climate change quiz

Answers at the bottom of the page.

​1. We use fossil fuels every day all over the world for essential purposes like cooking, heating, transport and manufacturing. What are fossil fuels? Choose the best answer.
a. coal
b. coal and oil
c. coal, oil and natural gas
d. coal, oil, natural gas and wood

​2. Why does our use of fossil fuels affect Earth’s climate?
a. fossil fuels are sources of energy and burning energy creates heat
b. burning fossil fuels releases stored carbon into the air as carbon dioxide gas
c. burning fossil fuels produces particulates that pollute the air
d. burning fossil fuels takes vital oxygen out of the atmosphere

3. The group of gases that cause global warming when they are released into the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. Why?
a. they allow the sun’s heat to penetrate the atmosphere
b. they absorb infrared radiation from the sun
c. they prevent the sun’s heat from being released back into space
d. all of the above

4. Which of these gases is not a greenhouse gas?
a. carbon dioxide
b. water vapour
c. nitrogen
d. methane

5. As average global temperatures rise, does the Earth’s climate get wetter or drier? Or does Earth’s climate stay much the same?
a. average precipitation (snow and rainfall) increases
b. average precipitation (snow and rainfall) decreases
c. average precipitation (snow and rainfall) stays about the same
 
6. Carbon dioxide gas has been released into Earth’s atmosphere as part of a natural process for centuries. True or false?
a. true
b. false

7. The release of carbon dioxide and water vapour into the atmosphere are natural processes, so why is burning fossil fuels harmful to Earth’s atmosphere?
a. our use of fossil fuels is causing much larger amounts of carbon dioxide to be present in the atmosphere
b. carbon dioxide traps heat and increases the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere
c. the quantities of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere are upsetting the natural balance that was maintained in the past through the carbon cycle
d. all of the above

8. How long does the life cycle of the carbon dioxide gas we release into the atmosphere continue to have an effect on Earth’s temperature?
a. 10 years
b. 50 years
c. 100 years
d. more than 100 years

9. Even what appears to be a small change in average global temperatures is already having an effect on sea levels, on weather patterns around the world, and on the environment. Compared to 1850, how much have average global temperatures already risen?
a. 4°C
b. 2°C
c. 1.15°C
d. 0.5°C

10. The eight hottest years on record have occurred when? In the last…
a. 100 years
b. 50 years
c. 20 years
d. 8 years

 11. Which part of the world is likely to warm most rapidly due to climate change?
a. the Arctic
b. the Antarctic
c. the tropics
d. Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific

12. Why are warmer temperatures predicted to be harmful to our planet?
a. melting of land based ice at the North and South Polar regions will cause further sea level rise
b. there will be more frequent extreme weather events
c. drought and heat waves will occur more often and be more severe
d. changes in the environment will affect all living things and extinction of more species will be likely to occur
e. all of the above

13. Earth has been warmer at different periods in its past history than it is today.
a. true
b. false

14. There are examples of severe winter storms with extreme cold and snowfall occurring.  Storms like this are evidence that scientists are wrong and Earth’s climate is not getting warmer.
a. true
b. false

15. How do scientists know how much carbon dioxide was in the atmosphere many centuries ago? By studying…
a. the atmosphere of Earth today
b. ice cores
c. past scientific records
d. soil samples

16. What methods do scientists use to compare Earth’s present day average temperature with temperatures in the past? They do this by…
i. observing when plants flower
ii. taking readings from thousands of weather stations all over the world
iii. using satellites and weather balloons to measure temperatures higher in the atmosphere
iv. using ships to measure sea temperatures
v. measuring the width and density of rings in tree trunks
vi. boring deep holes in the earth
vii. analysing ice cores
a. i, ii, iii, iv
b. i, ii, iii, iv, v
c. i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi
d. i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii

17. The highest proportion of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from which sector?
a. agriculture/farming
b. energy/power generation
c. transport
d. industry/manufacturing
e. waste/landfills

