Climate change and

sustainability

Karim M. Morsy, Ph.D., P.E.

Course content
1. Introduction to climate change and the main challenges.

2. Main causes and drivers of climate change and their impacts on sustainable development

3. Paris agreement and its relation to 2030 SDGs Agenda

4. Climate change mitigation in different sectors (energy, transport, industry,…etc)

5. Climate change adaptation in different sectors (water, agriculture,…etc)

Course content
6. Means of implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects (finance,
science,..etc)

7. Sustainability conceptual and practical perspective.

8. Sustainable development (history, concepts and goals)

9.Holistic approach of Green growth

10. Case studies on Egypt

Course objectives
This course will introduce climate change and the cross-cutting issues associated to it.

It will shed light on the causes and impacts of climate change as well as how to mitigate and adapt with it.

The course aims at coving the interlinkages between the challenges of climate change and the
sustainable development.

It will allow you to understand the concepts of mitigation and adaptation with climate change in the
various developmental sectors with practical case studies.

The course with cover the history, challenges and concepts of Sustainable Development and means of
Green Growth.

It will provide you with a framework to explore sustainability through reflective and experiential learning
activities and exercises, and in-depth discussion for enhancing your knowledge base and critical thinking.
Understanding The Climate System
Understanding The Climate System
Difference Between Weather and Climate
Weather is the temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness and wind that we
experience in the atmosphere at a given time in a specific location.

Climate is the average weather over a long time period (30 – 50 years) in a region.
weather

climate (average min/max)

Understanding The Climate System
Climate variability is the way aspects of climate
(such as temperature and precipitation) differ
from an average. Climate variability occurs due
to natural and sometimes periodic changes in
the circulation of the air and ocean, volcanic
eruptions, and other factors.

Climate system is a complex, interactive system

consisting of the atmosphere, land surface, snow
and ice, oceans and other bodies of water, and living
things.
Understanding The Climate System
The climate system evolves in time under the
influence of its own internal dynamics and due to
changes in external factors that are called forcings.
External forcings include:
• natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions
and solar variations, as well as
• human-induced changes in atmospheric
composition.
What is climate change?
What is climate change?
• "Climate change" as defined by United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), means a change of climate
which is attributed directly or indirectly to
human activity that alters the composition of
the global atmosphere in addition to natural
climate variability observed over comparable
time periods.
• Climate change refers to the long-term
changes in the climate that occur over
decades, centuries or longer. It is caused by
rapidly increasing greenhouse gases in the
Earth’s atmosphere mainly due to burning
fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil, and natural gas).
What causes climate change?
At its most basic, climate change is caused by a
change in the earth’s energy balance — how
much of the energy from the sun that enters
the earth (and its atmosphere) is released back
into space. The earth is gaining energy as we
reduce the amount of solar energy that is
reflected out to space — just like people gain
weight if there is an imbalance between
calories in and calories out.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
Since the Industrial Revolution started over
200 years ago, human activities have added
very large quantities of greenhouse gases
(GHG) into Earth’s atmosphere.

These GHG act like a greenhouse (or a

blanket or car windshield) to trap the sun’s
energy and heat, rather than letting it
reflect back into space.

When the concentration of GHG is too

high, too much heat is trapped, and the
earth’s temperature rises outside the range
of natural variability.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)

There are many GHG, each with a

different ability to trap heat (known as
its “global warming potential”) and a
different half-life in the atmosphere.

GHG are sometimes called “climate

active pollutants” because most have
additional effects, most notably on
human health.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the GHG responsible for greatest
amount of warming to date.

CO2 accounted for 82% of all human-caused GHG emissions.

The majority of CO2 is released from the incomplete

combustion of fossil fuels - coal, oil, and gas — used for
electricity production, transportation and industrial processes.
Together, these three activities account for more than 80% of
the CO2 released into the atmosphere.

Other important GHG include methane, nitrous oxide, black

carbon, and various fluorinated gases. Although these gases
are emitted in smaller quantities than CO2, they trap more
heat in the atmosphere than CO2 does.
What are the impacts of climate
change?
Climate change is causing five critical global
environmental changes
1. Warming temperature of the earth’s surface and the oceans: The earth has warmed at a rate
of 0.13° C per decade since 1957, almost twice as fast as its rate of warming during the previous
century.
2. Changes in the global water cycle (‘hydrologic’ cycle): Over the past century there have been
distinct geographical changes in total annual precipitation, with some areas experiencing severe
and long-term drought and others experiencing increased annual precipitation. Frequency and
intensity of storms increases as the atmosphere warms and is able to hold more water vapor.
3. Declining glaciers and snowpack: Across the globe, nearly all glaciers are decreasing in area,
volume and mass. One billion people living in river watersheds fed by glaciers and snowmelt are
thus impacted.
4. Sea level rise: Warmer water expands, so as oceans warm the increased volume of water is
causing sea level rise. Melting glaciers and snowpack also contribute to rising seas.
5. Ocean acidification: Oceans absorb about 25% of emitted CO2 from the atmosphere, leading
to acidification of seawater.
Global warming
These heat-trapping gases are warming the
Earth and the Oceans resulting in:

• Rising sea levels,

• Changes in storm patterns,
• Altered ocean currents,
• Changes in rainfall,
• Melting snow and ice,
• More extreme heat events, fires, and drought.

