Lesson video

Hello and welcome.

My name is Ms. Harrison, and I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

Today's lesson is called, "Climate Justice and Environmental Inequality." Grab everything you might need for today's lesson and let's begin our learning.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how climate change impacts are felt unequally, and why this leads many people to call for climate justice.

Before we can begin this learning, we need to define the keywords that we'll be using throughout today's lesson.

The keywords in today's lesson are greenhouse gases, climate change, and anthropogenic.

Greenhouse gases, these are gases in earth's atmosphere that trap heat, such as carbon dioxide.

Climate change, this is long-term changes in the climate and weather patterns.

Anthropogenic, this is caused by human activity.

Now that we've defined these keywords, we can begin our learning.

The first question we're going to explore in today's lesson is, "Are we all equally responsible for climate change?" We know that anthropogenic climate change, that means climate change caused by human activity is mainly due to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

These gases trap heat and cause the planet to warm up over time.

So what human activities are responsible? Things like burning fossil fuels for energy, driving cars, cutting down forests, farming, factory industry.

All of these activities increase the amount of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases, which leads to global warming and changes in the earth's climate.

But do we all rely on these activities equally? Do we all produce the same amount of greenhouse gases? Pause the video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

No, we don't all rely on these activities equally, and we don't all produce the same amount of greenhouse gases.

Richer countries usually produce more greenhouse gases because they use more energy, drive more cars, fly more often, and have more industries.

People in these countries often have higher carbon footprints because of the way they live.

In poorer countries, many people use less energy and rely on more farming or small scale transport.

They produce fewer emissions even though they may be more affected by climate change.

So while climate change is a global problem, some countries and people contribute a lot more to it than others.

People have different lifestyles which affect how much greenhouse gases they produce.

Alex said, "My family go on lots of flights a year, we eat lots of meat, and we drive a lot, and we use a lot of electricity." Sofia said, "I've never been on a flight, my family are vegetarian, we don't have cars, so we use public transport, and we're trying not to use so much electricity." Whose lifestyle produces the most greenhouse gases? Pause here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

It's Alex.

Well done if you identified that correctly.

Not everyone in the world produces the same amount of greenhouse gases.

There are big variations in how much is produced by different people, countries, and regions.

This is because people live in different ways, use different amounts of energy, and have access to different resources.

For example, people in richer countries usually produce more emissions because they drive cars, fly often, use lots of electricity, and buy more products, and this leads to a higher carbon footprint.

In poorer countries, people often use less energy and produce fewer emissions, but they're often the ones most affected by the impacts of climate change.

Can you identify some countries with higher per person carbon emissions? Pause the video here whilst you take a closer look at this map, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Canada, the USA, Russia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Well done if you identified those correctly.

I would now like you to name three countries with high greenhouse gas emissions per capita.

Pause the video here whilst you decide, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

You may have listed Canada, USA, Russia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, or New Zealand.

Well done if you managed to get any of those.

Andeep said, "Hang on, I'm sure I read that China produces the most greenhouse gases of any country in the world." Can you explain the confusion? Pause the video here whilst you decide, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Aisha said, "China does have the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the world, but there are 1.

4 billion people, so China's per person emissions are smaller than those of other countries." Well done if you manage to explain that correctly.

Can you identify where has lower per person emissions? Pause here whilst you take a closer look at the map, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

You might have identified Mexico, Peru, Chile, Western Europe including the UK, Southern Asia, and most of Africa.

Well done if you identified those.

There's a clear relationship between a country's wealth and how much greenhouse gas it produces per person.

This is called emissions per capita.

We can see on the map that areas with low GDP also have low total greenhouse gas emissions, and this is because poorer countries produce less emissions per person.

This is because people in those countries often use less electricity, drive fewer cars, and buy fewer goods.

On the other hand, richer countries usually have higher emissions per person.

People there tend to use more energy, travel more, and have more things that rely on fossil fuels.

So even though climate change affects the whole planet, it's not caused equally by everyone.

The people who contribute the least to climate change often suffer the most from its effects.

Why might lower income countries produce less greenhouse gas emissions? Pause the video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

There are a few reasons why poorer countries tend to produce less greenhouse gas emissions per person.

First, there are often fewer people driving cars or using aeroplanes , which means less fuel is being burned.

