Think about the following questions as you watch the video

1. 01:35 What action came out of the 2015 Paris Agreement?
2. 02:44 What are the effects of limiting global warming to 1.5° C instead of 2° C?
3. 04:51 What technologies will be necessary to reduce emissions from manufacturing?
4. 06:59 How can government policies help promote climate solutions?
5. 09:48 In what ways are young people leading the climate movement?
6. 12:50 What are some of the possible climate change solutions mentioned in the video?

00:00: Scientists have been studying our climate for decades,
00:03: and together, we’ve reached a single, inescapable conclusion:
00:07: greenhouse gases are driving up Earth’s average temperature
00:12: and, unchecked, that’s going to make our planet a lot harder to live on.
00:16: Climate change has brought — and will continue to bring —
00:19: extreme environmental events that will be hard to prepare for,
00:23: experience, and recover from —
00:26: with effects that will continue to layer upon our world’s existing inequalities.
00:30: But there are things we can do — each of us can do —
00:34: to help protect our planet, ourselves, and each other.
00:39: We can’t change the past, but together, we can change the future —
00:43: and slow down and stop climate change in meaningful ways.
00:47: Hi hi! I’m M Jackson, and this is the final episode of Crash Course Climate and Energy.
00:52: [THEME MUSIC]
01:03: In 2015, countries around the world forged the historic Paris Agreement.
01:07: In it, they committed to taking decisive action
01:11: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep climate change in check.
01:16: For many countries, that action became a pledge
01:19: — a pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
01:24: That means they’ve agreed to reduce emissions by as much as possible,
01:29: and make up for whatever they can’t eliminate
01:32: by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
01:35: The goal of these pledges
01:37: is to limit how much the average global temperature goes up.
01:41: Specifically: to limit warming by the end of the century
01:45: to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
01:50: And ideally, to stop at 1.5 degrees.
01:54: That half a degree might not sound like much,
01:57: but science has shown that it makes a world of difference.
02:01: For instance, in parts of southern Europe, Central America, and Australia,
02:05: which are already suffering occasional water shortages,
02:08: two degrees of warming would create intense and long-lasting droughts.
02:13: But when warming is kept to 1.5 degrees,
02:17: the situation is a lot less severe,
02:19: with some places experiencing half as many water shortages
02:23: as in the worst-case scenario.
02:25: And that’s just one example.
02:26: Everything from the vegetables you eat,
02:28: to the coral reefs you want to visit someday
02:31: would have a better chance at survival with just 1.5 degrees of warming.
02:35: Ultimately, it translates to better food security
02:39: and higher quality of life for millions of people
02:42: — and for all life here on planet Earth.
02:45: That said, staying under 1.5 degrees of warming will be really, really tough.
02:50: As a society, we’re super invested in burning fossil fuels for energy.
02:55: — to the point where even an industry that seems unrelated on the surface,
02:59: like textile production, releases roughly a billion tons of greenhouse gases every year.
03:05: So, if we’re going to keep our warming planet in check,
03:08: we’re going to need to overhaul our ways of doing…just about everything.
03:13: And soon.
03:14: As of the time we’re posting this in 2023,
03:17: we’re on track for temperature rises between two and three degrees Celsius,
03:23: unless we make a big and rapid change.
03:25: So, limiting ourselves to 1.5 degrees is nothing short of a monumental challenge.
03:31: Still, if we take immediate steps to transform every major industry,
03:36: it is possible to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
03:40: and, in so doing, keep warming in check.
03:43: A policy-making organization called the International Energy Agency
03:48: has even given us a roadmap full of possible milestones.
03:51: It involves things like stopping the sale of fossil fuel boilers
03:56: to heat our water and homes by 2025,
03:59: and stopping the sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
04:04: By 2040, the whole world would be running on electricity with net-zero emissions,
04:10: and half of all buildings
04:12: would have systems in place to operate without releasing greenhouse gases.
04:16: By 2045, we would be getting half our heat from efficient, low-carbon heat pumps.
04:22: And finally, by 2050, even manufacturing would be transformed,
04:27: with more than 90% of heavy industry,
04:30: like machinery production and ship-building, being considered low-emission.
