Climate Crisis and Agricultural Environment

1. Introduction to the Earth’s climate system, climate definition versus weather, factors that determine the Earth’s climate. Statistical description of the climate (variability, anomalies, trends and extremes).

2. The energy budget of the planet (solar radiation, terrestrial radiation). The green house effect, a simple model to describe to green house effect.

3. Climate changes in the past. Paleoclimate (climate change throughout geological ages, natural causes of past climate changes, proxies of past climate).

4. The current global warming. The role of humans in the ongoing climate change, anthropogenic forcing, enhanced greenhouse effect. Radiative Forcing, Global Potential Warming, Climate forcing factors: the greenhouse gases (properties, sources, current concentration, contribution to global radiative forcing). Other climate forcing factors: surface albedo, clouds, aerosols.

5. Land – climate interaction, plant and soil processes underlying land–climate interaction.

6. Contribution of food systems on climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from: food systems, croplands and soils, livestock, aquaculture, inputs, processing, storage and transport, associated with different diets. Emissions from land used changes.

7. The observed climate changes: temperature, hydrological cycle, ocean temperature and heat content, cryosphere, atmospheric circulation and patterns, extreme events. Observed climate changes in the Mediterranean focusing on the Greek area.

8. Climate models, climate feedback mechanisms, the future emissions scenarios. Future climate predictions (near term projections, long term projections)

9. Impacts of climate change (observed and projected): cryosphere, ecosystems, water, forests, cities, public health

10. Observed and projected impacts of climate change on food: crop-based systems (soil health, water availability, pollinators, pests and diseases, desertification), livestock-based systems, aquaculture systems and other natural systems.

11. Policies, strategies and practices for the adaptation of food production to climate change

12. Potential and capacity of food production to mitigate climate change with emphasis on farming

13. The action of international Institutions for the climate. The United Nations Climate Change Conferences. The Paris agreement. The European Union initiatives and policies for the climate. The new CAP 2023-2027 (Common Agricultural Policy) actions to tackle climate change