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The US never ratified the Kyoto Protocol and so had no obligations to reduce their emissions.

Responses to Climate Change

Governments, businesses, and individuals all respond to climate change by cutting emissions, saving energy, and preparing for new risks, from rising sea levels to more extreme weather.

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Fascinating Fact:

Improving energy efficiency in homes, industry, and transport, for example through insulation and fuel efficient vehicles, reduces energy demand and emissions.

In GCSE Geography, responses to climate change include both mitigation, which tackles the causes, and adaptation, which manages the impacts. You study measures such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, international agreements, and local actions that help societies move towards a lower carbon and more climate resilient future.

Key Terms

Mitigation: Actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase carbon stores to slow down climate change.
Adaptation: Changes that help people and places cope with the impacts of climate change, such as flood defences or drought resistant crops.
Energy efficiency: Using less energy to get the same service, for example through insulation or efficient appliances, so fewer emissions are produced.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are the main responses to climate change in geography?

In geography, responses to climate change are usually grouped into mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation reduces emissions, while adaptation prepares people and places for the impacts that are already happening or expected.

How can individuals help reduce climate change?

Individuals can help by saving energy at home, using public transport or walking more, wasting less food, buying fewer single use products, and supporting policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation?

Mitigation tackles the causes of climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions or increasing carbon stores. Adaptation deals with the effects, for example by building sea walls or changing farming methods to suit a warmer climate.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Some nations have begun to use carbon sinks to meet their targets for emission reduction. What are carbon sinks?

Underground locations where trapped carbon is stored

Natural fissures or holes that allow carbon to escape, thereby reducing the country's ownership of the issues created

Special charged plates installed in chimneys to remove particulates from the air as they pass over them

Forests, oceans, or other natural environments viewed in terms of their ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

It is likely that new technologies, including the use of genetically modified algae, will help to increase the rate of carbon capture and improve our chances of using carbon sinks to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere

2 .

Which superpower announced its intention not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol?

China

Iceland

Since the US have never ratified the treaty, despite signing in 1998, they had no obligations to reduce emissions in the period that ended in 2012

3 .

What is the Green Climate Fund?

A fund to allow for the development of green technologies by universities and other publicly funded bodies. The aim is to allow technology to become carbon neutral within 20 years

A fund for the replanting of trees and plants in formerly deforested zones

A fund within the framework of the UNFCCC founded as a mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change

A fund that can be accessed by activist groups to help them spread the word about climate change

As a country develops, its carbon emissions rise. Nations like those in the EU have already gone through this stage and, to help reduce overall carbon output, are providing funding to nations that are still developing

4 .

If CO₂ levels remain below 550ppm climate change may be small enough to allow both human populations and plant and animal species to adapt and adjust - rather than facing extinction. Which is not a way countries are reducing the rise in CO₂ levels?

Reducing burning fossil fuels

Deforestation

Developing new carbon-neutral technologies

Working on carbon capture technologies

Reducing carbon output by developing new technologies, as well as planting trees and developing carbon capture techniques, can reduce the rise in average global temperatures

5 .

Which of the following is not a way that you can reduce your carbon footprint and so do your bit to reduce the impact of climate change?

Walking rather than using a car for short journeys

Recycling

Turning off electric devices when not in use

Keeping your old TV and other older equipment rather than upgrading

New equipment uses far less energy, reducing your carbon foot print although some people argue that this is offset by the emissions from manufacturing the more energy efficient appliances

6 .

What protocol was adopted on 11^th December 1997 in Japan as a part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, committing the parties to internationally binding reductions in emissions?

Bali Road Map

Kyoto Protocol

Warsaw Protocol

Cancun Agreements

The Kyoto Protocol was seen as an important first step - even though not all industrialised nations agreed to or met the emissions targets

7 .

What are the UK Climate Change Agreements?

A reduction in the Climate Change Levy (a tax on electricity and fuel bills) for companies that agree to meet certain targets

Agreements between the UK and the EU to reduce emissions across Europe

Agreements between the UK and the USA to reduce climate change

A reduction in the tax bill for small companies that are in sectors that do not produce carbon emissions

Climate Change Levies are designed to encourage energy dependent sectors to improve their carbon footprint. Climate Change Agreements encourage them to improve even further

8 .

What do the letters UNFCCC stand for?

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

United Nations Field Council on Climate Change

Undeveloped Nations Field Council on Climate Change

United Nationals Final Convention on Cimate Change

The UNFCCC is best known for the Kyoto Protocal, and later, the Bali Road Map. Their website is a good source of material for revision purposes

9 .

Why is developing new types of crops and food technologies key to adapting to climate change?

Rapid increase in human populations as the climate warms will lead to food shortages

Changing diets means that people want to eat more. With added environmental pressures, crop yields will need to be increased

Changing conditions, flooding, and desertification may lead to reduced capability for crops to grow

Increased temperature means only genetically modified crops will grow

Changing conditions will stretch global agriculture beyond what it can produce at present. This, and a steady increase in human population, means that new food technologies will be required to feed demand

10 .

If greenhouse gas emissions stopped today, for how much longer would man-made climate change continue to occur?

30-40 years

300-400 years

3,000-4,000 years

It would stop immediately

Even if somehow governments managed to stop emissions today, it would still take decades for the climate to recover. It's unlikely that governments will reach a consensus in the immediate future. Whilst the rate of increase in greenhouse emissions is slowing, there is still an increase occurring

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Climate change

Author: Ruth M