Module 1

MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION TO CLIMATE
CHANGE
Prepared By:
Brian Mounde
20.01.2025 Senior Climate Change Officer
Ministry of Environment Climate change & Forestry
Contents
01 Session Objectives
02 Key Climate Change Terminologies
03 What is Climate Change?
04 Causes of Climate Change
05 Impacts of Climate Change
06 Response to Climate Change

2
01
Learning Objectives
3
Learning Objectives
After this Course, you will;
i. Be familiar with key Climate Change
terminologies,
ii. Understand what Climate Change is
iii. Be able to identify the Causes of Climate
Change
iv.Be able to explain the Impacts of Climate
Change
v. Be able to come up with with measures to
address the causes and impacts of Climate
Change
4
02
Key Climate Change
Terminologies
5
Key Climate Change Terminologies (1/2)
Atmosphere Weather Climate Global Warming
Atmosphere Weather Climate Global Warming

The mixture of gases Weather refers to the state of Climate is the average weather Global warming is the gradual
surrounding the Earth. The the atmosphere of a given pattern in a place over a increase in the average
Earth's atmosphere consists of place at a given time, including period of at least 30 years surface temperature of the
about 79.1 percent nitrogen characteristics such as rainfall, (World Meteorological earth’s atmosphere and
(by volume), 20.9 percent temperature, wind and Organization) oceans
oxygen, 0.036 percent carbon humidity
dioxide and trace amounts of
other gases.
6
Key Climate Change Terminologies (2/2)
Greenhouse Mitigation
Human interventions that seek
Gases (GHG) to prevent or slow down the
increase of atmospheric
These are gases that absorb greenhouse gas concentrations
solar radiation and lead to by limiting current or future
accumulation of heat in the emissions and enhancing
atmosphere – Carbon dioxide, potential sinks for greenhouse
Methane, Nitrous Oxide, gases. Deals with the CAUSE of
Chlorofluoro carbons (CFCs) Climate Change
Climate
Adaptation Change
Greenhouse Resilience
Gases Mitigation
(GHG)
Adaptation Climate Change
Adjustment in natural or Resilience
human systems in response to
actual or expected climatic This is the ability to maintain
stimuli or their effects which competent function and return
moderates harm or exploits to some normal range of
beneicial opportunities. Deals function, even when faced
with the IMPACTS of Climate with the adverse impacts of 7
Change climate change
Greenhouse Gas Effect
Due to greenhouse gases, the atmosphere absorbs
more infrared energy than it re-radiates into space,
resulting in a net warming of the Earth-atmosphere
system.
This Natural Greenhouse Effect makes the earth’s

surface warmer. With more GHGs due to human
activity, more infrared radiation is trapped in the
Earth's surface which contributes to the Enhanced
Greenhouse Effect.
8
03
What is Climate
Change?
9
What is Climate Change?
Climate Change is defined as
“a change of climate which is attributed
directly or indirectly to human activity
that alters the composition of the
global atmosphere and which is in
addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable time
periods” (UNFCCC 1992)
10
Climate change is therefore a permanent shift in the
normal patterns of climate, blamed on human activities
leading to increase in GHGs in the atmosphere.
11
04
Causes of Climate
Change?
12
Causes of Climate Change
Human activities (anthropogenic) are dominant
forces responsible for most of the global warming
What/which are these anthropogenic activities?
• Agriculture – include enteric fermentation from livestock, use of fertilizers,
rice cultivation, burning of farm residues and poor land cultivation;
• Land use, land use change and forestry – include the conversion of wetlands
to croplands, conversion of forest land to croplands, deforestation and forest
degradation;
• Energy demand and supply – include energy generation using fossil fuels,
transportation, burning of charcoal and the use of firewood and other
biomass
• Waste – include primarily emissions from decomposing waste and disposal of
industrial waste;
• Industrial processes – including emissions arising from processing and the
conversion of products from one form to another 13
05
Impacts of Climate
Change?
14
Impacts of Climate Change
Climate change causes, among other things;
o increased frequency of extreme weather events and
o increased intensity of extreme weather events
This leads to the increased frequency and intensity of, among other events;
o Floods,
o Droughts,
o Strong winds and
o Rising temperatures
Due to different vulnerabilities, these impacts affects:

o different sectors of the Kenyan economy
differently
o Gender groups (men, women, boys and girls)
differently
o Regions differently
15
Agricultural and Rural Development (ARUD)
Floods and droughts lead to,

among other impacts,
✓reduced food production
(sometimes total crop failure
and livestock death);
✓post-harvest contamination;
✓new pests and diseases in
both crops and livestock; and
✓destruction of farm
infrastructure
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Energy, Infrastructure & ICT
• Floods cause
✓Silting of dams and
✓Destruction of roads, bridges and
other infrastructure.
• Droughts result in
✓Lower water levels in dams and
rivers;
✓Affects hydro power generation;
and
✓Reduces water supply for
domestic, agricultural and
industrial uses
17
Health
• Droughts increase the incidences of;

✓Respiratory diseases
✓Malnutrition-related complications.
• Floods often lead to;
✓Water-borne diseases
✓Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria
✓Zoonotic diseases
• Climate change has also led to the
emergence of new diseases in areas
where they were not previously
present
18
Education
• Floods affect access to learning

institutions and the usability of
facilities.
• The effect of droughts and floods in
agriculture, health, energy and
infrastructure affects both learners and
teachers;
✓interferes with the learning process
and, ultimately,
✓the quality of education
19
Governance, Justice, Law and Order
• Increased frequency and intensity of droughts has
increased armed conflict among communities
over water and pasture, especially in arid and
semi-arid areas, and to more conflicts amongst
pastoralists and crop farmers.
• Both types of conflict often create internal
population displacement (climate refugees) and
consequent complications
• Human and wildlife conflicts have also grown,
especially during extreme droughts and flooding.
• When infrastructure is flooded, security
operations and emergency relief missions are
hampered.
• In some cases, the impacts of droughts and floods
have led to cross-border conflicts
20
06
Response to Climate
Change?
21
Response to
Climate Change
We respond to Climate Change by
addressing the cause (Mitigation)of
problem and or by adjusting to reduce the
impacts (Adaptation) of the problem
22
✓Reducing the sources of greenhouse gas
emissions (fossil fuels, land
degradation)
✓Increasing the sinks of greenhouse gases
(trees, soil, wetlands, waterbodies) Mitigation
Adaptation
✓ Increasing the ability to

cope with climate change
✓ Reducing vulnerabilities to
climate change
24
Response
Strategies to
Climate Change
25
26
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02 Key Climate Change Terminologies

03 What is Climate Change?

04 Causes of Climate Change

05 Impacts of Climate Change

06 Response to Climate Change

Atmosphere Weather Climate Global Warming

Atmosphere Weather Climate Global Warming

This Natural Greenhouse Effect makes the earth’s

Due to different vulnerabilities, these impacts affects:

Floods and droughts lead to,

• Droughts increase the incidences of;

• Floods affect access to learning

✓ Increasing the ability to

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