Quick questions on Climate change as a global sustainability challenge: HSC Geography 2022 Focus Area

The pattern shows inequity: countries that contributed least to emissions often face the largest impacts.

Geographical evaluation looks at scale and equity:

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 1992) is the parent treaty. The Paris Agreement (2015) commits parties to limit warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees. Parties submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years.

Carbon pricing, renewable energy targets, fossil-fuel subsidy reform, building codes. Australia's mechanisms include the Renewable Energy Target, the Safeguard Mechanism (reformed 2023 to cap and reduce industrial emissions), and state-level renewable targets.

C40 Cities network coordinates major cities on emissions reduction; many Australian capitals have net-zero-by-2050 commitments and increasingly net-zero-by-2040 commitments.

Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitments by major companies; ASX 300 climate disclosure rules from 2024.

Investment shifts (divestment campaigns), litigation (Sharma v Minister for the Environment in Australia; Urgenda in the Netherlands), consumer behaviour change.

Strong responses propose specific, scaled, evaluable actions tied to a stakeholder and a place.

Identify two causes and two spatial impacts of climate change, with reference to a named country or region. [4 marks]

Analyse the role of international agreements (UNFCCC, Paris Agreement) in responding to climate change. [6 marks]

Evaluate the effectiveness of climate change responses across different scales (international, national, individual). [8 marks]