18. About half New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions (50%) are produced from the farming sector, mainly by sheep, beef and dairy cattle. Which greenhouse gas is produced as part of the digestive process of grazing animals?
a. carbon dioxide
b. methane
c. ozone
d. nitrous oxide

19. New Zealand is a small country. However, our carbon footprint is significant. What is New Zealand’s ranking compared to the Annex 1 developed countries in relation to the level of greenhouse gas emissions per person?
a. 6th highest per person
b. 11th highest per person
c. 22nd highest per person
d. 32nd highest per person

20. New Zealand’s gross emissions have increased significantly since 1990, despite promises to stabilise and reduce them. The largest percentage increases have been in which sector?
a. energy
b. agriculture
c. industrial processes and product use (IPPU)
d. waste

21. What is the New Zealand government’s main policy tool to reduce emissions?
a. a $323 million fund to increase home insulation and clean heating
b. a new Centre for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research
c. incentives for new energy technologies like sustainable biofuels, electric cars and solar water systems
d. an emissions trading scheme buying credits on the international market to offset emissions

22. Which of these organisations is the United Nations-based international authority on climate change?
a. IEA
b. ICC
c. IPCC
d. WHO

ANSWERS

1. We use fossil fuels every day all over the world for essential purposes like cooking, heating, transport and manufacturing. What are fossil fuels? Choose the best answer.
a. coal
b. coal and oil
c. coal, oil and natural gas
d. coal, oil, natural gas and wood
Answer: c. coal, oil and natural gas.

Coal, oil and natural gas are called fossil fuels because they are mined from the ground having been formed 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous Period, long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. When plants and animals died, their bodies decomposed and were buried under layers of earth. Over millions of years, depending on conditions, heat and pressure transformed them into coal, oil and gas. This is why these fuels, which we have come to depend on so much, are non-renewable resources. Once we use them up they are not replaced.

​​2. Why does our use of fossil fuels affect Earth’s climate?
a. fossil fuels are sources of energy and burning energy creates heat
b. burning fossil fuels releases stored carbon into the air as carbon dioxide gas
c. burning fossil fuels produces particulates that pollute the air
d. burning fossil fuels takes vital oxygen out of the atmosphere
Answer: b. burning fossil fuels releases stored carbon into the air as carbon dioxide gas

Carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) is having a harmful effect on our climate because, together with a group of other gases, it traps heat from the sun. As a result our planet is getting warmer.

3. The group of gases that cause global warming when they are released into the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. Why?
a. they allow the sun’s heat to penetrate the atmosphere
b. they absorb infrared radiation from the sun
c. they prevent the sun’s heat from being released back into space
d. all of the above
Answer: d. all of the above

Carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases trap the sun’s heat like a greenhouse or glass house. This ability of some gases to trap heat has always been important for our planet. Without it Earth would be a lot colder. Over the past 150 years, however, human activities have increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As a result global temperatures are rising.

4. Which of these gases is not a greenhouse gas?
a. carbon dioxide
b. water vapour
c. nitrogen
d. methane
Answer: c. nitrogen

Nitrogen and oxygen together make up 98% of our atmosphere but neither of these gases absorb or emit infrared radiation as greenhouse gases do.

​5. As average global temperatures rise, does the Earth’s climate get wetter or drier? Or does Earth’s climate stay much the same?
a. average precipitation (snow and rainfall) increases
b. average precipitation (snow and rainfall) decreases
c. average precipitation (snow and rainfall) stays about the same
Answer: a. average precipitation increases.

The simple reason for this is that warmer temperatures lead to more evaporation and hence more moisture in the air in the form of water vapour. For every degree Celsius that Earth's atmospheric temperature rises, the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will increase by about 7%, according to the laws of thermodynamics. This in turn results in more rain or results in heavy snowfalls in colder parts of the world. Scientists predict that in the future we will see more heavy rainfall, more frequent floods and more snow storms. As a greenhouse gas, water vapour has a higher warming potential than carbon dioxide, and it is also present in much bigger quantities. Carbon dioxide and water vapour interact together in the atmosphere to create warmer temperatures. Carbon dioxide traps heat from the sun and warms the atmosphere. This leads to more evaporation and more water vapour in the air, which in turn increases the warming effect on the atmosphere.

