Knowledge Organiser: Climate Change
Part of Climate Change and Hazard Response · GCSE GCSE Geography revision
This topic summary covers Knowledge Organiser: Climate Change within Climate Change and Hazard Response for GCSE Geography. Revise Climate Change and Hazard Response in The Challenge of Natural Hazards for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 20 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 14 of 14 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 14 of 14
Practice
15 questions
Recall
20 flashcards
Knowledge Organiser: Climate Change
Key Terms
- Enhanced greenhouse effect — human GHG emissions trap more heat
- Mitigation — reducing causes of climate change
- Adaptation — coping with effects of climate change
- Carbon sink — system that absorbs more CO₂ than it releases
- Positive feedback — warming amplifies further warming
- Milankovitch cycles — natural orbital changes over 20,000–100,000 years
- Phenology — study of seasonal biological events as climate indicators
Must-Know Statistics
- CO₂: 421 ppm (2023) — highest in 3 million years; pre-industrial: 280 ppm
- Temperature: 2023 was 1.45°C above pre-industrial baseline; hottest year on record
- Sea level rise: 21–24 cm since 1880; currently rising 3.7 mm/year
- Rhône Glacier: lost 1.4 km in 20 years
- Methane: 28× more potent GHG than CO₂; nitrous oxide: 265×
- Fossil fuel emissions: 38 billion tonnes CO₂/year (2022)
- World Bank climate migration projection: 216 million by 2050
Named Examples
- Paris Agreement (2015): 196 countries; 1.5°C target; NDCs every 5 years
- Germany Energiewende: 59% renewable electricity by 2023
- Norway EVs: 80% of new cars electric in 2023
- Sleipner CCS (Norway): 1M tonnes CO₂/year stored since 1996
- Maldives: $500M sea wall; Hulhumalé island at 2m elevation
- Bangladesh: Floating gardens; BINA Dhan 11 (14 days submerged; 2M farmers)
- Netherlands: Room for the River €2.3bn; 100+ amphibious homes in Amsterdam
Exam Must-Know Points
- Natural causes exist but CANNOT explain modern warming (too slow; wrong direction)
- Mitigation = reduce causes; adaptation = cope with effects — never confuse these
- Always give statistics — "sea levels are rising" scores nothing; specific figures score marks
- Link physical effects to human consequences (sea level → displacement; drought → food insecurity)
- HIC vs LIC adaptation: Netherlands (€2.3bn engineered) vs Bangladesh (low-cost traditional) — both valid but wealth determines scale
- Climate justice: LICs most vulnerable, contributed least to emissions
- Level 3 = named example + specific evidence + supported judgement
Common Mistakes
- Confusing mitigation and adaptation: Mitigation reduces the causes (e.g. renewable energy, carbon capture); adaptation copes with effects (e.g. sea walls, flood-resistant crops) — never swap these terms
- Saying natural causes explain current warming: Milankovitch cycles and solar variation operate over thousands of years and are currently in a cooling phase — they cannot account for rapid warming since 1950
- Vague effects without statistics: "Sea levels are rising" scores 0 at Level 3 — use specific data (21–24 cm since 1880; currently rising 3.7 mm/year) and link to human consequences (216 million climate migrants projected by 2050)
- Ignoring climate justice: Evaluation questions expect you to note that LICs are most vulnerable to climate change but have contributed least to emissions — this is a key point of distinction between L2 and L3 answers
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Practice Questions for Climate Change and Hazard Response
What do greenhouse gases do in the atmosphere?
Explain how burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change. [2 marks]
Quick Recall Flashcards
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