WPS HIstory Department: Climate Symposium
“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.” Barack Obama
start
Index
The History of climate change
Introduction
Raising awareness
Celebrity influencers
The young activists that are making a difference
the change of youth
the most influentual scientists
the experts
Conclusion
A big thank you
The History of Climate Change
Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 800,000 years, there have been eight cycles of ice ages and warmer periods, with the end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.
The History of Climate Change
The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia. It is undeniable that human activities have produced the atmospheric gases that have trapped more of the Sun’s energy in the Earth system. This extra energy has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.
The History of Climate Change
Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate. Scientists demonstrated the heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases in the mid-19th century. Many of the science instruments NASA uses to study our climate focus on how these gases affect the movement of infrared radiation through the atmosphere. From the measured impacts of increases in these gases, there is no question that increased greenhouse gas levels warm Earth in response.
"Where there is great power, there is great responsibility"
- Winston Churchill
Celebrity Influencers
With great power...
Day to day we see celebrities in our media influencing our sense of fashion, our diets, what we buy, what we watch, what trends we partake in. Some of these incredible people have decided to use their platform to educate their audience on the changing climate and to warn and promote how we might make a difference to the world. Here are the profiles of some of these amazing role models and what they have done!
Al Gore
Former vice president usa
Gore became interested in global warming when he took a course at Harvard University with Professor Roger Revelle, one of the first scientists to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[12] Later, when Gore was in Congress, he initiated the first congressional hearing on the subject in 1981.[13] Gore's 1992 book, Earth in the Balance, dealing with a number of environmental topics, reached the New York Times bestseller list.[14]As Vice President during the Clinton Administration, Gore pushed for the implementation of a carbon tax to encourage energy efficiency and diversify the choices of fuel better reflecting the true environmental costs of energy use; it was partially implemented in 1993.
David Attenborough
Broadcaster and natural historian
Known for: Nature communications David Attenborough is a renowned English broadcaster, natural historian and environmental advocate. His programs highlight the impact of human society on the natural world. His documentary series Blue Planet II prompted a surge in public interest in plastic recycling and was considered a catalyst for the Environmental Audit Committee’s creation of ‘Plastic bottles: Turning back the Plastic Tide,’ a report on plastic litter. He has been hugely influential in a range of campaigns such as the World Wildlife Fund’s push to create a protected area in Borneo’s rainforest. In May 2015, he discussed measures to protect the environment with President Barack Obama and, in 2018, he addressed the UN Climate Change Summit.
Leonardo Dicaprio
Actor and activist
Leonardo DiCaprio climate change activism didn’t begin during his academy awards acceptance speech. When he was just 24 years old, DiCaprio started a nonprofit to support organizations and projects that combat climate change, protect wildlife, and preserve threatened ecosystems. Since its creation in 1998, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has funded over 200 projects and raised nearly 100 million dollars. This money has been translated into grants awarded to 132 causes across 50 countries in collaboration with over 65 partner organizations. His foundation is one of the largest environmental nonprofits that focuses on a wide range of Earth activism like marine conservation, renewable energy, and Indigenous Rights.
Mia Mottley
Prime Minister of barbados
Known for: Creating Global South Climate Partnerships Mia Mottley came to the fore of climate policy following her explosive COP26 speech, where she called a 2C° world a “Death Sentence” for many in the global south. Since then, she has been building climate partnerships between developing nations, combining their efforts to push for greater action on climate change and the delivery of climate reparations. In 2021, she was awarded UNEP’s Champion of the Earth award for her work In Barbados and international advocacy.
Nemonte Nenquimo
President of the Waorani of patazo
Known for: Protector of the Ecuadorian Amazon Nemote is an immensely impactful activist and leader, having successfully sued to protect half a million acres of the Ecuadorian Amazon from oil drilling, protecting its ecological integrity and preventing these reserves being exploited and the forest felled. She is also an active indigenous politician, ensuring the voice of the Waorani nation are heard and their stewardship of the Amazon is respected. In 2020, she was awarded UNEP’s 'Champions of the Earth' award and also named in Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Xie Zhenhua
Representative for climate change affairs, National development and reform commission, china
Known for: Coordinating international carbon reduction Xie Zhenhua is the current special representative on climate change for China. In this role, he has been instrumental in a series of influential climate change negotiations: he coordinated an agreement between China and the US on reducing carbon emissions and collected political support for the adoption of the Paris Agreement. In his previous role as Minister of Environmental Protection, he was a strong advocate for clean air, resource conservation and sustainable development. His influential role in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has boosted China’s influence on international climate change agreements.
