#ClimateChange

Goal 13 – Climate Change

Climate change is undeniable global issue. With arctic glaciers melting at an unprecedented rate, climate change is nothing to ignore. Please join the awareness initiative. Visit 350.org to learn more about climate challenges. Join the community. Make climate change your resolve.

Progress

In the 26 years since the adoption of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, there has been a reduction of over 98 per cent in the consumption of ozone-depleting substances. Afforestation and the natural expansion of forests have reduced the net loss of forest from an average of 8.3 million hectares annually in the 1990s to an average of 5.2 million hectares annually between 2000 and 2010. Protected ecosystems covered 14 per cent of land and coastal marine areas worldwide by 2012A separate budget of USD $40 million has been allotted for climate change research since 1990.

Challenges

Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by more than 50 per cent since 1990. The annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 0.13 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years. Average global temperatures increased by about 1 degree Celsius over the 20th century. Around 15% of the carbon released in the environment is due to deforestation and change in use of land. The number of climate change related incidents have increased fourfold between 1980 and 2010.