Climate change: causes, consequences and possible actions (2021)

Why is swift action to protect the climate so important and what is the scientific basis for calculations on causes and consequences of climate change? The Leopoldina explains this in its “Factsheet climate change: causes, consequences and possible actions”. In the first two chapters of this publication, the currently available knowledge about the causes and consequences of climate change has been summarized in an easy-to-understand format. The connections and data are illustrated in graphics, with concise explanations.

The factsheet is divided into three sections: causes, consequences and possible actions. In the chapter “Causes of climate change”, phenomena such as the greenhouse effect are explained and the development of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations in the course of earth's history is described, along with the speed of human-induced global warming. The chapter “Consequences of climate change” covers topics such as extreme weather events, the rising sea level, drought and the consequences of climate change for health and food security. The role of tipping points in the climate system is also explained.

Previously agreed emissions reductions are discussed in the chapter “Measures to counteract climate change”. Other topics include technologies for “negative emissions”, carbon pricing, natural carbon sinks such as soils, forests and oceans as well as the distribution of the remaining emission budget as a political and ethical issue.
 

Graphics for the Factsheet

All graphics in the factsheet are licensed under the Creative Commons licence CC BY-ND 4.0. They may be used freely in unmodified form with credit to the author "Leopoldina/Infografiker.com".

• Extent of Arctic sea ice from 1980 to 2020 (PNG)
• Tree death rates (PNG)
• CO₂ content of the atmosphere since 1958 (PNG)
• CO2 content of the atmosphere over the last 800,000 years (PNG)
• Effective carbon price (PNG)
• Overall global CO₂ emissions from 1850 to 2019 (PNG)
• CO₂ sources and isnks from 1850 to 2019 (PNG)
• Example of agricultural damage: drought in grasslands (PNG)
• Emissions must be substantially lower by 2030 than planned by governments (PNG)
• Annual CO₂ emissions by region (PNG)
• Climate change upsets the Earth's energy balance (PNG)
• Health risks induced by climate change (PNG)
• Tipping points in the climate system (PNG)
• Limited carbon budget (PNG)
• Ocean warming endangers coral reefs (PNG)
• Change in global sea level from 1900 to 2020 (PNG)
• Examples of negative emissions technologies (PNG)
• Record temperatures and precipitation are becoming more frequent and more extreme (PNG)
• Examples of a tipping point: permafrost (PNG)
• Where does the CO2 released by humans remain? (PNG)
• Global temperature and temperature in Germany since 1880 (PNG)
• Global temperature since the end of the last ice age (PNG)