2 °C warming. Environ. Res. Lett. 13 , 115006 (2018).

Böhringer, C. & Löschel, A. Computable general equilibrium models for sustainability impact assessment: status quo and prospects. Ecol. Econ. 60 , 49–64 (2006).

Scrieciu, S. S. The inherent dangers of using computable general equilibrium models as a single integrated modelling framework for sustainability impact assessment. A critical note on Böhringer and Löschel (2006). Ecol. Econ. 60 , 678–684 (2007).

Lutz, W. & Skirbekk, V. in World Population & Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century: An Overview (eds Lutz, W. et al.) 14–38 (Oxford Univ. Press, 2014).

IPCC: Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (eds Stocker, T. F. et al.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013).

Fuso Nerini, F. et al. Mapping synergies and trade-offs between energy and the sustainable development goals. Nat. Energy 3 , 10–15 (2018).

Wiedenhofer, D., Smetschka, B., Akenji, L., Jalas, M. & Haberl, H. Household time use, carbon footprints, and urban form: a review of the potential contributions of everyday living to the 1.5 °C climate target. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 30 , 7–17 (2018).

Duarte, R. et al. Modeling the carbon consequences of pro-environmental consumer behavior. Appl. Energy 184 , 1207–1216 (2016).

Dickson, J. R., Hughes, B. B. & Irfan, M. T. Advancing Global Education (Routledge, 2010).

Burke, M., Davis, W. M. & Diffenbaugh, N. S. Large potential reduction in economic damages under UN mitigation targets. Nature 557 , 549–553 (2018).

IPCC Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report (eds Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R. K. & Meyer, L. A.) (IPCC, 2014).

Casey, G. & Galor, O. Is faster economic growth compatible with reductions in carbon emissions? The role of diminished population growth. Environ. Res. Lett. 12 , 014003 (2017).

Bongaarts, J. & O’Neill, B. C. Global warming policy: is population left out in the cold? Science 361 , 650–652 (2018).

Jiang, L. & O’Neill, B. C. Global urbanization projections for the shared socioeconomic pathways. Glob. Environ. Change 42 , 193–199 (2017).

Dellink, R., Chateau, J., Lanzi, E. & Magné, B. Long-term economic growth projections in the shared socioeconomic pathways. Glob. Environ. Change 42 , 200–214 (2017).

Lutz, W. & Kc, S. Global human capital: integrating education and population. Science 333 , 587–592 (2011).

KC, S. et al. Projection of populations by level of educational attainment, age, and sex for 120 countries for 2005–2050. Demogr. Res. 22 , 383–472 (2010).

KC, S., Potancokova, M., Bauer, R., Goujon, A. & Striessnig, E. in World Population and Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century (eds Lutz, W. et al.) 434–518 (Oxford Univ. Press, 2014).

Cutler, D. & Lleras-Muney, A. in Encyclopedia of Health Economics (ed. Culyer, A. J.) 232–245 (Elsevier, 2014).

Baker, D. P., Leon, J., Smith Greenaway, E. G., Collins, J. & Movit, M. The education effect on population health: a reassessment. Popul. Dev. Rev. 37 , 307–332 (2011).

KC, S. & Lentzner, H. The effect of education on adult mortality and disability: a global perspective. Vienna Yearb. Popul. Res. 8 , 201–235 (2010).

Rindfuss, R. R., St. John, C. & Bumpass, L. L. Education and the timing of motherhood: disentangling causation. J. Marriage Fam. 46 , 981–984 (1984).

Gerster, M., Ejrnæs, M. & Keiding, N. The causal effect of educational attainment on completed fertility for a cohort of Danish women—does feedback play a role? Stat. Biosci. 6 , 204–222 (2014).

Kravdal, Ø. Effects of current education on second- and third-birth rates among Norwegian women and men born in 1964: substantive interpretations and methodological issues. Demogr. Res. 17 , 211–246 (2007).

Forced Out: Mandatory Pregnancy Testing and the Expulsion of Pregnant Students in Tanzanian Schools (CRR, 2013); https://go.nature.com/2WJOg9J

Bongaarts, J. The causes of educational differences in fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vienna Yearb. Popul. Res. 8 , 31–50 (2010).