04:35: Manufacturing processes are often especially hard to decarbonize,
04:40: so in addition to technological breakthroughs on the materials we use,
04:44: we would likely also rely on technologies to capture the emissions released
04:49: rather than letting them escape in the atmosphere.
04:51: So, say you’re 15 years old, watching this in 2023.
04:55: If we stuck to a plan like this,
04:58: then by your 42nd birthday party, you’d be living in a very different world.
05:03: Imagine it: there’d be no more coal-fueled power plants, belching smoke over cities.
05:08: The phrase “gas guzzler” would also be a thing of the past,
05:12: because there’d be no more gasoline pumps.
05:15: Instead, you’d be rocking an electric hotrod Camry,
05:19: or hopping on public transit powered by carbon-free electricity.
05:22: And in your home?
05:23: That same electricity would power all your devices,
05:27: from your phone charger to your robot butler!
05:29: [JohnGreenBot] Greetings!
05:30: [M] Oh, hey, JohnGreenBot. Thanks!
05:33: The incredible thing is, this future?
05:35: It’s not some sci-fi pipe dream.
05:37: Well, maybe /you/ are, JohnGreenBot.
05:40: We’ve learned throughout this series
05:42: that there are many carbon-neutral technologies that exist right now
05:47: in every sector.
05:48: They just need to be made affordable to take off.
05:51: But to make this net-zero future a reality,
05:54: we’ll also need some serious technological advances.
05:57: For example, we already have options for generating carbon-neutral electricity
06:02: — wind, solar, nuclear, hydroelectricity, and more.
06:05: But to use them to power the whole world,
06:08: we’ll need big improvements in electricity storage and transmission,
06:12: so we can get power whenever we need it and wherever we need it.
06:16: And technology won’t be the only hurdle to overcome.
06:19: There are still a bunch of government policies,
06:22: subsidies, and initiatives in effect, that are designed to keep fossil fuels cheap.
06:28: They make various carbon-free options artificially expensive by comparison
06:33: — creating something called a Green Premium.
06:36: But if governments can thoughtfully reduce,
06:38: and eventually eliminate fossil fuel subsidies,
06:41: they can help make carbon-free energy more affordable,
06:44: and make technologies that emit greenhouse gases look less appealing.
06:49: The money governments are currently spending to make fossil fuels cheap
06:52: could also be used to make carbon-neutral energy cheaper —
06:56: or to research new, emissions-free technologies.
06:59: Ultimately, though, when it comes to getting to net-zero,
07:03: every emissions sector
07:05: and every area of the world will need a different approach.
07:09: There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy.
07:12: Meanwhile, the stakes keep getting higher.
07:15: So, if you’re feeling like all of this is overwhelming…you’re not alone.
07:19: Government subsidies, emerging technologies —
07:22: many of the solutions to climate change
07:25: might seem like they’re happening on a level way above your head.
07:28: And the things you can do,
07:30: like walk or cycle, make thoughtful purchasing decisions,
07:34: eat less meat, vote — all of these are awesome, by the way —
07:38: but they can feel discouraging, or maybe, small.
07:42: It’s hard to be just one person trying to make a difference.
07:46: Especially when you consider the impacts of what you can do
07:50: versus the impacts of major corporations.
07:53: From 1965 to 2017, just 20 companies
07:57: were responsible for a whopping 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally.
08:04: So, where do people like you and me fit into that part of the story?
08:08: Well, companies, governments, and research centers developing new technologies
08:12: — they all have one thing in common.
08:14: They’re made by people, supported by people, and can be changed by people.
08:19: And in a lot of big ways, young people are leading this charge.
08:23: You’ve probably heard of Greta Thunberg,
08:25: a Swedish environmental activist
08:27: who has led school strikes and spoken at global climate conferences.
08:32: And while she might be the most famous,
08:34: she’s far from the only young person to stand up for the climate.
08:38: At 18 years old, Rwandan student Ghislain Irakoze
08:42: noticed piles of electronics thrown away in a local landfill.
08:46: So, he invented an app that helps people figure out where they can recycle them locally.
08:51: At 12 years old, Emirati-Canadian student Kehkashan Basu
08:55: started a company to get young people involved in local sustainability efforts.
