This lesson is called "Climate change and human activities", and is from the unit "Climate change and living sustainably".

Hi there! My name's Mrs. McCready, and I'm here to guide you through today's lesson.

So thank you very much for joining me today.

Before we start our lesson, I'd like to put down some ground rules, please.

Firstly, I'd like there to be no judgement.

We can explore our beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

Secondly, I'd like you all to listen to others.

It is okay to disagree with each other, but we should make sure that we listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

And if we disagree, we need to challenge the statement, and not the person.

And finally, I'd like you to choose a level of participation at any one time.

All of you have the right to choose whether or not to answer a question or to join in a discussion, and we will never put anyone on the spot.

So these are our ground rules for our lesson today.

So in our lesson today, we're going to explain what is meant by climate change, and how it is related to human activities.

And we're going to be dealing with some fairly difficult and potentially contentious issues in our lesson today.

In our lesson today, we're going to come across a number of keywords, and they're listed up here on the screen for you now.

You may wish to pause the video to make a note of them, but I will introduce them to you as we come across them.

And in our lesson today, we're going to first of all look at what climate change is, before we consider how we might limit climate change and the impacts that climate change has.

So are you ready to go? I certainly am.

So let's get started.

So what's the weather like for you today? Look out the window and take a look.

So for me, I'm looking out the window now, and it's bright blue sky and quite sunny, although there's been quite a lot of cloud rolling on past in a reasonable wind.

What about you? Well, you'll know that weather changes from place to place, from day to day, and also throughout the day, and across the seasons.

And that's perfectly normal.

Some places in the world are hotter than others, some are colder, and the seasonal changes vary across the world as well.

So in the UK, we're in a temperate region, where we have four seasons.

But those countries near the equator are hotter all of the time.

So even the number of seasons changes depending on where in the world you are.

And all of this is classed as weather.

Now, weather is different from climate.

Climate is the average weather conditions for a particular place over a long period of time.

So when we're talking about how the weather is today, we are talking about weather.

But if we're talking about the average climate, say, of the UK, then we're talking about the average weather across a long period of time.

So can you complete these sentences? Only choosing from the words "climate" and "weather".

The "something" can change from day to day.

The "something" is the average "something" conditions for a particular place over a long period of time.

So I'll give you five seconds to decide.

Okay, let's see.

So the weather can change from day to day.

The climate is the average weather conditions for a particular place over a long period of time.

Well done if you chose the correct words for all three of those spaces.

Now, you've probably heard quite a lot about climate change, and maybe you've had some discussions about climate change as well.

So what is climate change? Well, climate change is the long term shift in the average temperature and weather patterns.

So where our climate changes over a long period of time.

Now, that will affect the living conditions of the place where that climate is changing, and it will affect how easily the organisms that already live there can continue to live there.

So if it is getting much hotter or drier, or even perhaps much wetter, then this obviously affects the climate of the environment and also how organisms are able to respond to that environment.

Now Alex says, "I've seen some people online saying climate change isn't happening, it's just a hoax." And maybe you've heard that yourself, or maybe you've said a similar thing yourself or heard others around you saying that.

So let's explore that in a little bit more detail.

The Yale Programme on Climate Change Communication, the YPCCC, which is a group at one of the top universities in the world, have reviewed all of the evidence on climate change.

So they've seen all of the evidence, they've taken a look at it all, and they have concluded that scientists agree that climate change is real, that it is caused by us, it is a bad thing, but there is hope.

So this is the summary of the conclusions of the YPCCC's review of climate change evidence.

So the fact that it is a bad thing, but there is hope.

We'll explore that later on in our lesson today.

For the first bits, about scientists agreeing, the fact that it is real, and the fact it is being caused by us, let's explore that now.

So the vast majority, 99.

9% of scientists, believe that emissions of greenhouse gases from a variety of human activities have enhanced the greenhouse effect.

And this has led to global warming, which has driven climate change.

So let's look at that data.

Greenhouse gases and how they are being emitted or released into the atmosphere.

So if we look at the data in this graph of greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, we can see that from about 1850 onwards, there has been an increase in the number of carbon dioxide emissions caused by burning fossil fuels, and this has increased and increased, and since 1950, the increase has been very steep and rapid.

If we consider how the average surface temperature of the earth has fluctuated around its normal average, which was measured between 1850 and 1900, and that appears as zero on the Y axis.

So that's our average temperature.

And then temperatures changed above and below that average over the last 2000 years.

And we can see that, most of the time, the temperature is within plus or minus 0.

3 degrees centigrade of that average that was taken between 1850 and 1900.

But in the last 100 years or so, there has been a significant, unusual, and rapid increase in the average surface temperature of the earth.

So you can see how these two graphs are mirroring each other.

Their patterns are very similar.

So what type of human activities are causing greenhouse gas emissions, which are leading to climate change? Well, we can group them into two different groups.

Firstly, a group of activities that burn fossil fuels, so coal, oil, and gas, and release greenhouse gas emissions as part of that burning process.

Now we use fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, in power stations to generate electricity.

