academic essay about climate change

Argumentative Essay Writing

Argumentative Essay About Climate Change

Make Your Case: A Guide to Writing an Argumentative Essay on Climate Change

Published on: Mar 2, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 31, 2024

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Crafting a Powerful Argumentative Essay about Global Warming: A Step-by-Step Guide

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With the issue of climate change making headlines, it’s no surprise that this has become one of the most debated topics in recent years. 

But what does it really take to craft an effective argumentative essay about climate change? 

Writing an argumentative essay requires a student to thoroughly research and articulate their own opinion on a specific topic. 

To write such an essay, you will need to be well-informed regarding global warming. By doing so, your arguments may stand firm backed by both evidence and logic. 

In this blog, we will discuss some tips for crafting a factually reliable argumentative essay about climate change!

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What is an Argumentative Essay about Climate Change?

The main focus will be on trying to prove that global warming is caused by human activities. Your goal should be to convince your readers that human activity is causing climate change.

To achieve this, you will need to use a variety of research methods to collect data on the topic. You need to make an argument as to why climate change needs to be taken more seriously. 

Argumentative Essay Outline about Climate Change

An argumentative essay about climate change requires a student to take an opinionated stance on the subject. 

The outline of your paper should include the following sections: 

Argumentative Essay About Climate Change Introduction

The first step is to introduce the topic and provide an overview of the main points you will cover in the essay. 

This should include a brief description of what climate change is. Furthermore, it should include current research on how humans are contributing to global warming.

An example is:

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Thesis Statement For Climate Change Argumentative Essay

The thesis statement should be a clear and concise description of your opinion on the topic. It should be established early in the essay and reiterated throughout.

For example, an argumentative essay about climate change could have a thesis statement such as:

Climate Change Argumentative Essay Conclusion

The conclusion should restate your thesis statement and summarize the main points of the essay. 

It should also provide a call to action, encouraging readers to take steps toward addressing climate change. 

For example, 

How To Write An Argumentative Essay On Climate Change 

Writing an argumentative essay about climate change requires a student to take an opinionated stance on the subject. 

Following are the steps to follow for writing an argumentative essay about climate change

Do Your  Research

The first step is researching the topic and collecting evidence to back up your argument. 

You should look at scientific research, articles, and data on climate change as well as current policy solutions. 

Pick A Catchy Title

Once you have gathered your evidence, it is time to pick a title for your essay. It should be specific and concise. 

Outline Your Essay

After selecting a title, create an outline of the main points you will include in the essay. 

This should include an introduction, body paragraphs that provide evidence for your argument, and a conclusion. 

Compose Your Essay

Finally, begin writing your essay. Start with an introduction that provides a brief overview of the main points you will cover and includes your thesis statement. 

Then move on to the body paragraphs, providing evidence to back up your argument. 

Finally, conclude the essay by restating your thesis statement and summarizing the main points. 

Proofread and Revise

Once you have finished writing the essay, it is important to proofread and revise your work. 

Check for any spelling or grammatical errors, and make sure the argument is clear and logical. 

Finally, consider having someone else read over the essay for a fresh perspective. 

By following these steps, you can create an effective argumentative essay on climate change. Good luck! 

Examples Of Argumentative Essays About Climate Change 

Climate Change is real and happening right now. It is one of the most urgent environmental issues that we face today. 

Argumentative essays about this topic can help raise awareness that we need to protect our planet. 

Below you will find some examples of argumentative essays on climate change written by CollegeEssay.org’s expert essay writers.

Argumentative Essay About Climate Change And Global Warming

Persuasive Essay About Climate Change

Argumentative Essay About Climate Change In The Philippines

Argumentative Essay About Climate Change Caused By Humans

Geography Argumentative Essay About Climate Change

Check our extensive blog on argumentative essay examples to ace your next essay!

Good Argumentative Essay Topics About Climate Change 

Choosing a great topic is essential to help your readers understand and engage with the issue.

Here are some suggestions: 

• Should governments fund projects that will reduce the effects of climate change? 
• Is it too late to stop global warming and climate change? 
• Are international treaties effective in reducing carbon dioxide emissions? 
• What are the economic implications of climate change? 
• Should renewable energy be mandated as a priority over traditional fossil fuels? 
• How can individuals help reduce their carbon footprint and fight climate change? 
• Are regulations on industry enough to reduce global warming and climate change? 
• Could geoengineering be used to mitigate climate change? 
• What are the social and political effects of global warming and climate change? 
• Should companies be held accountable for their contribution to climate change? 

Check our comprehensive blog on argumentative essay topics to get more topic ideas!

We hope these topics and resources help you write a great argumentative essay about climate change. 

Now that you know how to write an argumentative essay about climate change, it’s time to put your skills to the test.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good introduction to climate change.

An introduction to a climate change essay can include a short description of why the topic is important and/or relevant. 

It can also provide an overview of what will be discussed in the body of the essay. 

The introduction should conclude with a clear, focused thesis statement that outlines the main argument in your essay. 

What is a good thesis statement for climate change?

A good thesis statement for a climate change essay should state the main point or argument you will make in your essay. 

You could argue that “The science behind climate change is irrefutable and must be addressed by governments, businesses, and individuals.”

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Essay on Climate Change: Check Samples in 100, 250 Words

• Updated on  
• Sep 21, 2023

Writing an essay on climate change is crucial to raise awareness and advocate for action. The world is facing environmental challenges, so in a situation like this such essay topics can serve as s platform to discuss the causes, effects, and solutions to this pressing issue. They offer an opportunity to engage readers in understanding the urgency of mitigating climate change for the sake of our planet’s future.

Must Read: Essay On Environment  

Table of Contents

• 1 What Is Climate Change?
• 2 What are the Causes of Climate Change?
• 3 What are the effects of Climate Change?
• 4 How to fight climate change?
• 5 Essay On Climate Change in 100 Words
• 6 Climate Change Sample Essay 250 Words

What Is Climate Change?

Climate change is the significant variation of average weather conditions becoming, for example, warmer, wetter, or drier—over several decades or longer. It may be natural or anthropogenic. However, in recent times, it’s been in the top headlines due to escalations caused by human interference.

What are the Causes of Climate Change?

Obama at the First Session of COP21 rightly quoted “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it.”.Identifying the causes of climate change is the first step to take in our fight against climate change. Below stated are some of the causes of climate change:

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Mainly from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy and transportation.
• Deforestation: The cutting down of trees reduces the planet’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.
• Industrial Processes: Certain manufacturing activities release potent greenhouse gases.
• Agriculture: Livestock and rice cultivation emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

What are the effects of Climate Change?

Climate change poses a huge risk to almost all life forms on Earth. The effects of climate change are listed below:

• Global Warming: Increased temperatures due to trapped heat from greenhouse gases.
• Melting Ice and Rising Sea Levels: Ice caps and glaciers melt, causing oceans to rise.
• Extreme Weather Events: More frequent and severe hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires.
• Ocean Acidification: Oceans absorb excess CO2, leading to more acidic waters harming marine life.
• Disrupted Ecosystems: Shifting climate patterns disrupt habitats and threaten biodiversity.
• Food and Water Scarcity: Altered weather affects crop yields and strains water resources.
• Human Health Risks: Heat-related illnesses and the spread of diseases.
• Economic Impact: Damage to infrastructure and increased disaster-related costs.
• Migration and Conflict: Climate-induced displacement and resource competition.

How to fight climate change?

‘Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority,’ says Bill Gates. The below points highlight key actions to combat climate change effectively.

• Energy Efficiency: Improve energy efficiency in all sectors.
• Protect Forests: Stop deforestation and promote reforestation.
• Sustainable Agriculture: Adopt eco-friendly farming practices.
• Advocacy: Raise awareness and advocate for climate-friendly policies.
• Innovation: Invest in green technologies and research.
• Government Policies: Enforce climate-friendly regulations and targets.
• Corporate Responsibility: Encourage sustainable business practices.
• Individual Action: Reduce personal carbon footprint and inspire others.

Essay On Climate Change in 100 Words

Climate change refers to long-term alterations in Earth’s climate patterns, primarily driven by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat, leading to global warming. The consequences of climate change are widespread and devastating. Rising temperatures cause polar ice caps to melt, contributing to sea level rise and threatening coastal communities. Extreme weather events, like hurricanes and wildfires, become more frequent and severe, endangering lives and livelihoods. Additionally, shifts in weather patterns can disrupt agriculture, leading to food shortages. To combat climate change, global cooperation, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable practices are crucial for a more sustainable future.

Must Read: Essay On Global Warming

Climate Change Sample Essay 250 Words

Climate change represents a pressing global challenge that demands immediate attention and concerted efforts. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This results in a greenhouse effect, trapping heat and leading to a rise in global temperatures, commonly referred to as global warming.

The consequences of climate change are far-reaching and profound. Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities, displacing millions and endangering vital infrastructure. Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires, have become more frequent and severe, causing devastating economic and human losses. Disrupted ecosystems affect biodiversity and the availability of vital resources, from clean water to agricultural yields.

Moreover, climate change has serious implications for food and water security. Changing weather patterns disrupt traditional farming practices and strain freshwater resources, potentially leading to conflicts over access to essential commodities.

Addressing climate change necessitates a multifaceted approach. First, countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through the transition to renewable energy sources, increased energy efficiency, and reforestation efforts. International cooperation is crucial to set emission reduction targets and hold nations accountable for meeting them.

In conclusion, climate change is a global crisis with profound and immediate consequences. Urgent action is needed to mitigate its impacts and secure a sustainable future for our planet. By reducing emissions and implementing adaptation strategies, we can protect vulnerable communities, preserve ecosystems, and ensure a livable planet for future generations. The time to act is now.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in Earth’s climate patterns, primarily driven by human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

Five key causes of climate change include excessive greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, notably burning fossil fuels and deforestation. 

We hope this blog gave you an idea about how to write and present an essay on climate change that puts forth your opinions. The skill of writing an essay comes in handy when appearing for standardized language tests. Thinking of taking one soon? Leverage Edu provides the best online test prep for the same via Leverage Live . Register today to know more!

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Climate Change Essay for Students and Children

500+ words climate change essay.

Climate change refers to the change in the environmental conditions of the earth. This happens due to many internal and external factors. The climatic change has become a global concern over the last few decades. Besides, these climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways. These climatic changes are having various impacts on the ecosystem and ecology. Due to these changes, a number of species of plants and animals have gone extinct.

When Did it Start?

The climate started changing a long time ago due to human activities but we came to know about it in the last century. During the last century, we started noticing the climatic change and its effect on human life. We started researching on climate change and came to know that the earth temperature is rising due to a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The warming up of earth surface causes many ozone depletion, affect our agriculture , water supply, transportation, and several other problems.

Reason Of Climate Change

Although there are hundreds of reason for the climatic change we are only going to discuss the natural and manmade (human) reasons.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Natural Reasons

These include volcanic eruption , solar radiation, tectonic plate movement, orbital variations. Due to these activities, the geographical condition of an area become quite harmful for life to survive. Also, these activities raise the temperature of the earth to a great extent causing an imbalance in nature.

Human Reasons

Man due to his need and greed has done many activities that not only harm the environment but himself too. Many plant and animal species go extinct due to human activity. Human activities that harm the climate include deforestation, using fossil fuel , industrial waste , a different type of pollution and many more. All these things damage the climate and ecosystem very badly. And many species of animals and birds got extinct or on a verge of extinction due to hunting.

Effects Of Climatic Change

These climatic changes have a negative impact on the environment. The ocean level is rising, glaciers are melting, CO2 in the air is increasing, forest and wildlife are declining, and water life is also getting disturbed due to climatic changes. Apart from that, it is calculated that if this change keeps on going then many species of plants and animals will get extinct. And there will be a heavy loss to the environment.

What will be Future?

If we do not do anything and things continue to go on like right now then a day in future will come when humans will become extinct from the surface of the earth. But instead of neglecting these problems we start acting on then we can save the earth and our future.

Although humans mistake has caused great damage to the climate and ecosystem. But, it is not late to start again and try to undo what we have done until now to damage the environment. And if every human start contributing to the environment then we can be sure of our existence in the future.

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Environment Problems — Climate Change

Essays on Climate Change

Climate change: essay topics for college students.

Welcome to our resource page designed for college students seeking inspiration for their climate change essays. The choice of topic is a crucial first step in the writing process, reflecting your personal interests and creativity. This page aims to guide you through selecting a compelling essay topic that not only captivates your interest but also challenges you to think critically and analytically.

Depending on your assignment requirements or personal preference, essays can be categorized into several types. Below, you will find a variety of climate change essay topics categorized by essay type. Each topic is accompanied by an introductory paragraph example, highlighting a clear thesis statement, and a conclusion paragraph example that summarizes the essay's main points and reiterates the thesis.

Argumentative Essays

• Topic: The Effectiveness of International Agreements in Combating Climate Change
• Thesis Statement: International agreements, though crucial, are not sufficiently effective in combating climate change without enforceable commitments.

Conclusion Example: In summarizing, international agreements provide a framework for climate action but lack the enforcement necessary for real change. To combat climate change effectively, these agreements must be accompanied by binding commitments that ensure countries adhere to their promises, underscoring the need for a more robust global enforcement mechanism.

Compare and Contrast Essays

• Topic: Renewable Energy Sources vs. Fossil Fuels: A Comparative Analysis
• Thesis Statement: Renewable energy sources, despite higher initial costs, are more environmentally sustainable and cost-effective in the long run compared to fossil fuels.

Conclusion Example: Through this comparative analysis, it is clear that renewable energy sources offer a more sustainable and cost-effective solution to powering our world than fossil fuels. Embracing renewables not only mitigates the impact of climate change but also secures a sustainable energy future.

Descriptive Essays

• Topic: The Impact of Climate Change on Coral Reefs
• Thesis Statement: Climate change poses a severe threat to coral reefs, leading to bleaching events, habitat loss, and a decline in marine biodiversity.

Conclusion Example: The devastation of coral reefs is a stark reminder of the broader impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. Protecting these vital habitats requires immediate action to mitigate the effects of climate change and preserve marine biodiversity for future generations.

Persuasive Essays

• Topic: The Role of Individual Actions in Mitigating Climate Change
• Thesis Statement: Individual actions, when collectively embraced, can drive significant environmental change and are essential in the fight against climate change.

Conclusion Example: In conclusion, the cumulative effect of individual actions can make a substantial difference in addressing climate change. By adopting more sustainable lifestyles, individuals can contribute to a larger movement towards environmental stewardship and climate action.

Narrative Essays

• Topic: A Personal Journey Towards Sustainable Living
• Thesis Statement: Through personal commitment to sustainable living, individuals can contribute meaningfully to mitigating climate change while discovering the intrinsic rewards of a simpler, more purposeful lifestyle.

Conclusion Example: This journey towards sustainable living has not only contributed to climate action but has also offered a deeper appreciation for the importance of individual choices. As more people embark on similar journeys, the collective impact on our planet can be transformative.

We encourage you to select a topic that resonates with your personal interests and academic goals. Dive deep into your chosen subject, employ critical thinking, and let your creativity flow as you explore different perspectives and solutions to climate change. Remember, the best essays are not only informative but also engaging and thought-provoking.

Writing on these topics will not only enhance your understanding of climate change and its implications but also develop your skills in research, critical thinking, persuasive writing, and narrative storytelling. Each essay type offers a unique opportunity to explore different facets of the climate crisis, encouraging you to engage with the material in a meaningful way.

Hooks for Climate Change Essay

Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is a pressing global crisis that affects every aspect of our lives. From melting polar ice caps to rising sea levels, the signs of climate change are everywhere, and they are impossible to ignore.

• Imagine a world where natural disasters are a daily occurrence. This is not a dystopian future; it is the reality we face if we do not address climate change now.
• Have you ever wondered why the summers seem hotter and the winters milder? The answer lies in the alarming acceleration of climate change.
• Picture your favorite coastal city submerged under water. This scenario is closer than you think due to the rapid rise in sea levels.
• What if I told you that climate change could lead to the extinction of over one million species by 2050? The clock is ticking for our planet's biodiversity.
• Every time you turn on a light or drive your car, you contribute to a global problem. Understanding the personal impact of climate change is the first step towards meaningful action.

Climate Change Outline Essay Examples

Example 1: causes and effects of climate change, introduction.

Introduce the topic of climate change, its significance, and provide a thesis statement outlining the main points.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Deforestation

Industrial Activities

Urbanization

Rising Sea Levels

Extreme Weather Events

Loss of Biodiversity

Impact on Human Health

Renewable Energy Sources

Afforestation and Reforestation

Policy and Legislation

Public Awareness and Education

Summarize the main points, restate the significance of addressing climate change, and provide a call to action for individuals and policymakers.

Example 2: The Impact of Climate Change on Global Ecosystems

Introduce the importance of ecosystems and how they are threatened by climate change. Provide a thesis statement outlining the main areas of focus.

Coral Bleaching

Ocean Acidification

Disruption of Marine Food Chains

Forest Degradation

Changes in Wildlife Migration Patterns

Alteration of Plant Growth Cycles

Glacial Melt and Reduced Snowpack

Changes in Water Quality

Disruption of Aquatic Species Habitats

Summarize the impacts of climate change on different ecosystems, emphasize the interconnectedness of these systems, and highlight the need for comprehensive conservation efforts.

Example 3: The Role of Policy in Combating Climate Change

Introduce the role of policy in addressing climate change, and provide a thesis statement highlighting the importance of governmental and international efforts.

Renewable Energy Incentives

Carbon Pricing

Regulations on Emissions

Paris Agreement

Kyoto Protocol

UN Climate Change Conferences (COP)

Economic and Political Barriers

Technological Innovations

Public and Private Sector Collaboration

Summarize the role of policy in combating climate change, discuss the need for robust and enforceable policies, and call for increased global cooperation and commitment.

Climate Change and Global Cooperation

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Climate Change Solutions: Navigating Toward a Sustainable Future

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Climate change refers to long-term changes in the Earth's climate, including rising temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and more severe natural disasters.

The historical context of climate change spans centuries. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th century marked increased fossil fuel use, releasing significant greenhouse gases. By the late 19th century, scientists like Svante Arrhenius linked carbon dioxide to Earth's temperature. Climate change gained attention in the mid-20th century, with the 1958 Keeling Curve showing rising CO2 levels. Key events include the 1988 establishment of the IPCC, the 1992 UNFCCC, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement.

• Greenhouse gas emissions: The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, releases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere, trapping heat and contributing to global warming.
• Industrial activities: Industrial processes, including manufacturing, construction, and chemical production, release CO2 and other greenhouse gases through energy consumption and the use of certain chemicals.
• Agricultural practices: Livestock farming produces methane through enteric fermentation and manure management, while the use of synthetic fertilizers releases nitrous oxide.
• Land use changes: Converting land for agriculture, urban development, or other purposes alters natural ecosystems and contributes to the release of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
• Waste management: Improper handling and decomposition of organic waste in landfills produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
• Rising temperatures: Global warming leads to increased average temperatures worldwide, resulting in heatwaves, melting glaciers and polar ice, and rising sea levels.
• Extreme weather events: Climate change intensifies extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts, floods, and wildfires, leading to devastating impacts on ecosystems, communities, and infrastructure.
• Disruption of ecosystems: Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns disrupt ecosystems, affecting biodiversity, migration patterns, and the survival of plant and animal species.
• Health impacts: Climate change contributes to the spread of diseases, heat-related illnesses, and respiratory problems due to increased air pollution and the expansion of disease vectors.
• Water scarcity: Changing climate patterns can alter rainfall patterns, causing water scarcity in certain regions, affecting agriculture, drinking water supplies, and ecosystems that depend on water sources.

Transitioning to renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydropower, along with improving energy efficiency in industries and buildings, can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Promoting electric vehicles, public transportation, and biking infrastructure further cuts emissions. Forest conservation and reforestation help absorb carbon dioxide, while sustainable agriculture practices reduce emissions and improve soil health. Embracing a circular economy reduces waste, and strong climate policies alongside public awareness drive collective action against climate change.

• The levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere are currently higher than any recorded in the past 800,000 years. According to data from ice core samples, pre-industrial CO2 levels averaged around 280 parts per million (ppm), while current levels have exceeded 410 ppm.
• The Earth's average temperature has increased by about 1 degree Celsius since the late 19th century.
• The Arctic region is warming at a faster pace than any other part of the planet.
• Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, are major contributors to climate change.
• Climate change is also affecting wildlife, with many species facing extinction due to habitat loss.

Climate change is a critical issue that affects all aspects of our lives, from the environment to the economy. It poses a threat to biodiversity, food security, and human health. Addressing climate change requires global cooperation and immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate its impacts. By raising awareness and taking steps to combat climate change, we can protect the planet for future generations.

