Lesson video

Hello there and welcome to this lesson, which is the last lesson in our unit of work all about coasts.

Globally, what does the future look like for our coasts? At the end of the lesson today, you'll be able to explain the risks associated with climate change for coastal communities, and you'll be able to describe how countries are taking action to combat those risks.

So before we go into the lesson, let's begin by looking at some important keywords.

These keywords are going to be very useful during the lesson.

You will hear them a lot.

And I would like you to use them a lot when you talk about the future of our global coasts.

The first keyword is climate change.

Climate change describes the long-lasting, large-scale change in the planet's climate.

This includes changing weather patterns and average temperatures around the world.

Speaking of around the world, our next keyword is global.

Anything that is described as global affects people across the world.

And finally, risk.

Risk is the possibility that something bad or unpleasant, such as an injury, may happen.

I've split today's lesson into two halves.

First, we're gonna look at how the coast is adapting to climate change, and then we're gonna look at global action that is being taken against climate change.

So let's begin then and see what's happening at our coasts.

The global impacts of climate change are large-scale and long-lasting.

They are making huge changes on Planet Earth.

Now, some of the most highly impacted people on the planet are coastal communities, particularly island nations around the world.

They are those who are most at risk from the effects of climate change.

Yet, those tiny nations, like the small islands you see in this photo, they're not the ones that make the greatest contribution to the problem.

Rising sea levels are a major concern for coastal communities and island nations all over Planet Earth.

Millions of people live on our global coasts and on islands, and they could all be affected as sea levels continue to rise.

So before we move on some more, is this statement true or false? Climate change only affects some parts of the planet.

That's false.

Can you think of a reason why we can say that's false? Perhaps your reason was similar to this, that the impacts of climate change are so large-scale they're felt at a global level.

Yes, some places and people are more impacted than others, but this is a global change that's happening.

This graph tells us about global sea level change.

We can see from 1880 to 2020.

Over that time, there's been a rising trend in our global sea levels.

This rise in our sea levels is a major threat for coastal communities and island nations.

And why is that? Because as the sea level rises, so does the risk.

The risk increases, the risks of more flooding and increased erosion in our coastlines.

Take a moment now to complete the blanks in this sentence.

What words will fit in to make this sentence complete? Pause the video, and then when you come back, I will show you the answers.

Okay, are you ready? Here we go.

Rising sea levels are a threat to islands nations and coastal communities because they increase the risks of flooding.

You may have said increase the risk of erosion, which would also be correct.

The Maldives is one example of an island nation.

We find the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

This is the smallest country in Asia, and it has a population of about half a million people, about 500,000.

That was as of 2022.

The Maldives is said to be the lowest lying island country in the world.

The average elevation of any island in the Maldives is no more than one metre above sea level.

You can see here in this beautiful picture, the sea is going right up to those trees.

There's no height above sea level there.

Here's an aerial view of the Maldives.

This is actually of their capital city called Malé.

You can see how flat, it almost looks like that city is just floating on the sea, doesn't it? In the Maldives, the government are trying to protect their city by building some sea walls.

Sea walls can help to protect the coastline from erosion and will reduce the risk of flooding to a degree.

So were you paying attention? I'd like you to decide which of these happen as a result of rising sea levels.

Increased carbon emissions, increased flooding in coastal communities, increased rates of coastal erosion, or increased risk of storms and bad weather.

Which of those are a result of rising sea levels? Have you decided? Let's take a look.

Increased flooding is definitely correct.

As the sea level rises, so does the risk.

It's also true that as sea levels rise, rates of coastal erosion increase as well.

Increased storms and bad weather isn't a direct result of sea level rise, it's a direct result of climate change from global warming.

Take a look at this map.

Now you can see the orange dots on this map.

They indicate the locations of some global cities.

The area we are looking at here is Asia.

Now there are major cities located on the coast all around the world.

And these major cities are just as much at risk from rising sea levels.

Take a look just here on this map.

How many coastal cities in Asia can you name? Now there are many coastal cities on this map that you may have noticed.

Did you find Shanghai in China? How about Mumbai in India or Jakarta in Indonesia? These are just three examples of major global cities that are at great risk from rising sea levels.

All of these coastal cities around the world are trying to take some action to combat those rising sea levels.

In Shanghai in China, billions of dollars have been spent on improving drainage systems and installing new higher capacity water pipes in order to prevent flooding in the city centre and the surrounding area.