Clarke, D. Children and their parents: a review of fertility and causality. J. Econ. Surv. 32 , 518–540 (2018).

Hoem, J. M. & Kreyenfeld, M. Anticipatory analysis and its alternatives in life-course research. Part 1: the role of education in the study of first childbearing. Demogr. Res. 15 , 461–484 (2006).

Calvin, K. et al. The SSP4: a world of deepening inequality. Glob. Environ. Change 42 , 284–296 (2017).

Rogelj, J. et al. Scenarios towards limiting global mean temperature increase below 1.5 °C. Nat. Clim. Change 8 , 325–332 (2018).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Asian Demographic Research Institute at Shanghai University for hosting research stays for B.C.O. during which parts of this work were carried out. A substantial amount of the work for this study was completed while B.C.O., L.J., E.K.L. and X.R. were at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Pardee Center for International Futures, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA

Brian C. O’Neill

Asian Demographic Research Institute, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China

Leiwen Jiang & Samir KC

Population Council, New York, NY, USA

Leiwen Jiang

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria

Samir KC, Shonali Pachauri & Emily K. Laidlaw

Statistics Austria, Vienna, Austria

Regina Fuchs

Institute of Population and Development Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Tiantian Zhang & Wei Zhou

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA

Xiaolin Ren

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

B.C.O. led, and L.J., S.KC and S.P. contributed to, the design of the study. B.C.O. coordinated the paper and led the writing, with contributions from L.J., S.KC, S.P. and E.K.L. L.J., R.F., S.P. and E.K.L. led the analysis of household survey data, with contributions from T.Z. and W.Z. S.KC carried out the population–education projections. L.J. carried out the household projections. X.R. carried out the iPETS model projections, with contributions from B.C.O. B.C.O., L.J., S.KC, S.P., E.K.L. and X.R. interpreted results.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian C. O’Neill .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information.

Supplementary Methods 1–3, Tables 1–4, Figs. 1–4 and references.

Reporting Summary

Rights and permissions.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

O’Neill, B.C., Jiang, L., KC, S. et al. The effect of education on determinants of climate change risks. Nat Sustain 3 , 520–528 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0512-y

Download citation

Received : 03 August 2018

Accepted : 11 March 2020

Published : 13 April 2020

Issue Date : July 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0512-y

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

This article is cited by

Achieving carbon neutrality in africa is possible: the impact of education, employment, and renewable energy consumption on carbon emissions.

  • Chinyere Ori Elom
  • Robert Ugochukwu Onyeneke
  • Chidebe Chijioke Uwaleke

Carbon Research (2024)

Climate change unequally affects nitrogen use and losses in global croplands

  • Chenchen Ren
  • Xiuming Zhang

Nature Food (2023)

Assessing populations exposed to climate change: a focus on Africa in a global context

  • Daniela Ghio
  • Anne Goujon
  • Thomas Petroliagkis

Population and Environment (2023)

Digitalization and its impact on labour market and education. Selected aspects

  • Piotr Hetmańczyk

Education and Information Technologies (2023)

Socio-demographic factors shaping the future global health burden from air pollution

  • Xinyuan Huang

Nature Sustainability (2022)

Quick links

  • Explore articles by subject
  • Guide to authors
  • Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

climate change essay pdf for students

6.4 Annotated Student Sample: “Slowing Climate Change” by Shawn Krukowski

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Identify the features common to proposals.
  • Analyze the organizational structure of a proposal and how writers develop ideas.
  • Articulate how writers use and cite evidence to build credibility.
  • Identify sources of evidence within a text and in source citations.

Introduction

The proposal that follows was written by student Shawn Krukowski for a first-year composition course. Shawn’s assignment was to research a contemporary problem and propose one or more solutions. Deeply concerned about climate change, Shawn chose to research ways to slow the process. In his proposal, he recommends two solutions he thinks are most promising.

