Tag Archives: global warming

An Introduction to Carbon Literacy

Masters students Jonet Dunmore, Nina Perunovic and Verity Snow shared learnings from their Carbon Literacy Training in the final Responsible Business Centre Seminar of the summer term.

As the highest temperatures on record were reached in Britain during the July heatwave, we were reminded of the urgent challenge of addressing the climate crisis. While leadership is needed from government and business to address the crisis, many individuals are increasingly aware of climate change and looking to see what part they can play in combatting global heating.

For the past year, Birkbeck has been delivering Carbon Literacy Training to staff and students, helping our community understand key concepts and jargon and to commit to personal and organisational action to tackle the climate crisis.

On Wednesday 20 July 2022, Masters students Jonet Dunmore, Nina Perunovic and Verity Snow, who have each completed the Carbon Literacy Trust certified training, shared their learnings through the Responsible Business Centre seminar: Introduction to Carbon Literacy.

Global Warming – Key Terms

Jonet Dunmore began the discussion by explaining some of the key terms associated with climate change:

  • The Kyoto Protocol – The UN framework on climate change, which committed countries to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • The Paris Agreement – In 2015, at COP 21, a goal was set to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  • Net Zero – A target to negate the amount of greenhouse gases produced by humans by balancing carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere with the carbon dioxide removed from it.
  • 2050 – The UK Government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of 1990 levels.
  • COP26 – Governments were obliged to set out more ambitious goals for climate change under the Paris Agreement to “keep 1.5 alive”.

Which countries are most vulnerable to climate change?

Nina Perunovic highlighted the global injustice of the climate crisis. Developing countries, who are least responsible for carbon emissions, are at the frontline when it comes to the impact of climate change, from natural disasters, to food and water shortages. High polluting countries, such as China and the United States, will be slower to feel the effects of climate disaster than countries such as Yemen and Haiti, which are already living with the consequences. However, if no action is taken, the impact of climate change will soon spread across the globe.

How can Carbon Literacy help us take action?

Verity Snow concluded the seminar with a message of hope: by educating ourselves on carbon emissions, we can take the actions needed to make a change. Participants were encouraged to test their knowledge of climate change solutions using an interactive quiz.

The group also discussed the impact of personal activity such as diet, transport, energy use and lifestyle on carbon emissions. You can explore your personal carbon footprint using the WWF footprint calculator.

The Carbon Literacy Project aims to equip individuals and organisations with the knowledge and motivation to make a positive change for the environment. What small changes could you make to help the planet today?

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Science Week 2017: geoengineering, climate change and evolution

This blog was written by Giulia Magnarini, Birkbeck graduate in Planetary Sciences with Astronomy and PhD candidate in Earth Sciences at UCL.geoengineeringmethods-climatecentral1-2To our knowledge, Earth is the only planet where life has developed. Life appeared very soon after the formation of our planet about 4.5 billion years ago, and continues to survive.

Dr. Philippe Pogge Von Strandmann examined the mechanisms that keep the Earth habitable in a recent talk. He noted that despite large oscillations between cold periods (ice ages) and warmer intervals (interglacial stages), our planet has managed to avoid the fates of Mars and Venus. Both of these planets have lost their oceans, while Earth has retained liquid water at its surface.

Meteorite impacts, glaciations and volcanic eruptions are some of the processes that mark the very dynamic history of the Earth. Atmospheric composition has also changed dramatically over time, formerly being composed of mainly CO2, to the increase of nitrogen and oxygen. These events across Earth’s history have caused extinction of some species, but life has survived nevertheless, and continues to adapt and evolve.

Dr. Von Strandmann illustrated some of the theories that aim to explain the endurance of life on our planet – for instance, Gaia Theory, the Medea Hypothesis, the Daisyworld Experiment – and explored the influence of geological processes on climate mitigation. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, dictates atmospheric and surface temperature; therefore its atmospheric abundance is critical in long-term climate change. Plate tectonics play an important role by removing gases through subduction (where oceanic plates sink under continental plates) and re-emitting them through eruptions. But this process is slow, acting on a time scale of hundreds of millions of years. The weathering of rocks is a more effective process. Dissolved material is washed away by rivers into oceans to form rocks, which lock crucial amounts of carbon dioxide inside.

Dr. Von Strandmann concluded his talk with considerations about consequences of human actions in the face of the current climatic stage. Atmospheric CO2 has surpassed the barrier of 400 ppm (parts per million) and over the last decade, every year has been hotter than the one prior. This is evidence we can neither deny nor ignore. Climate change is going to exert challenging environmental pressures, for instance in a reduction of land available for agriculture. Geoengineers are committed to finding ways to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, the effects of carbon sequestration are still unknown and more research is needed.scienceweekgeoengineeringoriginalThe second speaker, PhD candidate Tianchen Hen, illustrated the emergence of animals that occurred as oxygen levels began to rise. About 540 million years ago, the Cambrian fauna started diversifying from the Ediacaran fauna, introducing several biological innovations. This event is known as the ‘Cambrian Explosion’, and is characterised by an accelerated rate of diversification. Cambrian rocks preserve amazing fossil records, dominated by Trilobites – the first representation of animals that we can call our ancestors.

What seems to be a sudden change in the fossil record has caused significant debate. Charles Darwin noted it to be the main counter-argument to his evolutionary theory of natural selection. However, although all Ediacaran fauna became extinct and were replaced by Cambrian fauna, there is not a distinct separation. Both faunae share a certain degree of diversification and show symmetrical structures. Indeed, molecular biology suggests that a co-occurrence is rooted in the Ediacaran fauna.

The rise of oxygen levels is vital for animal metabolism. It influences body size and allows more intense activities. However, it is unlikely that just one mechanism can explain the triggering of early animal radiation. Tianchen Hen explained other possible factors that may have contributed. Hox genes are responsible for biological innovations, such as appearance of limbs and eyes that could induce behavioural changes. These changes may have refined the relationship between predators and prey, bringing diversification in the battle to survive. Warmer temperatures following the period of extensive glaciations, known as the ‘Snowball Earth’, may have also played a part. The consequent rise of sea-levels expanded habitable shallow sea zones. Moreover, the post ‘Snowball’ stage caused an increased availability of minerals and nutrients.

The interaction between abiotic and biotic processes is extremely fascinating and deserves a better understanding – life as we know it depends on it.

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