1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2018). Global warming of 1.5°C. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ 2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (n.d.). Climate change: How do we know? Retrieved from https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ 3. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (2015). Paris Agreement. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement 4. World Health Organization. (2018). Climate change and health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health 5. Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). Climate change indicators: Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases 6. United Nations Environment Programme. (2020). Emissions gap report 2020. Retrieved from https://www.unep.org/emissions-gap-report-2020 7. Stern, N. (2007). The economics of climate change: The Stern Review. Cambridge University Press. 8. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. (2019). Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Retrieved from https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf 9. World Meteorological Organization. (2021). State of the global climate 2020. Retrieved from https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=10739 10. Cook, J., Oreskes, N., Doran, P. T., Anderegg, W. R., Verheggen, B., Maibach, E. W., ... & Nuccitelli, D. (2016). Consensus on consensus: A synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 11(4), 048002. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002

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A review of the global climate change impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures

Kashif abbass.

1 School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094 People’s Republic of China

Muhammad Zeeshan Qasim

2 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Xiaolingwei 200, Nanjing, 210094 People’s Republic of China

Huaming Song

Muntasir murshed.

3 School of Business and Economics, North South University, Dhaka, 1229 Bangladesh

4 Department of Journalism, Media and Communications, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Haider Mahmood

5 Department of Finance, College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, 173, Alkharj, 11942 Saudi Arabia

Ijaz Younis

Associated data.

Data sources and relevant links are provided in the paper to access data.

Climate change is a long-lasting change in the weather arrays across tropics to polls. It is a global threat that has embarked on to put stress on various sectors. This study is aimed to conceptually engineer how climate variability is deteriorating the sustainability of diverse sectors worldwide. Specifically, the agricultural sector’s vulnerability is a globally concerning scenario, as sufficient production and food supplies are threatened due to irreversible weather fluctuations. In turn, it is challenging the global feeding patterns, particularly in countries with agriculture as an integral part of their economy and total productivity. Climate change has also put the integrity and survival of many species at stake due to shifts in optimum temperature ranges, thereby accelerating biodiversity loss by progressively changing the ecosystem structures. Climate variations increase the likelihood of particular food and waterborne and vector-borne diseases, and a recent example is a coronavirus pandemic. Climate change also accelerates the enigma of antimicrobial resistance, another threat to human health due to the increasing incidence of resistant pathogenic infections. Besides, the global tourism industry is devastated as climate change impacts unfavorable tourism spots. The methodology investigates hypothetical scenarios of climate variability and attempts to describe the quality of evidence to facilitate readers’ careful, critical engagement. Secondary data is used to identify sustainability issues such as environmental, social, and economic viability. To better understand the problem, gathered the information in this report from various media outlets, research agencies, policy papers, newspapers, and other sources. This review is a sectorial assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches worldwide in the aforementioned sectors and the associated economic costs. According to the findings, government involvement is necessary for the country’s long-term development through strict accountability of resources and regulations implemented in the past to generate cutting-edge climate policy. Therefore, mitigating the impacts of climate change must be of the utmost importance, and hence, this global threat requires global commitment to address its dreadful implications to ensure global sustenance.

Introduction

Worldwide observed and anticipated climatic changes for the twenty-first century and global warming are significant global changes that have been encountered during the past 65 years. Climate change (CC) is an inter-governmental complex challenge globally with its influence over various components of the ecological, environmental, socio-political, and socio-economic disciplines (Adger et al.  2005 ; Leal Filho et al.  2021 ; Feliciano et al.  2022 ). Climate change involves heightened temperatures across numerous worlds (Battisti and Naylor  2009 ; Schuurmans  2021 ; Weisheimer and Palmer  2005 ; Yadav et al.  2015 ). With the onset of the industrial revolution, the problem of earth climate was amplified manifold (Leppänen et al.  2014 ). It is reported that the immediate attention and due steps might increase the probability of overcoming its devastating impacts. It is not plausible to interpret the exact consequences of climate change (CC) on a sectoral basis (Izaguirre et al.  2021 ; Jurgilevich et al.  2017 ), which is evident by the emerging level of recognition plus the inclusion of climatic uncertainties at both local and national level of policymaking (Ayers et al.  2014 ).

Climate change is characterized based on the comprehensive long-haul temperature and precipitation trends and other components such as pressure and humidity level in the surrounding environment. Besides, the irregular weather patterns, retreating of global ice sheets, and the corresponding elevated sea level rise are among the most renowned international and domestic effects of climate change (Lipczynska-Kochany  2018 ; Michel et al.  2021 ; Murshed and Dao 2020 ). Before the industrial revolution, natural sources, including volcanoes, forest fires, and seismic activities, were regarded as the distinct sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, and H 2 O into the atmosphere (Murshed et al. 2020 ; Hussain et al.  2020 ; Sovacool et al.  2021 ; Usman and Balsalobre-Lorente 2022 ; Murshed 2022 ). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) struck a major agreement to tackle climate change and accelerate and intensify the actions and investments required for a sustainable low-carbon future at Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris on December 12, 2015. The Paris Agreement expands on the Convention by bringing all nations together for the first time in a single cause to undertake ambitious measures to prevent climate change and adapt to its impacts, with increased funding to assist developing countries in doing so. As so, it marks a turning point in the global climate fight. The core goal of the Paris Agreement is to improve the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 °C over pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5° C (Sharma et al. 2020 ; Sharif et al. 2020 ; Chien et al. 2021 .

Furthermore, the agreement aspires to strengthen nations’ ability to deal with the effects of climate change and align financing flows with low GHG emissions and climate-resilient paths (Shahbaz et al. 2019 ; Anwar et al. 2021 ; Usman et al. 2022a ). To achieve these lofty goals, adequate financial resources must be mobilized and provided, as well as a new technology framework and expanded capacity building, allowing developing countries and the most vulnerable countries to act under their respective national objectives. The agreement also establishes a more transparent action and support mechanism. All Parties are required by the Paris Agreement to do their best through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the coming years (Balsalobre-Lorente et al. 2020 ). It includes obligations that all Parties regularly report on their emissions and implementation activities. A global stock-take will be conducted every five years to review collective progress toward the agreement’s goal and inform the Parties’ future individual actions. The Paris Agreement became available for signature on April 22, 2016, Earth Day, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. On November 4, 2016, it went into effect 30 days after the so-called double threshold was met (ratification by 55 nations accounting for at least 55% of world emissions). More countries have ratified and continue to ratify the agreement since then, bringing 125 Parties in early 2017. To fully operationalize the Paris Agreement, a work program was initiated in Paris to define mechanisms, processes, and recommendations on a wide range of concerns (Murshed et al. 2021 ). Since 2016, Parties have collaborated in subsidiary bodies (APA, SBSTA, and SBI) and numerous formed entities. The Conference of the Parties functioning as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) convened for the first time in November 2016 in Marrakesh in conjunction with COP22 and made its first two resolutions. The work plan is scheduled to be finished by 2018. Some mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce the emission in the prospective of Paris agreement are following firstly, a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, secondly, to aim to limit the rise to 1.5 °C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change, thirdly, on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognizing that this will take longer for developing countries, lastly, to undertake rapid reductions after that under the best available science, to achieve a balance between emissions and removals in the second half of the century. On the other side, some adaptation strategies are; strengthening societies’ ability to deal with the effects of climate change and to continue & expand international assistance for developing nations’ adaptation.

However, anthropogenic activities are currently regarded as most accountable for CC (Murshed et al. 2022 ). Apart from the industrial revolution, other anthropogenic activities include excessive agricultural operations, which further involve the high use of fuel-based mechanization, burning of agricultural residues, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, national and domestic transportation sectors, etc. (Huang et al.  2016 ). Consequently, these anthropogenic activities lead to climatic catastrophes, damaging local and global infrastructure, human health, and total productivity. Energy consumption has mounted GHGs levels concerning warming temperatures as most of the energy production in developing countries comes from fossil fuels (Balsalobre-Lorente et al. 2022 ; Usman et al. 2022b ; Abbass et al. 2021a ; Ishikawa-Ishiwata and Furuya  2022 ).

This review aims to highlight the effects of climate change in a socio-scientific aspect by analyzing the existing literature on various sectorial pieces of evidence globally that influence the environment. Although this review provides a thorough examination of climate change and its severe affected sectors that pose a grave danger for global agriculture, biodiversity, health, economy, forestry, and tourism, and to purpose some practical prophylactic measures and mitigation strategies to be adapted as sound substitutes to survive from climate change (CC) impacts. The societal implications of irregular weather patterns and other effects of climate changes are discussed in detail. Some numerous sustainable mitigation measures and adaptation practices and techniques at the global level are discussed in this review with an in-depth focus on its economic, social, and environmental aspects. Methods of data collection section are included in the supplementary information.

Review methodology

Related study and its objectives.

Today, we live an ordinary life in the beautiful digital, globalized world where climate change has a decisive role. What happens in one country has a massive influence on geographically far apart countries, which points to the current crisis known as COVID-19 (Sarkar et al.  2021 ). The most dangerous disease like COVID-19 has affected the world’s climate changes and economic conditions (Abbass et al. 2022 ; Pirasteh-Anosheh et al.  2021 ). The purpose of the present study is to review the status of research on the subject, which is based on “Global Climate Change Impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures” by systematically reviewing past published and unpublished research work. Furthermore, the current study seeks to comment on research on the same topic and suggest future research on the same topic. Specifically, the present study aims: The first one is, organize publications to make them easy and quick to find. Secondly, to explore issues in this area, propose an outline of research for future work. The third aim of the study is to synthesize the previous literature on climate change, various sectors, and their mitigation measurement. Lastly , classify the articles according to the different methods and procedures that have been adopted.

Review methodology for reviewers

This review-based article followed systematic literature review techniques that have proved the literature review as a rigorous framework (Benita  2021 ; Tranfield et al.  2003 ). Moreover, we illustrate in Fig.  1 the search method that we have started for this research. First, finalized the research theme to search literature (Cooper et al.  2018 ). Second, used numerous research databases to search related articles and download from the database (Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus Index Journals, Emerald, Elsevier Science Direct, Springer, and Sciverse). We focused on various articles, with research articles, feedback pieces, short notes, debates, and review articles published in scholarly journals. Reports used to search for multiple keywords such as “Climate Change,” “Mitigation and Adaptation,” “Department of Agriculture and Human Health,” “Department of Biodiversity and Forestry,” etc.; in summary, keyword list and full text have been made. Initially, the search for keywords yielded a large amount of literature.

Methodology search for finalized articles for investigations.

Source : constructed by authors

Since 2020, it has been impossible to review all the articles found; some restrictions have been set for the literature exhibition. The study searched 95 articles on a different database mentioned above based on the nature of the study. It excluded 40 irrelevant papers due to copied from a previous search after readings tiles, abstract and full pieces. The criteria for inclusion were: (i) articles focused on “Global Climate Change Impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures,” and (ii) the search key terms related to study requirements. The complete procedure yielded 55 articles for our study. We repeat our search on the “Web of Science and Google Scholars” database to enhance the search results and check the referenced articles.

In this study, 55 articles are reviewed systematically and analyzed for research topics and other aspects, such as the methods, contexts, and theories used in these studies. Furthermore, this study analyzes closely related areas to provide unique research opportunities in the future. The study also discussed future direction opportunities and research questions by understanding the research findings climate changes and other affected sectors. The reviewed paper framework analysis process is outlined in Fig.  2 .

Framework of the analysis Process.

Natural disasters and climate change’s socio-economic consequences

Natural and environmental disasters can be highly variable from year to year; some years pass with very few deaths before a significant disaster event claims many lives (Symanski et al.  2021 ). Approximately 60,000 people globally died from natural disasters each year on average over the past decade (Ritchie and Roser  2014 ; Wiranata and Simbolon  2021 ). So, according to the report, around 0.1% of global deaths. Annual variability in the number and share of deaths from natural disasters in recent decades are shown in Fig.  3 . The number of fatalities can be meager—sometimes less than 10,000, and as few as 0.01% of all deaths. But shock events have a devastating impact: the 1983–1985 famine and drought in Ethiopia; the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in 2008; and the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti and now recent example is COVID-19 pandemic (Erman et al.  2021 ). These events pushed global disaster deaths to over 200,000—more than 0.4% of deaths in these years. Low-frequency, high-impact events such as earthquakes and tsunamis are not preventable, but such high losses of human life are. Historical evidence shows that earlier disaster detection, more robust infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and response programmers have substantially reduced disaster deaths worldwide. Low-income is also the most vulnerable to disasters; improving living conditions, facilities, and response services in these areas would be critical in reducing natural disaster deaths in the coming decades.

Global deaths from natural disasters, 1978 to 2020.

Source EMDAT ( 2020 )

The interior regions of the continent are likely to be impacted by rising temperatures (Dimri et al.  2018 ; Goes et al.  2020 ; Mannig et al.  2018 ; Schuurmans  2021 ). Weather patterns change due to the shortage of natural resources (water), increase in glacier melting, and rising mercury are likely to cause extinction to many planted species (Gampe et al.  2016 ; Mihiretu et al.  2021 ; Shaffril et al.  2018 ).On the other hand, the coastal ecosystem is on the verge of devastation (Perera et al.  2018 ; Phillips  2018 ). The temperature rises, insect disease outbreaks, health-related problems, and seasonal and lifestyle changes are persistent, with a strong probability of these patterns continuing in the future (Abbass et al. 2021c ; Hussain et al.  2018 ). At the global level, a shortage of good infrastructure and insufficient adaptive capacity are hammering the most (IPCC  2013 ). In addition to the above concerns, a lack of environmental education and knowledge, outdated consumer behavior, a scarcity of incentives, a lack of legislation, and the government’s lack of commitment to climate change contribute to the general public’s concerns. By 2050, a 2 to 3% rise in mercury and a drastic shift in rainfall patterns may have serious consequences (Huang et al. 2022 ; Gorst et al.  2018 ). Natural and environmental calamities caused huge losses globally, such as decreased agriculture outputs, rehabilitation of the system, and rebuilding necessary technologies (Ali and Erenstein  2017 ; Ramankutty et al.  2018 ; Yu et al.  2021 ) (Table ​ (Table1). 1 ). Furthermore, in the last 3 or 4 years, the world has been plagued by smog-related eye and skin diseases, as well as a rise in road accidents due to poor visibility.

Main natural danger statistics for 1985–2020 at the global level

Source: EM-DAT ( 2020 )

Climate change and agriculture

Global agriculture is the ultimate sector responsible for 30–40% of all greenhouse emissions, which makes it a leading industry predominantly contributing to climate warming and significantly impacted by it (Grieg; Mishra et al.  2021 ; Ortiz et al.  2021 ; Thornton and Lipper  2014 ). Numerous agro-environmental and climatic factors that have a dominant influence on agriculture productivity (Pautasso et al.  2012 ) are significantly impacted in response to precipitation extremes including floods, forest fires, and droughts (Huang  2004 ). Besides, the immense dependency on exhaustible resources also fuels the fire and leads global agriculture to become prone to devastation. Godfray et al. ( 2010 ) mentioned that decline in agriculture challenges the farmer’s quality of life and thus a significant factor to poverty as the food and water supplies are critically impacted by CC (Ortiz et al.  2021 ; Rosenzweig et al.  2014 ). As an essential part of the economic systems, especially in developing countries, agricultural systems affect the overall economy and potentially the well-being of households (Schlenker and Roberts  2009 ). According to the report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, i.e., CH 4, CO 2 , and N 2 O, are increased in the air to extraordinary levels over the last few centuries (Usman and Makhdum 2021 ; Stocker et al.  2013 ). Climate change is the composite outcome of two different factors. The first is the natural causes, and the second is the anthropogenic actions (Karami 2012 ). It is also forecasted that the world may experience a typical rise in temperature stretching from 1 to 3.7 °C at the end of this century (Pachauri et al. 2014 ). The world’s crop production is also highly vulnerable to these global temperature-changing trends as raised temperatures will pose severe negative impacts on crop growth (Reidsma et al. 2009 ). Some of the recent modeling about the fate of global agriculture is briefly described below.

Decline in cereal productivity

Crop productivity will also be affected dramatically in the next few decades due to variations in integral abiotic factors such as temperature, solar radiation, precipitation, and CO 2 . These all factors are included in various regulatory instruments like progress and growth, weather-tempted changes, pest invasions (Cammell and Knight 1992 ), accompanying disease snags (Fand et al. 2012 ), water supplies (Panda et al. 2003 ), high prices of agro-products in world’s agriculture industry, and preeminent quantity of fertilizer consumption. Lobell and field ( 2007 ) claimed that from 1962 to 2002, wheat crop output had condensed significantly due to rising temperatures. Therefore, during 1980–2011, the common wheat productivity trends endorsed extreme temperature events confirmed by Gourdji et al. ( 2013 ) around South Asia, South America, and Central Asia. Various other studies (Asseng, Cao, Zhang, and Ludwig 2009 ; Asseng et al. 2013 ; García et al. 2015 ; Ortiz et al. 2021 ) also proved that wheat output is negatively affected by the rising temperatures and also caused adverse effects on biomass productivity (Calderini et al. 1999 ; Sadras and Slafer 2012 ). Hereafter, the rice crop is also influenced by the high temperatures at night. These difficulties will worsen because the temperature will be rising further in the future owing to CC (Tebaldi et al. 2006 ). Another research conducted in China revealed that a 4.6% of rice production per 1 °C has happened connected with the advancement in night temperatures (Tao et al. 2006 ). Moreover, the average night temperature growth also affected rice indicia cultivar’s output pragmatically during 25 years in the Philippines (Peng et al. 2004 ). It is anticipated that the increase in world average temperature will also cause a substantial reduction in yield (Hatfield et al. 2011 ; Lobell and Gourdji 2012 ). In the southern hemisphere, Parry et al. ( 2007 ) noted a rise of 1–4 °C in average daily temperatures at the end of spring season unti the middle of summers, and this raised temperature reduced crop output by cutting down the time length for phenophases eventually reduce the yield (Hatfield and Prueger 2015 ; R. Ortiz 2008 ). Also, world climate models have recommended that humid and subtropical regions expect to be plentiful prey to the upcoming heat strokes (Battisti and Naylor 2009 ). Grain production is the amalgamation of two constituents: the average weight and the grain output/m 2 , however, in crop production. Crop output is mainly accredited to the grain quantity (Araus et al. 2008 ; Gambín and Borrás 2010 ). In the times of grain set, yield resources are mainly strewn between hitherto defined components, i.e., grain usual weight and grain output, which presents a trade-off between them (Gambín and Borrás 2010 ) beside disparities in per grain integration (B. L. Gambín et al. 2006 ). In addition to this, the maize crop is also susceptible to raised temperatures, principally in the flowering stage (Edreira and Otegui 2013 ). In reality, the lower grain number is associated with insufficient acclimatization due to intense photosynthesis and higher respiration and the high-temperature effect on the reproduction phenomena (Edreira and Otegui 2013 ). During the flowering phase, maize visible to heat (30–36 °C) seemed less anthesis-silking intermissions (Edreira et al. 2011 ). Another research by Dupuis and Dumas ( 1990 ) proved that a drop in spikelet when directly visible to high temperatures above 35 °C in vitro pollination. Abnormalities in kernel number claimed by Vega et al. ( 2001 ) is related to conceded plant development during a flowering phase that is linked with the active ear growth phase and categorized as a critical phase for approximation of kernel number during silking (Otegui and Bonhomme 1998 ).

The retort of rice output to high temperature presents disparities in flowering patterns, and seed set lessens and lessens grain weight (Qasim et al. 2020 ; Qasim, Hammad, Maqsood, Tariq, & Chawla). During the daytime, heat directly impacts flowers which lessens the thesis period and quickens the earlier peak flowering (Tao et al. 2006 ). Antagonistic effect of higher daytime temperature d on pollen sprouting proposed seed set decay, whereas, seed set was lengthily reduced than could be explicated by pollen growing at high temperatures 40◦C (Matsui et al. 2001 ).

The decline in wheat output is linked with higher temperatures, confirmed in numerous studies (Semenov 2009 ; Stone and Nicolas 1994 ). High temperatures fast-track the arrangements of plant expansion (Blum et al. 2001 ), diminution photosynthetic process (Salvucci and Crafts‐Brandner 2004 ), and also considerably affect the reproductive operations (Farooq et al. 2011 ).

The destructive impacts of CC induced weather extremes to deteriorate the integrity of crops (Chaudhary et al. 2011 ), e.g., Spartan cold and extreme fog cause falling and discoloration of betel leaves (Rosenzweig et al. 2001 ), giving them a somehow reddish appearance, squeezing of lemon leaves (Pautasso et al. 2012 ), as well as root rot of pineapple, have reported (Vedwan and Rhoades 2001 ). Henceforth, in tackling the disruptive effects of CC, several short-term and long-term management approaches are the crucial need of time (Fig.  4 ). Moreover, various studies (Chaudhary et al. 2011 ; Patz et al. 2005 ; Pautasso et al. 2012 ) have demonstrated adapting trends such as ameliorating crop diversity can yield better adaptability towards CC.

