Hello.

My name's Ms. Ikomi.

I'm a teacher from London and I'm going to be taking you through today's lesson.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson is called How are countries working to overcome the climate crisis? It is part of the wider unit, How effective is the UN and sustainable development goals on promoting sustainability? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain the UN's role in climate action and compare actions taken by high income countries and lower income countries.

As today's topics could be seen as sensitive, we're going to discuss some ground rules for taking part in this lesson.

First of all, it's important to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, it's important that we challenge the statement, not the person.

We must respect privacy.

We can discuss examples in a general sense, but please do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including yourself.

We listen without passing judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

And last, you can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in with the discussion.

We'll never put anyone on the spot.

Let's get started.

The key words we're going to hear in today's lesson are the United Nations also called the UN.

This is an international organisation comprising of most countries in the world, which aims to promote peace, security, and international cooperation.

High income country is a wealthy nation with high economic development, typically having a strong economy and high gross national income per person, where people generally enjoy good incomes and living standards.

Low income country is a nation with limited wealth and development, often having a low GNI per person, where many face challenges accessing basic services like healthcare and education.

We're gonna start by thinking about how is the UN addressing the climate crisis.

The United Nation provides the platform for countries to come together, negotiate, and commit global climate goals.

Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UNFCCC, the UN establishes a framework for addressing climate change at a global level.

We know that most countries in the world are part of the UN, so it provides the opportunity to have these conversations and discussions.

The UNFCCC came into force in 1994.

A total of 198 countries across the world have ratified the convention.

Meaning they have agreed to carry it out.

Together, these countries make up the Conference of the Parties or COP.

The UN holds annual COP summits to unite countries on climate action.

At COP 21 in Paris in 2015, 196 parties adopted the Paris Agreement.

This was a historic moment, because it was the first time so many countries agreed to take action on climate change together.

We've got a photo that you can see of the conference happening in Paris.

It's a really important moment when it came to climate change and addressing it.

So, what is the Paris Agreement? The Paris Agreement aims for all countries to work together to limit global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius at above pre-industrial levels, whilst pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.

5 degrees Celsius.

It also aims to achieve a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and removals.

That means that there would hopefully be what we call net zero in the second half of the 21st century.

Countries have to submit plans outlining their climate actions every five years to hold countries accountable.

It aims to strengthen country's ability to deal with the impacts of climate change by working together.

It also emphasises that high income countries should provide financial support to low income countries to help them reduce climate change impact, strengthen resilience, and adapt to its effects, because we know lots of the time, lower income countries will be worsely impacted.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.

What that means is that if a country has signed it, they are legally obliged to carry out what is set out within it.

The agreement sits under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This means that all countries that have signed and ratified the agreement have committed to the aims and doing their part to tackling climate change in line with these aims. Let's do a check.

Which of the following is a key goal of the Paris Agreement? Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer was a, to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and aim to limit warming to 1.

5 degrees Celsius.

Let's do another check.

How does the Paris Agreement help countries tackle climate change? Pause the video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is b.

The UN has established 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

These were adopted at a historic UN Summit in September of 2015.

These goals aim to end poverty, reduce inequalities, and tackle climate change by 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals aim to reduce the development gap between higher income countries and low income countries.

This is to ensure that no one is left behind in the fight for a more sustainable and equitable world.

Equitable means equal.

Goal number 13 is the one that is tackling climate action, but there are other goals that also support the same.

The aim of Goal 13 is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

As part of the UN's actions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, provides objective scientific information to governments.

Objective information is information that has been found to be true and a fact and is not based on any biassed opinions that would be subjective.

This helps global governments to create evidence-based policies independent of business influence, so they're only thinking about the facts and the science in order to form the policies surrounding climate change.

The IPCC has three working groups, the first of which is the physical science basis.

This focuses on the scientific facts and understanding of climate change, the impacts adaptation and vulnerability, this examines the effects of climate change and how humans can adapt to these impacts, and mitigation of climate change.

This focuses on strategies to reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases.

There's also a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

This develops methods for countries to measure rapport and verify their greenhouse gas emissions and removals.

Let's do another check.

I'd like you to correct the sentences below.

Pause the video and have a go at this.

Now, let's check our answers.

Your corrected sentences should look like this.

The physical science basis working group focuses on the scientific facts and understanding of climate change.

The impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability group examines the effects of climate change and how humans can adapt to these impacts.

And the mitigation of climate change group focuses on strategies to reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases.

Let's put this into practise.

I'd like you to discuss with a partner the different ways the UN is addressing the climate threat.

