ENV118 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Paris Agreement, Ipcc Fifth Assessment Report, Local Extinction

• School: Macquarie University
• Department: Environment and Geography/Environmental Sciences
• Course: ENV118
• Professor: Lesley Hughes

Document Summary

Not policy prescriptive but meant to guide policy makers. Very strongly worded even though the ipcc is often accused of being too cautious. With current pledges of the countries, even if all are carried out warming will probably reach around 3 degrees. Effects of global warming: rising seas levels due to, more water present (glacial melting, warmer water takes up more space (less dense) 82% of all biodiversity is affected within varying magnitudes. Many species have been affected and we are only at a degree of warming. Biodiversity can adapt but only to a certain point. A koala is affected by an environmental change. Options for the species: stay put & cope, local extinction prevented, go somewhere else, possible local extinction but persistence somewhere else, evolve, local extinction prevented. Species are already responding to warming of one degree: birds are reducing in size as a way of coping with the heat. Averages don"t kill anything it"s the extremes that do.