Schematic description of potential impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector and the appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures to overcome its impact.

Climate change impacts on biodiversity

Global biodiversity is among the severe victims of CC because it is the fastest emerging cause of species loss. Studies demonstrated that the massive scale species dynamics are considerably associated with diverse climatic events (Abraham and Chain 1988 ; Manes et al. 2021 ; A. M. D. Ortiz et al. 2021 ). Both the pace and magnitude of CC are altering the compatible habitat ranges for living entities of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial regions. Alterations in general climate regimes influence the integrity of ecosystems in numerous ways, such as variation in the relative abundance of species, range shifts, changes in activity timing, and microhabitat use (Bates et al. 2014 ). The geographic distribution of any species often depends upon its ability to tolerate environmental stresses, biological interactions, and dispersal constraints. Hence, instead of the CC, the local species must only accept, adapt, move, or face extinction (Berg et al. 2010 ). So, the best performer species have a better survival capacity for adjusting to new ecosystems or a decreased perseverance to survive where they are already situated (Bates et al. 2014 ). An important aspect here is the inadequate habitat connectivity and access to microclimates, also crucial in raising the exposure to climate warming and extreme heatwave episodes. For example, the carbon sequestration rates are undergoing fluctuations due to climate-driven expansion in the range of global mangroves (Cavanaugh et al. 2014 ).

Similarly, the loss of kelp-forest ecosystems in various regions and its occupancy by the seaweed turfs has set the track for elevated herbivory by the high influx of tropical fish populations. Not only this, the increased water temperatures have exacerbated the conditions far away from the physiological tolerance level of the kelp communities (Vergés et al. 2016 ; Wernberg et al. 2016 ). Another pertinent danger is the devastation of keystone species, which even has more pervasive effects on the entire communities in that habitat (Zarnetske et al. 2012 ). It is particularly important as CC does not specify specific populations or communities. Eventually, this CC-induced redistribution of species may deteriorate carbon storage and the net ecosystem productivity (Weed et al. 2013 ). Among the typical disruptions, the prominent ones include impacts on marine and terrestrial productivity, marine community assembly, and the extended invasion of toxic cyanobacteria bloom (Fossheim et al. 2015 ).

The CC-impacted species extinction is widely reported in the literature (Beesley et al. 2019 ; Urban 2015 ), and the predictions of demise until the twenty-first century are dreadful (Abbass et al. 2019 ; Pereira et al. 2013 ). In a few cases, northward shifting of species may not be formidable as it allows mountain-dwelling species to find optimum climates. However, the migrant species may be trapped in isolated and incompatible habitats due to losing topography and range (Dullinger et al. 2012 ). For example, a study indicated that the American pika has been extirpated or intensely diminished in some regions, primarily attributed to the CC-impacted extinction or at least local extirpation (Stewart et al. 2015 ). Besides, the anticipation of persistent responses to the impacts of CC often requires data records of several decades to rigorously analyze the critical pre and post CC patterns at species and ecosystem levels (Manes et al. 2021 ; Testa et al. 2018 ).

Nonetheless, the availability of such long-term data records is rare; hence, attempts are needed to focus on these profound aspects. Biodiversity is also vulnerable to the other associated impacts of CC, such as rising temperatures, droughts, and certain invasive pest species. For instance, a study revealed the changes in the composition of plankton communities attributed to rising temperatures. Henceforth, alterations in such aquatic producer communities, i.e., diatoms and calcareous plants, can ultimately lead to variation in the recycling of biological carbon. Moreover, such changes are characterized as a potential contributor to CO 2 differences between the Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods (Kohfeld et al. 2005 ).

Climate change implications on human health

It is an understood corporality that human health is a significant victim of CC (Costello et al. 2009 ). According to the WHO, CC might be responsible for 250,000 additional deaths per year during 2030–2050 (Watts et al. 2015 ). These deaths are attributed to extreme weather-induced mortality and morbidity and the global expansion of vector-borne diseases (Lemery et al. 2021; Yang and Usman 2021 ; Meierrieks 2021 ; UNEP 2017 ). Here, some of the emerging health issues pertinent to this global problem are briefly described.

Climate change and antimicrobial resistance with corresponding economic costs

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an up-surging complex global health challenge (Garner et al. 2019 ; Lemery et al. 2021 ). Health professionals across the globe are extremely worried due to this phenomenon that has critical potential to reverse almost all the progress that has been achieved so far in the health discipline (Gosling and Arnell 2016 ). A massive amount of antibiotics is produced by many pharmaceutical industries worldwide, and the pathogenic microorganisms are gradually developing resistance to them, which can be comprehended how strongly this aspect can shake the foundations of national and global economies (UNEP 2017 ). This statement is supported by the fact that AMR is not developing in a particular region or country. Instead, it is flourishing in every continent of the world (WHO 2018 ). This plague is heavily pushing humanity to the post-antibiotic era, in which currently antibiotic-susceptible pathogens will once again lead to certain endemics and pandemics after being resistant(WHO 2018 ). Undesirably, if this statement would become a factuality, there might emerge certain risks in undertaking sophisticated interventions such as chemotherapy, joint replacement cases, and organ transplantation (Su et al. 2018 ). Presently, the amplification of drug resistance cases has made common illnesses like pneumonia, post-surgical infections, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, etc., too difficult and costly to be treated or cure well (WHO 2018 ). From a simple example, it can be assumed how easily antibiotic-resistant strains can be transmitted from one person to another and ultimately travel across the boundaries (Berendonk et al. 2015 ). Talking about the second- and third-generation classes of antibiotics, e.g., most renowned generations of cephalosporin antibiotics that are more expensive, broad-spectrum, more toxic, and usually require more extended periods whenever prescribed to patients (Lemery et al. 2021 ; Pärnänen et al. 2019 ). This scenario has also revealed that the abundance of resistant strains of pathogens was also higher in the Southern part (WHO 2018 ). As southern parts are generally warmer than their counterparts, it is evident from this example how CC-induced global warming can augment the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains within the biosphere, eventually putting additional economic burden in the face of developing new and costlier antibiotics. The ARG exchange to susceptible bacteria through one of the potential mechanisms, transformation, transduction, and conjugation; Selection pressure can be caused by certain antibiotics, metals or pesticides, etc., as shown in Fig.  5 .

A typical interaction between the susceptible and resistant strains.

Source: Elsayed et al. ( 2021 ); Karkman et al. ( 2018 )

Certain studies highlighted that conventional urban wastewater treatment plants are typical hotspots where most bacterial strains exchange genetic material through horizontal gene transfer (Fig.  5 ). Although at present, the extent of risks associated with the antibiotic resistance found in wastewater is complicated; environmental scientists and engineers have particular concerns about the potential impacts of these antibiotic resistance genes on human health (Ashbolt 2015 ). At most undesirable and worst case, these antibiotic-resistant genes containing bacteria can make their way to enter into the environment (Pruden et al. 2013 ), irrigation water used for crops and public water supplies and ultimately become a part of food chains and food webs (Ma et al. 2019 ; D. Wu et al. 2019 ). This problem has been reported manifold in several countries (Hendriksen et al. 2019 ), where wastewater as a means of irrigated water is quite common.

Climate change and vector borne-diseases

Temperature is a fundamental factor for the sustenance of living entities regardless of an ecosystem. So, a specific living being, especially a pathogen, requires a sophisticated temperature range to exist on earth. The second essential component of CC is precipitation, which also impacts numerous infectious agents’ transport and dissemination patterns. Global rising temperature is a significant cause of many species extinction. On the one hand, this changing environmental temperature may be causing species extinction, and on the other, this warming temperature might favor the thriving of some new organisms. Here, it was evident that some pathogens may also upraise once non-evident or reported (Patz et al. 2000 ). This concept can be exemplified through certain pathogenic strains of microorganisms that how the likelihood of various diseases increases in response to climate warming-induced environmental changes (Table ​ (Table2 2 ).

Examples of how various environmental changes affect various infectious diseases in humans

Source: Aron and Patz ( 2001 )

A recent example is an outburst of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Republic of China, causing pneumonia and severe acute respiratory complications (Cui et al. 2021 ; Song et al. 2021 ). The large family of viruses is harbored in numerous animals, bats, and snakes in particular (livescience.com) with the subsequent transfer into human beings. Hence, it is worth noting that the thriving of numerous vectors involved in spreading various diseases is influenced by Climate change (Ogden 2018 ; Santos et al. 2021 ).

Psychological impacts of climate change

Climate change (CC) is responsible for the rapid dissemination and exaggeration of certain epidemics and pandemics. In addition to the vast apparent impacts of climate change on health, forestry, agriculture, etc., it may also have psychological implications on vulnerable societies. It can be exemplified through the recent outburst of (COVID-19) in various countries around the world (Pal 2021 ). Besides, the victims of this viral infection have made healthy beings scarier and terrified. In the wake of such epidemics, people with common colds or fever are also frightened and must pass specific regulatory protocols. Living in such situations continuously terrifies the public and makes the stress familiar, which eventually makes them psychologically weak (npr.org).

CC boosts the extent of anxiety, distress, and other issues in public, pushing them to develop various mental-related problems. Besides, frequent exposure to extreme climatic catastrophes such as geological disasters also imprints post-traumatic disorder, and their ubiquitous occurrence paves the way to developing chronic psychological dysfunction. Moreover, repetitive listening from media also causes an increase in the person’s stress level (Association 2020 ). Similarly, communities living in flood-prone areas constantly live in extreme fear of drowning and die by floods. In addition to human lives, the flood-induced destruction of physical infrastructure is a specific reason for putting pressure on these communities (Ogden 2018 ). For instance, Ogden ( 2018 ) comprehensively denoted that Katrina’s Hurricane augmented the mental health issues in the victim communities.

Climate change impacts on the forestry sector

Forests are the global regulators of the world’s climate (FAO 2018 ) and have an indispensable role in regulating global carbon and nitrogen cycles (Rehman et al. 2021 ; Reichstein and Carvalhais 2019 ). Hence, disturbances in forest ecology affect the micro and macro-climates (Ellison et al. 2017 ). Climate warming, in return, has profound impacts on the growth and productivity of transboundary forests by influencing the temperature and precipitation patterns, etc. As CC induces specific changes in the typical structure and functions of ecosystems (Zhang et al. 2017 ) as well impacts forest health, climate change also has several devastating consequences such as forest fires, droughts, pest outbreaks (EPA 2018 ), and last but not the least is the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. The rising frequency and intensity of another CC product, i.e., droughts, pose plenty of challenges to the well-being of global forests (Diffenbaugh et al. 2017 ), which is further projected to increase soon (Hartmann et al. 2018 ; Lehner et al. 2017 ; Rehman et al. 2021 ). Hence, CC induces storms, with more significant impacts also put extra pressure on the survival of the global forests (Martínez-Alvarado et al. 2018 ), significantly since their influences are augmented during higher winter precipitations with corresponding wetter soils causing weak root anchorage of trees (Brázdil et al. 2018 ). Surging temperature regimes causes alterations in usual precipitation patterns, which is a significant hurdle for the survival of temperate forests (Allen et al. 2010 ; Flannigan et al. 2013 ), letting them encounter severe stress and disturbances which adversely affects the local tree species (Hubbart et al. 2016 ; Millar and Stephenson 2015 ; Rehman et al. 2021 ).

Climate change impacts on forest-dependent communities

Forests are the fundamental livelihood resource for about 1.6 billion people worldwide; out of them, 350 million are distinguished with relatively higher reliance (Bank 2008 ). Agro-forestry-dependent communities comprise 1.2 billion, and 60 million indigenous people solely rely on forests and their products to sustain their lives (Sunderlin et al. 2005 ). For example, in the entire African continent, more than 2/3rd of inhabitants depend on forest resources and woodlands for their alimonies, e.g., food, fuelwood and grazing (Wasiq and Ahmad 2004 ). The livings of these people are more intensely affected by the climatic disruptions making their lives harder (Brown et al. 2014 ). On the one hand, forest communities are incredibly vulnerable to CC due to their livelihoods, cultural and spiritual ties as well as socio-ecological connections, and on the other, they are not familiar with the term “climate change.” (Rahman and Alam 2016 ). Among the destructive impacts of temperature and rainfall, disruption of the agroforestry crops with resultant downscale growth and yield (Macchi et al. 2008 ). Cruz ( 2015 ) ascribed that forest-dependent smallholder farmers in the Philippines face the enigma of delayed fruiting, more severe damages by insect and pest incidences due to unfavorable temperature regimes, and changed rainfall patterns.

Among these series of challenges to forest communities, their well-being is also distinctly vulnerable to CC. Though the detailed climate change impacts on human health have been comprehensively mentioned in the previous section, some studies have listed a few more devastating effects on the prosperity of forest-dependent communities. For instance, the Himalayan people have been experiencing frequent skin-borne diseases such as malaria and other skin diseases due to increasing mosquitoes, wild boar as well, and new wasps species, particularly in higher altitudes that were almost non-existent before last 5–10 years (Xu et al. 2008 ). Similarly, people living at high altitudes in Bangladesh have experienced frequent mosquito-borne calamities (Fardous; Sharma 2012 ). In addition, the pace of other waterborne diseases such as infectious diarrhea, cholera, pathogenic induced abdominal complications and dengue has also been boosted in other distinguished regions of Bangladesh (Cell 2009 ; Gunter et al. 2008 ).

Pest outbreak

Upscaling hotter climate may positively affect the mobile organisms with shorter generation times because they can scurry from harsh conditions than the immobile species (Fettig et al. 2013 ; Schoene and Bernier 2012 ) and are also relatively more capable of adapting to new environments (Jactel et al. 2019 ). It reveals that insects adapt quickly to global warming due to their mobility advantages. Due to past outbreaks, the trees (forests) are relatively more susceptible victims (Kurz et al. 2008 ). Before CC, the influence of factors mentioned earlier, i.e., droughts and storms, was existent and made the forests susceptible to insect pest interventions; however, the global forests remain steadfast, assiduous, and green (Jactel et al. 2019 ). The typical reasons could be the insect herbivores were regulated by several tree defenses and pressures of predation (Wilkinson and Sherratt 2016 ). As climate greatly influences these phenomena, the global forests cannot be so sedulous against such challenges (Jactel et al. 2019 ). Table ​ Table3 3 demonstrates some of the particular considerations with practical examples that are essential while mitigating the impacts of CC in the forestry sector.

Essential considerations while mitigating the climate change impacts on the forestry sector

Source : Fischer ( 2019 )

Climate change impacts on tourism

Tourism is a commercial activity that has roots in multi-dimensions and an efficient tool with adequate job generation potential, revenue creation, earning of spectacular foreign exchange, enhancement in cross-cultural promulgation and cooperation, a business tool for entrepreneurs and eventually for the country’s national development (Arshad et al. 2018 ; Scott 2021 ). Among a plethora of other disciplines, the tourism industry is also a distinct victim of climate warming (Gössling et al. 2012 ; Hall et al. 2015 ) as the climate is among the essential resources that enable tourism in particular regions as most preferred locations. Different places at different times of the year attract tourists both within and across the countries depending upon the feasibility and compatibility of particular weather patterns. Hence, the massive variations in these weather patterns resulting from CC will eventually lead to monumental challenges to the local economy in that specific area’s particular and national economy (Bujosa et al. 2015 ). For instance, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report demonstrated that the global tourism industry had faced a considerable decline in the duration of ski season, including the loss of some ski areas and the dramatic shifts in tourist destinations’ climate warming.

Furthermore, different studies (Neuvonen et al. 2015 ; Scott et al. 2004 ) indicated that various currently perfect tourist spots, e.g., coastal areas, splendid islands, and ski resorts, will suffer consequences of CC. It is also worth noting that the quality and potential of administrative management potential to cope with the influence of CC on the tourism industry is of crucial significance, which renders specific strengths of resiliency to numerous destinations to withstand against it (Füssel and Hildén 2014 ). Similarly, in the partial or complete absence of adequate socio-economic and socio-political capital, the high-demanding tourist sites scurry towards the verge of vulnerability. The susceptibility of tourism is based on different components such as the extent of exposure, sensitivity, life-supporting sectors, and capacity assessment factors (Füssel and Hildén 2014 ). It is obvious corporality that sectors such as health, food, ecosystems, human habitat, infrastructure, water availability, and the accessibility of a particular region are prone to CC. Henceforth, the sensitivity of these critical sectors to CC and, in return, the adaptive measures are a hallmark in determining the composite vulnerability of climate warming (Ionescu et al. 2009 ).

Moreover, the dependence on imported food items, poor hygienic conditions, and inadequate health professionals are dominant aspects affecting the local terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. Meanwhile, the greater dependency on ecosystem services and its products also makes a destination more fragile to become a prey of CC (Rizvi et al. 2015 ). Some significant non-climatic factors are important indicators of a particular ecosystem’s typical health and functioning, e.g., resource richness and abundance portray the picture of ecosystem stability. Similarly, the species abundance is also a productive tool that ensures that the ecosystem has a higher buffering capacity, which is terrific in terms of resiliency (Roscher et al. 2013 ).

Climate change impacts on the economic sector

Climate plays a significant role in overall productivity and economic growth. Due to its increasingly global existence and its effect on economic growth, CC has become one of the major concerns of both local and international environmental policymakers (Ferreira et al. 2020 ; Gleditsch 2021 ; Abbass et al. 2021b ; Lamperti et al. 2021 ). The adverse effects of CC on the overall productivity factor of the agricultural sector are therefore significant for understanding the creation of local adaptation policies and the composition of productive climate policy contracts. Previous studies on CC in the world have already forecasted its effects on the agricultural sector. Researchers have found that global CC will impact the agricultural sector in different world regions. The study of the impacts of CC on various agrarian activities in other demographic areas and the development of relative strategies to respond to effects has become a focal point for researchers (Chandioet al. 2020 ; Gleditsch 2021 ; Mosavi et al. 2020 ).

With the rapid growth of global warming since the 1980s, the temperature has started increasing globally, which resulted in the incredible transformation of rain and evaporation in the countries. The agricultural development of many countries has been reliant, delicate, and susceptible to CC for a long time, and it is on the development of agriculture total factor productivity (ATFP) influence different crops and yields of farmers (Alhassan 2021 ; Wu  2020 ).

Food security and natural disasters are increasing rapidly in the world. Several major climatic/natural disasters have impacted local crop production in the countries concerned. The effects of these natural disasters have been poorly controlled by the development of the economies and populations and may affect human life as well. One example is China, which is among the world’s most affected countries, vulnerable to natural disasters due to its large population, harsh environmental conditions, rapid CC, low environmental stability, and disaster power. According to the January 2016 statistical survey, China experienced an economic loss of 298.3 billion Yuan, and about 137 million Chinese people were severely affected by various natural disasters (Xie et al. 2018 ).

Mitigation and adaptation strategies of climate changes

Adaptation and mitigation are the crucial factors to address the response to CC (Jahanzad et al. 2020 ). Researchers define mitigation on climate changes, and on the other hand, adaptation directly impacts climate changes like floods. To some extent, mitigation reduces or moderates greenhouse gas emission, and it becomes a critical issue both economically and environmentally (Botzen et al. 2021 ; Jahanzad et al. 2020 ; Kongsager 2018 ; Smit et al. 2000 ; Vale et al. 2021 ; Usman et al. 2021 ; Verheyen 2005 ).

Researchers have deep concern about the adaptation and mitigation methodologies in sectoral and geographical contexts. Agriculture, industry, forestry, transport, and land use are the main sectors to adapt and mitigate policies(Kärkkäinen et al. 2020 ; Waheed et al. 2021 ). Adaptation and mitigation require particular concern both at the national and international levels. The world has faced a significant problem of climate change in the last decades, and adaptation to these effects is compulsory for economic and social development. To adapt and mitigate against CC, one should develop policies and strategies at the international level (Hussain et al. 2020 ). Figure  6 depicts the list of current studies on sectoral impacts of CC with adaptation and mitigation measures globally.

Sectoral impacts of climate change with adaptation and mitigation measures.

Conclusion and future perspectives

Specific socio-agricultural, socio-economic, and physical systems are the cornerstone of psychological well-being, and the alteration in these systems by CC will have disastrous impacts. Climate variability, alongside other anthropogenic and natural stressors, influences human and environmental health sustainability. Food security is another concerning scenario that may lead to compromised food quality, higher food prices, and inadequate food distribution systems. Global forests are challenged by different climatic factors such as storms, droughts, flash floods, and intense precipitation. On the other hand, their anthropogenic wiping is aggrandizing their existence. Undoubtedly, the vulnerability scale of the world’s regions differs; however, appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures can aid the decision-making bodies in developing effective policies to tackle its impacts. Presently, modern life on earth has tailored to consistent climatic patterns, and accordingly, adapting to such considerable variations is of paramount importance. Because the faster changes in climate will make it harder to survive and adjust, this globally-raising enigma calls for immediate attention at every scale ranging from elementary community level to international level. Still, much effort, research, and dedication are required, which is the most critical time. Some policy implications can help us to mitigate the consequences of climate change, especially the most affected sectors like the agriculture sector;

Warming might lengthen the season in frost-prone growing regions (temperate and arctic zones), allowing for longer-maturing seasonal cultivars with better yields (Pfadenhauer 2020 ; Bonacci 2019 ). Extending the planting season may allow additional crops each year; when warming leads to frequent warmer months highs over critical thresholds, a split season with a brief summer fallow may be conceivable for short-period crops such as wheat barley, cereals, and many other vegetable crops. The capacity to prolong the planting season in tropical and subtropical places where the harvest season is constrained by precipitation or agriculture farming occurs after the year may be more limited and dependent on how precipitation patterns vary (Wu et al. 2017 ).

