Scotland's Climate Change Plan 2026-2040: children's version

What is climate change?

Climate change describes the changes in normal weather and temperature over time.

• Scientists have noticed the world is growing hotter over time. This is sometimes called global warming.
• This warming is leading to more big weather events such as heat waves, wildfires and flooding.
• This change has been caused by human activities such as burning coal and oil and cutting down forests.
• The effects of climate change can be different depending on where you live. Those in an island community will have different climate change to a city community.

What is climate mitigation?

This is when we take action to stop or slow down climate change. For example, we might ride our bikes or walk to school rather than drive a car that burns petrol. Your family may decide to have a holiday in Scotland rather than using an aeroplane to travel abroad.

What is climate adaptation?

This is when we make changes to protect ourselves from the climate's changes such as more rainfall, heat waves or flooding. For example, if we notice a river keeps overflowing after heavy rain, we might plant trees next to it to soak up the extra water and help keep the river from overflowing.

What are emissions?

When we talk about “emissions” in the CCP we are talking about Greenhouse Gases. Greenhouse gases are harmful gases like methane or carbon dioxide and these are harmful because they make the planet hotter over time. Methane is a gas that comes from the earth naturally but also comes from cows reared to provide human beings with meat. Carbon dioxide comes from burning oil and natural gas, so it comes from cars, and a lot of heating of buildings.