And we also use them in cars, our vans, lorries, buses, planes, trains, and boats, to help transport us and goods around the world.

And we also burn fossil fuels such as oil and gas to heat our homes.

So burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and all of these different types of activities form one group of the activities that we as humans are doing to increase greenhouse gas emissions.

The other group of activities comes from other processes that also release greenhouse gases, but do not require burning fossil fuels.

So this includes a number of industrial processes that release greenhouse gases as part of their process, such as making fertilisers, and products such as clothes, shoes, bricks for houses, paint, those sorts of things.

These may use electricity which has been generated from burning fossil fuels, but the processes themselves also release greenhouse gases in order to make these various different products.

Farming also releases greenhouse gases, in part through using fertilisers on the land, and also by farming animals, in particular cows, which release a lot of methane as part of their biological digestive processes.

Another process is the decomposition of waste in landfill sites.

So when we throw organic matters away into landfills, so organic matters are things that are created naturally, such as cottons and linens, wood and paper.

They are decomposed, they are broken down, and the process of decomposition also releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

So this is a collection of activities that humans are undertaking, which also release greenhouse gases.

And all of these processes, whether they involve the burning of fossil fuels or not, increase the number of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and this is leading to climate change.

So what is climate change? Is it A, changes in weather from day to day? B, a long-term shift in weather patterns? Or C, emissions of greenhouse gases by humans? I'll give you five seconds to decide.

Okay, so climate change is a long-term shift in weather patterns.

Did you get that right? Well done if you did.

So what I'd like you to do now is to summarise this first part of our lesson on climate change by firstly choosing one option for each statement.

So the options are, "I am sure this is correct," "I think this is correct," "I think this is incorrect," and "I am sure this is incorrect." And the statements are, "There is a correlation between increased greenhouse gas emissions and global warming," "Most scientists believe emissions of greenhouse gases cause climate change," and, "Most scientists believe human activities are the cause of climate change." But what do you think? And then once you've done that, I'd like you to consider what the YPCCC said about climate change.

So they said, in summary, that scientists agree it's real and it's us.

And I would like you to explain why the YPCCC has said that, and use the words "emissions", "greenhouse gases", and "the greenhouse effect" as part of your answer.

So pause the video and come back to me when you're ready.

Okay, let's review your work.

So firstly, I asked you to decide, what do you think for each of these statements? So for statement A, there is a correlation between increased greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

You should have said that this is correct.

For statement B, most scientists believe emissions of greenhouse gases cause climate change.

You should have said that that is correct.

And for statement C, most scientists believe human activities are the cause of climate change.

You should have said that that is correct.

Well done if you did.

And then to explain why the YPCCC has said that scientists agree that climate change is real and is being caused by us, you should have said that, "99% of scientists believe that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities have enhanced the greenhouse effect." So that's all three of those key words there.

And the greenhouse effect increases earth's average surface temperature, leading to global warming and climate change.

Well done if you've said all of that, but do add to your work if you need to.

Okay, let's move on to the next part of our lesson, which is about how we might limit climate change and the impacts that it has.

So going back to that statement about climate change that the YPCCC has produced.

They've said that scientists agree climate change is real, it's being caused by us, it's bad, but there is hope.

So let's look at the last two points in that statement.

The fact that it is bad, but there is hope.

So we've established that climate change is being caused by increasing greenhouse gas emissions from a variety of different human activities.

And this is driving the earth's surface temperature up, and this is called global warming, and is driving climate change.

But just because the Earth's average surface temperature is increasing does not mean that it is going to feel hotter everywhere.

Because global warming disrupts weather patterns, and they shape our climate.

And so, when weather patterns are disrupted, our climate is disrupted, and the climate then changes.

And what happens is that extreme weather events, such as storms and heat waves, become more frequent.

Now this affects places in different ways.

Some areas will experience more heat waves, and because they're experiencing more heat waves, it will lead to drought in those areas, and an increase in the number of wildfires that could happen.

Whereas in other areas, they will experience more storms and heavier rainfall, and this will lead to an increased risk of flooding.

So global warming is happening, but depending on whereabouts you are in the world, will depend on how the climate is changing, and whether you get hot disruptive extreme weather, or wet disruptive extreme weather.

Now, if we just look at an individual weather event, we cannot say that that is in itself evidence for or against climate change.

So just because we have a particularly hot day within a summer, or a particularly heavy snowfall over winter, does not give us evidence in itself of climate change.

What we have to see is how frequent these events are occurring.

So how often they are happening.

So frequency is about how often something happens within a given period of time.

And if hot days in the summer are becoming more frequent than they would normally have been, or if heavy snowfall in winter is becoming more common than it has been in the past, then we can say that that is then evidence of climate change, because the frequency with which those extreme weather events are happening, or maybe unusual weather events are happening, has changed.

So who is correct? Andeep says, "There was a heat wave last week, which is evidence for climate change." Izzy says, "We had so much snow this winter, so that proves global warming isn't real." And Laura says, "We have to look at the long-term pattern of weather events as evidence." But who is correct? I'll give you five seconds to decide.

Okay, so you should have said that Laura is correct.