6. Carbon dioxide gas has been released into Earth’s atmosphere as part of a natural process for centuries. True or false?
a. true
b. false
Answer: a. true.

Carbon is continuously stored, released and replaced in various different forms in a process called the carbon cycle. All living things are made of carbon. Carbon is also part of the ocean, air and even rocks. People and animals give off carbon dioxide when they breathe. Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to make their own food and grow. When plants and animals die and decompose the carbon stored in their bodies is released into the atmosphere.

7. The release of carbon dioxide and water vapour into the atmosphere are natural processes, so why is burning fossil fuels harmful to Earth’s atmosphere?
a. our use of fossil fuels is causing much larger amounts of carbon dioxide to be present in the atmosphere
b. carbon dioxide traps heat and increases the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere
c. the quantities of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere are upsetting the natural balance that was maintained in the past through the carbon cycle
d. all of the above
Answer: d. all of the above

People first started using fossil fuels on a large scale about 150 years ago when the industrial revolution began. Before about 1850, the carbon cycle was a process that maintained a balance in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Over the last 150 years, the amount of carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) in the atmosphere has increased by almost 30%. That’s why it’s great if you get on your bike or walk to work instead of taking the car! In 1950 the world emitted 6 billion tonnes of CO2. By 1990 this had almost quadrupled, reaching more than 22 billion tonnes. Emissions have continued to grow rapidly; In 2021 we emitted over 34 billion tonnes.

8. How long does the life cycle of the carbon dioxide gas we release into the atmosphere continue to have an effect on Earth’s temperature?
a. 10 years
b. 50 years
c. 100 years
d. more than 100 years
Answer: d. more than 100 years

This is why the actions we take today to reduce our carbon emissions are so important. The carbon dioxide we emit today will still be affecting the temperature on Earth many years from now.

9. Even what appears to be a small change in average global temperatures is already having an effect on sea levels, on weather patterns around the world, and on the environment. Compared to 1850, how much have average global temperatures already risen?
a. 4°C
b. 2°C
c. 1.15°C
d. 0.5°C
Answer: c. 1.15°C

Keeping the rise in average global temperatures below 2°C is the target that was set by the 195 countries that took part in the International Conference on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015. This is considered by many scientists to be a limit that will keep the impacts of climate change within our control. However, other scientists disagree that this is a safe limit and would rather see the limit set at 1.5°C. A number of small Pacific island countries, seriously threatened by sea level rise, are also calling for the target to be 1.5°C. Global temperature rise of up to 4°C is possible if we continue to our current level of greenhouse gas emissions.

10. The eight hottest years on record have occurred when? In the last…
a. 100 years
b. 50 years
c. 20 years
d. 8 years
Answer: d. 8 years

According to information released on 12 January 2023, the past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fueled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat, according to six leading international temperature datasets consolidated by the World Meteorological Organization. The average global temperature in 2022 was about 1.15 [1.02 to 1.27] °C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels. 2022 is the 8th consecutive year (2015-2022) that annual global temperatures have reached at least 1°C above pre-industrial levels, according to all datasets compiled by WMO. 2015 to 2022 are the eight warmest years on record.

11. Which part of the world is likely to warm most rapidly due to climate change?
a. the Arctic
b. the Antarctic
c. the tropics
d. Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific
Answer: a. the Arctic

Over 90% of the increased warming so far created by the impact of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere is estimated to have been absorbed by the ocean. Warming ocean water is melting ice at the North and South Poles. However, while the South Pole is situated on the continent of Antarctica, which is a large landmass, the North Pole is very different. It is situated in the Arctic Circle in the middle of a large ocean. Warmer ocean temperatures are melting more of the sea ice. The reduction in Arctic summer sea ice is having an impact on polar bears.