Living by Their Own Words

A call to action.

student sample text The earth’s climate is changing. Although the climate has been changing slowly for the past 22,000 years, the rate of change has increased dramatically. Previously, natural climate changes occurred gradually, sometimes extending over thousands of years. Since the mid-20th century, however, climate change has accelerated exponentially, a result primarily of human activities, and is reaching a crisis level. end student sample text

student sample text Critical as it is, however, climate change can be controlled. Thanks to current knowledge of science and existing technologies, it is possible to respond effectively. Although many concerned citizens, companies, and organizations in the private sector are taking action in their own spheres, other individuals, corporations, and organizations are ignoring, or even denying, the problem. What is needed to slow climate change is unified action in two key areas—mitigation and adaptation—spurred by government leadership in the United States and a global commitment to addressing the problem immediately. end student sample text

annotated text Introduction. The proposal opens with an overview of the problem and pivots to the solution in the second paragraph. end annotated text

annotated text Thesis Statement. The thesis statement in last sentence of the introduction previews the organization of the proposal and the recommended solutions. end annotated text

Problem: Negative Effects of Climate Change

annotated text Heading. Centered, boldface headings mark major sections of the proposal. end annotated text

annotated text Body. The three paragraphs under this heading discuss the problem. end annotated text

annotated text Topic Sentence. The paragraph opens with a sentence stating the topics developed in the following paragraphs. end annotated text

student sample text For the 4,000 years leading up to the Industrial Revolution, global temperatures remained relatively constant, with a few dips of less than 1°C. Previous climate change occurred so gradually that life forms were able to adapt to it. Some species became extinct, but others survived and thrived. In just the past 100 years, however, temperatures have risen by approximately the same amount that they rose over the previous 4,000 years. end student sample text

annotated text Audience. Without knowing for sure the extent of readers’ knowledge of climate change, the writer provides background for them to understand the problem. end annotated text

student sample text The rapid increase in temperature has a negative global impact. First, as temperatures rise, glaciers and polar ice are melting at a faster rate; in fact, by the middle of this century, the Arctic Ocean is projected to be ice-free in summer. As a result, global sea levels are projected to rise from two to four feet by 2100 (U.S. Global Change Research Program [USGCRP], 2014a). If this rise actually does happen, many coastal ecosystems and human communities will disappear. end student sample text

annotated text Discussion of the Problem. The first main point of the problem is discussed in this paragraph. end annotated text

annotated text Statistics as Evidence. The writer provides specific numbers and cites the source in APA style. end annotated text

annotated text Transitions . The writer uses transitions here (first, as a result , and second in the next paragraph) and elsewhere to make connections between ideas and to enable readers to follow them more easily. At the same time, the transitions give the proposal coherence. end annotated text

student sample text Second, weather of all types is becoming more extreme: heat waves are hotter, cold snaps are colder, and precipitation patterns are changing, causing longer droughts and increased flooding. Oceans are becoming more acidic as they increase their absorption of carbon dioxide. This change affects coral reefs and other marine life. Since the 1980s, hurricanes have increased in frequency, intensity, and duration. As shown in Figure 6.5, the 2020 hurricane season was the most active on record, with 30 named storms, a recording-breaking 11 storms hitting the U.S. coastline (compared to 9 in 1916), and 10 named storms in September—the highest monthly number on record. Together, these storms caused more than $40 billion in damage. Not only was this the fifth consecutive above-normal hurricane season, it was preceded by four consecutive above-normal years in 1998 to 2001 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020). end student sample text

annotated text Discussion of the Problem. The second main point of the problem is discussed in this paragraph. end annotated text

annotated text Visual as Evidence. The writer refers to “Figure 6.4” in the text and places the figure below the paragraph. end annotated text

annotated text Source Citation in APA Style: Visual. The writer gives the figure a number, a title, an explanatory note, and a source citation. The source is also cited in the list of references. end annotated text

Solutions: Mitigation and Adaptation

annotated text Heading. The centered, boldface heading marks the start of the solutions section of the proposal. end annotated text

annotated text Body. The eight paragraphs under this heading discuss the solutions given in the thesis statement. end annotated text

student sample text To control the effects of climate change, immediate action in two key ways is needed: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigating climate change by reducing and stabilizing the carbon emissions that produce greenhouse gases is the only long-term way to avoid a disastrous future. In addition, adaptation is imperative to allow ecosystems, food systems, and development to become more sustainable. end student sample text

student sample text Mitigation and adaptation will not happen on their own; action on such a vast scale will require governments around the globe to take initiatives. The United States needs to cooperate with other nations and assume a leadership role in fighting climate change. end student sample text