Second, people and businesses tend to use less electricity and energy overall.

And people also usually buy fewer things, so there's less factory production which means fewer emissions.

And finally, farming techniques in poorer countries often produce less pollution, especially if they use small scale or traditional methods.

All of this means that people in poorer countries have smaller carbon footprints even though they're often the ones most affected by climate change.

Many wealthy countries like the USA have higher greenhouse gas emissions.

This is often because they use lots of energy for transport, industry, and daily life.

Some countries like Saudi Arabia also have high emissions because they produce and export fossil fuels like oil and gas.

However, not all rich countries are the same.

In places like the UK and France, emissions today are lower compared to others.

This is partially because they're invested in cleaner energy like wind and nuclear power.

But it's important to remember that these countries had much higher emissions in the past, especially during the industrial revolution.

This means that although their current emissions are lower, they've already contributed a lot to climate change over time.

So when we talk about climate change responsibility, we have to think of both present day emissions and historic emissions.

Which of the following statements are accurate? A, the poorest countries of the world often have high greenhouse gas emissions per capita, B, the richest countries of the world often have high greenhouse gas emissions per capita, C, the poorest countries of the world often have low greenhouse gas emissions per capita, or C, the richest countries of the world often have low greenhouse gas emissions per capita? Pause the video here whilst you decide, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The correct answers are B and C.

Well done if you identified those correctly.

I would now like you to annotate the map to show three countries with low greenhouse gas emissions per capita, and three with a high figure.

Try to choose countries in a range of different continents for your answer.

You may want to use an atlas to help you.

Pause the video here whilst you complete this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Before we check our answers, let's complete one more task.

I would like you to explain three reasons why low income countries may produce less greenhouse gas emissions per capita.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Let's check our answers.

Your annotated map may look similar to this.

I've annotated the USA as high, Saudi Arabia as high, and Australia as high.

And I've annotated Peru as low, Angola as low, and Bangladesh as low.

Well done if you identified those as well.

Your answer may have referred to, less people driving and using aeroplanes.

Less energy used by people and by businesses.

People buy less things, so less energy is needed in factory production.

And farming techniques that release less emissions.

Well done if you managed to explain this in your answer.

We're now going to explore our second question of today's lesson.

"Are climate change impacts equal around the world?" The impacts of climate change aren't the same everywhere.

They vary from place to place, and this is because of both physical and human factors.

Physical factors include things like altitude.

Higher places may be cooler and less affected by sea level rise, or low line coastal areas may be more at risk of flooding.

Biome type.

Different natural environments respond in different ways.

For example, deserts make it hotter and drier, while rainforests may suffer from more extreme weather and deforestation.

Human factors also play an important role.

Population.

Densely populated areas are more likely to be badly affected, especially if lots of people live in unsafe housing or flood-prone areas.

Wealth.

Richer countries can often protect themselves better with technology and stronger infrastructure, while poorer countries may struggle to respond to extreme weather or recover from damage.

So climate change is a global issue, but it's effects are uneven, depending on where people live and how well prepared they are.

One important physical factor that affects how places experience climate change is altitude, which means how high or low are places above sea level.

If greenhouse gas emissions stay high, scientists from the IPCC, that's the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, say that sea level rise could rise by up to 1 metre by 2100.

This puts low lying cities and those close to sea level at serious risk of flooding.

Some major cities that could be infected include Lagos in Nigeria, Mumbai in India, Jakarta in Indonesia, Bangkok in Thailand, and even New York City in the USA.

These are all large important cities with millions of people, so sea level rise could have a big impact on their homes, businesses, and transport systems. Another important factor that affects how climate change is felt in different places is the type of biome.

That means large natural environments like deserts, rainforests, tundra, and grasslands.

Climate change affects each biome differently.

For example, deserts are predicted to expand as temperatures rise and rainfall becomes less reliable.

When deserts grow into areas where people live and farm, it's called desertification.

This can make the land too dry to grow food or raise animals.

This is already happening in the Sahel region of Africa, a strip of land just south of the Sahara desert.

People living there are being forced to leave their homes because the land can no longer support their farming and livelihoods.

This shows how changes to biome caused by climate change can lead to serious challenges like food shortages and climate migration.

