Week 5- Pacific youth and climate change

Key issues for pacific youth

good education, better job opportunities, better healthcare

Why is education a key issue

Currency especially for good jobs, limited access to higher education, 17000 leave high school with 7000 job opportunities

How to define young people

Chronologically, 12-25, defined by actual age, Socio-cultural, defined by social markers, getting married, paid employment etc

Pacific youth in Aotearoa

Majority of Pacific islanders under 25, 55%, High proportion of children (0-14 yrs) 35.7%, over 90% of pacific youth live in the North Island mostly in urban areas

Realtities of Pacific youth in Aotearoa

Religion, separation from cultural and language, expectancy to work, values and aspirations, hardship in areas of residence, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, sexual and physical, about half of Pacific secondary student in decile 1, 2 and 3 schools, low socioeconomic areas

Conceptualizing young people

Youth development (life stages), class perspective (economical situation), Generation (life events, eg covid), Transitions

Conclusion for Pacific youth

Discuss issues openly, especially with teen pregancys’s

Climate change definition

attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere, in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time period.

What is the main cause of the current global warming trend

human expansion of the greenhouse effect, some gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping causing the heating of the atmosphere

Weather events

Short term conditions

Climate

Long term patterns of weather event over a long period of time eg yearly

Greenhouse gases

gases in the earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. The Sun warms the earth’s surface. At night, the earth cools, releasing heat back to the air. some of the heat is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and reflected

4 Main greenhouse gases

Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, GHG occur naturally and are accelerated due to human development

Regional and global changes of climate change

Increas in air and sea surface temp, gradual rise in sea level, changes in rainfall, more extreme weather conditions

What areas have experienced greater warming

Northern hemisphere, Pacific Ocean, Caribbean Sea

Air and sea surface temperature changes

air temp increased by 0.6 over last 100 yrs, 2015-2024 warmest years in last 175 yrs, 2024 warmest yr on record, decrease in snow cover globally, artic sea ice thinned by 40%, decreased in extent by 15% since 1950’s, plants and animals shifting poleward

Sea level rise changes

increased about 2 mm annually for the last 100 yrs, south pacific islands affected especially atoll islands

changes in precipitaion

increased by 10% in norther hemisphere, frequency and severity of droughts increased in regions such as parts of Asia and Africa

Developmental impact changes

any changes in the environment will affect the performance of a country in terms of its development

Two main types of climate change impacts

Physical, affects lands and other physical structures, emotional impacts, forced migration and climate change refuge

Areas most likely to be effected

low lying areas, beaches, coastal ecosystems, coral reefs, food security, water security, cultural, coastal villages and settlements

Sectoral impacts

coastal, agricultural, health, water

conditions that will occur in Nz due to climate change

Warmer winter, thus hotter summers bringing increased heat stress and subtropical diseases, drier conditions thus more frequent extreme events such as droughts and flooding, higher temperatures, less heating reducing billing stress

Plant and animal impacts of climate change in NZ

Agricultural production, some will increase but risk of droughts, spreading pests and diseases, also new costs, forests and vegetation, native ecosystems invaded by exotic species

Water impacts of climate change in NZ

Flooding, more frequent intense rainfall increasing likelihood of river flooding and flash flooding as urban drainage systems become overwhelmed, water resources, higher water demand in hot summers, lower soil moisture contents, and groundwater supplies

Examples of climate change mitigation

Switching to a low carbon energy source such as renewable and nuclear, expanding forests and other sinks to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide

Climate change adaptation

the process of adjusting to current or expected climate change and its effects

Climate change adaptation rules

1. must be economically efficient, 2. must advance social goals, 3. must be environmentally sustainable

Climate change adaptation barriers

1. perception about climate change, 2. competing priorities 3. capacity, 4. institutional and governance gaps, 5. socioeconomic conditions

Importance of indigenous knowledge to climate change

Taboo of fishing certain marine species at certain times of the year, planting certain crops at certain seasons, pacific medicine, pacific astrology, pacific navigation, pacific counting systems and arithmetic

types of Changes of climate change

slow onset changes, melting of ice and the rise in sea level, sudden changes, extreme events such as cyclones

Possible solutions

Global, Regional and Local Approaches based on the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Environmental laws, Good governance and capacity building, Community participation and co-management of resources, Implementation of Indigenous knowledge