annotated text Objective Stance. The writer presents evidence (facts, statistics, and examples) in neutral, unemotional language, which builds credibility, or ethos, with readers. end annotated text

annotated text Heading. The flush-left, boldface heading marks the first subsection of the solutions. end annotated text

annotated text Topic Sentence. The paragraph opens with a sentence stating the solution developed in the following paragraphs. end annotated text

student sample text The first challenge is to reduce the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The Union of Concerned Scientists (2020) warns that “net zero” carbon emissions—meaning that no more carbon enters the atmosphere than is removed—needs to be reached by 2050 or sooner. As shown in Figure 6.6, reducing carbon emissions will require a massive effort, given the skyrocketing rate of increase of greenhouse gases since 1900 (USGCRP, 2014b). end student sample text

annotated text Synthesis. In this paragraph, the writer synthesizes factual evidence from two sources and cites them in APA style. end annotated text

annotated text Visual as Evidence. The writer refers to “Figure 6.5” in the text and places the figure below the paragraph. end annotated text

student sample text Significant national policy changes must be made and must include multiple approaches; here are two areas of concern: end student sample text

annotated text Presentation of Solutions. For clarity, the writer numbers the two items to be discussed. end annotated text

student sample text 1. Transportation systems. In the United States in 2018, more than one-quarter—28.2 percent—of emissions resulted from the consumption of fossil fuels for transportation. More than half of these emissions came from passenger cars, light-duty trucks, sport utility vehicles, and minivans (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2020). Priorities for mitigation should include using fuels that emit less carbon; improving fuel efficiency; and reducing the need for travel through urban planning, telecommuting and videoconferencing, and biking and pedestrian initiatives. end student sample text

annotated text Source Citation in APA Style: Group Author. The parenthetical citation gives the group’s name, an abbreviation to be used in subsequent citations, and the year of publication. end annotated text

student sample text Curtailing travel has a demonstrable effect. Scientists have recorded a dramatic drop in emissions during government-imposed travel and business restrictions in 2020. Intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, these restrictions also decreased air pollution significantly. For example, during the first six weeks of restrictions in the San Francisco Bay area, traffic was reduced by about 45 percent, and emissions were roughly a quarter lower than the previous six weeks. Similar findings were observed around the globe, with reductions of up to 80 percent (Bourzac, 2020). end student sample text

annotated text Source Citation in APA Style: One Author. The parenthetical citation gives the author’s name and the year of publication. end annotated text

student sample text 2. Energy production. The second-largest source of emissions is the use of fossil fuels to produce energy, primarily electricity, which accounted for 26.9 percent of U.S. emissions (EPA, 2020). Fossil fuels can be replaced by solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal sources. Solar voltaic systems have the potential to become the least expensive energy in the world (Green America, 2020). Solar sources should be complemented by wind power, which tends to increase at night when the sun is absent. According to the Copenhagen Consensus, the most effective way to combat climate change is to increase investment in green research and development (Lomborg, 2020). Notable are successes in the countries of Morocco and The Gambia, both of which have committed to investing in national programs to limit emissions primarily by generating electricity from renewable sources (Mulvaney, 2019). end student sample text

annotated text Synthesis. The writer develops the paragraph by synthesizing evidence from four sources and cites them in APA style. end annotated text

student sample text A second way to move toward net zero is to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Forests and oceans are so-called “sinks” that collect and store carbon (EPA, 2020). Tropical forests that once made up 12 percent of global land masses now cover only 5 percent, and the loss of these tropical forest sinks has caused 16 to 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions (Green America, 2020). Worldwide reforestation is vital and demands both commitment and funding on a global scale. New technologies also allow “direct air capture,” which filers carbon from the air, and “carbon capture,” which prevents it from leaving smokestacks. end student sample text

student sample text All of these technologies should be governmentally supported and even mandated, where appropriate. end student sample text

annotated text Synthesis. The writer develops the paragraph by synthesizing evidence from two sources and cites them in APA style. end annotated text

annotated text Heading. The flush-left, boldface heading marks the second subsection of the solutions. end annotated text

student sample text Historically, civilizations have adapted to climate changes, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Our modern civilization is largely the result of climate stability over the past 12,000 years. However, as the climate changes, humans must learn to adapt on a national, community, and individual level in many areas. While each country sets its own laws and regulations, certain principles apply worldwide. end student sample text

