• BEACONS, registered charity number 700161, is one of a network of development education centres (DECs) covering the whole country. DECs are government authorised but receive no direct government funding. • Run entirely by volunteers, BEACONS is the DEC for Herefordshire and Worcestershire. • Our aim is to promote knowledge and understanding about the wider world in the two counties and beyond. We do this in a variety of ways, including providing learning resources, staff professional development, speakers, public lectures and by running conferences. • Our website http://beaconsdec.org.uk/ contains more information about our activities and plans and is a valuable free source of information for teachers, students and the public generally, including our three continuously updated and free Guides to Climate Change. Working to promote awareness and understanding of issues and developments in the wider world
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BEACONS, registered charity number 700161, is one of a network of development education centres (DECs) covering the whole country. DECs are government.
Climate Change: What should be done? By David Terry, author, the BEACONS on-line Guides to Climate Change. Free at
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• BEACONS, registered charity number 700161, is one of a network of development education centres (DECs) covering the whole country. DECs are government authorised but receive no direct government funding.
• Run entirely by volunteers, BEACONS is the DEC for Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
• Our aim is to promote knowledge and understanding about the wider world in the two counties and beyond. We do this in a variety of ways, including providing learning resources, staff professional development, speakers, public lectures and by running conferences.
• Our website http://beaconsdec.org.uk/ contains more information about our activities and plans and is a valuable free source of information for teachers, students and the public generally, including our three continuously updated and free Guides to Climate Change.
Working to promote awareness and understanding of issues and developments in
Beneficial (for some)?•CO2 promotes plant growth• Farming possible in areas previously too cold, e.g. Greenland, Siberia•Reduction in Arctic summer sea ice allows shipping to use the NE and NW passages, and allows extraction of oil and other minerals
What do we know – How certain are we of each of the following?
1. CO2 is a greenhouse gas. The amount in the atmosphere has increased steadily from about 280ppm in pre-industrial times to about 400ppm today
2. CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuels remains in the atmosphere for at least 100 years
3. Other GHGs, notably water vapour and methane, have a stronger effects but remain for much shorter periods
4. Global temperatures have risen by about 0.80C in the last 100 years but since 1998 have risen only slightly
5. Sea levels have been rising for at least the last 150 years at a fairly steady 3.2 mm a year
6. The rise in temperatures and sea levels is largely a result of burning fossil fuels
7. If atmospheric CO2 reaches 450ppm global temperatures are likely to exceed 20C above those of 1900, and this will probably cause catastrophic climate change
8. The amount of CO2 emitted by each country
Climate ChangeWhat should we do?
A Global ProblemAN INTERNATIONAL TREATY TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS:
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Global Action
The Paris Aims:Reduce CO2 emissions so as to keep Global temperature increase below the 2°C limit from Pre-Industrial times.Keep Carbon levels in the atmosphere below 450ppmAvoid the worst of Climate Change
Brief History of Key UNFCCCAnnual COPS:• Rio Earth Summit, 1992• COPS• COP3 Kyoto, 1997• COP15 Copenhagen,