I'd like you to focus on the role of the IPCC, the importance of the COP Summit, and the impact of the Paris Agreement.

After your discussion, write a summary sentence for each bullet point.

Pause your video and have a go at this.

Now, I ask you to discuss with a partner different ways that the UN is addressing the climate threat.

Your summary sentences might have looked like the following.

The IPCC provides scientific information through its working groups, helping governments make informed decisions about climate change and how to take action.

COP summits are important, because they bring countries together each year to agree on climate action, like the Paris Agreement at COP 21 in 2015.

The Paris Agreement Is a legally binding international treaty, where 196 countries agreed to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius, whilst pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.

5 degrees Celsius.

And provide financial support to low income countries to help them deal with the impacts of the climate crisis.

Next, we're going to think about how are high income countries tackling the climate crisis.

All countries have a measure for the size of their economy.

This is called the Gross National Income.

Economists gather gross national income data from lots of different sources, including the income earned by residents and businesses, how much money people have made, and the value of goods and services being produced.

These figures are combined and show how wealthy or poor a country citizens are on average.

High income countries are defined as countries with a gross national income per capita if more than $14,005.

That's as of the 2023 World Bank Bank classification, and it can change slightly in different years.

This means that on average, citizens in these countries earn more than $14,005 per year.

The gross national income includes both income produced within the country and income from abroad.

Examples of high income countries include Germany, the USA, and the United Kingdom.

High income countries generally have more financial resources to invest into climate action.

This is because they have a stronger economy, meaning that there is more money available.

These countries are often more resilient to the effects of climate change.

Meaning that they can tackle when things happen.

They can afford to invest in solutions such as flood defences, upgrade their energy networks to include more renewable forms of energy, and take other adaptation measures that can help mitigate or prevent work against climate risks.

High income countries are also major contributors to climate change.

This is because they've relied on fossil fuels for a long time.

Their economies depend heavily on fossil fuels for energy consumption and industries, such as steel production.

So, we see a little bit of a mismatch here between countries that are contributing to climate change versus who are also more resilient to tackling those issues.

The UK has recognised the impact of climate change for many years, but significant action began in 2008.

In 2008, the Climate Change Act gained Royal Assent.

Meaning it passed through Parliament and was signed off by the Monarch.

It became the first law in the world to commit a country to addressing climate change.

The act set a target to reduce the UK's emissions by 80% by 2050.

Let's do another check.

What did the Climate Change Act aim to do? Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is b.

It aimed to reduce UK emissions by 80% by 2050.

In 2019, the UK government updated the Climate Change Act to set a target for net zero emissions by 2050.

Net zero means balancing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted with the amount removed from the atmosphere, effectively reducing net emissions to zero.

So, we're balancing up how much is emitted and how much is removed.

The Climate Change Act created the Climate Change Committee.

Sophia's asking, "A committee? All they do is talk.

Why would there be a Committee for climate change?" June's telling us that, "The committee is really important.

It's independent," meaning that it is not associated with the government.

However, "advises the UK government on emissions targets and reports on the progress that is made by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This creates accountability for politicians." The CCC, Climate Change Committee, advises the UK government on carbon budgets which set the maximum amount of greenhouse gases the country can emit over a specific five-year period.

For example, if a coal burning power station emits 2,500 tonnes of carbon a year and the government has a carbon budget of 10,000 tonnes, they must find other ways to generate electricity to stay within that limit.

The carbon budgets are set well in advance to help the government plan better decisions for the future.

The first three carbon budgets between 2008 and 2022 were successfully met.

The UK is currently working on achieving its fourth carbon budget, which runs the year 2023 to 2027.

Let's do another check.

What does the CCC set the UK government, a carbon budget, a carbon tax, or emission reduction targets? Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is a carbon budget.

Let's put this into practise.

I'd like you to outline an argument against the statement, "The UK has taken no meaningful action to tackle climate change." Pause the video and have a go at this now.

I asked you to come up with an argument against this statement.

You might have said The UK has taken meaningful steps to tackle climate change, especially as a high income country.

They've been able to invest more money into combating climate change.

One of the actions the government has committed to is reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

They also passed the world's first climate change legislation, the Climate Change Act in 2008, which aimed to reduce UK emissions by 80% by 2050.

As a country, the UK has also set and met the three carbon budgets set out by the Climate Change Committee so far.

Next, we're going to think about how are low income countries tackling climate crisis.

Low income countries are defined as countries with a gross national income per capita of less than $1,145.

Again, this is as of the 2023 World Bank classification.

Some examples of lower income countries are Ethiopia and Haiti.