The genetic component is comprehensive for many yields, but it is restricted like kiwi fruit for a few. Ali et al. ( 2017 ) investigated how new crops will react to climatic changes (also stated in Mall et al. 2017 ). Hot temperature, drought, insect resistance; salt tolerance; and overall crop production and product quality increases would all be advantageous (Akkari 2016 ). Genetic mapping and engineering can introduce a greater spectrum of features. The adoption of genetically altered cultivars has been slowed, particularly in the early forecasts owing to the complexity in ensuring features are expediently expressed throughout the entire plant, customer concerns, economic profitability, and regulatory impediments (Wirehn 2018 ; Davidson et al. 2016 ).

To get the full benefit of the CO 2 would certainly require additional nitrogen and other fertilizers. Nitrogen not consumed by the plants may be excreted into groundwater, discharged into water surface, or emitted from the land, soil nitrous oxide when large doses of fertilizer are sprayed. Increased nitrogen levels in groundwater sources have been related to human chronic illnesses and impact marine ecosystems. Cultivation, grain drying, and other field activities have all been examined in depth in the studies (Barua et al. 2018 ).

• The technological and socio-economic adaptation

The policy consequence of the causative conclusion is that as a source of alternative energy, biofuel production is one of the routes that explain oil price volatility separate from international macroeconomic factors. Even though biofuel production has just begun in a few sample nations, there is still a tremendous worldwide need for feedstock to satisfy industrial expansion in China and the USA, which explains the food price relationship to the global oil price. Essentially, oil-exporting countries may create incentives in their economies to increase food production. It may accomplish by giving farmers financing, seedlings, fertilizers, and farming equipment. Because of the declining global oil price and, as a result, their earnings from oil export, oil-producing nations may be unable to subsidize food imports even in the near term. As a result, these countries can boost the agricultural value chain for export. It may be accomplished through R&D and adding value to their food products to increase income by correcting exchange rate misalignment and adverse trade terms. These nations may also diversify their economies away from oil, as dependence on oil exports alone is no longer economically viable given the extreme volatility of global oil prices. Finally, resource-rich and oil-exporting countries can convert to non-food renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro, coal, wind, wave, and tidal energy. By doing so, both world food and oil supplies would be maintained rather than harmed.

IRENA’s modeling work shows that, if a comprehensive policy framework is in place, efforts toward decarbonizing the energy future will benefit economic activity, jobs (outweighing losses in the fossil fuel industry), and welfare. Countries with weak domestic supply chains and a large reliance on fossil fuel income, in particular, must undertake structural reforms to capitalize on the opportunities inherent in the energy transition. Governments continue to give major policy assistance to extract fossil fuels, including tax incentives, financing, direct infrastructure expenditures, exemptions from environmental regulations, and other measures. The majority of major oil and gas producing countries intend to increase output. Some countries intend to cut coal output, while others plan to maintain or expand it. While some nations are beginning to explore and execute policies aimed at a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuel production, these efforts have yet to impact major producing countries’ plans and goals. Verifiable and comparable data on fossil fuel output and assistance from governments and industries are critical to closing the production gap. Governments could increase openness by declaring their production intentions in their climate obligations under the Paris Agreement.

It is firmly believed that achieving the Paris Agreement commitments is doubtlful without undergoing renewable energy transition across the globe (Murshed 2020 ; Zhao et al. 2022 ). Policy instruments play the most important role in determining the degree of investment in renewable energy technology. This study examines the efficacy of various policy strategies in the renewable energy industry of multiple nations. Although its impact is more visible in established renewable energy markets, a renewable portfolio standard is also a useful policy instrument. The cost of producing renewable energy is still greater than other traditional energy sources. Furthermore, government incentives in the R&D sector can foster innovation in this field, resulting in cost reductions in the renewable energy industry. These nations may export their technologies and share their policy experiences by forming networks among their renewable energy-focused organizations. All policy measures aim to reduce production costs while increasing the proportion of renewables to a country’s energy system. Meanwhile, long-term contracts with renewable energy providers, government commitment and control, and the establishment of long-term goals can assist developing nations in deploying renewable energy technology in their energy sector.

Author contribution

KA: Writing the original manuscript, data collection, data analysis, Study design, Formal analysis, Visualization, Revised draft, Writing-review, and editing. MZQ: Writing the original manuscript, data collection, data analysis, Writing-review, and editing. HS: Contribution to the contextualization of the theme, Conceptualization, Validation, Supervision, literature review, Revised drapt, and writing review and editing. MM: Writing review and editing, compiling the literature review, language editing. HM: Writing review and editing, compiling the literature review, language editing. IY: Contribution to the contextualization of the theme, literature review, and writing review and editing.

Availability of data and material

Declarations.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Contributor Information

Kashif Abbass, Email: nc.ude.tsujn@ssabbafihsak .

Muhammad Zeeshan Qasim, Email: moc.kooltuo@888misaqnahseez .

Huaming Song, Email: nc.ude.tsujn@gnimauh .

Muntasir Murshed, Email: [email protected] .

Haider Mahmood, Email: moc.liamtoh@doomhamrediah .

Ijaz Younis, Email: nc.ude.tsujn@sinuoyzaji .

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Our Future Is Now - A Climate Change Essay by Francesca Minicozzi, '21

Francesca Minicozzi (class of 2021) is a Writing/Biology major who plans to study medicine after graduation. She wrote this essay on climate change for WR 355/Travel Writing, which she took while studying abroad in Newcastle in spring 2020. Although the coronavirus pandemic curtailed Francesca’s time abroad, her months in Newcastle prompted her to learn more about climate change. Terre Ryan Associate Professor, Writing Department

Our Future Is Now

By Francesca Minicozzi, '21 Writing and Biology Major

 “If you don’t mind me asking, how is the United States preparing for climate change?” my flat mate, Zac, asked me back in March, when we were both still in Newcastle. He and I were accustomed to asking each other about the differences between our home countries; he came from Cambridge, while I originated in Long Island, New York. This was one of our numerous conversations about issues that impact our generation, which we usually discussed while cooking dinner in our communal kitchen. In the moment of our conversation, I did not have as strong an answer for him as I would have liked. Instead, I informed him of the few changes I had witnessed within my home state of New York.

Zac’s response was consistent with his normal, diplomatic self. “I have been following the BBC news in terms of the climate crisis for the past few years. The U.K. has been working hard to transition to renewable energy sources. Similar to the United States, here in the United Kingdom we have converted over to solar panels too. My home does not have solar panels, but a lot of our neighbors have switched to solar energy in the past few years.”

“Our two countries are similar, yet so different,” I thought. Our conversation continued as we prepared our meals, with topics ranging from climate change to the upcoming presidential election to Britain’s exit from the European Union. However, I could not shake the fact that I knew so little about a topic so crucial to my generation.

After I abruptly returned home from the United Kingdom because of the global pandemic, my conversation with my flat mate lingered in my mind. Before the coronavirus surpassed climate change headlines, I had seen the number of internet postings regarding protests to protect the planet dramatically increase. Yet the idea of our planet becoming barren and unlivable in a not-so-distant future had previously upset me to the point where a part of me refused to deal with it. After I returned from studying abroad, I decided to educate myself on the climate crisis.

My quest for climate change knowledge required a thorough understanding of the difference between “climate change” and “global warming.” Climate change is defined as “a pattern of change affecting global or regional climate,” based on “average temperature and rainfall measurements” as well as the frequency of extreme weather events. 1   These varied temperature and weather events link back to both natural incidents and human activity. 2   Likewise, the term global warming was coined “to describe climate change caused by humans.” 3   Not only that, but global warming is most recently attributed to an increase in “global average temperature,” mainly due to greenhouse gas emissions produced by humans. 4

I next questioned why the term “climate change” seemed to take over the term “global warming” in the United States. According to Frank Luntz, a leading Republican consultant, the term “global warming” functions as a rather intimidating phrase. During George W. Bush’s first presidential term, Luntz argued in favor of using the less daunting phrase “climate change” in an attempt to overcome the environmental battle amongst Democrats and Republicans. 5   Since President Bush’s term, Luntz remains just one political consultant out of many politicians who has recognized the need to address climate change. In an article from 2019, Luntz proclaimed that political parties aside, the climate crisis affects everyone. Luntz argued that politicians should steer clear of trying to communicate “the complicated science of climate change,” and instead engage voters by explaining how climate change personally impacts citizens with natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and forest fires. 6   He even suggested that a shift away from words like “sustainability” would gear Americans towards what they really want: a “cleaner, safer, healthier” environment. 7

The idea of a cleaner and heathier environment remains easier said than done. The Paris Climate Agreement, introduced in 2015, began the United Nations’ “effort to combat global climate change.” 8   This agreement marked a global initiative to “limit global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels,” while simultaneously “pursuing means to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.” 9    Every country on earth has joined together in this agreement for the common purpose of saving our planet. 10   So, what could go wrong here? As much as this sounds like a compelling step in the right direction for climate change, President Donald Trump thought otherwise. In June 2017, President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement with his proclamation of climate change as a “’hoax’ perpetrated by China.” 11   President Trump continued to question the scientific facts behind climate change, remaining an advocate for the expansion of domestic fossil fuel production. 12   He reversed environmental policies implemented by former President Barack Obama to reduce fossil fuel use. 13

Trump’s actions against the Paris Agreement, however, fail to represent the beliefs of Americans as a whole. The majority of American citizens feel passionate about the fight against climate change. To demonstrate their support, some have gone as far as creating initiatives including America’s Pledge and We Are Still In. 14   Although the United States officially exited the Paris Agreement on November 4, 2020, this withdrawal may not survive permanently. 15   According to experts, our new president “could rejoin in as short as a month’s time.” 16   This offers a glimmer of hope.

The Paris Agreement declares that the United States will reduce greenhouse gas emission levels by 26 to 28 percent by the year 2025. 17   As a leader in greenhouse gas emissions, the United States needs to accept the climate crisis for the serious challenge that it presents and work together with other nations. The concept of working coherently with all nations remains rather tricky; however, I remain optimistic. I think we can learn from how other countries have adapted to the increased heating of our planet. During my recent study abroad experience in the United Kingdom, I was struck by Great Britain’s commitment to combating climate change.

Since the United Kingdom joined the Paris Agreement, the country targets a “net-zero” greenhouse gas emission for 2050. 18   This substantial alteration would mark an 80% reduction of greenhouse gases from 1990, if “clear, stable, and well-designed policies are implemented without interruption.” 19   In order to stay on top of reducing emissions, the United Kingdom tracks electricity and car emissions, “size of onshore and offshore wind farms,” amount of homes and “walls insulated, and boilers upgraded,” as well as the development of government policies, including grants for electric vehicles. 20   A strong grip on this data allows the United Kingdom to target necessary modifications that keep the country on track for 2050. In my brief semester in Newcastle, I took note of these significant changes. The city of Newcastle is small enough that many students and faculty are able to walk or bike to campus and nearby essential shops. However, when driving is unavoidable, the majority of the vehicles used are electric, and many British citizens place a strong emphasis on carpooling to further reduce emissions. The United Kingdom’s determination to severely reduce greenhouse emissions is ambitious and particularly admirable, especially as the United States struggles to shy away from its dependence on fossil fuels.

So how can we, as Americans, stand together to combat global climate change? Here are five adjustments Americans can make to their homes and daily routines that can dramatically make a difference:

• Stay cautious of food waste. Studies demonstrate that “Americans throw away up to 40 percent of the food they buy.” 21   By being more mindful of the foods we purchase, opting for leftovers, composting wastes, and donating surplus food to those in need, we can make an individual difference that impacts the greater good. 22   
• Insulate your home. Insulation functions as a “cost-effective and accessible” method to combat climate change. 23   Homes with modern insulation reduce energy required to heat them, leading to a reduction of emissions and an overall savings; in comparison, older homes can “lose up to 35 percent of heat through their walls.” 24   
• Switch to LED Lighting. LED stands for “light-emitting diodes,” which use “90 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and half as much as compact fluorescents.” 25   LED lights create light without producing heat, and therefore do not waste energy. Additionally, these lights have a longer duration than other bulbs, which means they offer a continuing savings. 26  
• Choose transportation wisely. Choose to walk or bike whenever the option presents itself. If walking or biking is not an option, use an electric or hybrid vehicle which emits less harmful gases. Furthermore, reduce the number of car trips taken, and carpool with others when applicable. 
• Finally, make your voice heard. The future of our planet remains in our hands, so we might as well use our voices to our advantage. Social media serves as a great platform for this. Moreover, using social media to share helpful hints to combat climate change within your community or to promote an upcoming protest proves beneficial in the long run. If we collectively put our voices to good use, together we can advocate for change.

As many of us are stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these suggestions are slightly easier to put into place. With numerous “stay-at-home” orders in effect, Americans have the opportunity to make significant achievements for climate change. Personally, I have taken more precautions towards the amount of food consumed within my household during this pandemic. I have been more aware of food waste, opting for leftovers when too much food remains. Additionally, I have realized how powerful my voice is as a young college student. Now is the opportunity for Americans to share how they feel about climate change. During this unprecedented time, our voice is needed now more than ever in order to make a difference.

However, on a much larger scale, the coronavirus outbreak has shed light on reducing global energy consumption. Reductions in travel, both on the roads and in the air, have triggered a drop in emission rates. In fact, the International Energy Agency predicts a 6 percent decrease in energy consumption around the globe for this year alone. 27   This drop is “equivalent to losing the entire energy demand of India.” 28   Complete lockdowns have lowered the global demand for electricity and slashed CO2 emissions. However, in New York City, the shutdown has only decreased carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent. 29   This proves that a shift in personal behavior is simply not enough to “fix the carbon emission problem.” 30   Climate policies aimed to reduce fossil fuel production and promote clean technology will be crucial steppingstones to ameliorating climate change effects. Our current reduction of greenhouse gas emissions serves as “the sort of reduction we need every year until net-zero emissions are reached around 2050.” 31   From the start of the coronavirus pandemic, politicians came together for the common good of protecting humanity; this demonstrates that when necessary, global leaders are capable of putting humankind above the economy. 32

After researching statistics comparing the coronavirus to climate change, I thought back to the moment the virus reached pandemic status. I knew that a greater reason underlay all of this global turmoil. Our globe is in dire need of help, and the coronavirus reminds the world of what it means to work together. This pandemic marks a turning point in global efforts to slow down climate change. The methods we enact towards not only stopping the spread of the virus, but slowing down climate change, will ultimately depict how humanity will arise once this pandemic is suppressed. The future of our home planet lies in how we treat it right now. 

• “Climate Change: What Do All the Terms Mean?,” BBC News (BBC, May 1, 2019), https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48057733 )
• Ibid. 
• Kate Yoder, “Frank Luntz, the GOP's Message Master, Calls for Climate Action,” Grist (Grist, July 26, 2019), https://grist.org/article/the-gops-most-famous-messaging-strategist-calls-for-climate-action
• Melissa Denchak, “Paris Climate Agreement: Everything You Need to Know,” NRDC, April 29, 2020, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/paris-climate-agreement-everything-you-need-know)
• “Donald J. Trump's Foreign Policy Positions,” Council on Foreign Relations (Council on Foreign Relations), accessed May 7, 2020, https://www.cfr.org/election2020/candidate-tracker/donald-j.-trump?gclid=CjwKCAjw4871BRAjEiwAbxXi21cneTRft_doA5if60euC6QCL7sr-Jwwv76IkgWaUTuyJNx9EzZzRBoCdjsQAvD_BwE#climate and energy )
• David Doniger, “Paris Climate Agreement Explained: Does Congress Need to Sign Off?,” NRDC, December 15, 2016, https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-doniger/paris-climate-agreement-explained-does-congress-need-sign )
• “How the UK Is Progressing,” Committee on Climate Change, March 9, 2020, https://www.theccc.org.uk/what-is-climate-change/reducing-carbon-emissions/how-the-uk-is-progressing/)
• Ibid.  
• “Top 10 Ways You Can Fight Climate Change,” Green America, accessed May 7, 2020, https://www.greenamerica.org/your-green-life/10-ways-you-can-fight-climate-change )
• Matt McGrath, “Climate Change and Coronavirus: Five Charts about the Biggest Carbon Crash,” BBC News (BBC, May 5, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-environment-52485712 )

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Roz Pidcock

Which of the many thousands of papers on climate change published each year in scientific journals are the most successful? Which ones have done the most to advance scientists’ understanding, alter the course of climate change research, or inspire future generations?

On Wednesday, Carbon Brief will reveal the results of our analysis into which scientific papers on the topic of climate change are the most “cited”. That means, how many times other scientists have mentioned them in their own published research. It’s a pretty good measure of how much impact a paper has had in the science world.

But there are other ways to measure influence. Before we reveal the figures on the most-cited research, Carbon Brief has asked climate experts what they think are the most influential papers.

We asked all the coordinating lead authors, lead authors and review editors on the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report to nominate three papers from any time in history. This is the exact question we posed:

What do you consider to be the three most influential papers in the field of climate change?

As you might expect from a broad mix of physical scientists, economists, social scientists and policy experts, the nominations spanned a range of topics and historical periods, capturing some of the great climate pioneers and the very latest climate economics research.

Here’s a link to our summary of who said what . But one paper clearly takes the top spot.

Winner: Manabe & Wetherald ( 1967 )

With eight nominations, a seminal paper by Syukuro Manabe and Richard. T. Wetherald published in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences in 1967 tops the Carbon Brief poll as the IPCC scientists’ top choice for the most influential climate change paper of all time.

Entitled, “Thermal Equilibrium of the Atmosphere with a Given Distribution of Relative Humidity”, the work was the first to represent the fundamental elements of the Earth’s climate in a computer model, and to explore what doubling carbon dioxide (CO2) would do to global temperature.

Manabe & Wetherald (1967), Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

The Manabe & Wetherald paper is considered by many as a pioneering effort in the field of climate modelling, one that effectively opened the door to projecting future climate change. And the value of climate sensitivity is something climate scientists are still grappling with today .

Prof Piers Forster , a physical climate scientist at Leeds University and lead author of the chapter on clouds and aerosols in working group one of the last IPCC report, tells Carbon Brief:

This was really the first physically sound climate model allowing accurate predictions of climate change.

The paper’s findings have stood the test of time amazingly well, Forster says.

Its results are still valid today. Often when I’ve think I’ve done a new bit of work, I found that it had already been included in this paper.

Prof Steve Sherwood , expert in atmospheric climate dynamics at the University of New South Wales and another lead author on the clouds and aerosols chapter, says it’s a tough choice, but Manabe & Wetherald (1967) gets his vote, too. Sherwood tells Carbon Brief:

[The paper was] the first proper computation of global warming and stratospheric cooling from enhanced greenhouse gas concentrations, including atmospheric emission and water-vapour feedback.

Prof Danny Harvey , professor of climate modelling at the University of Toronto and lead author on the buildings chapter in the IPCC’s working group three report on mitigation, emphasises the Manabe & Wetherald paper’s impact on future generations of scientists. He says:

[The paper was] the first to assess the magnitude of the water vapour feedback, and was frequently cited for a good 20 years after it was published.

Tomorrow, Carbon Brief will be publishing an interview with Syukuro Manabe, alongside a special summary by Prof John Mitchell , the Met Office Hadley Centre’s chief scientist from 2002 to 2008 and director of climate science from 2008 to 2010, on why the paper still holds such significance today.

Joint second: Keeling, C.D et al. ( 1976 )

Jumping forward a decade, a classic paper by Charles Keeling and colleagues in 1976 came in joint second place in the Carbon Brief survey.

Published in the journal Tellus under the title, “Atmospheric carbon dioxide variations at Mauna Loa observatory,” the paper documented for the first time the stark rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii.

A photocopy of Keeling et al., (1976) Source: University of California, Santa Cruz

Dr Jorge Carrasco , Antarctic climate change researcher at the University of Magallanes  in Chile and lead author on the cryosphere chapter in the last IPCC report, tells Carbon Brief why the research underpinning the “Keeling Curve’ was so important.

This paper revealed for the first time the observing increased of the atmospheric CO2 as the result of the combustion of carbon, petroleum and natural gas.

