Last year brought only a small improvement in the fight against climate change, while the climate situation continues to deteriorate and emissions affect the climate all over the world, including Slovakia.

Despite this, there are still people who question the existence of climate change and human influence on global warming and weather change. It is a question of what Slovakia can expect in the future as a result of these changes.

You can learn more in the video or in article on our website.

The US government has nominated an Indian-American businessman Ajay Bangu to head the World Bank, citing his experience in mobilizing funds to combat climate change. President Joe Biden said the former Mastercard executive "has critical experience in mobilizing public-private resources to address the most pressing challenges of our time, including climate change." Banga is currently an advisor to General Atlantic's climate fund, BeyondNetZero, has sat on the boards of major corporations such as Dow Chemicals, and worked with US Vice President Kamala Harris on her Central American policy.

The European Commission has proposed a "thorough reform" of the electricity market in the EU, which is supposed to help protect citizens from a sharp increase in prices, accelerate the introduction of renewable energy sources and increase the bloc's independence from energy imports from abroad, the Associated Press reports. The plans will now be reviewed by the EU parliament and member states before they become law, a process that will take several months, the agency continued. Bloomberg reports that the proposed changes to the EU's common electricity market are part of a broader EU plan to "strengthen competitiveness while transitioning to a greener economy." According to Reuters, the changes proposed by the commission stopped short of the revision that some countries had hoped for at the height of last year's price spikes. It adds that they are leaving in place the existing system of setting energy prices on European wholesale markets, which the commission says helped prevent energy shortages during last year's energy crisis. However, the news portal added that the plan contained measures to protect customers from short-term price spikes, including preventing suppliers from disconnecting vulnerable consumers who cannot pay their electricity bills. According to the Financial Times, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson has warned Germany against capping electricity costs for industry, which she says would damage the European single market. Instead, she "advocated for alternative proposals from the European Commission to stabilize the market through the use of long-term contracts".
The Financial Times reports that EU commissioners are sparring over plans to include nuclear power in new funding rules aimed at boosting the bloc's low-carbon industries due to be published this week. Nuclear energy was included in an early draft of the bill as a "strategic sector with zero net consumption," meaning that new power plants could receive an expedited permit, the newspaper continued. He adds that according to officials, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is "pushing for a compromise that would include small modular reactors but not larger nuclear plants."
Other EU news: The European Parliament has finally approved tougher national targets to reduce emissions in some sectors and expand natural ecosystems, such as forests, that absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), Reuters reports. It is part of a major EU climate package that aims to cut emissions by 55 % by 2030 and will be voted on by member states before it becomes law. However, EU countries and lawmakers agreed on the details last year, so these final votes usually pass the laws without changes, the article said. The European Parliament also approved a law aimed at reducing household energy bills and faster disconnection of EU countries from Russian gas, adds another Reuters article.

The system's ability to adapt to climate change (including climate variability and extremes), mitigate potential damages, take advantage of opportunities, or cope with consequences.

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The adaptation or preparation of natural or human systems to a new or changing environment that mitigates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.

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A suspension of solid or liquid particles in the air with a typical size from a few nanometers to 10 μm that lingers in the atmosphere at least several hours. The term aerosol, which includes both particles and suspended gas, is often used in the plural in this report to mean aerosol particles. Aerosols can be either natural or  anthropogenic  origin. Aerosols can affect climate in several ways: through interactions that scatter and/or absorb radiation, and through interactions with cloud microphysics and other cloud properties, or when deposited on snow- or ice-covered surfaces, changing their albedo and contributing to climate   reverse bonds. Atmospheric aerosols, whether natural or anthropogenic, originate from two different pathways: emissions of primary particulate matter (PM) and formation of secondary PM from gaseous precursors . Most aerosols are of natural origin. Some scientists use group designations that refer to chemical composition, namely: sea salt, organic carbon, black carbon (BC), mineral species (mainly desert dust), sulfate, nitrate and ammonium. However, these labels are imperfect because aerosols bind particles together to form complex mixtures.

