Climate change: causes and responses

Ages 13 to 17 Read alone · about 55 minutes

Read together

Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat in the atmosphere. This natural effect keeps Earth warm enough for life. Burning coal, oil and gas, clearing forests and some farming add more of these gases. Carbon dioxide in the air has risen from about 280 parts per million before industry to over 420 today.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made up of thousands of scientists, reports that the world is about 1.1 degrees Celsius warmer than before industrial times, mostly because of human activity. This is linked to more heat waves, heavier rain, rising seas and stronger storms in some places. Island and coastal countries, like the Philippines, are especially exposed. Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 was one of the strongest ever to hit land.

There are two kinds of response. Mitigation reduces the gases, for example with clean energy and efficiency. Adaptation helps people cope, for example with sea walls, early warnings and drought-tolerant crops. In 2015, countries agreed in Paris to try to limit warming well below 2 degrees. Christians of many traditions describe caring for the earth as part of their calling. They often differ on policies.

Do it

1. Calculate a rough carbon footprint for one week using a reliable online calculator, with a grown-up, or list the biggest sources in your life: travel, food, energy, things you buy.
2. Pick one action you can take (eat less waste, walk or take transit, save energy) and track it for two weeks.
3. Research how your community prepares for floods, heat or storms. What adaptation exists? What is missing?
4. Read Genesis 2:15 and Psalm 24:1. What do they say about our relationship to the earth? Write your own response.

Talk about it

• What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation?
• Who is affected most by climate change?

For the grown-up

The science of human-caused warming is well established, and the IPCC represents the consensus of climate scientists. People of faith differ about the best policies, and teens can feel anxious about the future. Offer hope with action, and listen to worries. Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si'” and statements by evangelical and Orthodox leaders show Christian concern for creation. If your teen is very anxious, see the lesson on stress, anxiety and getting help.

Mark as done

← Previous lesson Next lesson →

Where this comes from

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Sixth Assessment Report: Synthesis Report (2023)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Global Monitoring Laboratory, atmospheric carbon dioxide records (Mauna Loa)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Paris Agreement (2015)
• Pope Francis, Laudato Si' (2015)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.