The document discusses climate change, sustainable development, and solutions. It provides background on climate science, impacts of climate change, key global agreements like the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement, and national commitments like Sri Lanka's NDC's. It emphasizes that climate change and sustainable development are interlinked, and achieving their shared goals will require urgent action, inequality reduction, and commitment from all parties given the challenges and limited time remaining. Overall solutions discussed include reducing emissions and waste, behavioral and policy changes, technology transfers, and drawdown projects targeting areas like refrigerants, renewable energy, and reforestation.

1. Act Act Now On Climate
Fight like your world depend on it
What can we change for a better tomorrow?
Solutions for Climate Change
Network in Sri Lanka [SCCN]
Presented by : Ruwan Nishantha Gamager
(BSc(Hons) in Agriculture/ PGD in Climate Change and Environmental Management)
Reading for MSc in Climate Change and Development
Volunteer Climate Reality Leader at Climate Reality Project
Co-Founder & CEO at Solutions for Climate Change Network in Sri Lanka

2. Sustainable School Summit 2021
Education, especially when focused on children and
young people, is a key factor in helping to curb
climate change.

3. 12 Pathways to greening your school

4. We have the solutions at hand

5. Understanding the Climate Change and Sustainable
Development
.

7. Some energy is
radiated back into
space by the earth
in the form of
infrared waves
Most of this
radiation is
absorbed by the
Earth and warms
it
Solar radiation
in the form of
lightwaves passes
through the
atmosphere
Some of this outgoing
infrared radiation is
trapped by the earth’s
atmosphere and
warms it
Climate Science: Greenhouse effect

8. As the CO2
concentration
increases, more of the
outgoing infrared
radiation is trapped.

10. Climate change as the biggest environmental issues
since industrial revolution
2016 was the warmest year since 1880.

11. The Hottest of All Have Been the Last Five
Years
Data:
NASA/GISS
2016 2019 2017 2015 2018

12. Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have significantly
increased since 1900. Since 1970, CO2 emissions have increased
by about 90%, with emissions from fossil fuel combustion and
industrial processes contributing about 78% of the total greenhouse
gas emissions increase from 1970 to 2011.

13. Natural GHG effect Vs. Enhance GHG
effect.
• Natural levels GHG in the atmosphere are important for life on earth.
• Increased carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions caused by us have led
to enhanced GHG effect and global warming. (Climate Change)

14. UNFCCC – United Nation Framework
Convention on Climate Change
• The ultimate objective of all the agreements under the UNFCCC is “to
stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level
that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate
system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally
and enables sustainable development”. The organization has a
Newsroom, which provides updates on the 2015 Paris agreement,
climate action.

15. Impact of Climate Change
• Increased pest out-break
• Loss of habitat
• Melting glaciers
• Thawing of permafrost
• Floods
• Draughts
• Hurricanes
• Impact from salinity intrusions
• Sea level raise
• Forest fire

16. 400
300
200
100
0
600
700
800
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019
Worldwide Extreme Weather Catastrophes
Number
of
Events
Extreme temperatures, droughts,
fires
Floods,
mudslides
500 Storm
s
1980 – 2019
Data: 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of
January 2020.

20. We now risk
losing up to
50% of all
land-based
species
in this century
Data: Nicholas Stern, The Economics of
Climate Change
Photo: © Dirk Ercken/Shutterstock

21. 2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
-500
-
1,000
-
1,500
-
2,000
-
2,500
2,50
0
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
2012
201
4
201
6
201
8
202
0
Change
in
Ice
Mass
(Gigatonnes)
Data:
NASA
Images courtesy Anders Bjørk, © Natural History Museum of Denmark/Tholstrup (2013) and Danish
Geodata Agency (1935)
Declining Ice Mass in Greenland

22. © 2016 DarrenRD/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0
International
Fort McMurray, Alberta,
Canada
May 3, 2016

23. © 2010 Sean R.
Heavey

24. Simplified Global Carbon Cycle

25. 6Gt C/Yr
3Gt C/Y 3Gt C /Y
Taken up by plants, through the
Photosynthesis and taken up by
Ocean through the dissolution
Ocean- 2Pg, Yr-1, Land – 1 Pg, Yr -1
Added to atmosphere and
accumulation within climate
system
Anthropogenic emissions
Fossil fuel
Cement
Land use change
Global warming has been closely linked to carbon cycle and CO2 concentration in the
atmosphere.
• Sources – Ecosystem respiration
• Sinks – Land and ocean uptake

26. Key milestones in climate change related global
level decision making
• UNFCCC (1992)
( Article 3: Common but differentiated responsibilities heavier
burden on industrialized nation in limiting the emissions)
• KP (1997)
(Commitments for developed countries for emissions reduction,
involves developing countries through CDM)
A top down approaches
• Paris Agreement (2015; COP21)
(Universal and global commitments- involves both developed
and developing countries; reaching the target based on national
level measures and policy decisions; NDC )
A bottom up approaches

27. Paris Agreement
• Goal: (long term). To hold the increase in global average
temperature to well below 2C (3.6F) above pre industrial
level.
• Legally binding instrument apply to both developed and
developing countries with equal commitment all member
countries.
• National level emissions reduction plan to be developed by
the member countries every 5 years.

28. Annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions

29. $0.
0
$1.
0
$2.
0
$3.
0
$4.
0
Top 10 Cities at Risk from Sea Level Rise in
2070
By Assets at Risk
Estimated
Exposed
Assets
(Trillion
USD)
Miami
Guangzhou
New
York/Newark
Kolkata
Shanghai
Mumbai
Tianjin
Tokyo
Hong
Kong
Bangkok
Data: Nichols, et al., OECD Environment Working Paper No. 1
(ENV/WKP(2007)1)

30. 0
5
1
0
1
5
Top 10 Cities at Risk from Sea Level Rise in
2070
By Population at Risk
Data: Nichols, et al., OECD Environment Working Paper No. 1
(ENV/WKP(2007)1)
2070
Population
at
Risk
(in
Millions)
Kolkata
Mumbai
Dhaka
Guangzhou
Ho
Chi
Minh
City
Shanghai
Bangkok
Rangoon
Miami
Hai
Phong

31. 15
20
25
30
35
Change Since 1960
Surface to 300 m
300 to 700 m
700 to 2,000 m
-5
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Data: L. Cheng, K.E. Trenberth et al., “Improved estimates of ocean heat content from 1960 to 2015,” Science Advances, 10 March 2017 with updated 2017-2019 data from K.E. Trenbert
50%
2,000 m and more
10
5
0
Ocean
Heat
Content
(10
22
J)
0
–
2000
m
Depth
Half of this
increase has
occurred in less
than twenty years.
Global Ocean Heat Content

35. Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development
• Post -2015 as the new era of global sustainability
• Paris agreement to be achieve through National Determined
Contribution (NDC)
• 17 sustainable development goals to be achieve in 15 years
(by 2030) through the national, regional, and international
level action.

36. Sri Lanka’s NDC’s are based on the following sectors.
• Energy
• Transport
• Waste
• Industry
• Agriculture and Livestock
• Fisheries
• Irrigation and Water
• Loss and Damages
• Health
• Forestry
• Coastal and marine
• Biodiversity
• Tourism
• Urban, City planning, and
Human Settlement

37. Sustainable Development Goals
• UN members states (193) have committed to achieve SDGs by
the year2030 and targeting the following,
Poverty Alleviation
Reduce inequality
Tracking Climate change

38. The Sustainable Development Goals

39. Sustainable Development

40. 5P and SD

41. 3 pillars of sustainable development

42. Functional Classification of SDGs
Goal Categories Corresponding SDGs
Social Objectives Poverty reduction – G1
Health – G3
Education – G4
Gender – G5
Inequality – G10
Resources Food – G2
Water – G6
Energy – G7
Economy Growth and Jobs – G8
Infrastructure – G9
Cities – G11
Sustainable Consumption and Production – G12
Environment Climate – G13
Ocean – G14
Land – G15
Education Education - G4
Governance Peaceful and Inclusive Societies – G16

43. SDGs and Climate Change
• SDGs focus on tracking climate change
• However, climate change has been the biggest challenge in
achieving sustainable development
Climate Change induced disasters are costly
• In Sri Lanka, annual losses (houses, roads, relief) due to
disasters is Rs. 50 billion (World Bank)
• Rs. 5.373 billion has been given by NDRSC to DSs for draught,
floods, landslides, and other disasters
• SDGs aim at minimizing inequalities ( inequality in distribution
of wealth across a nation)

47. Inequality and disproportionate damage
• Poor countries in the world (Least Developed Countries – LDC and
Small Island Developing State – SIDS) produce low emissions
• But they experience high vulnerability and low adaptive capacity.

48. What action is need for proper implementation
of the planned national level action to reach
both Paris goal and SDGs?
• The limit set on the temperature increase by the Paris
Agreement will require zero net carbon emissions
• Proper coordination among the relevant stockholders
• Commitment from all the relevant parties including the
general public
• Climate adaptation and mitigation should be part of the
overall sustainable development process to avoid unnecessary
cost
• New cost effective technology transfer option
• Proper low enforcement

49. What action is needed?
• Minimize what we extract from and release to the
environment
(minimum waste and maximum resource use efficiency)
• Attitudinal changes
• Voting for real green minded people
• Behavioral changes
• Sustainable policies and strategies

50. Top 10 Solutions to combat climate change
• Project drawdown has been introduced to the top 10
solutions for climate change.
1. Refrigerant Management
2. Wind turbines
3. Reduce food waste
4. Adaptation of plant-rich diet
5. Tropical forest restoration
6. Educating girls
7. Family planning
8. Solar farms
9. Silvopasture
10.Rooftop solar

51. Summary
• Climate change and Sustainable development are inter linked
• Paris Agreement and the 2030 agenda for sustainable
development of 2015 both target achieving sustainable
development through urgent climate action
• Inequality in terms of emissions, climate change impact, and
adaptive capacity associated with the implementation of the
planned goals under the PA and SDGs 2030 agenda.
• Thus careful planning and commitment from all the respective
parties are important given the limited time we have in achieving
those ambitious goals

53. “The rich will find their world to be more
expensive, inconvenient, in general more
uncomfortable, unpleasant and
unpredictable, perhaps greatly so, the
poor will die”
good life
Thank You
good life
Thank You