"Good habits formed at youth make all the difference"
- Aristotle
Inspirational Youth
The children are our future... The world belongs to the next generation and it is our duty to preserve it for them. As such, the next generation is already stepping up and taking on the responsibility of guiding us in that preservation. Here are some of the young voices speaking out.
Greta Thunberg
Youth Activist - Sweden
Known for: School strike for climate Greta Thunberg is a 19-year-old climate activist from Sweden. In August 2018, she became known around the world for starting a schools strike for climate outside the Swedish parliament. She demanded that the government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, and she protested by sitting outside parliament every day during school hours. Within months, she had addressed the UN Climate Change Conference and had spoken at the World Economic Forum at Davos. She inspired school students around the world: more than 20,000 students from 270 towns and cities have now taken part in similar strikes.
Autumn Peltier
Clear water activist - canada
Autumn Peltier is a thirteen year old activist from Manitoulin Island in Canada. In 2018, on World Water Day, she addressed the UN General Assembly demanding action to protect the environment and stop water pollution, as part of the launch of the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development. Prior to her speech, she had already established herself as a renowned advocate of safe drinking water for Indigenous communities. She attended the 2015 Children's Climate Conference in Sweden and was nominated for the 2017 Children’s International Peace Prize.
Ayisha Siddiaua
Cofounder or fossil free university and polluters out - pakistan
Known for: Climate justice activist and climate litigation scholar Ayisha is a tireless activist who has organised, founded, and led multiple climate justice campaigns; such as Fossil Free University. She has consistently advocated for the fight against climate change as a global justice issue, and was an influential critic of climate action that excluded the Global South at COP26. More recently, she was a prominent voice connecting the devastating Pakistan floods to climate disruption. Alongside her work as an activist, she is also a research scholar in the field of climate litigation.
Hilda Nakabuye
Cofounder of fridays for future - uganda
Known for: Advocating for African voices in climate action As a climate activist Hilda has been instrumental in mobilising youth activists, both in Uganda and across the globe. Beyond her work as a climate activist, she pushes for African voices to be included in climate action at all levels and has spoken out when they are excluded. Hilda’s climate consciousness was shaped by first hand experiences of climate change in Uganda. She is currently fighting to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a project that will significantly increase global emissions and destroy the communities in its path.
Nalleli Cobo
Activist for stand la - usa
Known for: Combating urban oil rigs in L.A Nalleli Cobo has been an environmental justice activist since the age of eight. As a child, having been made ill as a result of living near an oil well, she successfully organised a community campaign to shut it down. She was a key player in Standing Together Against Neighborhood Drilling L.A. and the South Los Angeles Youth Coalition, and the first youth leader in the People Not Pozos campaign. Since then, she has been working to change public policy so that it prioritises community health over corporate revenue.
Vanessa Nakate
Climate activist - uganda
Known for: The first Ugandan school strike activist and founder of Youth for Future Africa Vanessa Nakate's work as a climate activist is informed by her own first-hand experiences of climate change, and she works to ensure the specific needs, vulnerabilities, and context of Uganda and Africa are taken into account when developing climate action. Vanessa has been an active voice at COP25, COP26, the Davos economic forum, and beyond, always calling for more ambitious investment in the future of Earth's climate. Vanessa is also an author and filmmaker.
"At the start of every disaster movie is a scientist being ignored"
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Experts
top climate scientists in the world
To finish off our exploration of climate activists, we will look at the top climate scientists in the world. The decision that these are the top climate scientists To structure this exploration of the world’s top climate scientists comes from the data collected by data journalist Maurice Tamman who has created a system of identifying and ranking climate academics according to how influential they are: how much they’ve published, how often those papers have been cited relative to others in the same field, and how often those papers have been referenced in the lay press, social media and other public policy papers.