Physical factors that can affect climate change impacts include, A, elevation above sea level, B, closeness to volcanoes, or C, biome type? Pause the video here whilst you identify the correct answer, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The answers are A, elevation above sea level, and C, biome type.

Well done on this task.

An important human factor that affect how badly a country's impacted by climate change is wealth.

Countries with more money have more resources to protect themselves, and they can use something called adaptation strategies.

These are actions that help people in places adjust to the effects of climate change rather than trying to stop it completely.

Can you think of some ways countries might adapt to reduced crop yields, water shortages, river or coastal flooding, and increasing temperatures? Pause the video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Let's take a look.

Countries can deal with the impact of climate change by using adaptation strategies, actions that help them cope with problems like droughts, floods, or extreme heat.

Here are some examples of how they've adapted.

For reduced crop yields, some countries grow genetically modified crops that need less water or can survive in dry conditions.

To tackle water shortages, wealthier countries might build reservoirs or even treat seawater to make it safe for drinking, a process called desalinization.

To protect against river or coastal flooding, they can build flood defences like sea walls, barriers, or improve drainage systems. And for rising temperatures, they can instal air conditioning in homes, schools, and workplaces to keep people cool and safe.

But there's one big issue.

All of these solutions cost money.

That means richer countries are more likely to afford them while lower income countries may struggle to protect their people.

This shows how wealth plays a big role in how well countries can adapt to climate change.

Which of the following are accurate reasons why low income countries may struggle to deal with the impacts of climate change? A, lower income countries are close to deserts, B, lower income countries have less access to technology to reduce climate change, C, lower income countries have less access to technology to help them adapt to climate change, and D, all lower income countries have higher populations? Pause the video here whilst you decide which statement is correct, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The answer is C, lower income countries have less access to technology to help them to adapt to climate change.

Well done if you identified that correctly.

Another important human factor that affects how climate change impacts a place is its population, especially how many people live there and how closely packed they are.

Areas with high population density, meaning lots of people living in a small space, can really struggle to cope with climate change.

That's because it's much harder to protect, move, or support large numbers of people when floods, heat waves, or food shortages happen.

A good example is Bangladesh.

It faces serious risks from climate change from three main reasons.

It has very low elevation, so it's vulnerable to sea level rise and flooding.

It has a very high population density with millions of people living in small, crowded areas.

It also has high levels of poverty, which makes it harder to afford solutions or emergency responses.

This combination means that even small changes in the climate can have huge impact on people's lives, especially in countries that are already under pressure.

In summary, higher risks from climate change impacts are, areas with low elevation above sea level, close to desert areas, high population density, and low income.

And lower risk from climate change impacts are, areas with high elevation above sea level, situated in moderate climates, a low population density, and high income.

I would now like you to fill in the blanks.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The blanks are, in higher risk from climate change impacts, low income.

And lower risk from climate change impact is high income.

Well done if you identified that correctly.

I would now like you to use the information in the fact file to explain whether you think these countries are at a higher or lower risk from climate change.

You must justify your answer using information from the fact file.

You may wish to use an atlas for additional research.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Let's check our answers.

Your answers should include some of the following information.

Nigeria's a high risk.

It has a low GDP per capita, which limits adaptation capacity.

High population density increases vulnerability to climate change impacts.

Large low-lying coastal areas at risk of flooding.

And the Sahel area of Nigeria is vulnerable to desertification.

Norway is a lower risk.

High GDP per capita means they can afford technology to adapt to climate change.

Low population density reduces human exposure to risk.

High average elevation above sea level limits flood risk.

And temperate forest biome is less climate-sensitive and more resilient.

Well done if you managed to include those in your answers.

You've done brilliantly.

We're now going to explore our final question of today's lesson.

"What is climate justice?" Many people believe that there is serious injustice when it comes to climate change.

The countries that have caused the most damage by releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases are often the ones that are wealthy and have the resources to cope with the effects of climate change.

But the countries that have done the least to cause the problem because they produce low emissions, are often the ones that are hit the hardest.

Why? Because they have fewer resources, weaker infrastructure, and less money to protect themselves or rebuild after climate disasters like floods, droughts, or storms. This is what many people call climate injustice.

When the people who suffer the most are the ones who are least responsible.

Let's look at two very different countries to understand climate change and inequality.

The USA has historically had high greenhouse gas emissions per person.

This means Americans use a lot of energy and produce a lot of pollution.