These impacts are projected to continue and in

some cases, intensify, affecting human health,
infrastructure, forests, agriculture, freshwater
supplies, coastlines, and marine systems.
Global Average Surface Temperature
• 2021 was the sixth-warmest year
on record based on temperature
data.
• Averaged across land and ocean,
the 2021 surface temperature was
(0.84 °Celsius) warmer than the
twentieth-century average of
(13.9 °C) and (1.04 ˚C) warmer
than the pre-industrial period
(1880-1900).
• The nine years from 2013 through
2021 rank among the 10 warmest
years on record.
Global Mean Sea Level Change
How We Experience Climate Change
1. Greater variability, with “wetter wets”,
“drier dries” and “hotter hots” .
2. More frequent and severe extreme heat
events
3. More severe droughts.
4. More intense precipitation, such as
severe rains, winter storms and hurricanes.
5. Higher average temperatures and longer
frost-free seasons.
6. Longer wildfire seasons and worse
wildfires.
How We Experience Climate Change
7. Loss of snowpack and earlier spring
runoff.
8. Recurrent coastal flooding with high
tides and storm surges.
9. More frequent and severe floods due
to intense precipitation and spring
snowmelt.
10. Worsening air quality: Higher
temperatures increase production of
ozone (a key contributor to smog), as
well as increasing the risk of wildfires.
Climate change is a fact!

97% of climate scientists agree:

• Climate change is happening now.

• It is being driven primarily by
human activity.
• We can do something to reduce its
impacts and progression.
What can we do on our daily routine to
combat climate change?
How to cope with changing climate?
There is a lot we can do about climate change
In general, climate solutions fall into two big buckets — “mitigation” and “adaptation.”
Increasingly, governments and community organizations also talk about measures to
increase climate “resilience.” These concepts are not distinct and are all inter-related.
From the Global Change Research Project:
• Mitigation refers to “measures to reduce the amount and speed of future climate
change by reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases or removing carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.”
• Adaptation refers to measures taken to reduce the harmful impacts of climate
change or take advantage of any beneficial opportunities through “adjustments in
natural or human systems.”
• Resilience means the “capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover
from significant threats with minimum damage to social well-being, the economy, and
the environment.”
Mitigation
Mitigation is essential because scientists agree that the higher
global temperatures rise, the greater the adverse consequences of
climate change. Also, if emissions are unchecked, there is a greater
danger of sudden climate change or surpassing “tipping points.”

For example, collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could lead to
very rapid sea level rise, or melting of permafrost could lead to large
releases of methane that would further increase warming through a
positive feedback loop.

There are many mitigation strategies that offer feasible and cost-
effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These include
the use of clean and renewable energy for electricity production;
walking, biking, and using low-carbon or zero- emission vehicles;
reducing meat consumption; less flying; changing agricultural
practices; limiting deforestation; and planting trees.
Adaptation
Adaptation strategies are needed to reduce the harmful
impacts of climate change and allow communities to
thrive in the face of climate change. The impacts of
climate change are already evident – in extreme weather,
higher temperatures, and changes in the distribution of
disease-carrying vectors.

Cool roofs, planting trees, and air conditioning are all

effective adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts of
rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves.

Seawalls and restoration of wetlands are both strategies

to address sea level rise. Emergency planning that takes
climate changes into account is one way to adapt to the
increased frequency of climate resilience.
What are the global action taken?
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding
international treaty on climate change. It
was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris,
on 12 December 2015 and entered into force
on 4 November 2016.

Its goal is to limit global warming to well

below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5
degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial
levels.
Importance of Paris Agreement
To achieve this long-term temperature goal,
countries aim to reach global peaking of
greenhouse gas emissions as soon as
possible to achieve a climate neutral world by
mid-century.

The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the

multilateral climate change process because,
for the first time, a binding agreement brings
all nations into a common cause to
undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate
change and adapt to its effects.
Take home reading
Climate change and 2030 SDGs Agenda
Thank You!