08:59: And today, she leads people in planting mangrove trees in tidal habitats that have suffered deforestation.
09:06: At 16 years old, Delaney Reynolds founded a program in Florida to educate youth in her community
09:12: about the dangers of sea level rise.
09:14: And that’s just to name a few examples of young people.
09:18: Entrepreneurs, educators, and activists have inspired people of all ages,
09:24: all over the globe to take action against climate change.
09:28: Getting involved in climate change
09:30: doesn’t only mean making speeches, staging strikes, or going to marches.
09:35: Whether you’re into storytelling or gardening,
09:38: engineering or educating, there’s something there for all of us.
09:42: Because whatever you’re into, and whatever you’re up to,
09:46: climate change intersects with it.
09:48: Way back in the first episode of this series,
09:50: we learned how climate change normally happens over centuries and millennia.
09:55: Throughout Earth’s long history,
09:57: it’s been a drawn-out process driven by things like volcanoes and splitting continents.
10:03: But now, driven by burning fossil fuels and greenhouse gases,
10:07: climate change is happening over decades,
10:09: over individual human lifetimes.
10:11: Since climate is all about long-term patterns in things like rainfall and temperature,
10:16: climate change can be hard to point to.
10:19: It’s everywhere, all around us, all the time.
10:23: And once you learn how the climate is changing and what’s fueling it,
10:27: you can start to connect the dots —
10:30: see how it intersects with everything in your life.
10:32: Climate change is the storm made more powerful by a warmer ocean,
10:36: that wiped out lettuce crops and made your favorite salad more expensive.
10:41: It’s the apartment complex being built down the street,
10:44: from cement and steel made by burning fossil fuels.
10:48: It’s the late-season snowfall that knocked out your power,
10:51: the fumes from a diesel-powered tractor,
10:53: and the lack of accessible public transportation in your town.
10:57: On the flip side, climate change is also the electric pickup truck your neighbor just bought,
11:02: and the solar panels sparkling on those new apartment roofs,
11:05: and the falling cost of batteries,
11:07: and activists pitching their governments on policies that make heat pumps more affordable.
11:12: It’s people and organizations coming together
11:16: to try and slow the damage that’s already been done to the climate,
11:20: and prevent things from getting worse.
11:22: So, engineers, storytellers, artists,
11:25: farmers, business owners, students, you name it
11:27: — we’re all a part of the story of Earth’s changing climate.
11:31: And once you learn what to look for,
11:33: you can see how climate change weaves throughout your entire life.
11:38: When you hear stories about people fighting against climate change,
11:41: it can sometimes sound like it’s just one person standing up on their own,
11:46: facing down a whole government.
11:48: But almost always, change happens because a group of people,
11:53: often from different backgrounds and walks of life,
11:55: team up for something they care about.
11:58: And there’s a lot of people to team up with.
12:01: Surveys have shown that the majority of people on Earth
12:04: are concerned about climate change,
12:06: and are willing to do something about it.
12:09: At the end of the day, if human creativity can put a plane in the sky
12:13: — an unthinkable magic trick at the time —
12:16: then human creativity, like yours and mine,
12:19: can — when joined together — see us out of this mess.
12:23: I like to think of it like this:
12:25: we have 8 billion people on this planet…
12:27: that’s 8 billion people coming up with 8 billion possible solutions forward.
12:33: Climate change is everywhere, and so too are the ways to solve and stop it.
12:38: This involves talking to community members,
12:41: designing new technologies, passing new laws,
12:43: protecting natural spaces,
12:45: and caring for people and landscapes most affected by our shifting world.
12:51: And, of course, there’s a lot of learning involved too —
12:54: so, hey, thanks for being here for this series.
12:57: Ultimately, reducing emissions by 2050
13:01: will take a huge effort on the part of scientists,
13:03: governments, corporations, and individuals
13:07: — especially individuals banding together as groups and communities.
13:12: Sometimes, that effort just looks like talking to each other about climate change,
13:17: helping one another see how it impacts our lives,
13:20: who we are, our futures.
13:22: This can be enough to tip the first domino
13:25: to start a cascade of hope that changes this generation,