Prof David Stern , energy and environmental economist at the Australian National University and lead author on the Drivers, Trends and Mitigation chapter of the IPCC’s working group three report, also chooses the 1976 Keeling paper, though he notes:

This is a really tough question as there are so many dimensions to the climate problem – natural science, social science, policy etc.

With the Mauna Loa measurements continuing today , the so-called “Keeling curve” is the longest continuous record of carbon dioxide concentration in the world. Its historical significance and striking simplicity has made it one of the most iconic visualisations of climate change.

Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Also in joint second place: Held, I.M. & Soden, B.J. ( 2006 )

Fast forwarding a few decades, in joint second place comes a paper by Isaac Held and Brian Soden published in the journal Science in 2006.

The paper, “Robust Responses of the Hydrological Cycle to Global Warming”, identified how rainfall from one place to another would be affected by climate change. Prof Sherwood, who nominated this paper as well as the winning one from Manabe and Wetherald, tells Carbon Brief why it represented an important step forward. He says:

[This paper] advanced what is known as the “wet-get-wetter, dry-get-drier” paradigm for precipitation in global warming. This mantra has been widely misunderstood and misapplied, but was the first and perhaps still the only systematic conclusion about regional precipitation and global warming based on robust physical understanding of the atmosphere.

Held & Soden (2006), Journal of Climate

Honourable mentions

Rather than choosing a single paper, quite a few academics in our survey nominated one or more of the Working Group contributions to the last IPCC report. A couple even suggested the Fifth Assessment Report in its entirety, running to several thousands of pages. The original IPCC report , published in 1990, also got mentioned.

It was clear from the results that scientists tended to pick papers related to their own field. For example, Prof Ottmar Edenhofer , chief economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and co-chair of the IPCC’s Working Group Three report on mitigation, selected four papers from the last 20 years on the economics of climate change costs versus risks, recent emissions trends, the technological feasibility of strong emissions reductions and the nature of international climate cooperation.

Taking a historical perspective, a few more of the early pioneers of climate science featured in our results, too. For example, Svante Arrhenius’ famous 1896 paper  on the Greenhouse Effect, entitled “On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground”, received a couple of votes.

Prof Jonathan Wiener , environmental policy expert at Duke University in the US and lead author on the International Cooperation chapter in the IPCC’s working group three report, explains why this paper should be remembered as one of the most influential in climate policy. He says:

[This is the] classic paper showing that rising greenhouse gas concentrations lead to increasing global average surface temperature.

Svante Arrhenius (1896), Philosophical Magazine

A few decades later, a paper by Guy Callendar in 1938  linked the increase in carbon dioxide concentration over the previous 50 years to rising temperatures. Entitled, “The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature,” the paper marked an important step forward in climate change research, says Andrew Solow , director of the Woods Hole Marine Policy centre and lead author on the detection and attribution of climate impacts chapter in the IPCC’s working group two report. He says:

There is earlier work on the greenhouse effect, but not (to my knowledge) on the connection between increasing levels of CO2 and temperature.

Though it may feature in the climate change literature hall of fame, this paper raises a question about how to define a paper’s influence, says Forster. Rather than being celebrated among his contemporaries, Callendar’s work achieved recognition a long time after it was published. Forster says:

I would loved to have chosen Callendar (1938) as the first attribution paper that changed the world. Unfortunately, the 1938 effort of Callendar was only really recognised afterwards as being a founding publication of the field … The same comment applies to earlier Arrhenius and Tyndall efforts. They were only influential in hindsight.

Guy Callendar and his 1938 paper in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society

Other honourable mentions in the Carbon Brief survey of most influential climate papers go to Norman Phillips, whose 1956 paper described the first general circulation model, William Nordhaus’s 1991 paper on the economics of the greenhouse effect, and a paper by Camile Parmesan and Gary Yohe in 2003 , considered by many to provide the first formal attribution of climate change impacts on animal and plant species.

Finally, James Hansen’s 2012 paper , “Public perception of climate change and the new climate dice”, was important in highlighting the real-world impacts of climate change, says Prof Andy Challinor , expert in climate change impacts at the University of Leeds and lead author on the food security chapter in the working group two report. He says:

[It] helped with demonstrating the strong links between extreme events this century and climate change. Result: more clarity and less hedging.

Marc Levi , a political scientist at Columbia University and lead author on the IPCC’s human security chapter, makes a wider point, telling Carbon Brief:

The importance is in showing that climate change is observable in the present.

Indeed, attribution of extreme weather continues to be at the forefront of climate science, pushing scientists’ understanding of the climate system and modern technology to their limits.

Look out for more on the latest in attribution research as Carbon Brief reports on the Our Common Futures Under Climate Change conference taking place in Paris this week.

Pinning down which climate science papers most changed the world is difficult, and we suspect climate scientists could argue about this all day. But while the question elicits a range of very personal preferences, stories and characters, one paper has clearly stood the test of time and emerged as the popular choice among today’s climate experts – Manabe and Wetherald, 1967.

Main image: Satellite image of Hurricane Katrina.

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List: 15 essential reads for the climate crisis

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We — Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson — are climate experts who focus on solutions, leadership and building community.

We are a natural and a social scientist, a Northerner and a Southerner. We’re also both lifelong interdisciplinarians in love with words and the cofounders of The All We Can Save Project , in support of women climate leaders.

Our collaboration has led us to read widely and deeply about the climate crisis that’s facing humanity. Here are 15 of our favorite writings on climate — this eclectic list contains books, essays, a newsletter, a scientific paper, even legislation and they’re all ones we wholeheartedly recommend.

All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis coedited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson

We had the honor of editing this collection of 41 essays, 17 poems, quotes and original illustrations — so naturally we love it! But you don’t have to take our word for it. As Rolling Stone said : “Taken together, the breadth of their voices forms a mosaic that honors the complexity of the climate crisis like few, if any, books on the topic have done yet. … The book is a feast of ideas and perspectives, setting a big table for the climate movement, declaring all are welcome.” All We Can Save nourished, educated and transformed us as we shaped its pages, and we can’t wait for it to do the same for you.

Ghost Fishing: An Eco-justice Poetry Anthology edited by Melissa Tuckey

We count ourselves among those who can’t make sense of the climate crisis without the aid of poets, who help us to see more clearly, feel our feelings, catch our breath, and know we’re not alone. This anthology is a magnificent quilt of poems that are made for this moment and all its intersections.

“We Don’t Have to Halt Climate Action to Fight Racism” by Mary Annaïse Heglar

“Climate People,” as she likes to call us, should be grateful that Mary Annaïse Heglar decided a few years back to pick up her pen once more as a writer. All of her essays are necessary reading, but this one is especially so, crafted from Mary’s perspective as a “Black Climate Person.” It’s a powerful articulation of the inextricability of a society that values Black lives and a livable planet for all.

Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change by Sherri Mitchell — Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset

Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset means “she who brings the light,” and Sherri Mitchell does exactly that in this incredible tapestry of a book, which begins with Penawahpskek Nation creation stories and concludes with guidance on what it means to live in a time of prophecy. It is rare that a book so generously shares wisdom, much less wisdom about how we got to where we are, what needs mending, and what a path forward that’s grounded in ancestral ways of knowing and being might look like.

Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown

How lucky are we to be contemporaries of adrienne maree brown? Very. This is a book that we come back to time and time again to ground and enliven our work. We love this line from her about oak trees: “Under the earth, always, they reach for each other, they grow such that their roots are intertwined and create a system of strength that is as resilient on a sunny day as it is in a hurricane.” That’s the kind of community we’re trying to nurture.

“Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays” by Eunice Newton Foote

Eunice Newton Foote rarely gets the credit she’s due — and she deserves a lot of credit. In fact, we like to think of her as the first climate feminist. In 1856, she connected the dots between carbon dioxide and planetary warming, but science and history forgot (dismissed?) her until recently. This is her original paper, which was published in The American Journal of Science and Arts . Foote was also a signatory to the women’s rights manifesto created at Seneca Falls in 1848, alongside visionaries like Frederick Douglass.

The Drawdown Review by Project Drawdown

Full disclosure: Katharine is The Drawdown Review’ s editor-in-chief and principal writer. But Ayana fully endorses this recommendation — it’s a valuable resource as we charge ahead toward climate solutions. We all need to know what tools are in the toolbox, and The Drawdown Review is the latest compendium of climate solutions that already exist. This publication is beautifully designed, grounded in research, and you can access it for free.

The Green New Deal Resolution by the 116th US Congress

It seems that almost everyone has an opinion about the Green New Deal, but few people have read the actual piece of legislation: House Resolution 109: Recognizing the Duty of the Federal Government to Create a Green New Deal, which was introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey. The big secret is that it’s only 14 pages! It makes a clear, compelling and concise case for what comprehensive climate policy should look like in the US. We’d love for everyone to read it so we can all have a more grounded discussion about what we might agree and disagree with and chart a course forward.

“Think This Pandemic Is Bad? We Have Another Crisis Coming” by Rhiana Gunn-Wright

Speaking of policy … this op-ed , penned by Rhiana Gunn-Wright, who is one of the policy leads for the Green New Deal, makes the connections between climate, justice, COVID-19 and our recession as clear as day. She lays out an ironclad case for the the need to address these issues together, and why. As she writes, “We need to design the stimulus not only to help the US economy recover but to also become more resilient to the climate crisis, the next multitrillion-dollar crisis headed our way.”

“How Can We Plan for a Future in California?” by Leah Stokes

In the midst of raging fires and continuing pandemic, UC Santa Barbara Professor Leah Stokes, who’s based in Santa Barbara, lays it plain in her piece : “I don’t want to live in a world where we have to decide which mask to wear for which disaster, but this is the world we are making. And we’ve only started to alter the climate. Imagine what it will be like when we’ve doubled or tripled the warming, as we are on track to do.” As she and others have been pointing out, journalists have been failing to make the critical connection: “What’s happening in California has a name: climate change.”

HEATED by Emily Atkin

This is the reading rec that keeps on giving, literally — it’s a daily newsletter that brings climate accountability journalism right to your inbox. It’s chock full of smarts, spunk, truth-telling and super timely writing that isn’t hemmed in by media overlords. If you’re pissed off about the climate crisis, Emily Atkin made HEATED just for you.

The July 20 2020 Issue of TIME Magazine

This entire issue, titled “One Last Chance”, is dedicated to coverage of climate, and it includes wise words from so many luminaries from politician Stacey Abrams to soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe , with a lead piece by Time ’s climate journalist Justin Worland. Ayana also has a piece in this issue called “ We Can’t Solve the Climate Crisis Unless Black Lives Matter .” To see all of this collected in one place — insights on topics from oceans to agriculture to politics to activism — was heartening. We hope there’s much more of this to come, from many magazines.

“Wakanda Doesn’t Have Suburbs” by Kendra Pierre Louis

A pop-culture connoisseur and expert storyteller, Kendra Pierre Louis takes up the topic of climate stories in her essay — the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good, she explains, are all too rare, and that’s a big problem because stories are powerful. Black Panther may be our best story of living thoughtfully and well on this planet, not least thanks to an absence of carbon-spewing suburbs. It’s going to take much better narratives, and many more of them, if humans are to, as she puts it, “repair our relationship with the Earth and re-envision our societies in ways that are not just in keeping with our ecosystems but also make our lives better.” !

“We Need Courage, Not Hope, to Face Climate Change” by Kate Marvel PhD

This piece by NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel is, as the kids say, a whole mood. Hope is not enough, hope is often passive, and that won’t get us where we need to go. Pretty much everyone who works on climate is constantly being asked what gives us hope — how presumptuous to assume we have it! But what we do have is courage. In spades. As Marvel writes in this poetic piece: “We need courage, not hope. Grief, after all, is the cost of being alive. We are all fated to live lives shot through with sadness, and are not worth less for it. Courage is the resolve to do well without the assurance of a happy ending.”

Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis

Admittedly, this last recommendation isn’t something to read, but to watch and listen to. This playlist of TED Talks by women climate leaders (who were all contributors to our anthology All We Can Save — read about it above) will inspire you, deepen your understanding, connect the dots and help you find where you might fit into the heaps of climate work that needs doing. It includes poignant talks by Colette Pichon Battle and Christine Nieves Rodriguez , which are respectively about communities in Louisiana and Puerto Rico recovering from hurricanes and rebuilding resilience and which broke our hearts open. We were so moved we invited them to adapt their talks into essays for All We Can Save . Christine’s piece — “Community is Our Best Chance” — is the final essay in the book and the note we want to end on here. It’s not about what each of us can do as individuals to address the climate crisis; it’s about what we can do together . Building community around solutions is the most important thing.

Watch Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s TED Talk here: 

Watch Katharine Wilkinson’s TED Talk here: 

About the authors

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson PhD is a marine biologist, policy expert and Brooklyn native. She is founder of the nonprofit think tank Urban Ocean Lab, founder and CEO of the consultancy Ocean Collectiv and cocreator and cohost of the Spotify/Gimlet podcast How to Save a Planet. She coedited the anthology All We Can Save and cofounded The All We Can Save Project in support of women climate leaders. Her mission is to build community around climate solutions. Find her @ayanaeliza.

Katharine Wilkinson PhD is an author, strategist, teacher and one of 15 “women who will save the world,” according to Time magazine. Her writings on climate include The Drawdown Review, the New York Times bestseller Drawdown and Between God & Green. She is coeditor of All We Can Save and co founder of The All We Can Save Project, in support of women climate leaders. Wilkinson is a former Rhodes Scholar. Find her @DrKWilkinson.

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Article Contents

Introduction, i. climate change causes of action: a brief overview, ii. significant issues in climate change litigation, iii. the individual as plaintiff in climate change litigation.

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Climate Change and the Individual

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Margaret Rosso Grossman, Climate Change and the Individual, The American Journal of Comparative Law , Volume 66, Issue suppl_1, July 2018, Pages 345–378, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcl/avy018

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“Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present.” 1 Atmospheric and ocean temperatures are rising, “[p]recipitation patterns are changing, sea level is rising, the oceans are becoming more acidic, and the frequency and intensity of some extreme weather events are increasing.” 2 The 2017 Climate Science Special Report describes the current state of scientific knowledge about U.S. and global climate change. The report concludes that “it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation.” 3

Global data show that 2016 was the warmest year on record and the third consecutive year for record global average surface temperatures. 4 In the continental United States, 2016 was the second warmest year on record, after 2012, with higher than average precipitation and fifteen climate-related disasters including drought, wildfire, floods, and severe storms, which caused losses of more than $1 billion. 5

The emission of greenhouses gases (GHGs), 6 which move about in the atmosphere, is a major cause of global climate change. GHGs absorb terrestrial radiation that leaves the Earth’s surface. Although GHGs “create the natural heat-trapping properties of the atmosphere” and are “necessary to life as we know it,” high concentrations of GHGs cause an increase in the Earth’s absorption of energy and the resulting increase in temperature referred to as global warming. 7

Recent research identifies deadly effects of climate change, “one of the biggest global threats to human health of the 21st century.” 8 If global GHG emissions are not reduced, heat waves will affect 74% of the world’s population by 2100. Even with drastic GHG reductions, almost half of humans will face deadly heat. 9 In Europe, increasing temperatures will result in weather disasters, especially heat waves and coastal flooding, and a sharp increase in climate-related deaths by 2100. 10 By 2050, climate change may affect nutrition in developing countries as rising temperatures reduce availability of plant proteins. 11

Although a number of U.S. statutes govern human activities related to climate change, no comprehensive climate change legislation exists. 12 Federal programs (including the Obama administration’s Climate Action Plan 13 ), as well as regional, state, and local initiatives, promised to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. Recent developments, however, have diluted federal efforts. 14 For example, in March 2017, President Trump revoked significant Obama-administration climate change policies, including the Climate Action Plan and related strategies. 15 This revocation and others that followed are likely to result in increased emissions and a failure to meet climate targets (e.g., energy efficiency, methane emissions). 16

Significantly, in June 2017, the United States announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, 17 a decision that triggered international condemnation, as well as criticism from state and local governments and large corporations in the United States. In August 2017, the United States notified the United Nations of its intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as the United States is eligible, unless it “identifies suitable terms for reengagement.” 18 The U.S. withdrawal was characterized as a “severe backwards move and an abrogation of its responsibility as the world’s second largest emitter . . . when more, not less, commitment is needed from all governments to avert the worst impacts of climate change.” 19 Despite this withdrawal, however, the United States could meet its Paris goals through the efforts of cities, states, and businesses. 20

The global crisis of climate change has affected the practice of law. 21 Indeed, in recent years, climate change has engendered “a rapidly building wave of litigation” in the United States. 22 Although the judiciary is “a latecomer to the crisis that has worsened in the hands of the legislative and executive branches,” 23 litigation can play a role in forcing government regulatory action and perhaps in providing remedies for harm from GHG emissions. As commentators observed, “[t]he president might root out climate policy from executive branch decision-making, but he cannot unilaterally remove the issue from judicial consideration.” 24

This Report, guided by a questionnaire prepared for the Twentieth General Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, addresses the topic of climate change lawsuits and the individual. The questionnaire focuses on lawsuits filed by individual plaintiffs against public and private actors to achieve mitigation of climate change or adaptation to its effects. It does not focus on legal persons, such as corporations and other legal entities. Of the hundreds of climate change cases filed in the United States, only a small number involve individual plaintiffs. Other cases involve environmental organizations that sue on behalf of their members, demanding mitigation or adaptation and sometimes damages for injury. To provide background, this Report first reviews possible causes of action to remedy climate change. It raises a number of difficult issues faced by plaintiffs in climate change litigation. The Report then reviews a number of cases brought by individual plaintiffs and environmental organizations against public and private actors.

Climate change litigation, defined broadly, is “any piece of federal, state, tribal, or local administrative or judicial litigation in which the party filings or tribunal decisions directly and expressly raise an issue of fact or law regarding the substance or policy of climate change causes and impacts.” 25 An empirical study identified 201 U.S. agency proceedings and court cases involving climate change up to 2010. 26 Two types of issues were predominant: government agency responsibility to restrict GHG emission by rule or permit and government compliance with statutory requirements for environmental impact assessment in decisions to approve GHG sources. 27 Most climate change litigation asked courts to decide “whether and how administrative agencies must take climate change into account in decisionmaking under existing statutes.” 28

The “wave of litigation” continued, and by April 2018, a database of U.S. climate change litigation listed 857 “cases,” broadly defined. 29 This database, linking to more than 3,094 documents, collects a wide variety of court cases, administrative actions, petitions for rulemaking, and other matters related to climate change. In some of the court cases in the database, climate change is not the main focus of the litigation. Claims represented in these cases arose under federal and state statutes, the Constitution, common law, public trust, securities and financial regulation, and trade agreements; a few cases involved climate change protesters and scientists. 30

A. Regulatory Litigation

A significant number of U.S. climate change cases are based on federal statutes and regulations, and many seek judicial review of administrative decisions. Both industry and environmentalists have sued. Industry cases often challenge government regulatory environmental standards. Suits by environmentalists often seek more stringent regulation for mitigation or adaptation. Under the Clean Air Act, for example, environmentalist suits include petitions to require agency rulemaking or other climate-related action and various challenges to administrative actions such as the granting of permits. Other cases challenge agency decisions under the National Environmental Policy Act 31 and other federal laws for failure to consider GHG emissions and the impact of climate change. Some of these climate change lawsuits have led to stricter regulation—for example, EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions after Massachusetts v. EPA . 32

State law claims, too, challenge administrative decisions, with environmental plaintiffs often seeking stronger regulation or challenging permits. Even more state law cases allege inadequate consideration of GHG emissions and climate change under state environmental impact laws. Cases that challenge inadequate adaptation measures sometimes rely on statutory and regulatory requirements or, in local cases, on local government ordinances.

B. Common Law

Although climate change litigation based on various federal and state statutes has predominated, a few plaintiffs have brought common law causes of action, albeit with little success. 33 Most are tort claims for damages, and scholars have expressed views on the most effective causes of action in climate change lawsuits. Nuisance and negligence offer some possibility for success, with trespass and civil conspiracy considered less helpful. Strict liability is another possible remedy, 34 and some cases rely on public trust.