student sample text 1. Infrastructure. Buildings—residential, commercial, and industrial—produce about 33 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (Biello, 2007). Stricter standards for new construction, plus incentives for investing in insulation and other improvements to existing structures, are needed. Development in high-risk areas needs to be discouraged. Improved roads and transportation systems would help reduce fuel use. Incentives for decreasing energy consumption are needed to reduce rising demands for power. end student sample text

student sample text 2. Food waste. More than 30 percent of the food produced in the United States is never consumed, and food waste causes 44 gigatons of carbon emissions a year (Green America, 2020). In a landfill, the nutrients in wasted food never return to the soil; instead, methane, a greenhouse gas, is produced. High-income countries such as the United States need to address wasteful processing and distribution systems. Low-income countries, on the other hand, need an infrastructure that supports proper food storage and handling. Educating consumers also must be a priority. end student sample text

annotated text Source Citation in APA Style: Group Author. The parenthetical citation gives the group’s name and the year of publication. end annotated text

student sample text 3. Consumerism. People living in consumer nations have become accustomed to abundance. Many purchases are nonessential yet consume fossil fuels to manufacture, package, market, and ship products. During World War II, the U.S. government promoted the slogan “Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without.” This attitude was widely accepted because people recognized a common purpose in the war effort. A similar shift in mindset is needed today. end student sample text

student sample text Adaptation is not only possible but also economically advantageous. One case study is Walmart, which is the world’s largest company by revenue. According to Dearn (2020), the company announced a plan to reduce its global emissions to zero by 2040. Among the goals is powering its facilities with 100 percent renewable energy and using electric vehicles with zero emissions. As of 2020, about 29 percent of its energy is from renewable sources. Although the 2040 goal applies to Walmart facilities only, plans are underway to reduce indirect emissions, such as those from its supply chain. According to CEO Doug McMillon, the company’s commitment is to “becoming a regenerative company—one that works to restore, renew and replenish in addition to preserving our planet, and encourages others to do the same” (Dearn, 2020). In addition to encouraging other corporations, these goals present a challenge to the government to take action on climate change. end student sample text

annotated text Extended Example as Evidence. The writer indicates where borrowed information from the source begins and ends, and cites the source in APA style. end annotated text

annotated text Source Citation in APA Style: One Author. The parenthetical citation gives only the year of publication because the author’s name is cited in the sentence. end annotated text

Objections to Taking Action

annotated text Heading. The centered, boldface heading marks the start of the writer’s discussion of potential objections to the proposed solutions. end annotated text

annotated text Body. The writer devotes two paragraphs to objections. end annotated text

student sample text Despite scientific evidence, some people and groups deny that climate change is real or, if they admit it exists, insist it is not a valid concern. Those who think climate change is not a problem point to Earth’s millennia-long history of changing climate as evidence that life has always persisted. However, their claims do not consider the difference between “then” and “now.” Most of the change predates human civilization, which has benefited from thousands of years of stable climate. The rapid change since the Industrial Revolution is unprecedented in human history. end student sample text

student sample text Those who deny climate change or its dangers seek primarily to relax or remove pollution standards and regulations in order to protect, or maximize profit from, their industries. To date, their lobbying has been successful. For example, the world’s fossil-fuel industry received $5.3 trillion in 2015 alone, while the U.S. wind-energy industry received $12.3 billion in subsidies between 2000 and 2020 (Green America, 2020). end student sample text

Conclusion and Recommendation

annotated text Heading. The centered, boldface heading marks the start of the conclusion and recommendation. end annotated text

annotated text Conclusion and Recommendation. The proposal concludes with a restatement of the proposed solutions and a call to action. end annotated text

student sample text Greenhouse gases can be reduced to acceptable levels; the technology already exists. But that technology cannot function without strong governmental policies prioritizing the environment, coupled with serious investment in research and development of climate-friendly technologies. end student sample text

student sample text The United States government must place its full support behind efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses and mitigate climate change. Rejoining the Paris Agreement is a good first step, but it is not enough. Citizens must demand that their elected officials at the local, state, and national levels accept responsibility to take action on both mitigation and adaptation. Without full governmental support, good intentions fall short of reaching net-zero emissions and cannot achieve the adaptation in attitude and lifestyle necessary for public compliance. There is no alternative to accepting this reality. Addressing climate change is too important to remain optional. end student sample text