It’s important to note that this isn’t a ranking of the “best” climate scientists. It’s a measure of influence, which naturally evolves over time, based on information available as of December 2020. The data was provided by the British-based company Digital Science, made available through its Dimensions portal.
This effort examined at least 350,000 papers. To discuss these scientists, I will not provide an overview of their climate work (like has been done with the celebrities and youth) as their careers are too extensive to be summarise with the due diligence deserved. Instead, provided is a climate quote from each expert to aid the basic understanding of their views on the impact we are having on the world.
Michael Oppenheimer
World Leading climatologist
"The unthinkable is that we're distorting this atmospheric balance. We're shifting the chemical balance so that we have more poisons in the atmosphere - ozones and acid rain on ground level - while we're also changing the thermal climate of the earth through the greenhouse effect and - get this - simultaneously causing destruction of our primary filter of ultraviolet light. It's incredible. Talk about the national-debt crisis - we're piling up debts in the atmosphere, and the piper will want to be paid."
Corinne Le Quere
Climate scientist
"Now is the time when Climate Science is most needed, to inform the big decisions of our time. The more we learn about the Earth, the more obvious it becomes that humans are an intrinsic part of the planet."
Ken Caldeira
Atmospheric scientist
"Thinking of geo-engineering as a substitute for emissions reduction is analogous to saying, 'Now that I've got the seatbelts on, I can just take my hands off the wheel and turn around and talk to people in the back seat.' It's crazy."
Carlos Duarte
Marine ecologist
"Ocean based solutions can go a long way in helping us win the climate race. Invest in oceans, stop ignoring it"
Julie Arblaster
Earth, atmosphere and environment professor
“When I think about climate change, I think about what it's going to be like in 20 years' time. I think we're in big trouble. Many of these extreme events were unprecedented and unexpected. Our job as scientists is to understand why and constantly evolve our work so communities and decision makers can plan for the future."
Kaveh Madani
Iranian politician and environmental scientist
"Water is not always the main cause of conflicts but is an important catalyst to social instability. The relationship between water, environment & human security in the MiddleEast and Iran has been seriously overlooked!"
Thank you from the WPS History Department and thank you for attending the WPS Climate Symposium
Climate Symposium
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Transcript
WPS HIstory Department: Climate Symposium
“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.” Barack Obama
start
Index
The History of climate change
Introduction
Raising awareness
Celebrity influencers
The young activists that are making a difference
the change of youth
the most influentual scientists
the experts
Conclusion
A big thank you
The History of Climate Change
Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 800,000 years, there have been eight cycles of ice ages and warmer periods, with the end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.
The History of Climate Change
The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia. It is undeniable that human activities have produced the atmospheric gases that have trapped more of the Sun’s energy in the Earth system. This extra energy has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.
The History of Climate Change
Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate. Scientists demonstrated the heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases in the mid-19th century. Many of the science instruments NASA uses to study our climate focus on how these gases affect the movement of infrared radiation through the atmosphere. From the measured impacts of increases in these gases, there is no question that increased greenhouse gas levels warm Earth in response.
"Where there is great power, there is great responsibility"
- Winston Churchill
Celebrity Influencers
With great power...
Day to day we see celebrities in our media influencing our sense of fashion, our diets, what we buy, what we watch, what trends we partake in. Some of these incredible people have decided to use their platform to educate their audience on the changing climate and to warn and promote how we might make a difference to the world. Here are the profiles of some of these amazing role models and what they have done!
Al Gore
Former vice president usa
Gore became interested in global warming when he took a course at Harvard University with Professor Roger Revelle, one of the first scientists to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[12] Later, when Gore was in Congress, he initiated the first congressional hearing on the subject in 1981.[13] Gore's 1992 book, Earth in the Balance, dealing with a number of environmental topics, reached the New York Times bestseller list.[14]As Vice President during the Clinton Administration, Gore pushed for the implementation of a carbon tax to encourage energy efficiency and diversify the choices of fuel better reflecting the true environmental costs of energy use; it was partially implemented in 1993.
