Climate Change 2021: Summary for All
Provided by: IPCC|Published on: January 19, 2023
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Type: Scientific Reports
Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: IPCC
Region: Global
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This 16-page report explains climate change in a way that most people can understand, using illustrations, infographics, and graphs to help readers understand the content.
- It details how our climate has changed, how we know it is our actions that are to blame, and what is needed to stop it.
- The report summarizes the findings of the first part of the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report on climate change and was updated in 2022.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This report is a fantastic tool for introducing students to the science of climate change.
- The report is intended for a general audience, answering complex questions like "How do we know climate change is happening?" by starting with an explanation of the greenhouse effect.
- The report discusses various topics, including climate models, extreme weather, and natural variability.
Additional Prerequisites
- It is important to note that this report only addresses how to limit climate change from a physical science perspective. The second and third reports address climate adaptation and other mitigation and emissions reduction efforts, respectively.
- The report can be downloaded and used offline.
Differentiation
- Since the report contains many of the basics of climate science, it may be helpful for students to have a copy to refer back to as they continue to learn about climate change.
- Although it is only a summary, this report still contains a lot of technical information. Therefore, have students read through the report in sections and then discuss it as a class.
- Younger students can read the report as a class, with additional support from the teacher or the use of vocabulary terms and a graphic organizer.
- As an extension, have more advanced students research and write about whether their government's climate change policies align with the findings presented in the report.
- Have students watch this video to learn more about the IPCC before reading the paper.
This resource is a summary from the IPCC about climate change in 2021. The report is put out by working group 1, so it focuses on the physical science, even when discussing solutions. Other working groups focus more on mitigation, emission reduction, and adaptation. These groups also have content linked in the PDF. This summary goes through the basics of, weather, climate, climate change, how we are sure it’s human caused, impacts, what climate models are, what may happen in the future, and what we can do to limit climate change. Impacts on land, ocean, ice, and the atmosphere are discussed. This is the summary for the public so it is digestible for non-scientists. The IPCC does have longer and more technical reports, as well as information on all the studies they synthesized to make these reports available on their website. The information presented is accurate. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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