Biello, D. (2007, May 25). Combatting climate change: Farming out global warming solutions. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/combating-climate-change-farming-forestry/

Bourzac, K. (2020, September 25). COVID-19 lockdowns had strange effects on air pollution across the globe. Chemical & Engineering News. https://cen.acs.org/environment/atmospheric-chemistry/COVID-19-lockdowns-had-strange-effects-on-air-pollution-across-the-globe/98/i37

Dearn, G. (2020, September 21). Walmart said it will eliminate its carbon footprint by 2040 — but not for its supply chain, which makes up the bulk of its emissions. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-targets-zero-carbon-emissions-2040-not-suppliers-2020-9

Green America (2020). Top 10 solutions to reverse climate change. https://www.greenamerica.org/climate-change-100-reasons-hope/top-10-solutions-reverse-climate-change.

Lomborg, B. (2020, July 17). The alarm about climate change is blinding us to sensible solutions. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-alarm-about-climate-change-is-blinding-us-to-sensible-solutions/

Mulvaney, K. (2019, September 19). Climate change report card: These countries are reaching targets. National Geographic . https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/09/climate-change-report-card-co2-emissions/

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2020, November 24). Record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season draws to an end. https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/record-breaking-atlantic-hurricane-season-draws-to-end

Union of Concerned Scientists (2020). Climate solutions. https://www.ucsusa.org/climate/solutions

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2020). Sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse Gas Emissions. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

U.S. Global Change Research Program (2014a). Melting ice. National Climate Assessment. https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/melting-ice

U.S. Global Change Research Program (2014b). Our changing climate. National Climate Assessment. https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/our-changing-climate#tab1-images

annotated text References Page in APA Style. All sources cited in the text of the report—and only those sources—are listed in alphabetical order with full publication information. See the Handbook for more on APA documentation style. end annotated text

The following link takes you to another model of an annotated sample paper on solutions to animal testing posted by the University of Arizona’s Global Campus Writing Center.

Discussion Questions

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/writing-guide/pages/1-unit-introduction
  • Authors: Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Maria Jerskey, featuring Toby Fulwiler
  • Publisher/website: OpenStax
  • Book title: Writing Guide with Handbook
  • Publication date: Dec 21, 2021
  • Location: Houston, Texas
  • Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/writing-guide/pages/1-unit-introduction
  • Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/writing-guide/pages/6-4-annotated-student-sample-slowing-climate-change-by-shawn-krukowski

© Dec 19, 2023 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

Advertisement

This week's magazine

13 april 2024, on the cover, editor's picks, why ais that tackle complex maths could be the next big breakthrough.

Subscriber-only

Are you languishing in life? Here’s how to find your purpose again

How ai mathematicians might finally deliver human-level reasoning, why you may have a stealth liver disease and what to do about it, table of contents, phone batteries could last 50% longer if more 5g towers are built, planet caught in a gravitational 'tidal storm' is so hot that it glows, showing ai just 1000 extra images reduced ai-generated stereotypes, babies recognise spoken nursery rhymes they heard in the uterus, snakes show signs of self-recognition in a smell-based 'mirror test', environment, great apes threatened by mining for electric vehicle batteries, microsoft and quantinuum’s quantum computer may be most reliable yet, life’s vital chemistry may have begun in hot, cracked rock, laser-powered licence plates could help avoid satellite collisions, should we be worried about a bird flu pandemic in the us, how mass bleaching has pushed the great barrier reef to the brink, why some songs make our heart swell and others give us butterflies, left-handed monkeys prompt rethink about evolution of right-handedness, dumping green sand in shallow seas could let them absorb more co2, suppressing wildfires is harming california’s giant sequoia trees, the multiverse could be much, much bigger than we ever imagined, eclipse 2024: 5 of the best pictures of the total solar eclipse, one of the biggest mysteries of cosmology may finally be solved, could an mri scan make prostate cancer screening more accurate, why nutrition needs to be on the educational agenda, we can't get to net zero without tackling inequality, the photographer who captured shots of nature daily for over a decade, the immune mind review: how mental and physical health combine, everything must go review: a fascinating guide to the apocalypse, new scientist recommends when the dust settles by lucy easthope, two brilliant new novels from adrian tchaikovsky show his range, how science can inspire 'peak experiences' that improve well-being, braintwister #15: domino strips, tom gauld on astrid's claim to fame, twisteddoodles: we need to access the secret laboratory, dedicated experiments needed to understand why dogs wag their tails, the last word, browse past issues.