Lower income countries are more vulnerable to the worst effects of climate change, because they have smaller economies and less money to invest in things like flood defences, for example.

They also have fewer financial resources to transition to renewable energy sources, such as solar or tidal power.

This could help reduce their reliance on fossil fuels like coal.

However, it requires initial money to set up these different forms of power.

Despite contributing the least to climate change, they're often the hardest hit by the effects of the climate crisis, because of that inability to have as much resilience because of those resources.

Despite limited resources, low income countries are undertaking lots of work to tackle the climate threat.

They're supported by the UN, the United Nations.

to contribute to the global effort.

For example, Rwanda has committed to reducing carbon emission by 38% by 2030.

In Malawi, the UN has supported the construction of solar power plants to provide clean energy.

The Central African Republic has developed National Adaptation Plans to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

So, we see really good examples of this work happening.

Let's do a check.

Low income countries are not able to contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change.

Is this true or false? Pause the video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is false.

This is because lots of low income countries are working with the UN and other organisations and governments to tackle the issue of climate change.

For example, by transitioning to cleaner energy and reducing carbon emissions.

One of the major challenges facing low income countries is the lack of resources and funding to transition to greener energy.

According to the UN, globally, approximately $803 billion was spent on climate action between 2019 and 2020.

However, lower income countries need an estimated $6 trillion by 2030 to meet climate adaptation and mitigation goals.

So, there's still a lot of work to be done.

The UN established a Loss and Damage Fund at COP 27 in 2022 to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters.

As of the 23rd of January, 2025, a total of $741 million has been pledged to the fund by 27 contributors.

However, the economic damage caused by climate change is estimated to cost billions annually worldwide, and therefore the funding pledge so far falls short of what is needed.

Climate change can cause a wide range of damage to a country.

Countries experience extreme weather like storm, wildfires, and floods.

They'll need to replace damage property.

Equally, climate change brings additional costs.

A country experiencing drought may need to import more food from other countries, leading to higher costs.

Similarly, they may also experience job losses and economic downturn as people are no longer able to farm drought stricken areas.

Low income countries are benefiting from innovative funding ideas.

For example, debt-for-climate swaps allows lower income countries to exchange part of their debt for climate investments.

For example, if a lower income country owed the UK 4 million pounds in debt, the UK could agree to swap 3 million of that debt for funding a new offshore wind farm.

This is going to boost the economy and also support climate action, so it's a win-win.

Let's do a check.

What is one challenge faced by low income countries when tackling the climate threat? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is b, low income countries have less money to spend on and invest in climate action.

Let's put this into practise.

I would like you to use the structure below to summarise the actions that are taken by low income countries to tackle climate change.

I'd like you to start with an introduction, explaining what low income countries are and why they're vulnerable to climate change.

Then, outline the challenges.

Describe what they face in tackling climate action.

Then, think about the actions that have been taken.

Provide some examples of those actions.

And last, think about funding and support.

Mention the role of the international funding and give examples of this.

Pause the video and have a go at this now.

Let's check our answers.

I asked you to summarise the actions taken by low income countries to tackle climate change.

You might have said, "Low income countries are nations with a gross national income per capita of less than $1,145 as of the 2023 World Bank classification.

Low income countries are more vulnerable to climate change impacts, like flood storms and droughts, as they are fewer resources to fund solutions like flood defences.

Despite these challenges, low income countries are taking action with help from organisations such as the UN.

For example, Rwanda has committed to reducing carbon emissions by 38% by 2030.

Whilst Malawi has received support to build solar power plants.

The Central African Republic has created national adaptation plans to transition towards renewable energy.

Low income countries also faced financial struggles in combating climate change.

As a result, the UN established a Loss and Damage Fund at COP 27 in 2022 to help vulnerable countries cope with climate related disasters.

Additionally, innovative initiatives like debt-for-climate swaps, where low income countries can exchange part of their debt for climate investments, help countries invest in clean energy projects and climate adaptation." Today, we have been learning about how a country's working to overcome the climate crisis.

We have learned the UN plays key role in climate change action through COP, the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement, and the IPCC.

All countries have a measure for the size of their economy called gross national income.

High income countries have a gross national income per capita above $14,005.

Whilst low income countries have a gross national income below $1,145.

Although low income countries contribute the least to climate change, they are often the hardest hit.

High income countries typically have more resources to invest in climate action and are more resilient to climate impacts.

The UK, a high income country, aims for net zero emissions by 2050 through the Climate Change Act 2008.

Low income countries, like Malawi, are also taking action with UN support for renewable energy projects.

That's the end of today's lesson.

Thank you for joining me.