12. Why are warmer temperatures predicted to be harmful to our planet?
a. melting of land based ice at the North and South Polar regions will cause further sea level rise
b. there will be more frequent extreme weather events
c. drought and heat waves will occur more often and be more severe
d. changes in the environment will affect all living things and extinction of more species will be likely to occur
e. all of the above
Answer: e. all of the above

The negative impacts of climate change will outweigh any possible advantages a warmer climate could bring to some parts of the world. Even a 1 metre sea level rise (predicted to be very likely to occur by 2100 by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) will displace over 150 million people on low lying islands and in coastal cities and communities. Rising temperatures will lead to unpredictable weather patterns which will affect farming and food production, impact biodiversity and cause extinctions of plants and animals. Disappearing glaciers will deprive millions of people in a number of parts of the world of the main source of their water supply and damage from extreme weather events will have serious impacts on all societies.

13. Earth has been warmer at different periods in its past history than it is today.
a. true
b. false
Answer: a. true

Global temperatures in the past have exceeded temperatures today, and scientists have found plenty of evidence that sea levels have been higher in the past than they are today also. Past changes in Earth’s climate have taken place over thousands of years, unlike today when we are experiencing very rapid change, happening over just 100 – 200 years. The causes of warming in the past have been different, but these periods have also been accompanied by higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

14. There are examples of severe winter storms with extreme cold and snowfall occurring.  Storms like this are evidence that scientists are wrong and Earth’s climate is not getting warmer.
a. true
b. false
Answer: b. false

In fact the opposite is the case. Even extreme cold weather events are further evidence of the influence of climate change on our weather. Warmer temperatures and the resulting increasing amounts of moisture in the atmosphere make heavy rainfall and destructive storm events more likely to occur in many parts of the world. When warm, moisture-laden air is mixed with cold polar air, huge amounts of energy and moisture are generated. In parts of the world that are normally cold, this will produce snow. Some parts of the world are likely to remain cold in spite of global warming. Some areas may even become colder if sea currents that have traditionally moved warmer waters around the planet are affected by climate change.

15. How do scientists know how much carbon dioxide was in the atmosphere many centuries ago? By studying…
a. the atmosphere of Earth today
b. ice cores
c. past scientific records
d. soil samples
Answer: b. ice cores

Ice cores are long cylinders of ice drilled out of glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland. These cores contain tiny bubbles of air from past centuries preserved in the ice. When these atmospheric time capsules are chemically analysed we can find out how greenhouse gas concentrations have changed over thousands of years. This research has shown that until the mid 19th century the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere had remained relatively stable.

16. What methods do scientists use to compare Earth’s present day average temperature with temperatures in the past? They do this by…
i. observing when plants flower
ii. taking readings from thousands of weather stations all over the world
iii. using satellites and weather balloons to measure temperatures higher in the atmosphere
iv. using ships to measure sea temperatures
v. measuring the width and density of rings in tree trunks
vi. boring deep holes in the earth
vii. analysing ice cores
a. i, ii, iii, iv
b. i, ii, iii, iv, v
c. i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi
d. i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii
Answer: d. all of these methods

The first four methods tell us what Earth’s temperature is today. The other three provide information about Earth’s temperature in the past. Trees add a new layer of wood, which appears as a ring, every year. The fluctuation between wider and narrower rings points to periods of drought, rain, storminess, flood, temperature fluctuation, frost, atmospheric circulation, and seasonal extremes. Massive kauri trees found buried in Northland bogs have yielded some of the world’s oldest tree-ring records, dating back up to 60,000 years, being studied by NIWA. Boreholes in the ground can be used to measure a thermal ‘imprint’ of temperatures from the past. The chemical composition of ice can also provide information about temperature in the past.

17. The highest proportion of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from which sector?
a. agriculture/farming
b. energy/power generation
c. transport
d. industry/manufacturing
e. waste/landfills
Answer: a. agriculture/farming

Agriculture accounts for approximately 50% of our greenhouse gas emissions.