Because the USA is a wealthy country, it has more money and technology to help protect itself from the impacts of climate change, like building flood defences or preparing for storms. On the other hand, Bangladesh produces a very low emissions per person because they don't use much energy or cause much pollution.

But Bangladesh is very vulnerable to climate change because of its low income and physical risks like flooding and storms. This makes it harder for Bangladesh to adapt and protect its people, even though it has contributed less to the problem.

Which of the following is true? A, countries with lower income find it easier to adapt to the impact of climate change, B, countries with high income find it harder to adapt to the impact of climate change, or C, countries with lower income find it harder to adapt to the impact of climate change? Pause the video here whilst you identify which statement is correct, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The answer is C.

Countries with lower income find it harder to adapt to the impact of climate change.

Well done.

Many countries in the Sahel region of Africa produce low greenhouse gas emissions per person.

This means that they don't contribute much to causing climate change.

However, they're expected to be severely affected by climate change.

One big problem is the expanding Sahara desert.

This is called desertification.

As the desert grows, it takes over land that people use for farming and grazing.

This makes it harder for people to grow food and make a living.

This shows an unfair reality even though the Sahel countries contribute little to climate change, they face some of the worst impacts.

Climate justice means that when we deal with climate change, it should be done in a fair way.

This means that poorer countries and more vulnerable people, who often suffer the most from climate change, should not be treated unfairly.

It's about making sure that everyone, no matter where they live or how much money they have, gets help to adapt and protect themselves.

Climate justice asks important questions about who caused climate change, who should pay to fix it, and how can we support those who are most affected? How might the issue of climate justice be tackled? Pause the video here whilst do you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

To achieve climate justice, there are four important ideas.

Fair funding.

Richer countries help poorer countries by giving them money to deal with the impacts of climate change, like building flood defences or drought resistant farms. Sharing technology.

New technologies like clean energy or water saving devices should be shared so poorer countries can adapt to climate change and grow their economies without hurting the planet.

Including everyone.

People who are most affected by climate change should have a voice and be involved in the decisions about how to tackle it.

Cutting emissions.

The countries and companies that pollute the most, the biggest emitters, need to reduce their greenhouse gases quickly to stop climate change.

These ideas help to make sure the fight against climate change is fair for everyone.

I would like you to state four methods of climate justice.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Fair funding, sharing technology, including everyone, and cutting emissions.

Well done if you identified those.

Richer countries have responsibility to help poorer countries deal with the impact of climate change.

I would like you to place a cross in the line representing your opinion, whether you agree or disagree.

I would like you to state your opinion, whether you agree, disagree, partly agree with the statement, and then I would like you to justify your opinion.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Let's check our answer.

Your response may look something like this.

You may have placed your cross here on the line closer to the agree site, and you may have justified it by saying, "I think richer countries should help poorer countries deal with the impact of climate change.

Richer countries have often produced far more greenhouse gases than poorer countries, and yet they have more money to deal with the impacts.

This doesn't seem fair.

The best way for richer countries to help would be to give poorer countries money to help them adapt to the impact of climate change.

Low-income countries could use the money to build flood defences and improve their long-term water supply." Well done if you managed to include any of those points in your answer.

You've done brilliantly.

We've now comes the end of our lesson on climate justice and environmental inequality, and you've done fantastically.

Before we end this lesson, let's summarise everything we've learned today.

Historically, high income countries, those with lots of money in industry, have produced more greenhouse gas emissions than low income countries.

This is because wealthy countries developed faster using lots of fossil fuels like coal and oil, while poorer countries are still growing and have contributed far less to the problem.

However, many low income countries are more vulnerable to the effect of climate change.

They often have fewer resources like money, technology, or strong infrastructure to adapt and protect their people from things like floods, droughts, or extreme heat.

Because of this imbalance, the idea of climate justice has become important.

Climate justice means that we tackle climate change.

It should be done fairly and equally.

Poorer and more vulnerable people who have done the least to cause the problem should not suffer the most.

Instead, wealthier countries that have contributed more to climate change should take responsibility, help poorer countries adapt, and reduce their own emissions faster.

This approach aims to create a fairer, more effective fight against climate change for everyone.

Well done on today's lesson.

You've done brilliantly.

And I look forward to learning again with you very soon.