Climate Change Quiz 2023

Which of the following is a greenhouse gas (GHG)?

• CO2

• CH4

• Water Vapor

• All of the above

Answer explanation

Greenhouse gasses may be a result of natural occurrence or human activity. These gasses include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), water vapor, nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3).

Human activities have increased emissions of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere beyond what the Earth can support, resulting in climate change.

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What was agreed to in the “Paris Agreement” that came out of COP-21, held in Paris in 2015?

• To protect biodiversity and end the deforestation of the world’s rainforests

• To keep global temperature rise well below 2℃ pre-industrial levels and to pursue a path to limit warming to 1.5℃

• To limit sea level rise to 3 feet above current levels

• To pursue a goal of 100% clean, renewable energy

Answer explanation

The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change. It aims to keep the overall increase in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius, with the hope of limiting it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Scientists believe that these are the largest increases in global temperature that we could experience without causing catastrophic change to the Earth’s climate.

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What percentage of the global greenhouse gas emissions does the transportation sector emit?

• 1%

• 20%

• 33%

• 70%

Answer explanation

Transportation is the fastest growing source of emissions worldwide, and now accounts for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. is the greatest contributor to global transportation emissions. Most of this involves fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air and marine transportation. Petroleum-based fuels (i.e., gasoline and diesel) account for almost all of the world’s transportation energy.

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Which of these countries emits the most carbon dioxide?

• China

• USA

• Russia

• UK

Answer explanation

China is currently the largest single-country contributor to global GHG emissions. In 2020, China accounted for about 26% of global CO2 emissions, followed by the US at 11%, and then India at about 7%.

While China has the greatest present emissions, the U.S. cumulatively has the largest GHG emissions.

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Globally, which of the following economic sectors emits the largest percentage of greenhouse gas emissions?

• Residential

• Transportation

• Industry

• Electric power

Answer explanation

The electric power sector accounted for 39.3% of global CO2 emissions in 2022 followed behind by the industry sector.

While emissions are still on the rise, the rate of increase has slowed since 2021.

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What is the Greenhouse effect?

• The name of climate change legislation that was passed by Congress

• When you paint your house green to become an environmentalist

• When the gasses in our atmosphere trap heat and block it from escaping our planet

• When you build a greenhouse

Answer explanation

The Earth receives solar radiation from the sun. Passing through the atmosphere, some radiation is absorbed by the Earth, while some is reflected back to space.

When the exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation occurs, some of the radiation becomes trapped by gasses in the atmosphere. This creates a “greenhouse” effect and warms the planet.

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Which of the following is NOT a consequence associated with climate change?

• The ice sheets are declining, glaciers are in retreat globally, and our oceans are more acidic than ever

• Decrease in widespread migration of people across the globe.

• More extreme weather like droughts, heat waves, and hurricanes

• Global sea levels are rising at an alarmingly fast rate - 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the last century alone and going higher

Answer explanation

Climate change will impact the amount of mass migrations occurring for affected societies. As extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, continue to occur across the globe, more and more locations are becoming uninhabitable for people to sustain livelihoods there. And so, mass migrations will continue to avoid the impacts of climate change. Displaced people experience all of these other problems associated with climate change and are already feeling the devastating impacts in the most vulnerable countries and communities.

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What can you do to help fight climate change?

• Utilize public transit

• Consume less meat products

• Vote for political candidates who will advocate for climate-related legislation and policy improvements

• All of the above

Answer explanation

All of these actions help minimize your own carbon footprint. By taking public transport, less cars will be on the road emitting GHG. Most of the world’s land is set aside for livestock, so by consuming less, less resources get used up in meat’s production. Along with these important steps, we also suggest adding your voice to the issues surrounding climate change, supporting clean energy and taking personal actions to reduce your impact on the planet.

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The overwhelming majority of scientists agree that climate change is real and caused by humans.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Studies show that 99 percent of climate scientists who are actively publishing agree that climate change is likely due to human activity. Most of the prominent scientific organizations across the globe have issued statements that publicly endorse this view.

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Wasting less food is a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In the process of producing food, about 13% never makes it to the grocery store while around 17% gets wasted in households. This amounts to more than a third of food produced globally contributing to climate change. Some of this waste food spoils in transit, while consumers throw some of this food out after purchase. Approximately 8-10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions relate to food waste.

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