6 April 2024

30 March 2024

23 March 2024

16 March 2024

9 March 2024

2 March 2024

IMAGES

  1. Read the Draft of the Climate Change Report

    climate change essay pdf for students

  2. Health Issues

    climate change essay pdf for students

  3. 😝 Summary of global warming essay. Essay Summary of Global warming

    climate change essay pdf for students

  4. ≫ Human Activities as the Reason of Climate Change Free Essay Sample on

    climate change essay pdf for students

  5. Developing a Research Question: Lesson 9

    climate change essay pdf for students

  6. 🌈 Essay on climate change and its effects. Climate Change And Its

    climate change essay pdf for students

VIDEO

  1. Essay on Climate change in English || Short essay on Climate change || Climate change essay

  2. Chapter 1 Overview of Climate Emergency

  3. CSS Essay Outline On Global Warming

  4. Essay on Global Warming

  5. essay on climate change in english/jalvayu Parivartan par nibandh

  6. 10 lines on climate change in english/jalvayu Parivartan par nibandh/essay on climate change in engl

COMMENTS

  1. Climate Change Essay for Students and Children

    Climate change refers to the change in the environmental conditions of the earth. This happens due to many internal and external factors. The climatic change has become a global concern over the last few decades. Besides, these climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways. These climatic changes are having various impacts on the ...

  2. PDF Introduction to Climate Change

    activities in a dedicated climate change module or as part of related topics. We suggest that you use our 'Introduction to Climate Change' presentation in a lesson or assembly before running these activities with your students. Teacher briefings on Considerations When Teaching Climate Change and Climate Justice can be found in the appendix. 3

  3. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions

    change happens widely because we are burning fossil fuels and that increases gases such as. CO2, methane, and some other gases in the atmosphere" (phone interview). According to the. Australian Greenhouse Office, the world depends on fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural. gas for 80% of its energy needs.

  4. PDF Climate Explained: Introductory Essays About Climate Change Topics

    Climate Explained is a collection of short primers that answer diverse climate change questions, including why it's cold outside if global warming is real, how we know that humans are responsible for global warming, and the relationship between climate change and national security. Image 1. Example Climate Explained essays on the Yale Climate ...

  5. For Educators: Grades 6-12

    For Educators: Grades 6-12. Climate change is a complex topic to teach. In addition to teaching the science behind climate change, it is critical to help students become effective climate change communicators. We have developed materials for teachers who are interested in using our resources in their classrooms, such as the Yale Climate Opinion ...

  6. Resources for Teaching About Climate Change With The New York Times

    Use our notice and wonder protocol to help students analyze graphs from The New York Times related to climate change. In 2019, we rounded up 24 graphs on topics such as melting ice, rising carbon ...

  7. PDF B2 First for Schools / C1 Advanced: Reading

    Description. This lesson plan is designed to help students prepare for B2 First for Schools/C1 Advanced Reading. It can be delivered face to face or online. The 'online options' column gives teachers ideas how the stages could be adapted for teaching online. Students discuss to what extent they are affected by climate change and what ...

  8. Climate Explained: Introductory Essays About Climate Change Topics

    Climate Explained, a part of Yale Climate Connections, is an essay collection that addresses an array of climate change questions and topics, including why it's cold outside if global warming is real, how we know that humans are responsible for global warming, and the relationship between climate change and national security.

  9. PDF Climate Change: Science and Impacts

    Cite as: Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. 2021."Climate Change: Science and Impacts Factsheet." Pub. No. CSS05-19. September 2021 Observed Impacts Physical Systems • Global average temperature was 0.98°C (1.76 °F) higher in 2020 than in the late 1800s.15 • The warmest year on record since records began in 1880 was 2016, with 2020 ranking

  10. PDF Introduction to Modern Climate Change

    climate change. The book s goal is for a student to leave the class ready to engage in the public policy debate on the climate crisis. Andrew E. Dessler is a climate scientist and professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University. He researches atmospheric chemistry, climate change, and climate change policy.