David Attenborough
Broadcaster and natural historian
Known for: Nature communications David Attenborough is a renowned English broadcaster, natural historian and environmental advocate. His programs highlight the impact of human society on the natural world. His documentary series Blue Planet II prompted a surge in public interest in plastic recycling and was considered a catalyst for the Environmental Audit Committee’s creation of ‘Plastic bottles: Turning back the Plastic Tide,’ a report on plastic litter. He has been hugely influential in a range of campaigns such as the World Wildlife Fund’s push to create a protected area in Borneo’s rainforest. In May 2015, he discussed measures to protect the environment with President Barack Obama and, in 2018, he addressed the UN Climate Change Summit.
Leonardo Dicaprio
Actor and activist
Leonardo DiCaprio climate change activism didn’t begin during his academy awards acceptance speech. When he was just 24 years old, DiCaprio started a nonprofit to support organizations and projects that combat climate change, protect wildlife, and preserve threatened ecosystems. Since its creation in 1998, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has funded over 200 projects and raised nearly 100 million dollars. This money has been translated into grants awarded to 132 causes across 50 countries in collaboration with over 65 partner organizations. His foundation is one of the largest environmental nonprofits that focuses on a wide range of Earth activism like marine conservation, renewable energy, and Indigenous Rights.
Mia Mottley
Prime Minister of barbados
Known for: Creating Global South Climate Partnerships Mia Mottley came to the fore of climate policy following her explosive COP26 speech, where she called a 2C° world a “Death Sentence” for many in the global south. Since then, she has been building climate partnerships between developing nations, combining their efforts to push for greater action on climate change and the delivery of climate reparations. In 2021, she was awarded UNEP’s Champion of the Earth award for her work In Barbados and international advocacy.
Nemonte Nenquimo
President of the Waorani of patazo
Known for: Protector of the Ecuadorian Amazon Nemote is an immensely impactful activist and leader, having successfully sued to protect half a million acres of the Ecuadorian Amazon from oil drilling, protecting its ecological integrity and preventing these reserves being exploited and the forest felled. She is also an active indigenous politician, ensuring the voice of the Waorani nation are heard and their stewardship of the Amazon is respected. In 2020, she was awarded UNEP’s 'Champions of the Earth' award and also named in Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Xie Zhenhua
Representative for climate change affairs, National development and reform commission, china
Known for: Coordinating international carbon reduction Xie Zhenhua is the current special representative on climate change for China. In this role, he has been instrumental in a series of influential climate change negotiations: he coordinated an agreement between China and the US on reducing carbon emissions and collected political support for the adoption of the Paris Agreement. In his previous role as Minister of Environmental Protection, he was a strong advocate for clean air, resource conservation and sustainable development. His influential role in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has boosted China’s influence on international climate change agreements.
"Good habits formed at youth make all the difference"
- Aristotle
Inspirational Youth
The children are our future... The world belongs to the next generation and it is our duty to preserve it for them. As such, the next generation is already stepping up and taking on the responsibility of guiding us in that preservation. Here are some of the young voices speaking out.
Greta Thunberg
Youth Activist - Sweden
Known for: School strike for climate Greta Thunberg is a 19-year-old climate activist from Sweden. In August 2018, she became known around the world for starting a schools strike for climate outside the Swedish parliament. She demanded that the government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, and she protested by sitting outside parliament every day during school hours. Within months, she had addressed the UN Climate Change Conference and had spoken at the World Economic Forum at Davos. She inspired school students around the world: more than 20,000 students from 270 towns and cities have now taken part in similar strikes.
Autumn Peltier
Clear water activist - canada
Autumn Peltier is a thirteen year old activist from Manitoulin Island in Canada. In 2018, on World Water Day, she addressed the UN General Assembly demanding action to protect the environment and stop water pollution, as part of the launch of the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development. Prior to her speech, she had already established herself as a renowned advocate of safe drinking water for Indigenous communities. She attended the 2015 Children's Climate Conference in Sweden and was nominated for the 2017 Children’s International Peace Prize.
Ayisha Siddiaua
Cofounder or fossil free university and polluters out - pakistan
Known for: Climate justice activist and climate litigation scholar Ayisha is a tireless activist who has organised, founded, and led multiple climate justice campaigns; such as Fossil Free University. She has consistently advocated for the fight against climate change as a global justice issue, and was an influential critic of climate action that excluded the Global South at COP26. More recently, she was a prominent voice connecting the devastating Pakistan floods to climate disruption. Alongside her work as an activist, she is also a research scholar in the field of climate litigation.