Nuisance law, with its focus on unreasonable injury, may be effective for some climate change claims. 35 Public nuisance lawsuits are appropriate to abate “an unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public.” 36 American Electric Power, Co. v. Connecticut , 37 however, limited federal common law public nuisance claims in areas governed by statute, holding that “the Clean Air Act and the EPA actions it authorizes displace any federal common law right to seek abatement of carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants.” 38 Common law nuisance claims based on state common law may continue to be viable. 39

Relatively few plaintiffs have sued in negligence, but some commentators see negligence as the most appropriate tort cause of action. 40 Typical requirements for a prima facie case in negligence—duty, breach of duty, proximate cause, and damages—raise significant challenges in cases against GHG emitters, especially in proving that emissions breached a duty to plaintiffs and that defendant’s emissions caused plaintiff’s injury. Negligence may be more successful in adaptation cases against local governments or property developers, but proving that the defendant’s alleged negligence, rather than an extreme precipitation event, was proximate cause of plaintiff’s harm may be difficult. 41

Despite the existence of some climate change tort cases, tort law may not be an effective means to mitigate or adapt to climate change. As one influential scholar insisted, “climate change ill fits the existing tort paradigm.” 42 Specifically, this scholar explained:

Diffuse and disparate in origin, lagged and latticed in effect, anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions represent the paradigmatic anti-tort, a collective action problem so pervasive and so complicated as to render at once both all of us and none of us responsible. Thus, courts will have ample reason—not to mention doctrinal weaponry—to prevent climate change tort suits from reaching a jury. 43

Others agree that tort law is intended to solve private and local disputes, rather than big societal problems:

Climate change and other so-called “collective action” problems simply cannot be addressed through the common-law tort system. That system was developed to address essentially private disputes, involving lines of fault and causation running directly between discrete parties. It was never intended, and cannot reasonably be applied, to allow a judge or jury to assess and allocate liability for any and all societal concerns. 44

Legislatures, instead of courts, have “the authority and the capacity to consider and develop responses to [climate change], and only after a regulatory architecture has been established can judges and juries properly (and constitutionally) play a role.” 45

C. Public Trust

Beginning around 2011, plaintiffs have filed a number of cases relying, at least in part, on the public trust doctrine. 46 Some are part of a global campaign, the Atmospheric Trust Litigation, connected with a nonprofit, Our Children’s Trust. 47 Public trust, with roots in Roman and English law, requires governments to protect certain natural resources, “the gifts of nature’s bounty,” for present and future generations. 48 Although the precise source of public trust in U.S. law is hard to identify, the doctrine is an ancient attribute of federal and state sovereignty with constitutional force. 49

Plaintiffs (primarily young people) in recent public trust litigation insist that the government owes a fiduciary obligation to its citizen beneficiaries to protect public trust assets, including the atmosphere and water bodies affected by GHG emissions. State public trust law is evolving and may help to address climate change. A few courts have recognized the atmosphere as a public trust asset, and a few decisions have resulted in a court-ordered state GHG rulemaking. 50 Sixteen states have ecological public trusts; five have indicated that their doctrines are evolutionary, responding to changing environmental circumstances; and two have explicitly extended public trust to the atmosphere. 51 It is possible, therefore, that adaptation to climate change could “become an official state duty, geared to protecting as much of the public interest in and rights to natural resources and ecosystems as possible in light of climate change impacts.” 52

Some scholars urge the use of judicial restraint to limit climate change litigation, relying perhaps on standing and the political question doctrine. 53 Climate change, it is argued, is “a massive global and undifferentiated problem is one that must be addressed by the political branches of government—Congress and the EPA—and ultimately by international bodies.” 54 Nonetheless, litigants have turned to the courts for relief from harm caused by GHG emissions.

Courts, in general, accept the science of climate change 55 and conclusions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others that anthropogenic emissions of GHGs are a major cause of climate change. 56 The majority opinion in Massachusetts v. EPA , decided in 2007, illustrates:

A well-documented rise in global temperatures has coincided with a significant increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Respected scientists believe the two trends are related. For when carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, it acts like the ceiling of a greenhouse, trapping solar energy and retarding the escape of reflected heat. It is therefore a species—the most important species—of a “greenhouse gas.” 57

Despite judicial acceptance of the science, climate change litigation raises a number of issues. Some arise in nearly all climate change litigation; others apply to specific types of lawsuits, depending on the cause of action and the parties. The following discussion focuses on major issues common to cases brought to mitigate or abate the effects of climate change. It does not attempt to identify every possible defense or obstacle facing plaintiffs in climate change cases. 58

A. Standing

Under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, 59 which limits federal judicial authority to cases and controversies, plaintiffs who sue in federal court must have standing to sue; state courts also require standing. The doctrine of standing helps to ensure that the plaintiff has a personal stake in the controversy and that issues will be resolved in a “proper adversarial presentation.” 60

The U.S. Supreme Court articulated the elements of standing in an environmental law decision:

[T]o satisfy Article III’s standing requirements, a plaintiff must show (1) it has suffered an “injury in fact” that is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical; (2) the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant; and (3) it is likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. 61

The injury required for standing is injury to the plaintiff, rather than to the environment. 62 Only one plaintiff must have standing to invoke the jurisdiction of the court, 63 and the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing the elements of standing. 64

Nongovernmental and other organizations often bring climate change lawsuits on behalf of their members. These associations, the Supreme Court noted, have standing if “members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right, the interests at stake are germane to the organization’s purpose, and neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.” 65

The plaintiff’s injury in fact must be particularized and imminent. The Supreme Court noted that “[b]y particularized, we mean that the injury must affect the plaintiff in a personal and individual way.” 66 Some scholars have noted that plaintiffs must allege harms that are more than “generalized grievances shared by all citizens.” 67 On a global scale, however, climate change “defies any notion of particularized injury.” 68 The fact that harms from climate change are widespread may lead courts to conclude that those harms are generalized grievances, but in a leading standing decision, Massachusetts v. EPA , the Supreme Court indicated that widely shared risks do not minimize the plaintiff’s interest in the outcome of litigation. 69

The plaintiff’s injury must be “fairly traceable” to defendant’s action. That is, the plaintiff must identify a causal connection between defendant’s behavior and injury caused by climate change. Given the nature of GHGs, plaintiffs are unlikely to identify a direct causal connection to a source of emissions. 70 As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit indicated, the analysis of traceability in climate change cases might use “the standard by which a public nuisance action imposes liability on contributors to an indivisible harm,” 71 a standard short of scientific certainty or proof of proximate cause, thus allowing “a substantial likelihood of causal contribution [to satisfy] the test of traceability” for standing. 72

Redressability can also pose difficulties for plaintiffs: “If redressability requires successful elimination of the entire climate change problem, then no plausible suit could ever clear the standing hurdle.” 73 Focus on redressing the harm suffered by the plaintiff makes satisfying this element more likely. As the Supreme Court noted in Massachusetts , climate change has enormous consequences; the plaintiff must allege that the requested remedy would slow or reduce global warming, but not that a favorable decision can relieve every injury. 74

Two types of climate change cases illustrate issues of standing. One involves a challenge to government failure to consider the impacts of climate change in making decisions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 75 the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 76 or other statutes. The other involves claims that the Clean Air Act 77 or other statutes require the government to take more regulatory action to mitigate climate change. 78

Some federal statutes, most prominently the NEPA, 79 require the government to assess the environmental impacts of certain actions that affect the environment. Some courts denied standing to petitioners who challenged government failure to consider climate change in environmental assessments, in part because the effects of a proposed project were remote, rather than actual and imminent, and because their alleged harm (increased global temperature) was not particularized. 80 More recently, in WildEarth Guardians v. Jewell , 81 the D.C. Circuit granted standing to plaintiffs who established “that consideration of climate change would have impacted the decision that allegedly harms them, even if the harm is not itself related to climate change.” 82 Plaintiffs’ aesthetic and recreational interests supported standing, and their challenge to the failure to consider climate change could be litigated along with other issues in the case. 83 Indeed when plaintiffs allege that their procedural rights are violated (e.g., failure to consider climate change in a decision that results in harm to environmental interests), they may “tend to fare better when they can articulate an underlying injury for standing purposes that is not itself climate based .” 84

Standing is relevant when a plaintiff challenges the government’s failure to regulate GHG emissions under federal pollution control statutes. Standing was a threshold issue in Massachusetts v. EPA . 85 States, local governments, and private organizations alleged that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had “abdicated its responsibility under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to regulate the emissions of four greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide” from new motor vehicles. 86 Petitioners asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the EPA had statutory authority to regulate GHG emissions and whether the EPA’s reasons for failing to regulate were consistent with the CAA. In its standing determination, the Court recognized that GHG emissions caused widespread harm, but held that the state of Massachusetts satisfied the constitutional requirements for standing. Massachusetts, as landowner and parens patriae for its citizens, faced injury from the risk of rising sea levels that could swallow coastal land. In terms of causation, carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles contributed significantly to GHG concentrations. The regulation of those carbon dioxide emissions would help to redress the injury suffered by Massachusetts and its citizens. 87

The Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts was solicitous of states as plaintiffs, but some argue that the decision “weakened the traditional requirements for Article III standing,” 88 especially causation and redressability. As one scholar suggested, private plaintiffs could cite the Court’s reasoning to support standing in similar cases involving injury from rising sea levels due to climate change, but subsequent cases have been “confusing” on standing. 89 Nonetheless, standing decisions are difficult (and “often logically suspect”) in cases where the claim is that “a government action or inaction permits or leaves unregulated some activity” that contributes to climate change and its harm. 90

B. The Political Question Doctrine

The political question doctrine is, in a sense, a separation of powers issue, which applies in a federal law context. That is, it holds that certain types of issues are “committed to an elected branch of government and thus should not be heard in federal court.” 91 The political question doctrine might be considered an aspect of prudential standing, beyond the requirements for Article III standing, that can “ensure respect for the separation of powers.” 92

In Baker v. Carr , a leading political question decision, the Supreme Court articulated six attributes of a nonjusticiable political question and indicated that only if one of those attributes is “inextricable” from the dispute should the court dismiss the case as a political question. 93 The Court indicated that cases that involve political actions or issues are not normally nonjusticiable political questions. Indeed, few Supreme Court cases have been found to present political questions. 94

In the climate change context, the political question doctrine was analyzed in trial and appellate decisions in Connecticut v. American Electric Power , a case involving federal common law nuisance claims seeking abatement of carbon dioxide emissions from electric power corporations. The federal district court in New York noted that climate change was “patently political” and “transcendently legislative.” It focused especially on a Baker v. Carr attribute, “the impossibility of deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for nonjudicial discretion,” and determined that it needed a legislative policy determination before it could decide the global warming complaints. The district court therefore dismissed the case as raising nonjusticiable political questions. 95 On appeal, the Second Circuit applied the Baker v. Carr factors, analyzing each factor in detail, and concluding that none of the factors applied. The dispute was not inherently political, and the court could hear a public nuisance suit. Therefore, the Second Circuit reversed. 96 The Supreme Court granted certiorari, but did not reach the political question issue. Instead, the Court held that the Clean Air Act, which authorizes the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, displaced plaintiffs’ federal common law nuisance claims. 97

In a more recent case alleging violation of constitutional and public trust rights, a federal district court analyzed plaintiffs’ claims in light of the six criteria in Baker v. Carr . The court concluded that the case did not raise a nonjusticiable political question, but involved a determination of whether plaintiffs’ constitutional rights had been violated. The court acknowledged, however, that if plaintiffs prevail, a remedy would have to be crafted carefully to avoid separation of powers issues. 98

Some scholars urge the use of judicial restraint, using standing and the political question doctrine, to dismiss tort litigation in the context of climate change. 99 But the political question doctrine does not apply often, and others believe that it was not intended to apply to nonconstitutional issues or, if it applies, should not preclude review of common law claims. That is, “courts should not hide from these issues behind the veil of the political question doctrine.” 100

C. Displacement

The doctrine of displacement, a separation of powers issue between the judicial and legislative branches, 101 has prevented the resolution of some prominent climate change cases based on federal common law. A leading displacement decision is American Electric Power, Co. v. Connecticut ( AEP ), 102 a federal common law public nuisance claim for injunctive relief, alleging that GHG emissions from power companies contributed to global warming. Federal common law applies only when Congress had not regulated, and Massachusetts v. EPA 103 had held that the CAA authorized federal regulation of GHG emissions. The EPA had issued its “endangerment” finding 104 and had begun the regulatory process. Therefore, the Court held “that the Clean Air Act and the EPA actions it authorizes displace any federal common law right to seek abatement of carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants.” 105 The test for displacement of federal common law is “whether the statute ‘speak[s] directly to [the] question’ at issue.” 106 Congressional delegation of authority to the EPA to regulate (or not to regulate) emissions displaced federal common law, even before the EPA promulgated regulations. The court stated clearly, however, that “EPA’s judgment . . . would not escape judicial review” through administrative law challenges in the federal courts. 107

Although plaintiffs in AEP v. Connecticut sought injunctive relief, later cases indicated that displacement does not depend on the type of remedy. For example, Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil 108 was a federal public nuisance claim against energy producers for money damages brought by an Alaskan village threatened by erosion from storm waves and surges attributed to global warming. Although federal common law nuisance could apply to transboundary pollution, the Ninth Circuit stated that common law “is subject to the paramount authority of Congress,” 109 and that displacement of the common law right of action displaces all its remedies. Therefore, the court held, “ AEP extinguished Kivalina’s federal common law public nuisance damage action,” just as it had extinguished the abatement actions at issue in AEP . 110 The court’s conclusion was not affected by the fact that Kivalina sought damages for harms that occurred before the EPA established GHG standards. Congressional empowerment of the EPA triggered displacement, which applies even if the executive branch has not yet acted under its congressional authority.

AEP v. Connecticut focused on federal common law, but did not reach the plaintiff’s state law claims. The Court noted, however, that “the availability . . . of a state lawsuit depends, inter alia , on the preemptive effect of the federal” CAA. 111 Preemption requires a “clear and manifest [congressional] purpose” 112 and is generally disfavored. Nonetheless, the complications of climate change cases mean that the EPA can more efficiently regulate GHG emissions. 113

Recent cases allege harm to public trust assets, including the atmosphere and territorial seas. Public trust claims were not at issue in AEP v. Connecticut , and so far, the displacement doctrine has not been applied to public trust claims. Characterized as substantive due process claims, these public trust rights, which predate and are secured by the Constitution, are unique because the government obligation to protect the trust property “cannot be legislated away.” 114

D. Causation and Problems of Proof

As a threshold determination, standing requires a causal connection between the defendant’s conduct and the plaintiff’s injury, which must be “fairly traceable” to defendant’s action. 115 On the merits, however, proof of causation may be a significant barrier to recovery, particularly in tort cases claiming damages for injuries caused by climate change. Plaintiffs must generally prove the connection between the defendant’s GHG emissions and plaintiff’s harm, as well as the extent of defendant’s contribution to that harm.

The nature of climate change raises significant evidentiary problems. GHGs come from many sources; some have persisted in the atmosphere, and others are present-day emissions. Some emissions come directly from industry; others, less direct, come when many individuals burn fossil fuels. In fact, “the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change describes the key causal mechanism of climate change as ‘well-mixed greenhouse gases’ in the atmosphere. Such mixing obscures particular contributions and makes attribution of harm difficult. Yet the law generally assigns liability only when particular contributions can be related to particular effects.” 116

Therefore, plaintiffs in climate change cases will face “enormous difficulties” in proving causation, especially “that emissions from a particular site, or group of sites, actually made their way into the atmosphere, and once there contributed to climate change, which then caused a specific event . . . and that provable damages ensued.” 117 A 2017 international study asserted that “no court has yet found that particular GHG emissions relate causally to particular adverse climate change impacts for the purpose of establishing liability.” 118 Moreover, plaintiffs face the additional burden of proving that defendant’s GHG emissions were a substantial factor in their particularized damages. 119 Apportionment of damages among numerous sources of GHGs will raise particular challenges. 120

Some tort causes of action (negligence, negligent nuisance) require proof that the defendant’s actions were unreasonable. Defendants who operated under a valid government permit or whose GHG emissions were not regulated may have acted reasonably. Moreover, in negligence cases, plaintiffs may not meet the requirement of proximate cause if, for example, flood damage was caused by extreme rainfall, rather than breach of duty by the defendant. 121 Intentional torts (intentional nuisance, trespass) require proof that the defendant knew of the resulting harm or was “substantially certain” that harm would result from the defendant’s actions. 122

When plaintiffs claim damages from climate change, difficulties in proving causation and other issues and in collecting a substantial portion of damages mean that the “financial viability of these cases from a plaintiff’s perspective in many instances is highly questionable.” 123

Problems of proof faced by climate change plaintiffs are often due to “gaps or uncertainties in relevant climate science,” in part because scientific studies have focused on large-scale effects, rather than more local impacts. 124 Advances in scientific research may make proof of causation easier, allowing plaintiffs to identify defendants and to apportion their responsibility more accurately. 125 An article published in 2014, for example, noted that climate change is the result of historic emissions and traced emissions to major carbon producers. The study, based on records from 1854 to 2010, found that 63% of cumulative global emissions of industrial CO 2 and methane originated from ninety international “carbon major” entities (companies, state-owned enterprises, and nations). 126 For some cases, studies like this could make apportionment of damages easier.

In the United States, individuals have the right to comment on regulatory proposals and participate in administrative agency proceedings. Moreover, many statutes have citizen-suit provisions that allow individuals and others affected by statutory or regulatory violations to sue for violations, sometimes after giving notice to the agency. Plaintiffs must generally meet the threshold requirements discussed above. Few individuals, however, have the resources for costly, protracted litigation against governments or private actors. 127 Instead, plaintiffs in climate change litigation tend to be environmental organizations and associations. The following discussion therefore includes some cases brought by environmental organizations.

A. Human Rights and Public Trust

Although climate change threatens people globally and in the United States, few climate change cases in the United States have focused on human rights. In 2005, the Inuit community in Alaska petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, claiming that U.S. failure to control GHGs had violated Inuit human rights. The Commission did not decide the case, but the Inuit petition helped to highlight “the human rights implications of climate change.” 128

In recent years, public trust litigation, often in state courts, has raised human rights claims, with mixed success. 129 These cases, many brought by young people under the auspices of Our Children’s Trust, allege that public trust requires government action on climate change. Using petitions for rulemaking, often seeking carbon recovery plans, as well as lawsuits, they form “a full-scale, coordinated campaign with multiple suits pending and others teed up in different forums, all connected by a common template of science and law.” 130 Most petitions and lawsuits have been unsuccessful, but a few have led to regulatory action. 131 Successful atmospheric trust litigation requires the court to recognize its judicial role in enforcing public trust obligations, identifying government obligations to protect the atmosphere as a public trust asset, and crafting remedies that will “ensure that the political branches fulfill their trust obligation.” 132

A federal case filed in Oregon illustrates the efforts of individual plaintiffs to gain acceptance of the public trust doctrine in the context of climate change. Plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States 133 are twenty-one young people, one adult (guardian for future generations), and Earth Guardians, a youth association with a chapter in Oregon. They sued the United States, the President, and executive agencies, alleging that defendants knew for decades that burning fossil fuels destabilized the climate system, but nonetheless enabled exploitation and use of fossil fuels, allowing CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere to escalate.

Because the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly protect the environment, plaintiffs in Juliana alleged that defendants’ actions “violate their substantive due process rights to life, liberty, and property, and that defendants have violated their obligation to hold certain natural resources in trust for the people and for future generations.” 134 They sought a declaration that their rights had been violated and an order enjoining continued violation and requiring preparation of a plan to reduce emissions of CO 2 . Defendants and intervenors moved to dismiss, asserting, among other claims, that the case raised political questions, plaintiffs lacked standing, the federal government is not subject to public trust claims. The judge’s thoughtful opinion affirmed and supplemented the magistrate judge’s denial of the motion to dismiss.

The judge identified the questions at issue: “[W]hether defendants are responsible for some of the harm caused by climate change, whether plaintiffs may challenge defendants’ climate change policy in court, and whether this Court can direct defendants to change their policy without running afoul of the separation of powers doctrine.” 135

On the political question issue, the court analyzed the case in light of the Supreme Court criteria 136 and concluded that the case did not raise a nonjusticiable political question, but instead involved a determination of “whether defendants have violated plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.” 137 Moreover, plaintiffs met constitutional requirements for standing. They alleged particularized and imminent injuries, which are ongoing and likely to recur. 138 Plaintiffs’ injuries are fairly traceable to defendant’s actions and are redressable because the relief requested (a remedial plan to phase out emissions and reduce CO 2 ) will help to slow climate change. 139

The court then evaluated plaintiffs’ due process and public trust claims. Applying a strict scrutiny standard, because of possible infringement of a fundamental right, the court noted that “the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society.” 140 The court held that “where a complaint alleges governmental action is affirmatively and substantially damaging the climate system in a way that will cause human deaths, shorten human lifespans, result in widespread damage to property, threaten human food sources, and dramatically alter the planet’s ecosystem, it states a claim for a due process violation.” 141 The court evaluated the plaintiffs’ claim of harm to public trust assets and held that the doctrine applies to the federal government. Unlike common law nuisance claims, AEP v. Connecticut did not displace public trust, and those claims, characterized as substantive due process claims, can be heard in federal court. 142

Perhaps recognizing the novelty of her decision, the judge commented that “[f]ederal courts too often have been cautious and overly deferential in the arena of environmental law, and the world has suffered for it.” 143 Defendants moved for an interlocutory appeal, but in June 2017, the district court denied defendants’ motion. 144 The United States filed a writ of mandamus in the Ninth Circuit, arguing in part, that

[t]he District Court’s rulings in this case show a clear and continuing intent to usurp the power of Congress to determine national policy regarding energy development, use of public lands and environmental protection by constructing out of whole cloth a novel constitutional right to a “climate system capable of sustaining human life.” 145

The Ninth Circuit stayed the district court proceedings until further order and heard oral arguments on December 11, 2017. 146

Juliana is the first federal court decision holding that “there might be a constitutional right to a sound environment,” but it seems unlikely, according to a climate law scholar, that the plaintiffs will ultimately prevail. 147 Indeed, the D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit against federal defendants because public trust was a matter of state law. 148 Similarly, cases in state courts may be unsuccessful. For example, a New Mexico state court rejected application of the public trust with a separation of powers rationale. 149 An individual plaintiff and a conservation organization alleged that the public trust obligated the government to regulate GHG emissions. The New Mexico Court of Appeals held that the state constitution includes a public trust duty to protect natural resources, including the atmosphere, but that public trust arguments “must be raised within the existing constitutional and statutory framework,” rather than by a common law action. 150 The Air Quality Control Act addresses regulation of GHGs and allows plaintiffs the right to participate in the administrative process, so courts cannot independently regulate GHG emissions. Therefore, the court affirmed the trial court’s summary judgment for the state.

