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Climate Change: A Global Challenge

by Liz Rihoy

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Outline for the presentation

Introduction: Chinese Children’s Painting Competition 2008 and 2009

• Climate change: a global challenge

• Actions on climate change

• UNEP and climate change

• Environmental Education

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Chinese Children’s Painting Competition on climate change

• 1st painting competition on climate change: “What can we do to make our earth cool down?”

• An unpredicted 1.5 million Chinese children participated

• A signal of the country’s growing awareness of environmental issues

• 620 paintings selected for prizes

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Chinese Children’s Painting Competition on climate change

• The top 3 winners participated in the UNEP Tunza International Children’s Conference in Stavanger, Norway in June 2008

• The top 20 winners were invited to Nairobi, to receive their prizes from UNEP’s Executive Director, Mr. Achim Steiner and to participate in children’s community activities in Kenya

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2nd Chinese children’s painting competition on climate change

The theme of the second competition is once again climate change, because:

• It is one of the world’s greatest problems

• The impact on young people is most severe

• According to leading scientists: the main cause of climate change is human activities

• If we are causing the problem, we should be helping to fix it

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Climate change: a Global challenge

• Temperatures are increasing in many parts of the planet

• This is caused by build-up of greenhouse gases (GHGs)

• Continued GHG emissions at or above current rates would cause further warming and change in our climatic system

• Most of the increase in average temperatures is due to increase in GHG concentrations mainly by produced by human beings

• Between 1970 and 2004, global GHG emissions by human activities have increased by 70%

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Impact of climate change

• Increases in global

average air and ocean

temperatures

• Rising global average

sea level

• Widespread melting

of snow and ice

Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): Fourth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2007 (AR4)

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Impact of climate change

• More frequent droughts, floods and other forms of extreme weather

• Food supplies will be at danger

• Many plants and animals will not survive

• Rising sea levels will force hundreds of thousands of people in coastal zones to migrate

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Impact of climate change on children

• More than 46% of the world's population is below 25 years.

• Approximately 175 million children will be affected by climate change induced natural disasters every year over the next decade.

• Children are more likely than adults to perish during natural disasters or succumb to malnutrition, injuries or disease.

• Women and children account for more than 75% of displaced people following natural disasters.

Source: UNEP website, Paint for the Planet – Key Facts About Children and Climate Change http://www.unep.org/paint4planet/facts.aspx

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Actions on climate change

Mitigation:

• Promoting low-carbon energy sources and technologies• Promoting energy conservation and efficiency• Reducing emissions from deforestation Adaptation:

• Integrating climate risks into policies and planning at different levels

• Addressing climate impacts in various sectors

• Building the capacity of communities to cope with climate change related problems

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UNEP and climate change

• UNEP has more than 20 years of experience working on climate change

• Climate change is one of the 6 thematic priorities of UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy (2009 to 2013)

• UNEP has scaled up its climate change activitieswith partners and stakeholders

• Cooperation with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• Cooperation with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

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UNEP and climate change

UNEP Medium-Term Strategy 2010-2013:

“To strengthen the ability of countries to integrate climate change responses into national development processes"

UNEP is helping governments to:

a) Ensure that climate change adaptation is integrated into development processes

b) Make choices that lead to reduction in GHG emissionsc) Improve the deployment and transfer of better and efficient technologyd) Improve land use, reduce deforestation & land degradation – increase

carbon sequestratione) Ensure that policy-makers, civil society and private sector have access to

climate change science and information

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UNEP and climate change

Mitigation

UNEP has launched a major worldwide treeplanting campaign – The Billion Tree Campaign.The goal is to encourage people, communities,business, industry, civil society organizations andgovernments to plant at least seven billion treesWorldwide by end of 2009. Currently 2.5 billion planted and 4.1 billion pledged

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UNEP and climate change

The Climate Neutral Network (CN Net)

UNEP has established CN Net to assist those interested inachieving big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to reachtheir goals.

- CN Net publicizes climate neutrality plans and achievements;

- CN Net acts as a network for those who aspire to climate neutrality

- CN Net brings developed and developing country participants together to green the development path and support the MDGs

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UNEP and climate change

Outreach and communication

UNite to combat climate change campaign

-A UN wide campaign to support the call fora definitive agreement on a comprehensiveGlobal Climate regime for the period after2012, when Kyoto Protocol expires

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UNEP and climate change

Adaptation activities by UNEP

• Hosts International consultation meetings on development of adaptation network;

• Runs adaptation training workshops;

• Provides technical notes for preparations of national programmes of action;

• Provides technical support to countries on data.

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UNEP and young people

• UNEP has a long term strategy on the engagement and involvement of children in environmental issues called Tunza (Kiswahili for treat with care and affection)

• It started in 2003 and ends in 2008

• The 2nd Tunza strategy will run from

2009 to 2014

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UNEP and young people

• Annual Tunza conferences for children and youthwhere issues of climate change are discussed. Next children’s conference will be in Korea in 2009 and will culminate in a children’s statement on climate change to be presented to the climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009

• International Children’s Painting Competition – exhibition and auction

• Tunza publications: magazines and children’s series on climate change

• Interactive website

• Ozzy Ozone Campaign – awareness and actions on ozone depleting substances

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Global organizations and climate change

World Conservation Union – IUCN

• Coordinating climate change work across IUCN's 12 major programmes, 10 regions, 6 Commissions and member organizations

• In China, building capacity to assume a leadership role in global conservation

• Working to include biodiversity concerns in adaptation and mitigation polices and practice, as well as furthering natural resource management strategies that help species and humans adapt to the impacts of climate change

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Global organizations and climate change

WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature:

• Actively working with governments, research institutes, NGOs and private enterprises to increase awareness and capacity of climate change negotiation at various levels

• Contributing to the Chinese government’s climate change related decisions

• Enhancing other countries understanding of China’s climate change policies and actions

• Exploring and facilitating low-carbon economy development in China

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Global organizations and climate change

Connect2earth:• Connect2earth is a global green online community,

launched by WWF and IUCN. Videos, images and text on climate change can be uploaded on to Connect2earth website and the best entries are awarded prizes

Greenpeace:• Climate change is a priority issue for Greenpeace• Challenges governments to take action to halt

climate change• Inspires people to join the energy revolution by

reducing energy consumption and promoting renewable energy

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Why environmental education?

• Addressing environmental issues requires a citizenry that is

- informed and environmentally literate

- willing to translate its knowledge

into action

- Environmental education is fundamental!

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What is environmental education?

• Teaching about how natural environments function

• Making people aware of environmental issues

• Promoting an understanding of the relationship between humans and their surrounding environment

• Desired outcomes: – creating a concern for environmental issues – evoking environmentally responsible behaviour– promoting environment protecting activities

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What can teachers do?

Teachers are often identified as important agents of change in society

- They play an important role in improving

human capacity in environmental

awareness, protection and problem-solving

- Teachers require the knowledge, skills,

on environmental awareness in order to include this in their school programme

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What can teachers impart to their students?

• To turn off appliances, heating and air conditioning• To turn of and unplug computer and other electronic devices• To encourage the parents and relatives to change the light

bulbs to energy efficient ones • To recycle papers or reuse bottles, chopsticks and plastics• To join or create an eco-club • To plant trees • To choose products that are environmentally friendly • To walk, cycle or take a train or bus instead of the private

car• To try to use less. For example, to carry a cloth bag when

going shopping instead of plastic bags• To encourage family and friends to do these things • To write to political leaders asking for cleaner cars, better

public transport or renewable energy• To participate in activities on climate change

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For more information on the Tunza programme visit: www.unep.org/Tunza

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

谢谢