2. INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals are a
collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a
"blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for
all". The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations
General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by 2030.
3. DEFINITION
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and
weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as
through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s,
human activities have been the main driver of climate change,
primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that
act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s
heat and raising temperatures.
4. Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing
climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These
come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a
building, for example. Clearing land and forests can also
release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major
source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport,
buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main
emitters.
5. Causes
As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the
sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change.
The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded
history.
Generating power
Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels such as
coal, oil and natural gas causes a large chunk of global
emissions.
6. Manufacturing goods
Manufacturing and industry produce emissions, mostly from
burning fossil fuels to produce energy for making things like
cement, iron, steel, electronics, plastics, clothes and other
goods.
Cutting down forests
Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures, or for other
reasons, causes emissions, since trees, when they are cut,
release the carbon they have been storing.
7. Using transportation
Most cars, lorries, ships and planes run on fossil fuels. That
makes transportation a major contributor of greenhouse
gases, especially carbon-dioxide emissions.
Producing food
Producing food requires energy to run farm equipment or
fishing boats, usually with fossil fuels. Cattle produce methane,
a powerful greenhouse gas. And emissions also come from
packaging and distributing food.
8. Powering buildings
Globally, residential and commercial buildings consume over
half of all electricity. As they continue to draw on coal, oil and
natural gas for heating and cooling, they emit significant
quantities of greenhouse gas emissions.Your home and use of
power, how you move around, what you eat and how much
you throw away all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. So
does the consumption of goods such as clothing, electronics
and plastics.
9. GLOBAL WARMING
Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth's surface due
to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which
increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth's
atmosphere.It is caused by increased concentrations of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly from human
activities such as burning fossil fuels, and farming.
10. CONCLUSION
Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at
a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that
threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the
risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are
global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic
action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be
more difficult and costly.
