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CLIMATE CHANGE: ITS EFFECTS AND MITIGATIONS
Talks about climate change have been an interesting and important issue every individual
can currently relate to. It has become a source of arguments and debates, whether in social,
economic, political, or even religious views. But what really is climate change? And how does this
phenomenon affect the systems, cycles, processes, and mainly, our lives on earth?
According to the United Nations (UN, 2021), “Climate change is a long-term shift in
temperatures and weather patterns”. Although this may be the result of natural forces, such as
variations in the sun’s energy or volcanic eruptions. But since the industrial revolution in the
1800s, human activities, primarily burning fossil fuels, became the main drivers of this
phenomenon. This burning of fossil fuels increases the generation of greenhouse gas emissions
that add up to the blanket in the atmosphere, trapping the sun’s heat and amplifying the warming
of the earth.
The 2021 Annual Climate Report of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
has reported that the Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.14° Fahrenheit (0.08° Celsius) per decade
since 1880, but this rate has doubled since 1981, which is now 0.32° F (0.18° C) per decade. This
means future warming of the earth will be experienced in greater amounts, depending on our
greenhouse gas emissions in the next decades.
Climate change is one of the great effects of global warming. The earth’s rising
temperatures are fueling longer and hotter heatwaves, which increased heat-related illnesses,
frequent droughts, which reduced lands for cultivation and drying water sources, heavy rainfalls,
which caused floods and landslides, and more powerful typhoons, which destroyed many homes,
properties, and communities. Climate change may sound like a usual phenomenon to others, but it
is not just a simple term of “shift in weather patterns”, it is a very important issue that needs to be
addressed, as it resulted in extreme levels of causal effects that are already detrimental to our
ecosystem, disrupted our livelihoods and even cost us our lives.
Over the years of research and understanding of the causes and effects of climate change,
scientists around the globe have been spreading this information to create awareness and sparked
movements that eventually created solutions to minimize our carbon footprints. Fortunately,
hundreds of organizations all over the world are also working collaboratively to find solutions and
mitigate different responses to climate change crises. Frameworks and treaties such as the Kyoto
Protocol and the Paris Agreement were established to achieve a climate-neutral world by the mid-
century and to minimize our greenhouse gases.
However, as easy as it may sound, conflicts are emerging in the hope of saving our world
from this crisis. The established regulations and measures created significant economic
repercussions, as many effective solutions changed how we conduct our businesses and our lives.
The result? A complete denial of the world’s greatest predicament.
Although there are continuous efforts in the implementation of different climate preventive
and response measures, we can utterly tell that our world is still far from achieving its utmost goal.
Third-world countries like the Philippines, for example, are one of many climate-vulnerable
countries that are still fighting a great battle against the effects of climate change. The extreme
economic crisis for a country like ours has been one of the greatest challenges in the
implementation of sustainable solutions, not to mention the challenges in different socio-cultural
perspectives of our democracy, and the inclination of elected leaders to respond to this issue.
As these conflicts prevent us from becoming a climate-resilient country, the challenge is
on us, as citizens of our nation. Several mitigation steps are in the works, but the problem arises in
their implementation.
On a personal level, we can start our contribution to mitigating the effects of climate change
within ourselves. By being aware of what is happening, we can learn how our activities can greatly
affect our environment. Simple actions, like preferring to walk in areas where we can walk, car-
pooling or taking mass transport instead of using our cars, and even starting to save our energy
and water resources, may have a lot of impact on reducing our carbon footprints. But as much as
being aware, it is also important to spread this awareness to influence others by utilizing our
knowledge to communicate and exchange ideas, as well as joining organizations with the same
advocacies for us to be heard and upscale locally, and eventually on a national level. Being in the
field of research, we also must transform our ideas into more useful contexts that are favorable not
just for us but for the benefit of our nation.

References
Knaster, A. (2009). Resolving Conflicts Over Climate Change Solutions: Making the Case for
Mediation. Pepp. Disp. Resol. LJ, 10, 465.
Lindsey, R., & Dahlman, L. (2022, June 28). Climate change: Global temperature. Climate.gov
NOAA Climate.gov. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-
climate/climate-change-global-temperature
NCEI.Monitoring.Info@noaa.gov. (2022, January). Global climate report - Annual 2021.
National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202113
Shaftel, H. (2022, July 13). Overview: Weather, global warming, and climate change. Climate
Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. https://climate.nasa.gov/global-warming-vs-climate-
change/
United Nations Climate Change. (n.d.). What is the Kyoto Protocol? | UNFCCC.
https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol
United Nations Climate Change. (n.d.). The Paris Agreement | UNFCCC.
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement

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CLIMATE CHANGE: ITS EFFECTS AND MITIGATIONS

CLIMATE CHANGE: ITS EFFECTS AND MITIGATIONS

greenhouse gas emissions in the next decades.

ecosystem, disrupted our livelihoods and even cost us our lives.

century and to minimize our greenhouse gases.

The result? A complete denial of the world’s greatest predicament.

implementation of sustainable solutions, not to mention the challenges in different socio-cultural

As these conflicts prevent us from becoming a climate-resilient country, the challenge is

just for us but for the benefit of our nation.

Mediation. Pepp. Disp. Resol. LJ, 10, 465.

NOAA Climate.gov. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-

NCEI.Monitoring.Info@noaa.gov. (2022, January). Global climate report - Annual 2021.

National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. https://climate.nasa.gov/global-warming-vs-climate-

United Nations Climate Change. (n.d.). The Paris Agreement | UNFCCC.

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