  11. PDF Climate Education vs. The Climate Crisis

    In Geography and Science, students explore climate change, delving into topics such as the impacts on eco-systems, global patterns, and human contributions to climate variability. Efforts have been made to inte-grate real-world examples relevant to Australia's unique environmen-tal context, fostering a connection

  12. Climate Change Essay for Students in English

    Climate Change Essay: Go through the 500+ Words Essay on Climate Change and get ideas on how to write an effective essay on issues related to the environment. Boost your essay writing skills to score high marks in the English exam and also participate in various essay writing competitions.

  13. Climate Change Resources for Educators and Students

    This site is NOAA's gateway to many of their educational pages for students and teachers on earth sciences, including climate change. NOAA Climate.gov. This site provides learning activities, curriculum materials, and multimedia resources for teaching about climate and energy. NOAA: Data in the Classroom. This site hosts curriculum modules ...

  14. Essay: A student deals with hope and fear over climate change

    App State students gather for ClimAct climate strike in September. (Photo credit: Laura England) Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C. - Growing up in the era of accelerating climate change means finding a balance between fear and hope. As a 21-year-old college student, I search for this balance through the people I spend time around and work with - including through Appalachian State ...

  15. Climate Change Assay: A Spark Of Change

    Bahçeşehir College is committed to increasing students' awareness of the changing world we live in. This climate change essay competition saw many students submitting well thought out pieces of writing. These essays were marked on their format, creativity, organisation, clarity, unity/development of thought, and grammar/mechanics.

  16. Introduction to Climate Science

    This book describes how Earth's climate is changing, how it has been changing in the recent geological past and how it may change in the future. It covers the physical sciences that build the foundations of our current understanding of global climate change such as radiation, Earth's energy balance, the greenhouse effect and the carbon cycle. Both natural and human causes for climate ...

  17. A Guide to Climate Change for Kids

    Climate change describes a change in the typical weather for a region — such as high and low temperatures and amount of rainfall — over a long period of time. Scientists have observed that, overall, Earth is warming. In fact, many of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 20 years. This rise in global temperature is sometimes ...

  18. PDF Identifying and addressing students' questions on climate change

    19 -year-old international students, to find out what students want to learn about climate change. The study finds that students have a high level of consideration towards scientific, societal and ethical aspects of climate change and that students' questions are multidisciplinary and complex in nature.

  19. PDF Teacher Guide Climate Change: The Debate A Structured Controversy Major

    The Kyoto protocol requires the U.S. to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to reduce their impact on the Earth's climate. Objectives: After completing this activity, students will be able to: state that greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide) have increased substantially since the Industrial Revolution.

  20. PDF Climate Change Education: From Critical Thinking to Critical Action

    of climate change (Lee et al. 2015) and among the 60% that have, little evidence exists that this knowledge alone has translated into action — individual or organisational. If climate change education is to create a critical mass of change agents, policies need to build climate literacy and action competence in adults and seniors.

  21. [PDF] Awareness about Climate Change among Students: A Sustainable

    Climate change is a pressing global challenge that demands immediate attention and collective action. This study aims to assess the level of awareness about climate change among students and explore the potential implications for building a sustainable future. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to gather data from a diverse ...

  22. Explore 7 Climate Change Solutions

    Going Further. Option 1: Develop a climate plan. Scientists say that in order to prevent the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold beyond which the ...

  23. The effect of education on determinants of climate change risks

    The effect of education on climate change risks is integral to the relation between climate and development, but difficult to quantify. This article finds potential increases in emissions as well ...

  24. 6.4 Annotated Student Sample: "Slowing Climate Change" by Shawn

    annotated text Source Citation in APA Style: Visual. The writer gives the figure a number, a title, an explanatory note, and a source citation. The source is also cited in the list of references. end annotated text student sample text Significant national policy changes must be made and must include multiple approaches; here are two areas of concern: end student sample text

  25. Issue 3486

    2 March 2024. Read Issue #348613 April 2024 of New Scientist magazine for the best science news and analysis.