Information Booklet Q&A

Knowledge & Wisdom Committee

Responses to Assembly Member’s Questions

From Plenary 1 - October 9th, 2021

ANSWERS
1. How exactly are the Global Surface Temperatures in the Recent History Passage Chart calculated? Are they based on temperatures from a single location, or an average of temperatures from many points around the globe?	The global mean surface temperature is based on a globally distributed network of land- and ocean-based measurements.  There are 32,000 land weather stations, weather balloons, radar, ships and ocean buoys.  Satellite observations can be used to complement the surface-based measurements.
2. Is there any evidence that humans have accelerated the process of biodiversity loss?	Yes.  There is no doubt that human activities are destroying nature and causing the loss of biodiversity.  There are five major causes for the loss of biodiversity: (i) conversion of natural ecosystems, e.g., forests, grasslands, mangrove systems, to agriculture, plantation forests, roads and cities; (ii) over-exploited land and ocean-based ecosystems, e.g., overfishing; (iii) climate change; (iv) air, land and ocean pollution; and (v) introduction of alien invasive species.  All five activities have caused the loss of animals and plants, and the services nature provides for humans, e.g., food production, clean water, flood control, pest and disease control.
3. Are we capable of undoing all the damage we have inflicted upon the ecosystem? Can we make everything the same as before or will we inevitably face negative consequences due to our irresponsibility?	No.  We can partially restore some of the heavily degraded ecosystems, but we can never come close to fully restoring them. For example, we can reforest some of the heavily deforested areas in the world, but many of these deforested areas are now agricultural fields, or used for livestock, or are roads and cities.
4. Where will the butterflies lay their eggs once the trees are gone?	It is unlikely that all the trees will be gone, but there will be far fewer trees for butterflies, birds and other animals that rely on trees for their survival.
5. What can we do to mitigate the ecological crisis and to restore the ecological balance?	We must stop converting our natural ecosystems (forests, grasslands, wetlands, etc), stop over-exploiting them (e.g., overfishing in the oceans), limit climate change, pollution and the introduction of alien invasive species.  We need to recognize the value of nature in decision-making.  We need more sustainable ways to grow our food and produce and use energy.
6. What is the significance of the increase in average global temperatures?	A warmer world results in changes in rainfall patterns, sea level rise, more extreme weather events (floods, droughts and heat-waves), melting of mountain glaciers, melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice, and melting of sea ice.  These all adversely affect food production, the quality and quantity of water, the displacement of people due to sea-level rise and river flooding, an increase in vector-borne diseases (e.g., malaria and dengue) and heat stress-mortality, and loss of biodiversity.
7. We have always lived with calamities; however, their frequency seems to have increased so suddenly these days. Why is this the case?	The rate of temperature change and the rate of the loss of biodiversity is unprecedented because of the rapid increase in the production and use of energy and demand for food, water, materials and medicines, all due to an ever-increasing and wealthier population.  The more people there are, and the more income they have, the greater the demand for energy and food.  Unfortunately the way we produce and use our energy and food is unsustainable – we must in the future produce our energy and food in a much more sustainable manner and consume it more sustainably.
8. How do we explain the regional differences in the effects of climate change? For instance, why do we have floods in some regions and droughts in others?	Even in the natural world before humans started to change it, there were large regional differences in temperature and rainfall patterns.  The Earth does not warm uniformly in response to human activities.  The land warms more than the oceans and the high latitudes warm more than the tropics and sub-tropics.  This leads to regional changes in rainfall and other extreme weather events.  The Earth’s weather and climate is a complex system of interactions between dynamical, radiative and chemical processes on the land, oceans and atmosphere.
9. What are the main reasons for fires in large urban areas?	The warmer the Earth becomes in areas which are becoming drier, there is more possibility of fires in urban and rural areas.  As vegetation dries in both urban and rural areas it becomes fuel for wildfires.  As the Earth warms we are seeing more floods and droughts in the same areas (i.e., the same area will see an increase in both floods and droughts because in most parts of the world we will see more heavy rainfall and less light rainfall).  The heavy rainfalls produce more floods and the light rainfall (or dry spells) produces more droughts, and hence the possibility of wildfires.
10. What should we do to deal with climate change? What are we capable of doing? How much time do we have left?	WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FURTHER SESSIONS
11. How can we avoid and eventually stop burning fossil fuels?	WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FURTHER SESSIONS
12. How will the rich nations respond to climate change and ecological crisis?	WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FURTHER SESSIONS
13. Small farmers and rural populations are hit hard by climate change and ecological crisis. What can be done to support their livelihoods?	WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FURTHER SESSIONS
14. How can low-income groups in general be supported to survive climate change and ecological crisis?	WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FURTHER SESSIONS
15. How can people with disabilities be included in climate action?	WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FURTHER SESSIONS