If you take a look at this satellite image here of Shanghai, you can see just how much at risk of flooding they are with that great river joining the sea there.

I mentioned Mumbai in India.

Now, if you look at this picture, you can see here something that's called rock armour.

This is a structure that's put in place all around the coastline to try and combat the rate of coastal erosion.

It protects the island.

The city of Mumbai has also launched something called a Climate Action Plan.

This includes planting trees to help intercept and absorb more water.

They have also built three huge tanks.

These are called flood water tanks, and they have a total capacity of about 26 million litres.

That's a lot of water that can be saved from infiltrating the city.

They have also installed some smaller tanks that we call rainwater collection pits.

Now these may not hold as much as 26 million litres, but when lots of people have these collection pits in their private gardens and in public spaces, it contributes to a lot more water being collected in the city.

Another example is the city of Jakarta in Indonesia.

Jakarta experiences flooding not only as a result of rising sea levels but through flash floods due to extreme weather events and very heavy rainfall.

In Jakarta, there is a specific coastal defence project called Giant Seawall Jakarta.

This project began in 2014.

And they're aiming to finish construction of this sea wall by 2027.

This project intends to protect the city from flooding and reclaim that land so they can use it.

You can see here, this is a picture of flooding in Jakarta.

You can see those cars that can't move through that flooding and those people who have had to climb up for safety on top of the vehicle.

So those three cities are examples of how they are adapting to the climate change that is happening at the coast.

Listen to this statement.

I would like you to decide if this is true or false.

Cities are not affected by the effects of climate change, like rising sea levels.

Is that true or is that false? I believe that that is certainly false.

But now we need to give a reason.

Can you tell me why that statement is false? There are many global cities located at the coast.

In fact, so many cities around the world grew at the coast because they were ports, because they were trading hubs.

So, for this reason, globally, so many of our cities are coastal, for example, Shanghai in China.

Those cities have to manage that risk of flooding due to the rising sea levels and extreme weather, and that's all happening because of climate change.

So let's take what we now know and put that to use with an activity.

You can see here a table.

What I would like you to do is complete that table by choosing a location to use as your study, and I would like you to investigate that location and give some reasons why rising sea levels are a risk for them and some information about what is being done to combat those risks.

You can only make notes in the table.

You don't need to write in complete sentences.

Pause the video to complete the activity.

And I hope you have some fun and find out some interesting facts during your research.

When you come back, I'll share an example answer with you.

Okay, let's take a look then at an example answer together.

I have chosen to write about the Maldives here.

So reasons why rising sea levels are a risk for the Maldives is because they're a low-lying island nation.

None of the islands or atolls of the Maldives are any more than about one metre above sea level.

Rising sea levels can lead to flooding or even submerging of entire islands.

Rising sea levels also increases the rates of coastal erosion around the islands as well.

So what is being done to combat those risks? Well, the government of the Maldives is trying to reduce the risk of flooding by raising structures, that's building things higher above sea level.

They're also trying to reduce the rates of coastal erosion by implementing coastal management strategies such as building sea walls to protect the coastline.

You may have chosen a different coastal area.

You could have chosen one of the large cities, like Shanghai or Mumbai, that we looked at earlier.

Now let's move along and think about the global action that we are taking against climate change.

We know that climate change is an issue that affects the entire planet, so surely we all, as a collective, need to take global action to combat it.

As a global society, it's our collective responsibility to tackle climate change and look after the planet, not just for today, but for the future.

This requires participation from many countries, so we need global organisations, like the United Nations, to help us do this.

The flag that you can see here is the flag of the United Nations.

The United Nations is a global organisation that is made up of representatives of countries from all around the world.

Hundreds of countries are members of the United Nations.

And together, they discuss things and tackle major issues, such as education, welfare, human rights, and climate change.

So the United Nations is about people all over the planet working together to solve some really big global issues of today.

Here's another true or false.

The United Nations is an organisation for countries affected by climate change.

Now, is that true or is that false? Let's see.

I think that's false.

Can you tell me why? The United Nations is a global organisation for countries all around the world.

They work towards many goals and look at lots of different issues, not just climate change.

Well done.

Okay, let's move along now and think some more about what the UN does.

Members of the UN get together for large conferences or meetings called COP meetings.

And those meetings are held about great many different global issues.

COP itself is an acronym, and it stands for Conference of the Parties.

