Climate movement in the context of "History of climate change policy and politics"

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⭐ Core Definition: Climate movement

The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action (also called climate activism or climate action) addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Citizens, environmental non-profit organizations, and companies have engaged in significant climate activism since the late 1980s and early 1990s, as they sought to influence the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate activism has become increasingly prominent over time, gaining significant momentum during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit and particularly following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016. It is aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues, changing people's behaviour, and influencing policy and legislation.

Environmental organizations take various actions such as Peoples Climate Marches. A major event was the global climate strike in September 2019 organized by Fridays For Future and Earth Strike. The target was to influence the climate action summit organized by the UN on 23 September. According to the organizers four million people participated in the strike on 20 September. Youth activism and involvement has played an important part in the evolution of the movement after the growth of the Fridays For Future strikes started by Greta Thunberg in 2019. In 2019, Extinction Rebellion organized large protests demanding to "reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2025, and create a citizens' assembly to oversee progress", including blocking roads.

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👉 Climate movement in the context of History of climate change policy and politics

The history of climate change policy and politics refers to the continuing history of political actions, policies, trends, controversies and activist efforts as they pertain to the issue of climate change. Climate change emerged as a political issue in the 1970s, when activist and formal efforts sought to address environmental crises on a global scale. International policy regarding climate change has focused on cooperation and the establishment of international guidelines to address global warming. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a largely accepted international agreement that has continuously developed to meet new challenges. Domestic policy on climate change has focused on both establishing internal measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and incorporating international guidelines into domestic law.

In the 21st century, there has been a shift towards vulnerability-based policy for those most impacted by environmental anomalies. Over the history of climate policy, concerns have been raised about the treatment of developing nations. Critical reflection on the history of climate change politics provides "ways to think about one of the most difficult issues we human beings have brought upon ourselves in our short life on the planet".

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Climate movement in the context of Future generations

Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future generations has been argued for extensively among philosophers, and is thought of as an important, neglected cause by the effective altruism community. The term is often used in describing the conservation or preservation of cultural heritage or natural heritage.

The sustainability and climate movements have adopted the concept as a tool for enshrining principles of long-term thinking into law. The concept is often connected to indigenous thinking as a principle for ecological action, such as the seven generation concept attributed to Iroquois tradition.

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Climate movement in the context of Carbon footprint

A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country adds to the atmosphere. Carbon footprints are usually reported in tonnes of emissions (CO2-equivalent) per unit of comparison. Such units can be for example tonnes CO2-eq per year, per kilogram of protein for consumption, per kilometer travelled, per piece of clothing and so forth. A product's carbon footprint includes the emissions for the entire life cycle. These run from the production along the supply chain to its final consumption and disposal.

Similarly, an organization's carbon footprint includes the direct as well as the indirect emissions that it causes. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (for carbon accounting of organizations) calls these Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. There are several methodologies and online tools to calculate the carbon footprint. They depend on whether the focus is on a country, organization, product or individual person. For example, the carbon footprint of a product could help consumers decide which product to buy if they want to be climate aware. For climate change mitigation activities, the carbon footprint can help distinguish those economic activities with a high footprint from those with a low footprint. So the carbon footprint concept allows everyone to make comparisons between the climate impacts of individuals, products, companies and countries. It also helps people devise strategies and priorities for reducing the carbon footprint.

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Climate movement in the context of Climate action

Climate action (or climate change action) refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and so forth that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. "More climate action" is a central demand of the climate movement. Climate inaction is the absence of climate action.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Future generations ← Carbon footprint ← Climate action ← History of climate change policy and politics
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Ende Gelände 2017 → Germany → Social movement → Climate action → Effects of climate change → Environmental movement → Company → United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change → 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference → Paris Agreement → Environmental organization → Peoples Climate March → Climate strike → Fridays For Future → Earth Strike → UN → Youth activism → Evolution → Greta Thunberg → Extinction Rebellion →