​
18. Half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions (50%) are produced from the farming sector, mainly by sheep, beef and dairy cattle. Which greenhouse gas is produced as part of the digestive process of grazing animals?
a. carbon dioxide
b. methane
c. ozone
d. nitrous oxide
Answer: b. methane

Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas produced by human activities, mainly from agriculture, but also from landfills and wastewater systems. Methane is also the main component of natural gas. It has a much shorter life cycle than carbon dioxide, but it is more efficient at trapping radiation, and over a 100 year period its impact on climate change is more than 25 times greater. Methane emissions make a significant contribution to global warming.

19. New Zealand is a small country. However, our carbon footprint is significant. What is New Zealand’s ranking compared to the Annex 1 developed countries in relation to the level of greenhouse gas emissions per person?
a. 6th highest per person
b. 11th highest per person
c. 22nd highest per person
d. 32nd highest per person
Answer: a. 6th

Our high level of per capita emissions is largely due to the reliance of our economy on agriculture. Our level of greenhouse gas emissions per head of population places us ahead of countries like Japan, the UK, and China. Compared globally, New Zealand’s ranking for per capita emissions is 11th. Based on the latest available Inventory data for 2018 for Annex 1 (Developed) countries, New Zealand’s gross emissions ranked 24th among the Annex I countries, but New Zealand’s emissions per person were the sixth highest at 16.9 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) per capita. The New Zealand government is spending millions of dollars on research into methods of reducing emissions from agriculture. So far, research indicates small reductions may be able to be made on these emissions in the future. If New Zealand is to contribute to the global effort to reduce emissions, our dependence on agriculture presents a challenge, and reductions we can make in other sectors are vitally important.

20. New Zealand’s gross emissions have increased significantly since 1990, despite promises to stabilise and reduce them. The largest percentage increases have been in which sector?
a. energy
b. agriculture
c. industrial processes and product use (IPPU)
d. waste
Answer: a. energy

Emissions from the Energy sector in 2020 were 32 per cent higher than in 1990. Most of this increase came from road transport (an increase in emissions of 76 per cent). Emissions from the Agriculture sector increased by 17 per cent. This is primarily due to an 80 per cent increase in the national dairy herd since 1990 and an increase in the application of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser by approximately 693 per cent since 1990. Emissions from the IPPU sector in 2020 were 29 per cent higher than in 1990. In 2020, Waste sector emissions were 17 per cent below 1990 levels. Ways we can make a change are by using electricity efficiently, by biking or walking when possible, and by using public transport.

21. What is the New Zealand government’s main policy tool to reduce emissions?
a. a $323 million fund to increase home insulation and clean heating
b. a new Centre for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research
c. incentives for new energy technologies like sustainable biofuels, electric cars and solar water systems
d. an emissions trading scheme buying credits on the international market to offset emissions
Answer: d. an emissions trading scheme buying credits on the international market to offset emissions.

An emissions target is a stated intention to meet a particular level of reduction in emissions within a set period – for example, by 2050. It can be met by reducing emissions to that level, but it can also be met by storing carbon in forests or by purchasing units to offset emissions. These units can be obtained from other countries which reduce their emissions below their target levels or from projects in developing countries that reduce emissions.

22. Which of these organisations is the United Nations-based international authority on climate change?
a. IEA
b. ICC
c. IPCC
d. WHO
Answer: c. IPCC

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was set up in 1988 at the request of United Nations member countries. Its current membership is 195 countries. The UNIPCC is the internationally accepted leading authority on climate change. The organisation does not carry out its own research, instead it reports on the work of thousands of scientists and other experts. All research is subjected to careful assessment before it is accepted. In 2023 the UNIPCC published the results of its most recent findings in its 6th Assessment Report. The UNIPCC reports are used as the basis for a lot of the information that is currently available on climate change.

​IEA – International Energy Agency (also has informative things to say about climate change)
ICC – International Criminal Court
WHO – World Health Organisation