B. Mitigation Cases v. Public Actors

Many federal and state cases seek mitigation of climate change. Some (for example, Massachusetts ) demand regulatory action; others demand consideration of GHG emissions and climate change in governmental decision making. 151 Industry cases against public actors often challenge regulatory measures to mitigate climate change. 152

Two state-court cases brought by youth plaintiffs as part of atmospheric trust litigation illustrate individual-plaintiff lawsuits against public actors for mitigation. In both, plaintiffs sought review of environmental agency denials of petitions for rulemaking. In one, the court required GHG regulations; in the other, the trial court required regulations and recognized plaintiff’s public trust and constitutional rights, but its order was reversed on appeal.

In Kain v. Department of Environmental Protection , individual state residents and two associations sought a declaratory judgment or writ of mandamus to require the Department to regulate GHG emissions as required by Massachusetts law. 153 After petitioning the Department, which cited regulatory initiatives and asserted that it had complied with the law, state residents sued. The trial court dismissed plaintiff’s claims, and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts granted review and concluded that the Department had not complied with statutory requirements. Therefore, the court required the Department

to promulgate regulations that address multiple sources or categories of sources of greenhouse gas emissions, impose a limit on emissions that may be released, limit the aggregate emissions released from each group of regulated resources or categories of sources, set emission limits for each year, and set limits that decline on an annual basis. 154

Foster v. Washington Department of Ecology 155 was a public-trust challenge to the Washington Department of Ecology’s denial of a 2014 petition for a rule to propose science-based GHG emission limits to the legislature. In June 2015, the court ordered the Department of Ecology (DOE) to reconsider its denial of plaintiffs’ petition, especially in light of the DOE’s own report, which the court characterized as an “urgent call to action” on climate change, that emphasized the importance of prompt action on climate change, but failed to recommend stricter emission limits. 156 In November 2015, the court affirmed the DOE’s second denial of the plaintiffs’ petition because rulemaking had begun, but emphasized the state and DOE duty to protect public trust and other rights under the Washington state constitution. 157 In May 2016, however, after the DOE’s rulemaking lagged, the judge ordered the DOE to finalize its rule and make recommendations for GHG emission reductions to the legislature. 158 The Department of Ecology appealed this order. 159

By the end of 2016, the DOE had issued its GHG rule and recommended GHG emission limitations to the legislature. Nonetheless, in a December 2016 opinion, the trial court judge, sua sponte , granted petitioners leave to amend their complaint to add a complaint for declaratory judgment that that DOE is violating their inalienable constitutional and public-trust rights to a healthy environment. The court retained jurisdiction of the case to give the plaintiffs their day in court. 160 In another order, the court took “judicial notice of the fact that federal mechanisms designed to protect the environment are now under siege, more than ever leaving to the States the obligation to protect their citizens under the Public Trust Doctrine.” 161 In September 2017, the Washington Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s May 2016 order as an abuse of discretion. 162

The trial court’s approach in Foster is significant because of its recognition of the crisis of climate change, its declaration of public-trust protection of the atmosphere, and its emphasis on the importance of science for rulemaking. 163 In Foster , the judge “declared an atmospheric public trust responsibility of constitutional magnitude in a context framed by urgency, severe danger to humanity, and agency recalcitrance.” 164

C. Climate Change in Environmental Impact Assessment

1. federal law.

A significant number of U.S. cases (more than 300) focus on government responsibility to consider the impact of GHG emissions and climate change in decision making. Federal cases rely on the NEPA, the ESA, 165 and other statutes; state cases rely on state impact assessment laws. In an analysis of litigation through 2010, researchers found “a fairly well defined case law under NEPA . . . establishing that GHG emissions and climate change impacts are fair game for impact assessment procedures, but that the normal rules apply for determining the level of analysis agencies must provide.” 166 Most NEPA claims had been unsuccessful, but some more recent cases have found treatment of climate change in environmental impact statements (EIS) inadequate. 167 The Council on Environmental Quality provided guidance for federal agency consideration of GHG emissions and climate change effects under the NEPA. 168 A 2017 executive order required that guidance to be withdrawn, but the withdrawal in April 2017 did not change any “legally binding requirement,” 169 so the NEPA will continue to require consideration of climate change in environmental assessments and EIS.

Plaintiffs—often environmental advocacy groups acting on behalf of their members—in many of these NEPA cases have sued to force analysis of climate change by federal agencies or to challenge the sufficiency of analysis in an EIS. A few decisions have required consideration of climate change in impact assessment. 170 Many others have evaluated agencies’ climate change analysis under a deferential standard of review and found the agency’s analysis adequate. 171

For example, a recent NEPA case brought by environmental advocacy organizations on behalf of their individual members is WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Forest Service . 172 Petitioners in consolidated cases challenged Forest Service approvals of coal leases, alleging violations of the NEPA and other statutes. Petitioners claimed that the coal leases on federal land in Wyoming had major impacts on CO 2 emissions, affected global climate change, and threatened members’ enjoyment of the leased land areas. Members’ documentation of the effects of leases on their use and enjoyment of the areas satisfied standing requirements. 173 Nonetheless, the court affirmed the agency decisions. In the EIS prepared for the coal leases, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management “did not ignore the effects of coal combustion, GHGs and climate change” and considered risk of harm. 174 Applying a deferential standard of review, the court held that the NEPA analysis was not arbitrary and capricious. This decision, however, has been criticized as portraying “an interpretation of NEPA shorn of its capacity to compel agencies to consider how their decisions impact the energy infrastructure that is at the heart of climate change.” 175

Some plaintiffs seeking mitigation of climate change fail to satisfy threshold requirements. In Amigos Bravos v. U.S. BLM , 176 for example, citizen environmental groups alleged, among other claims, that BLM approval of gas leases on almost 69,000 acres in New Mexico violated several federal statutes by failing to address climate change, global warming, and GHG emissions. Although environmental groups have standing to sue if their members would have standing, these plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that their members suffered injury in fact because they presented no factual support or scientific evidence for their allegations that climate change would impact members’ lives significantly or that climate change would cause imminent harm to the environment in New Mexico, nor did they show that their members used the land subject to BLM leases. Further, plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the BLM’s approval of the leases made a “meaningful contribution” to climate change; therefore the court also concluded that plaintiffs failed to show that their alleged harms were “fairly traceable” to the BLM’s actions. The federal district court therefore dismissed the suit for lack of standing. 177

2. State Impact Assessment

Of the many state law impact assessment cases (142, in the Sabin Center Database, with a number filed recently), few have named individual plaintiffs. More typical are cases with associations as plaintiffs. State claims, especially under the California Environmental Quality Act, 178 have been more successful than cases under the NEPA. 179 In Center for Biological Diversity v. City of Desert Hot Springs , 180 for example, a California trial court held that the environmental impact report (EIR) required under California law was inadequate, in part because it failed to determine the effects of a large development project on GHGs or global warming.

Some individual plaintiffs challenged consideration of climate change in assessments of local projects, with mixed success. For example, individual plaintiffs challenged their county’s failure to prepare an EIR (instead of a less detailed statement) for a subdivision intended for agro-industrial development. 181 Among plaintiffs’ allegations was the failure to consider the environmental effects of odors and other emissions from livestock facilities, effects on air quality, and increased GHG emissions. After the trial court denied plaintiff’s claims, the appellate court held that county approval of the subdivision was a project under the CEQA and required preparation of an EIR because of impact on traffic at an intersection adjacent to the site, but not because the county’s climate change analysis was deficient.

In another case, an individual and two associations challenged the EIR on San Francisco’s 2005 Bicycle Plan, prepared under the California Environmental Quality Act. 182 The trial court ruled that the EIR complied with the Act, but the individual plaintiff appealed the order, alleging that the 2000-page EIR was deficient. The appellate court rejected arguments (among others) that the EIR, which considered GHG emissions, did not adequately consider climate change and other environmental effects of the Bicycle Plan. The court did, however, require revision of the EIR, which failed to comply with a technical requirement of the Act by omitting specific findings of infeasibility, when the City did not adopt measures that might mitigate significant effects on the environment.

D. Adaptation Cases v. Public Actors

Climate change policy and litigation in the United States emphasized mitigation, with less focus on adaptation. More recently, however, adaptation has received more attention, both in policy and litigation. State and local law have been particularly important, especially in the context of climate effects on coastal and other communities. 183 A few cases demand injunctions to require adaptation measures; others seek compensation for property damage. 184

Cases filed after Hurricane Katrina, though not strictly adaptation cases, sought damages for failure of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to adapt to the effects of climate change. The Army Corps’ action in widening the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet shipping channel and moving it closer to levees increased storm surge. That is, the government canal increased the risk of flooding, and the Corps did not act to avoid flooding. 185 Plaintiff’s choice of cause of action, however, was critical. Claims alleging negligence were unsuccessful, but some claims alleging temporary takings resulted in Court of Claims decisions for plaintiffs.

In re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation addressed tort claims from plaintiffs (some of the more than 400 individuals) who alleged that the Army Corps’ negligent design and failure to maintain the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet contributed to damage from Hurricane Katrina. The district court concluded that the ACE’s failure to maintain and operate the Gulf Outlet properly led to severe flooding. 186 The court held, in part, that the discretionary function exception to the federal Tort Claims Act did not apply. 187

The Fifth Circuit affirmed most of the district court’s legal conclusions, 188 but then granted the government’s petition for rehearing and withdrew its opinion. On rehearing, the same panel held the government was immune from liability under the discretionary function exception to the Tort Claims Act. 189 Its decision for the government affected the bellwether plaintiffs whose cases had been litigated, as well as other claimants who alleged negligence.

In other litigation after Hurricane Katrina, the St. Bernard Parish government and individual property owners filed a Fifth Amendment Takings Clause claim against the United States. 190 Plaintiffs claimed that the Army Corps’ operation of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet had increased storm surge and flooding after Hurricane Katrina and subsequent hurricanes, resulting in temporary taking of their property.

The 2015 Court of Claims liability decision relied on factual determinations in Katrina Canal Breaches, which found that the Army Corps’ negligence in maintaining and operating the Gulf Outlet was a substantial cause of the flooding. 191 The court in St. Bernard Parish held that plaintiffs had protected property interests with reasonable investment-backed expectations, and that the severe and foreseeable flooding constituted a temporary taking. 192

In 2016, after failure of the parties to settle or mediate, the Court of Claims calculated just compensation for the plaintiffs’ damages. 193 Because property was not lost or destroyed, plaintiffs received no compensation for the value of their fee-simple interest. Instead, they received compensation for the value of replacement improvements on the property and for loss of rent as a result of flooding. The judge entered a final partial judgment with just compensation for eleven “trial properties,” certified a class of property owners, and appointed class counsel. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will review the Court of Claims’ decisions. 194

As these federal court decisions suggest, “[c]urrent tort doctrine shields the government in most cases from negligence suits related to climate change adaptation,” but government defendants may be more vulnerable to takings claims, which do not require unreasonable government action. 195 Takings claims could address the failure to take adaptive measures, taking ineffective measures, or actions that increase property losses. But these actions do not fit “the traditional paradigm of the Takings Clause, wherein the government is held liable for directly causing a loss of property that otherwise would not have happened”; for Takings Clause liability, government actions should be “both the but-for and the proximate cause of property loss.” 196 In some instances, however, government failure to prevent property losses—that is, “passive takings”—could lead to liability, and the St Bernard Parish case might support that approach. 197

2. State Law

Individual and other plaintiffs can bring adaptation cases against states and local governmental units; negligence, takings, and fraud are possible causes of action. Some experts argue that tort law is appropriate for “adaptation liability,” particularly if plaintiffs can prove that defendants’ actions were unreasonable “in light of the well-established science of climate change” and the expectation that governments will provide adaptive infrastructure. 198

Sovereign immunity poses obstacles for state law cases, particularly for fraud and some negligence claims, but is less likely to bar takings claims. 199 Although government tort claims acts waive sovereign immunity in some situations (dangerous conditions or failure to maintain public property), sovereign immunity may protect state and local governments from tort liability for actions involving discretionary functions, nonstructural measures, failure to adopt regulations, or failure to provide benefits that states have no duty to provide. 200 Despite some immunity for state and local governments, “when governments act as landowners they are subject to liability for impacts from their construction and operation of structural measures.” 201

Few adaptation cases involve individual plaintiffs. In a recent New York case, plaintiff homeowners sustained water damage to their property after severe storms in 2011 overwhelmed the sewer system. They sued the City of New York and its Department of Environmental Protection in negligence for failure to maintain sewer lines to prevent flooding. The City claimed that it had no knowledge of maintenance issues or defective conditions. Under New York law, a municipality is immune from negligence for discretionary activities (designing a sewer or drainage system). For ministerial actions (negligent maintenance), liability exists only if the municipality violates a special duty to the plaintiff, beyond the duty to the public. The city owed no special duty to plaintiffs, nor did plaintiffs prove negligence; the “sole proximate cause” of flooding was precipitation. Therefore, the court granted summary judgment to the city and dismissed the case. 202 Similarly, in Illinois, plaintiffs sued to recover for flooding of their homes after heavy rainfall. In consolidated cases, the court dismissed claims against Cook County and other government defendants under the public duty rule, which applies to provision of government services owed to the public at large, rather than to individual plaintiffs. 203

Individuals are defendants, rather than plaintiffs, in eminent domain, which allows governments to acquire property for projects to adapt to the effects of climate change. In a New Jersey case, the local government took permanent easements over beachfront property to construct a 20-foot dune. The easement covered a quarter of the owners’ property; the dune obstructed their beach view, but offered significant protection to the owners and others in the community. In a dispute over just compensation, a jury awarded the owners $375,000, and an appellate court affirmed. The New Jersey Supreme Court, reversing, held that just compensation for a partial taking

must be based on a consideration of all relevant, reasonably calculable, and non-conjectural factors that either decrease or increase the value of the remaining property. In a partial-takings case, homeowners are entitled to the fair market value of their loss, not to a windfall, not to a pay out that disregards the home’s enhanced value resulting from a public project. 204

Ultimately, the owners settled for $1. Fair-market-value analysis may decrease the cost of adaptation measures, if just compensation for eminent domain considers benefits, as well as losses, from the project to property owners. 205

E. Climate Change Cases v. Private Actors

Relatively few individual climate change plaintiffs have sued private actors. Owners of private facilities are not protected by sovereign immunity, but the Clean Air Act displaces some federal common law claims. 206 State tort law claims may remain viable, and some argue that tort claims are particularly appropriate, in part because “the primary goals of tort law [are] . . . its ability to resolve disputes between individuals while galvanizing changed behavior amongst communities.” 207 Nonetheless, tort cases against private actors have not been particularly successful. 208 Impediments to recovery for property damage include proving a breach of duty by past emitters and a causal connection between emissions and harms, as well as the complexity of tort cases. 209 Claims against property developers, or perhaps engineers and architects, who should recognize climate change vulnerability of land that they sell or develop, may be less difficult, but others issues—for example, foreseeability of harm from climate change—may pose obstacles to recovery. 210

Comer v. Murphy Oil USA was a putative class action lawsuit against a number of energy corporations brought by a dozen individuals who owned coastal property destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Plaintiffs sued for damages under Mississippi common law claims of public and private nuisance, trespass, and negligence, as well as other claims. 211 The Fifth Circuit held that the landowners had standing for the tort actions, but not the other claims, and that the tort claims were not barred as a nonjusticiable political question. The opinion was vacated when the court granted rehearing en banc, 212 but judicial recusals led to a lack of quorum for the rehearing, and the court did not reinstate the vacated opinion. 213

More recently, a pending citizen suit brought by Conservation Law Foundation on behalf of its individual members seeks declarative and injunctive relief and civil penalties. Plaintiffs allege that ExxonMobil’s storage terminal (with toxic and hazardous chemicals) poses a risk to public health and the environment, in part because ExxonMobil failed to adapt to effects of climate change, so a storm surge, sea level rise, or extreme rain could flood the facility. 214 In September 2017, the federal district court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss claims for short-term damages, but held that plaintiffs lacked standing for claims for damages not likely to occur until 2050 or 2100.

Private actors may also be defendants in suits by governmental units. In July 2017, three local governments in California sued thirty-seven private oil, gas, and coal companies alleged to be responsible for 20% of pollution from CO 2 and methane from 1965 to 2015. 215 Causes of action in the complaints include public nuisance, private nuisance, negligence, trespass, and strict liability for failure to warn and design defect. Quoting industry documents showing that since the 1960s defendants knew, but concealed their knowledge, that GHG pollution from fossil fuels affected climate and sea levels, plaintiffs alleged that defendants’ conduct led to continued sea-level rise that injured plaintiffs and their citizens. Plaintiffs’ claims for relief include compensatory and punitive damages, abatement of nuisances, disgorgement of profits, and other costs. 216

Individual plaintiffs have claimed climate change fraud, alleging that energy companies have misled investors and the public about the risks of climate change from their activities. A recent case filed in Texas on behalf of investors alleged that ExxonMobil had committed securities fraud by failure to disclose climate-related risks. 217

Fraud may become more significant in climate change cases. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) advised companies “to consider climate change and its consequences,” including physical impacts and extreme weather conditions, in disclosure documents. 218 Moreover, the SEC and others are investigating misleading statements from energy companies, 219 and an environmental organization petitioned for ExxonMobil’s suspension as a government contractor because of its deceptive behavior and “campaign of misinformation” on climate change. 220 Recent research concluded that energy companies knew of the risks of climate change, had the opportunity to reduce those risks, but instead acted to misinform the public. 221

As the discussion above indicates, climate change litigation raises complex issues, especially for private plaintiffs. Regulatory challenges as well some common law and constitutional claims are possible causes of action, but few plaintiffs have been successful. Moreover, threshold issues, including standing, the political question doctrine, and displacement, sometimes pose obstacles. Proof of causation also raises special difficulties for individual and other plaintiffs. Although U.S. “courts to date have been unwilling to impose civil liability on private entities,” science may help “address some of the causation and apportionment hurdles that have made these cases challenging.” 222 Even so, individual plaintiffs may conclude that lawsuits to mitigate or adapt to climate change are not financially viable. Environmental and other nongovernmental organizations, rather than individual plaintiffs, are more likely to have the resources to pursue climate change litigation.

This Report is based on work supported by the USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project No. ILLU-470-348.

U.S. Global Change Research Program, Highlights of Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment 2 (Jerry M. Melillo et al. eds., 2014), https://www.globalchange.gov/sites/globalchange/files/NCA3_Highlights_LowRes-small-FINAL_posting.pdf .

Id . (“Many lines of independent evidence demonstrate that the rapid warming of the past half-century is due primarily to human activities.”).

1 U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment 12 (D.J. Wuebbles et al. eds., 2017), https://science2017.globalchange.gov/downloads/CSSR2017_FullReport.pdf .

NASA Press Release No. 17-006, NASA, NOAA Data Show 2016 Warmest Year on Record Globally (Jan. 18, 2017), https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-data-show-2016-warmest-year-on-record-globally .

Am. Meteorological Soc’y, State of the Climate in 2016 , 98 Bull. Am. Meteorological Soc’y Si, S175, S178 (Supp. 2017). See U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO-17–720, Climate Change: Information on Potential Economic Effects Could Help Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Fiscal Exposure (2017) (recommending government use of information on economic effects to identify risks and responses to climate change).

Significant GHGs include water vapor (H 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), ozone (O 3 ), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6 ), as well as other substances. Although some GHGs occur naturally, human activities produce or sequester additional quantities of these gases and affect atmospheric concentrations. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency , EPA 430-P-17-001, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990–2015 , at 1-3 to 1-8 (2017), https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/2017_complete_report.pdf .