The "Anthropocene" is a proposed new geological epoch resulting from significant human changes in the structure and functioning of the Earth system, including climate  system . The proposed new epoch, which was originally proposed in the Earth system scientific community in 2000, is undergoing a process of formalization within the geological community based on stratigraphic evidence , that human activities have changed the Earth System to such an extent that they form geological deposits with a distinct signature. from those of Holocene, and which will remain in the geological record. Both the stratigraphic approach and the Earth system approach to defining the Anthropocene consider the mid-20th century as the most appropriate starting date, although others have been proposed and continue to be debated. The concept of the Anthropocene has been taken up by various disciplines and the public to highlight the substantial impact humans have had on the state, dynamics, and future of the Earth system.

Emissions greenhouse gases (GHG), precursors GHG a aerosols caused by human activity. These activities include burning fossil fuels ,  deforestation , land use a changes in land use (LULUC), animal production, fertilization, waste management and industrial processes.

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The gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth, divided into five layers - the troposphere , which contains half of the earth's atmosphere,   the stratosphere , the mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere, which is the outer boundary of the atmosphere. The dry atmosphere consists almost entirely of nitrogen (78.1% volumetric mixing ratio) and oxygen (20.9% volumetric mixing ratio), along with many trace gases such as argon (0.93% volumetric mixing ratio), helium, and radiatively active greenhouse gases gases (GHG) , such as carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) (volumetric mixing ratio 0.04 %) a ozone (O ₃ ) . In addition, the atmosphere contains water vapor GHG (H ₂O), the amounts of which are highly variable, but typically around 1 % volume mixing ratio. The atmosphere also contains clouds and aerosols .

Operationally defined species and aerosols based on the measurement of light absorption and chemical reactivity and/or thermal stability. It is sometimes referred to as soot. BC is mostly produced by incomplete combustion fossil fuels,  biofuels  a biomass , but also occurs naturally. In the atmosphere only a few days or weeks remain. It is the most strongly light-absorbing component of particulate matter (PM) and has a warming effect by absorbing heat into the atmosphere and reducing albedo. when is deposited on snow or ice.

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A metric measure used to compare emissions from different greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential (GWP). Carbon dioxide equivalents are commonly expressed as "million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCO ₂ Eq). The carbon dioxide equivalent for a gas is derived by multiplying the tonnes of gas by the relevant GWP.

MMTCO ₂ Eq = (million metric tons of gas) * (GWP of gas)

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Powerful synthetic greenhouse gases such as hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur fluoride that are emitted from various industrial processes. F-gases are sometimes used as substitutes for stratospheric ozone-depleting substances (eg, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and halons) and are often used in coolants, foams, fire extinguishers, solvents, pesticides, and aerosol propellants. These gases are emitted in small amounts compared to carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), methane (CH ₄ ) or nitrous oxide (N ₂ O), but because they are strong greenhouse gases, they are sometimes referred to as gases with a high global warming potential. (High GWP gases).

Compounds containing only hydrogen, fluorine and carbon atoms. They were introduced as alternatives to ozone depleting substances that serve many industrial, commercial and personal needs. HFCs are emitted as by-products of industrial processes and are also used in manufacturing. They do not significantly deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, but are potent greenhouse gases with global warming potentials ranging from 140 (HFC-152a) to 11,700 (HFC-23).

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A global, three-dimensional computer model of the climate system that can be used to simulate human-induced climate change. GCMs are very complex and represent the effects of such factors as the reflective and absorptive properties of atmospheric water vapor, greenhouse gas concentrations, cloud cover, annual and diurnal solar heating, ocean temperatures, and ice boundaries. The latest GCMs include global representations of the atmosphere, oceans, and land surface.

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Estimated global mean near-surface air temperatures over land and sea ice a sea surface temperatures over ice-free ocean regions, with changes usually expressed as deviations from the value specified  reference period . The near-surface air temperature over land and oceans is also used in estimating GMST changes.

Compounds containing either chlorine, bromine or fluorine and carbon. Such compounds can act as potent greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Halogenated hydrocarbons containing chlorine and bromine are also involved in ozone depletion.

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The process of evaporation, vertical and horizontal vapor transport, condensation, precipitation and water flow from the continents to the oceans. It is a major factor in determining climate through its influence on surface vegetation, cloud cover, snow and ice, and soil moisture. The hydrologic cycle is responsible for 25 to 30 percent of the midlatitude heat transport from equatorial to polar regions.

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Compounds containing hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine and carbon atoms. Although the substances deplete the ozone layer, they are less effective at destroying stratospheric ozone than chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). They were introduced as temporary replacements for CFCs and are also greenhouse gases.

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