Well done if you did.

So we've seen how global warming is driving climate change, and the United Nations, which is a collection of many different countries around the world, they have a group of experts called "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change", the IPCC.

And the IPCC is highly respected around the world.

They are an authority on climate change, and they are made up of a wide range of various different scientists, researching different parts of climate change and the impacts that that has on the planet, on ecosystems, and on humans.

Now, the findings that the IPCC publish are supported by many, many leading scientists, and also by all of the governments who are part of the United Nations.

Now the IPCC, this very well-respected and highly authoritative group of scientists, have made a number of predictions about how extreme weather events will change in their frequency as global warming and climate change continue.

So this graph shows three different types of extreme weather events.

Heavy rains, droughts, and heat waves.

And for each of those types of extreme weather events, it shows how more frequent they will become as the degree of global warming increases, with the lightest shaded columns being only one degree of global warming, and the darkest columns being four degrees of global warming.

And you can see for all of those instances of extreme weather events that as the degree of global warming increases, the frequency of these extreme weather events increases as well.

Now, one degree of global warming, we've already exceeded.

We exceeded that quite a while ago.

One and a half degrees is what we are hoping to cap global warming to.

And in 2016, an international treaty called the Paris Agreement was agreed by 195 countries, and they all agreed as part of the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep global warming below 1.

5 degrees.

Unfortunately, so far we are on course to exceed two degrees of global warming, and have already exceeded one and a half degrees of global warming, and will continue to be on course to exceed two degrees unless we cut greenhouse gas emissions far more than we already have.

So that is quite a bleak picture, but there is hope.

There really is hope, because we can all make choices, change our behaviour, and lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions if we so choose.

But it is down to us as individuals, and us as collective organisations, to make all of the changes that are necessary in our behaviours and our activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming and climate change.

Now, that is a really tough thing to ask.

Changing behaviour is a really hard thing to do, first of all, and to get lots and lots of people on board with that, enough to make a really noticeable difference, is really challenging.

But 195 countries have already agreed to make these sorts of changes, and there are plenty of things that we can do as an individual that will put pressure on larger organisations like supermarkets and other companies to make them change their behaviour as well.

So we are all able to contribute to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and therefore limiting global warming and therefore reducing the impact of climate change.

So let's go back to that graph and have another look.

How many times more frequent will droughts become if global warming is limited to 1.

5 degrees? So have a look at what colour 1.

5 degrees is being represented as.

Have a look at droughts, and see, is it one times more frequent? Two times more frequent? Three times more frequent? Or four times more frequent? I'll give you five seconds to read the graph and decide.

Okay, so when we're reading 1.

5 degrees off the graph, that's the second colour band.

For droughts, that shows that droughts will become two times more frequent if global warming is limited to one and a half degrees centigrade.

Well done if you were able to work that out.

So what I'd like you to do now is to summarise part of the lesson about limiting climate change and its impacts by firstly filling in the boxes.

I would like you to add a definition of climate change.

Explain briefly why climate change is happening, so put some facts down.

I would like you to give some examples of events that are evidence for climate change.

And I'd also like you to give some examples of events that are not evidence of climate change, in the non-examples box.

Then, once you have finished that, I would like you to consider Aisha's mother's scenario.

So Aisha's mother works in an office, and what I would like you to do is to suggest some simple changes that she could make to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and use the photographs as prompts to help you.

So, pause the video, and come back to me when you are ready.

Okay, let's review your work.

So firstly, I asked you to fill in the boxes about climate change.

So your definition should be something like, "a long-term shift in weather patterns".

That's what climate change is.

And some evidence is that greenhouse gas emissions enhance the greenhouse effect.

This leads to global warming, and that drives climate change.

Some examples of evidence for climate change include more frequent extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, storms, heavy rains, and floods.

And some non-examples include seasonal changes and one-off weather events, such as a hot day in summer or a snow shower in winter.

Well done if you've got all of those parts, but do add to your work if you need to.

Then I asked you to consider Aisha's mother's scenario.

So she's working in an office.

How could she make changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? So you might have suggested that she cycles or walks to the office instead of driving, or that she turns the heating down, or maybe she switches off lights to reduce the demand for electricity, or perhaps she reuses paper instead of throwing it away.

Maybe you've come up with some other examples, and I'm sure you've got plenty of ideas that you could add to that list, in addition to the ones that I've already listed.

Well done indeed.

Okay, we've come to the end of our lesson, and in our lesson today, we've seen how climate is the average weather conditions for a particular location over a long period of time.

We've seen how emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are enhancing the greenhouse effect, which is leading to global warming, which is driving climate change.

And climate change includes an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts, storms, and floods.

We've also seen that, whilst climate change is happening, and it is being caused by our activities, it is possible to do something about it.

But in order to do something about climate change, we all need to work together to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which will limit climate change.

So I hope you've been empowered to do something, to make some changes that will reduce your impact on climate change, and encourage others around you to reduce their impact as well.

It's going to be a tough challenge, but it's well worth it.

So good luck with your endeavours.

Thank you very much for joining me today, and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye!.