Some of these COP meetings that take place are special COP for climate change meetings.

And the specific reason those meetings are held is as a means of taking global action as a collective against climate change.

The picture you can see here is a picture of members of the UN from countries all around the world who were attending a 2015 COP meeting in Paris, which was a COP for climate change meeting.

These COP for climate change meetings happen very often, but let's find out more about what happens at a COP meeting.

Members discuss important global issues like climate change.

Members work together to find solutions to climate change.

They also review progress that's been made since their last meeting.

Members will have votes, and they will come to agreements about their future plans and their strategies of ways to improve.

And they will look at the progress that they have made to reaching any targets that were previously set.

They may also then set future targets for countries to meet, for example, lowering carbon emissions.

The most recent COP for climate change meeting, the 29th COP for climate change meeting, in fact, was held in 2024 in Azerbaijan.

At this particular meeting, the members talked about global measures for limiting global warming.

They talked about phasing out the use of fossil fuels all around the planet, especially coal.

They also discussed how important it was to increase access to financial support, especially for less developed countries, in order to tackle climate change.

Less developed nations struggle to tackle climate change through a lack of funding, and this is a situation that the UN hopes to change in the coming years.

So were you paying attention then about the COP meetings? I'd like you to answer this quick question.

What are the main functions of a COP for climate change meeting? A, future planning, b, team building, c, target setting, or d, list making? Make your choices.

Have you decided? Did you choose A and C? Well done.

Future planning and target setting.

I'm sure they probably do end up team building as they work together, and perhaps they do make a lot of lists, but the main functions are planning for the future and setting targets.

Now, it's not just the United Nations that is a global way to tackle climate change.

There are other global organisations, and many of these are what we call international charities.

Charities are not part of any governments.

They are totally separate organisations that are set up and rely on donations from other people.

Those donations that are given to charities are used to fund the projects that they carry out and to help them to reach their individual goals.

Charities aim primarily to bring people together to try and tackle specific different issues such as climate change.

One international charity that is doing a lot of work to tackle climate change is the WWF, or the World Wildlife Fund.

They run climate projects all around the world through their own Climate Recovery Fund.

That fund is made up of donations from people from their own pockets.

The work that they do includes forest restoration projects and working with indigenous communities to protect rainforests like the Amazon, which you can see in the picture.

They also work with coastal communities to protect and maintain mangrove forests, which are hugely important coastal ecosystems. As well as the WWF, there are many other charities that have lots of campaigns to help with climate change, but we couldn't possibly list them all in one lesson.

Let's try this quick activity now.

I have got three sentences, but the ends have been mixed up.

I would like you to match the beginning and the end of each sentence please.

Pause the video whilst you complete it, and then I'll show you the answers.

All done? Okay, let's take a look together then.

Other organisations helping to tackle climate change include international charities.

International charities rely on donations to help fund their work.

So that means, finally, some charities like the WWF run projects to take action against climate change.

To bring this lesson to a conclusion, in fact, to conclude this whole unit, I want you to think about the future of our global coasts.

I would like you to take some time to do some research of your own.

You may do that through books, or through the internet, or podcasts, or watching documentaries, maybe even by speaking to other people.

I would like you to choose either the UN or an international charity of your choice, and explain how they play a role in helping society to tackle climate change at a global level.

Pause the video whilst you complete your activity, and then I will share some example ideas with you.

I hope you enjoy having some fun whilst you research this important global issue.

Okay.

Let's take a look then at an example answer.

This one is about the United Nations, or the UN.

The UN is a global organisation that allows countries from all over the world to work together to find solutions to major global problems like climate change.

The UN holds COP meetings about climate change.

Remember, that stands for Conference of the Parties.

At these meetings, members make agreements and set targets for countries to reach in the future, such as reducing carbon emissions.

These meetings are important because they bring countries together as a global society to take climate action.

You may have chosen to write about the World Wildlife Fund or another international charity.

As we conclude this lesson and this unit about coasts, let's review what we have done today.

Climate change is putting millions of people across the world at risk from sea level rise and flooding.

Island nations, such as the Maldives, are attempting to mitigate that risk by raising structures.

Countries need to work together to tackle the global issues such as climate change.

I really hope that you have found this interesting and insightful to look at the impacts that climate change is having on many places all around the world.

Thank you for joining me today.

And I hope to see you again for another lesson in the future.

Bye for now.