Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change

One interesting example of an effort being made in Sierra Leone to adapt to climate change is the subject of asthma in the young children of Sierra Leone, how it is being affected by climate change, and how this problem will be solved. An increase in dust and rising carbon dioxide levels which affect plant pollen are two things that are causing Sierra Leone to have a huge asthma breakout. According to the national report, is the health care system is stable and can help children control their asthma, then the people can adapt. Having asthma myself, I understand how scary it can be, especially with pollen outbreak. So having the right medical equipment such as inhalers, the children can remain comfortable in their country. Another interesting way that Sierra Leone plans on adapting to the climate change is by providing public education so that as a community, the people of Sierra Leone can work to keep it a healthy country dispite the changing climate.


The most interesting thing I read about the adaptation of Sierra Leone's changing climate is how big of a role technology has in adapting to climate change. For example, model-making can predict how the seasons will be. Some technological developments that will be represented in adapting include water harvesting systems, dam building, water conservation, drip irrigation, and drought-resistant crops. All of these technologies will make it easier for Sierra Leone and Africa as a whole to adapt to climate change.

Sierra Leone was shown as an accession to the Kyoto protocol on November 10, 2006. This means that my country did ratify the Kyoto protocol. However, to my knowledge, Sierra Leone was not required to reduce emissions. Sierra Leone simply wanted to follow the Kyoto protocol to remain a "clean" country and not have to reduce emissions later. 

Sierra Leone is making efforts in mitigating climate change and had a response to the Copenhagen Accord. Some efforts that have been made so far to mitigate climate change include increased conservation efforts, improved forest governance, developing air quality standards, developing energy sources that are better for the environment, and improved waste management. Source: http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_15/copenhagen_accord/application/pdf/sierraleonecphaccord_app2.pdf

I think Sierra Leone is doing a great job of both mitigating and adapting to climate change. While they are developing new techniques to mitigate climate change, they are also trying to adapt to the changing climate. I believe Sierra Leone is taking all the right precautions in order to get through the changing climate in the coming years. 

Sierra Leone Climate Change Impacts

Sierra Leone is located on the continent Africa. What is interesting is that the warming in Africa this year is is likely to be larger than the global mean warming. Annual rainfall is expected to decrease, which is not good for this region since it is a normally wet climate. I also read that studies have shown that the response to he quality of the African monsoon is different than those contributing to increasing greenhouse gases. It is no doubt that the temperature in Africa is rising, and statistics show that the increase is between 3 and 4 degrees Celsius. The below graphs show the projected changes in the regions of Africa. Sierra Leone lies on the first photo in the second row.

According to the IPCC report, by 2020 in Africa, 75-250 million people will be exposed to water stress. This is all due to obvious climate change. Fruit and vegetation will be harder to access as well. With increasing water levels, the local food supplies would be affected negatively due to over-fishing. New studies have shown that Africa is one of the most vulnerable to climate change. 

The six key points featured in the executive summary include many things that make it easier to understand the climate change in Africa. First, Africa is one of the most vulnerable climates to experience climate change. Second, African farmers have developed new ways to still be able to produce fruits and vegetables, while adapting to the changing climate. Third, agricultural production are going to be severely hurt by the changing climate. Fourth, water stress is very high, and in the places where water stress is not high, those places will become at risk. Fifth, with rising water levels, coastal areas will be affected. And lastly, health, which already is not at its best in Africa, will continue to deteriorate as the climate changes. 

The most interesting threat to Sierra Leone, is the rising water levels, and this country being very close to the coast. Vegetation, and people occupy much of the land along the coast, therefore putting them right in the line of danger over the coming years. To support this, The IPCC report stated that up to 600 million people can be effected with rising water levels. Water levels will increase by 5-8 %. 

Sierra Leone's Contribution to Climate Change

For Sierra Leone, the emissions are nothing compared to the other five countries. Sierra Leone began emitting significant amounts of carbon dioxide in 1969. In 1968, Siaka Stevens returns to power at head of government (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14094419) However, it is not noted whether or not this has anything to do with increased emissions.

Sierra Leone's value of emissions is a lot lower than the United States. Sierra Leone's is only 0.07 versus the United States who is at 4.9. The comparison is .014. Based on carbon dioxide emissions, Sierra Leone's rank is 190. The rank of the United States is 12.

Compared to other countries, Sierra Leone does not have nearly the amount of emissions as the other countries do. This is not surprising, as Sierra Leone is not as developed as say, the United States and China. As of 2008, China was the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. Considering China has 1,338,000,000 people, and a high amount of emissions, a Chinese citizen is obviously more at fault for emitting carbon dioxide. The cumulative contribution to climate change are as follows for each country:
United States: 94225770
China: 36152061
India: 10229326
Italy: 5579562
Kenya: 86840
Sierra Leone: 7719
Cumulatively, the United States is responsible for the most carbon dioxide emissions. When China's emissions are divided by United States' emissions, the number is .38, when the same is done for India, the number is .10, an even smaller number. Therefore showing, that the United States is a leading  place for carbon dioxide emissions.

The global emissions of carbon shows higher levels, than the Keeling Curve because of the steep incline. On both graphs, the levels begin to rise at about the same time. Emissions are different than concentrations in the sense that concentrations are levels, and emissions is what is actually giving off.

Carbon Dioxide Concentration

 
Total Fossil Fuel Emissions http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/tre_coun.html#S.