Hilda Nakabuye
Cofounder of fridays for future - uganda
Known for: Advocating for African voices in climate action As a climate activist Hilda has been instrumental in mobilising youth activists, both in Uganda and across the globe. Beyond her work as a climate activist, she pushes for African voices to be included in climate action at all levels and has spoken out when they are excluded. Hilda’s climate consciousness was shaped by first hand experiences of climate change in Uganda. She is currently fighting to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a project that will significantly increase global emissions and destroy the communities in its path.
Nalleli Cobo
Activist for stand la - usa
Known for: Combating urban oil rigs in L.A Nalleli Cobo has been an environmental justice activist since the age of eight. As a child, having been made ill as a result of living near an oil well, she successfully organised a community campaign to shut it down. She was a key player in Standing Together Against Neighborhood Drilling L.A. and the South Los Angeles Youth Coalition, and the first youth leader in the People Not Pozos campaign. Since then, she has been working to change public policy so that it prioritises community health over corporate revenue.
Vanessa Nakate
Climate activist - uganda
Known for: The first Ugandan school strike activist and founder of Youth for Future Africa Vanessa Nakate's work as a climate activist is informed by her own first-hand experiences of climate change, and she works to ensure the specific needs, vulnerabilities, and context of Uganda and Africa are taken into account when developing climate action. Vanessa has been an active voice at COP25, COP26, the Davos economic forum, and beyond, always calling for more ambitious investment in the future of Earth's climate. Vanessa is also an author and filmmaker.
"At the start of every disaster movie is a scientist being ignored"
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Experts
top climate scientists in the world
To finish off our exploration of climate activists, we will look at the top climate scientists in the world. The decision that these are the top climate scientists To structure this exploration of the world’s top climate scientists comes from the data collected by data journalist Maurice Tamman who has created a system of identifying and ranking climate academics according to how influential they are: how much they’ve published, how often those papers have been cited relative to others in the same field, and how often those papers have been referenced in the lay press, social media and other public policy papers. It’s important to note that this isn’t a ranking of the “best” climate scientists. It’s a measure of influence, which naturally evolves over time, based on information available as of December 2020. The data was provided by the British-based company Digital Science, made available through its Dimensions portal. This effort examined at least 350,000 papers. To discuss these scientists, I will not provide an overview of their climate work (like has been done with the celebrities and youth) as their careers are too extensive to be summarise with the due diligence deserved. Instead, provided is a climate quote from each expert to aid the basic understanding of their views on the impact we are having on the world.
Michael Oppenheimer
World Leading climatologist
"The unthinkable is that we're distorting this atmospheric balance. We're shifting the chemical balance so that we have more poisons in the atmosphere - ozones and acid rain on ground level - while we're also changing the thermal climate of the earth through the greenhouse effect and - get this - simultaneously causing destruction of our primary filter of ultraviolet light. It's incredible. Talk about the national-debt crisis - we're piling up debts in the atmosphere, and the piper will want to be paid."
Corinne Le Quere
Climate scientist
"Now is the time when Climate Science is most needed, to inform the big decisions of our time. The more we learn about the Earth, the more obvious it becomes that humans are an intrinsic part of the planet."
Ken Caldeira
Atmospheric scientist
"Thinking of geo-engineering as a substitute for emissions reduction is analogous to saying, 'Now that I've got the seatbelts on, I can just take my hands off the wheel and turn around and talk to people in the back seat.' It's crazy."
Carlos Duarte
Marine ecologist
"Ocean based solutions can go a long way in helping us win the climate race. Invest in oceans, stop ignoring it"
Julie Arblaster
Earth, atmosphere and environment professor
“When I think about climate change, I think about what it's going to be like in 20 years' time. I think we're in big trouble. Many of these extreme events were unprecedented and unexpected. Our job as scientists is to understand why and constantly evolve our work so communities and decision makers can plan for the future."
Kaveh Madani
Iranian politician and environmental scientist
"Water is not always the main cause of conflicts but is an important catalyst to social instability. The relationship between water, environment & human security in the MiddleEast and Iran has been seriously overlooked!"
Thank you from the WPS History Department and thank you for attending the WPS Climate Symposium