Climate Change Impacts

This lecture explores the impacts of climate change on people, economies, and ecosystems, focusing on the Five Reasons For Concern (RFCs) outlined in the IPCC reports. It discusses the risks associated with different levels of global warming, the vulnerability of various sectors such as tourism and agriculture, and the economic implications of climate change. The presentation also covers the global aggregate impacts, the importance of placing a price on impacts, and lessons learned from the IPCC AR5 report. Additionally, it addresses the vulnerability of different regions to climate change and the economic losses experienced by countries due to climate-related disasters.

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In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane.

Social cost of carbon

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Biodiversity

Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (genetic variability), species (species diversity), and ecosystem (ecosystem diversity) level. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth; it is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of earth's surface and contain about 90% of the world's species.

Biodiversity loss

Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through ecological restoration/ecological resilience or effectively permanent (e.g. through land loss).

Carbon tax

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