International Climate Goals
Teacher Resources
Driving Question: How should we set goals around climate change?
Since the 1970s, international organizations have worked to establish climate goals, which is an important task if we’re going to effectively combat climate change. But getting the world’s policymakers to adhere to these goals has been challenging. In this lesson, you’ll learn about some of these international climate policies and what we must do to achieve success in the fight against climate change.
- Explore climate policies to evaluate the advantages and limitations of goal setting and the need for international collaboration.
- Describe and assess the efficacy of goals including “net zero” and “1.5° Celsius” in combating climate change.
- Using research and argumentation skills, evaluate information related to climate goals to assess the reliability of sources.
Opener
How do policymakers use climate data to inform their work? This activity will help you understand how climate science and climate policy intersect and prepare you to dive into this lesson’s content.
Infographic
All countries agree that we need to reduce carbon emissions. But no one agrees which countries should bear the most burden, which makes it difficult to act on international climate goals.
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Observe
Skim the full infographic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, numbers, charts, and types of text. How do you know where to start and which direction to read? How do you know what numbers are most important? What concept is the focus of the graphic? What big questions do you have?
Key Ideas
- What countries are most responsible for current carbon dioxide emissions?
- What country has the highest cumulative greenhouse gas emissions?
- Why do some countries argue that they should not have restrictions on their emissions?
- Today, which countries have the highest per capita emissions? Which countries have lower per capita emissions?
Evaluate
- Which countries do you think have the most responsibility to reduce emissions? Why?
International Climate Agreements: Crash Course Climate & Energy #10
Climate change is being addressed by individuals, activist groups, and big corporations, but we’ll need entire nations on board to meet our climate goals. This video looks at some successful—and not-so-successful—international climate policies.
Key Ideas
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Before you watch
Before you watch the video, it’s a good idea to open and skim the video transcript. And always read the questions below so you know what to look and listen for as you watch!
While you watch
- What are the primary goals of climate science conferences?
- What is the IPCC? Who is it and why is what they do important?
- What is the Kyoto Protocol? Was it successful?
- What is the concept of national sovereignty and why is it important for climate agreements?
- According to this video, what is the most successful example of an international policy?
After you watch
- What do you think are some lessons we can learn from the success of the Montreal Protocol that we can apply to future climate change agreements to make them more effective with wider participation?
Article
What’s the big deal about 1.5 degrees? This article explains the importance of that number along with the international policies that are tied to this goal. You’ll also learn about how we can set climate targets to inspire action into the future.
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Skim
Before you read, you should quickly skim the article, by looking at the headings of each section and the charts. Read the questions below as well, so you know what to look for when you read!
Key Ideas
- Why is important to set climate goals?
- Why was the 1.5° C goal, set as a part of the Paris Agreement, significant?
- What’s the big deal about 1.5° C?
- Why was the 2018 special report shocking?
- What challenges and progress have been observed as a result of the 1.5° C goal?
Evaluate
- Do you think countries and leaders should continue to pursue the 1.5° C goal, or should they consider adopting new strategies and organizing principles in the fight against climate change? Explain your reasoning.
Claim testing is an important skill for you to master, especially in an age of misinformation and disinformation. The activity and Crash Course video below will help you practice this important skill.
Activity
This activity will help prepare you to assess online information and disinformation about climate change and other topics you may encounter.
Check Yourself with Lateral Reading: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information
In this video, how to read laterally, using multiple tabs in your browser to look stuff up and fact check as you read. Real-time fact-checking an help you figure out what's real and what's not on the internet.
Closer
International climate targets are important, but is it time to reevaluate our goals? Use your knowledge from this lesson to revisit the statement from the opener activity to demonstrate how your thinking has evolved.
Assessment
This writing assessment is an opportunity for you to showcase your critical thinking, analysis, and argumentation skills by analyzing documents in response to a specific prompt.