Id . at 1-3.

Giovanni Forzieri et al., Increasing Risk over Time of Weather-Related Hazards to the European Population: A Data-Driven Prognostic Study , 1 Lancet Planetary Health e200, e200 (2017).

Camilo Mora et al., Global Risk of Deadly Heat , 7 Nature Climate Change 501 (2017) (studying “documented lethal heat events”).

Forzieri et al., supra note 8, at e200; Susanna Ala-Kurikka, EU Scientists Warn of Huge Rise in Climate-Related Deaths , ENDSEurope , Aug. 7, 2017. Moreover, research projects a range of temperature increases by 2100 from 2 to 4.9 o C, with extremely little chance of meeting Paris Agreement goals. Adrian E. Raftery et al., Less than 2 o C Warming by 2100 Unlikely , 7 Nature Climate Change (2017), https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3352.pdf .

Danielle E. Medek, Joel Schwartz & Samuel S. Myers, Estimated Effects of Future Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations on Protein Intake and the Risk of Protein Deficiency by Country and Region , 125 Envtl. Health Perspectives 087002-1 (2017), doi:10.1289/EHP41.

For U.S. laws, see Michal Nachmany et al. , The GLOBE Climate Legislation Study 606–17 (4th ed. 2014), http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Globe2014.pdf ; Climate Change Laws of the World , Grantham Inst. , http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/climate-change-laws-of-the-world/ (last visited Apr. 11, 2018).

Exec. Office of the President, The President’s Climate Action Plan (2013), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/image/president27sclimateactionplan.pdf (focusing on reduced carbon emissions, preparation for effects of climate change, and leadership of international efforts).

See Michael Mehling, A New Direction for US Climate Policy , 11 Carbon & Climate L. Rev. 3 (2017); Avi Zevin, United States , 11 Carbon & Climate L. Rev . 162 (2017).

Exec. Order No. 13,783, Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, 82 Fed. Reg. 16,093 (Mar. 31, 2017).

Projected Effect of Trump Administration Policy Changes on US Emissions , Climate Action Tracker , http://climateactiontracker.org/countries/usa.html (last updated Nov. 6, 2017). Regulatory changes to weaken climate policies will require notice and comment rulemaking.

U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Draft Dec. 1/CP.17, Adoption of the Paris Agreement, U.N. Doc. FCCC/CP/2015/L.9/Rev.1 (Dec. 12, 2015) (entered into force Nov. 4, 2016); U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Dec. 1/CP.21, Adoption of the Paris Agreement, U.N. Doc. FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1 (Jan. 29, 2016). The Paris Agreement includes nationally determined contributions, that is, voluntary pledges to mitigate GHG emissions. It does not establish enforceable GHG limits or causes of action.

Letter from Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador, to António Guterres, U.N. Secretary General (Aug. 4, 2017), https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CN/2017/CN.464.2017-Eng.pdf . The United States is eligible to withdraw on November 4, 2019, three years after the Agreement entered into force. The United States will continue to provide GHG emissions data to the U.N., as required by the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, U.N. Doc. A/AC.237/18 (Part II)/Add.1 (May 15, 1992).

Projected Effect of Trump Administration Policy Changes on US Emissions , supra note 16 (rating U.S. climate change efforts as critically insufficient). U.S. ratification in September 2016 promised a reduction of net GHG emissions by 2025 to 26–28% below 2005 levels, a commitment “at the least ambitious end of what would be a fair contribution.” Id.

U.S. May Meet Emission Goals—Top U.N. Official , EENews Greenwire (July 3, 2017), https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/07/03/stories/1060056898 .

See Leah A. Dundon, Climate Science for Lawyers , 31 Nat. Res. & Env’t 20, 23 (Spring 2017).

David Markell & J.B. Ruhl, An Empirical Assessment of Climate Change in the Courts: A New Jurisprudence or Business as Usual? , 64 Fla. L. Rev. 15, 21 (2012).

Mary Christina Wood & Charles W. Woodward IV, Atmospheric Trust Litigation and the Constitutional Right to a Healthy Climate System: Judicial Recognition at Last , 6 Wash. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 634, 643 (2016).

Jim Rubin & Derek Furstenwerth, Trump Seeks to Uproot the Obama Climate Change Agenda, but Can He Succeed? , 48 Trends , no. 6, July/Aug. 2017, at 2, 4.

Markell & Ruhl, supra note 22, at 27.

Id . at 15.

Id . at 25.

U.S. Climate Change Litigation , Sabin Ctr. for Climate Change Law , http://climatecasechart.com/us-climate-change-litigation/ (updated monthly; numbers from Apr. 11, 2018) [hereinafter Sabin Center Database ]. This general summary of climate change cases is guided by the Sabin Center Database.

Id . Cases are listed by category, with some reported in more than one category.

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321–4370f.

549 U.S. 497 (2007), discussed infra Part II.A.

See generally Emily Hammond & David L. Markell, Civil Remedies , in Global Climate Change and U.S. Law 239 (Michael B. Gerrard & Jody Freeman eds., 2014) (summarizing possible causes of action and obstacles to success).

See David Weisbach, Negligence, Strict Liability, and Responsibility for Climate Change , 97 Iowa L. Rev . 521, 521–27 (2012). Weisbach considered strict liability in the context of past GHG emissions; complex issues include determining sources of emissions in the face of inconsistent data and assigning responsibility for harmful effects.

See Hammond & Markell, supra note 33 (focusing on nuisance and public trust).

Restatement (Second) of Torts § 821B ( Am. Law Inst. 1979). A private nuisance is “a nontrespassory invasion of another’s interest in the private use and enjoyment of land.” Id . § 821D.

564 U.S. 410 (2011).

Id . at 424.

See Maxine Burkett, Litigating Climate Change Adaptation: Theory, Practice, and Corrective (Climate) Justice , 42 Envtl. L. Rep. 11,144, 11,144 (2012) (noting courts’ “skepticism and fatigue with complex climate litigation”).

Id. at 11,149.

Id . at 11,150. See, e.g. , Wohl v. City of New York, 45 Misc. 3d 1217(A), 2014 WL 6092059 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Oct. 22, 2014) (finding proximate cause was extreme precipitation, not the city’s negligence in maintaining sewer lines).

Douglas A. Kysar, What Climate Change Can Do About Tort Law , 42 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,739, 10,740 (2012) (suggesting that climate change could trigger an alteration of tort law).

Id . at 10,739.

David T. Buente Jr., Quin M. Sorenson & Clayton G. Northouse, A Response to What Climate Change Can Do About Tort Law , 42 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,749, 10,751 (2012).

Id. But see Andrew Gage & Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, Taking Climate Justice into Our Own Hands: A Model Climate Compensation Act (2015), https://ssrn.com/abstract=2906252 (proposing a Model Climate Compensation Act, based on common law principles and intended to facilitate climate change lawsuits in state courts).

These cases are collected at Sabin Center Database , supra note 29. Lawsuits or petitions for rulemaking have been filed in all fifty states.

See Our Children’s Trust , https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/ (last visited Feb. 19, 2018). Our Children’s Trust and related organizations have filed lawsuits and petitions for administrative rulemaking.

Joseph L. Sax, The Public Trust Doctrine in Natural Resource Law: Effective Judicial Intervention , 68 Mich. L. Rev. 471, 484 (1970). A leading case is Illinois Cent. R.R., Co. v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892).

Wood & Woodward, supra note 23, at 650–53.

E.g. , Foster v. Wash. Dep’t of Ecology, No. 14-2-25295-1 SEA (Wash. Super. Ct. June 23, 2015), discussed in Wood & Woodward, supra note 23.

Robin Kundis Craig, Climate Change, State Public Trust Doctrines, and PPL Montana 8–10 (Univ. of Utah Coll. of Law, Research Paper No. 57, 2014), https://ssrn.com/abstract=2380754 .

E.g. , Donald G. Gifford, Climate Change and the Public Law Model of Torts: Reinvigorating Judicial Restraint Doctrines , 62 S.C. L. Rev . 201, 240–57 (2010) (focusing on tort lawsuits).

Id . at 255.

Michael Gerrard, Court Rulings Accept Climate Science , 250 N.Y.L.J., Sept. 12, 2013.

Maria L. Banda & Scott Fulton, Litigating Climate Change in National Courts: Recent Trends and Developments in Global Climate Law , 47 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,121, 10,130 (2017).

Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497, 504–05 (2007).

For a lengthy list of tactical questions and issues in climate change litigation, even when standing, political question, and displacement do not bar a lawsuit, see Michael B. Gerrard, What Litigation of a Climate Nuisance Suit Might Look Like , 121 Yale L.J. Online 135 (2011).

U.S. Const. art. III, § 2.

Massachusetts , 549 U.S. at 517.

Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs.(TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 180–81 (2000) (citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992)).

Id. at 181.

Massachusetts , 549 U.S. at 518.

Lujan , 504 U.S. at 561. As one scholar noted, these elements are ill-defined, leaving room for judges to decide, for example, what is an injury, whether that injury is “fairly traceable” to the defendant’s behavior, and whether the remedy plaintiff seeks is constitutionally adequate. Daniel A. Farber, Standing on Hot Air: American Electric Power and the Bankruptcy of Standing Doctrine , 121 Yale L.J. Online 121, 122 (2011) (referring to the “unpredictability and ideological nature of standing”).

Friends of the Earth , 528 U.S. at 181.

Lujan , 504 U.S. at 560 n.1.

See Gifford, supra note 53, at 243, 244 (citing Thomas W. Merrill, Global Warming as a Public Nuisance , 30 Colum. J. Envtl. L. 293 (2005)).

Barry Kellman, Standing to Challenge Climate Change Decisions , 46 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,116, 10,117 (2016).

Massachusetts , 549 U.S. at 522, cited by Benjamin Ewing & Douglas A. Kysar, Prods and Pleas: Limited Government in an Era of Unlimited Harm , 121 Yale L.J . 352, 389 (2011).

Ewing & Kysar, supra note 69, at 392.

Connecticut v. Am. Elec. Power, Co., 582 F. 3d 309, 346 (2d Cir. 2009), rev’d on other grounds , 564 U.S. 410 (2011).

Ewing & Kysar, supra note 69, at 393.

Id . at 394.

Massachusetts , 549 U.S. at 525.

42 U.S.C. §§ 4321–4370f.

Id . §§ 1531–1544.

Id . §§ 7401–7671q.

Kellman, supra note 68, at 10,118 (identifying and analyzing two types of cases).

42 U.S.C. § 4332(C) (requiring an environmental impact statement for “major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment”).

E.g. , Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Dep’t of Interior, 563 F.3d 466, 478 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (challenging the agency’s failure to consider climate change in oil and gas leasing decision), cited by Kellman, supra note 68, at 10,118.

738 F.3d 298 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (challenging the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s failure to consider climate change in a decision to lease federal land for coal mining).

Kellman, supra note 68, at 10,118.

Id . at 10,118–19 (citing additional decisions).

Bruce Myers, John Broderick & Shannon Smyth, Charting an Uncertain Legal Climate: Article III Standing in Lawsuits to Combat Climate Change, 45 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,509, 10,509 (2015) (providing a chart of cases with results of challenges to standing and indicating that a majority of plaintiffs are NGOs).

549 U.S. 497 (2007).

Id. at 505.

Id . at 522–26.

Jonathan H. Adler, Warming up to Climate Change Litigation , 93 Va. L. Rev. in Brief 63, 66 (2007).

Kellman, supra note 68, at 10,120.

Id . at 10,118. See also Myers, Broderick & Smyth, supra note 84, at 10,509.

James R. May, AEP v. Connecticut and the Future of the Political Question Doctrine , 121 Yale L.J. Online 127, 127 (2011). For a detailed analysis of the political question doctrine in the context of climate change, see Ewing & Kysar, supra note 69, at 380–86.

Kevin A. Gaynor, Benjamin S. Lippard & Margaret E. Peloso, Challenges Plaintiffs Face in Litigating Federal Common-Law Climate Change Claims , 40 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,845, 10,847 (2010).

[A] textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department; or a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; or the impossibility of deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for nonjudicial discretion; or the impossibility of a court’s undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack of the respect due coordinate branches of government; or an unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political decision already made; or the potentiality of embarrassment from multifarious pronouncements by various departments on one question.

Connecticut v. Am. Elec. Power, Co., 582 F. 3d 309, 321 (2d Cir. 2009). See also Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. 663 F. Supp. 2d 863 (N.D. Cal. 2009); 696 F.3d 849 (9th Cir. 2012) (affirming on displacement grounds), cert. denied , 133 S. Ct. 2390 (2013).

406 F. Supp. 2d 265, 271 n.6, 272 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).

Connecticut , 582 F.3d at 321–32. The court indicated that because Congress can displace common law standards, there is “no need for the protections of the political question doctrine.” Id . at 332. The court held that plaintiffs had standing. See also Comer v. Murphy Oil USA , discussed infra text accompanying notes 211–13.

Am. Elec. Power, Co. v. Connecticut, 564 U.S. 410, 424 (2011). See infra Part II.C for a discussion of displacement.

Juliana v. United States, 217 F. Supp. 3d 1224, 1235–42 (D. Or. 2016).

E.g. , Gifford, supra note 53, at 240–57.

E.g. , May, supra note 91, at 132–33 (quotation at 133). See also Ewing & Kysar, supra note 69, at 387.

See generally John Wood, Easier Said than Done: Displacing Public Nuisance When States Sue for Climate Change Damages , 41 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,316 (2011); Hari M. Osofsky, AEP v. Connecticut’ s Implications for the Future of Climate Change Litigation , 121 Yale L.J. Online 101 (2011).

AEP , 564 U.S. The Court was evenly decided on the issue of standing, so affirmed the Second Circuit’s exercise of jurisdiction. Id . at 420. Plaintiffs sought an injunction requiring defendants to cap and then reduce CO 2 emissions.

Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, 74 Fed. Reg. 66,496 (Envtl. Prot. Agency Dec. 15, 2009).

AEP , 564 U.S. at 424.

Id . (citations omitted).

Id . at 426.

696 F. 3d 849 (9th Cir. 2012), cert. denied , 133 S. Ct. 2390 (2013).

Id . at 857.

Id . (citing Middlesex Cty. Sewerage Auth. v. Nat’l Sea Clammers Ass’n, 453 U.S. 1 (1981)).

AEP , 564 U.S. at 429 (noting that the parties had not briefed the issues of state common law or preemption).

Id . at 423 (quoting Milwaukee v. Illinois, 451 U.S. 304, 317 (1981)).

AEP , 564 U.S. at 428. See generally Jonathan H. Adler, A Tale of Two Climate Cases , 121 Yale L.J. Online 109, 112 (2011).

Juliana v. United States, 217 F. Supp. 3d 1224, 1260 (2016). See id . at 1255–61 for a more detailed discussion.

See supra text accompanying notes 61–72. Massachusetts v. EPA did not require a “rigorous step-by-step proof of causal chains” to grant standing. Jacqueline Peel, Issues in Climate Change Litigation , 5 Carbon & Climate L. Rev . 15, 19 (2011).

Michael Burger & Justin Grundlach, U.N. Env’t Programme, The Status of Climate Change Litigation: A Global Review 20 (2017).

Ronald G. Peresich, Climate Change Litigation , 45 The Brief 28, 32, (Summer 2016 (analyzing the Comer cases).

Burger & Grundlach , supra note 116, at 20.

Peresich, supra note 117, at 33; Gaynor, Lippard & Peloso, supra note 92, at 10,853–54.

Gaynor, Lippard & Peloso, supra note 92, at 10,854–56.

Wohl v. City of New York, 45 Misc. 3d 1217(A), 2014 WL 6092059 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Oct. 22, 2014).

Restatement (Second) of Torts § 825 ( Am. Law Inst. 1979).

Gaynor, Lippard & Peloso, supra note 92, at 10,857.

Peel, supra note 115, at 19.

Banda & Fulton, supra note 56, at 10,130.

Richard Heede, Tracing Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide and Methane Emissions to Fossil Fuel and Cement Producers, 1854–2010 , 122 Climatic Change 229, 229 (2015). Half of all emissions between 1751 and 2010 occurred since 1986. Id . at 234. One purpose of the study was “to lay the possible groundwork for apportioning responsibility for climate change to the entities that provided the hydrocarbon products to the global economy.” Id . at 230. Some courts have used market share to apportion responsibility for harm, for example, from the synthetic estrogen DES (diethylstilbestrol). Ewing & Kysar, supra note 69, at 350.

Class action lawsuits do not seem prominent in climate change litigation. A search of the climate change litigation database identified only eight class action cases. Sabin Center Database , supra note 29.

Michael Burger & Jessica Wentz, U.N. Env’t Programme, Climate Change and Human Rights 12 (2015). In human rights cases, as in other climate change cases, evidentiary challenges have prevented success: difficulties of proving causal links between emitters, climate change, and plaintiff’s harm, and absence of GHG standards. Id . at 35.

But see id . at 23 n.151, suggesting that public trust cases do not raise human rights claims, but that “there is a clear relationship between governments’ public trust obligations—which require the maintenance and preservation of common environmental resources for the benefit of current and future generations—and governments’ human rights obligations.”

Wood & Woodward, supra note 23, at 648.

Some are discussed in the context of state lawsuits for mitigation.

Wood & Woodward, supra note 23, at 656–69 (quotation at 668). Young plaintiffs continue to bring these cases. See, e.g. , Sinnok v. Alaska, No. 3AN-17-CI (Alaska Super. Ct. filed Oct. 27, 2017).

Juliana v. United States, 217 F. Supp. 3d 1224 (D. Or. 2016). The adult, James Hansen, is a climate scientist whose recent research, published with fourteen co-authors, quantified the burden of climate change on future generations. James Hansen et al., Young People’s Burden: Requirement of Negative CO 2 Emissions , 8 Earth Sys. Dynamics 577 (2017).

Juliana , 217 F. Supp. 3d at 1233.

Id . at 1234.

Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962), discussed supra text accompanying note 93.

Juliana , 217 F. Supp. 3d at 1241; political question analysis at 1235–42 (noting that a remedy, if plaintiffs prevail, would have to be crafted carefully to avoid separation of powers issues).

Id . at 1242–44. Injuries included algae blooms in drinking water, wildfires and floods, high temperatures affecting a family orchard, and a disastrous flood that destroyed a home.

Id . at 1246–47 (stating that the causal link is adequate for pleading, but at trial, causation may be difficult to prove).

Id . at 1250.

Id . at 1255–61. The court distinguishes PPL Montana, L.L.C. v. Montana, 565 U.S. 576, 603 (2012): “public trust doctrine remains a matter of state law”; “the contours of that public trust do not depend upon the Constitution.” Juliana , 217 F. Supp. 3d at 1272–76.

Throughout their objections, defendants and intervenors attempt to subject a lawsuit alleging constitutional injuries to case law governing statutory and common-law environmental claims. They are correct that plaintiffs likely could not obtain the relief they seek through citizen suits brought under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, or other environmental laws. But that argument misses the point. This action is of a different order than the typical environmental case. It alleges that defendants’ actions and inactions—whether or not they violate any specific statutory duty—have so profoundly damaged our home planet that they threaten plaintiffs’ fundamental constitutional rights to life and liberty.

Order, Juliana v. United States, No. 6:15-CV-01517, 2017 WL 2483705, at *2 (D. Or. June 8, 2017) (agreeing with the magistrate’s May 2017 decision). The magistrate judge granted trade group intervenors’ motions to withdraw.

Petition for Writ of Mandamus, United States v. U.S. Dist. Court for the Dist. of Or., No. 17-71692, 2017 WL 2537433, at *40 (9th Cir. June 9, 2017).

Order, Juliana v. United States, No. 17-71692 (9th Cir. July 25, 2017); Amanda Reilly, 9th Circuit Panel Skeptical of Dismissing Kids’ Suit , E&E News PM , Dec. 11, 2017. On March 7, 2018, the Ninth Circuit denied the petition for a writ of mandamus and refused to dismiss the climate change lawsuit. United States v. United States Dist. Court for the Dist. of Or., No. 17-71692 (9th Cir. Mar. 7, 2018). The trial is scheduled for late October 2018.

Ciara O’Rourke, The 11-Year-Old Suing Trump Over Climate Change , The Atlantic (Feb. 9, 2017), https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/02/trump-climate-lawsuit/516054/ (citing Michael Gerrard, who believes that a decision for plaintiffs would not survive Supreme Court review). See generally Michael C. Blumm & Mary Christina Wood, “No Ordinary Lawsuit”: Climate Change, Due Process, and the Public Trust Doctrine , 67 Am. U. L. Rev . 1 (2017).

Alec L. v. Jackson, 863 F. Supp. 2d 11 (D.D.C. 2012) (dismissing suit against federal defendants because public trust was a matter of state law), aff’d sub nom ., Alec L. v. McCarthy, 561 Fed. App’x 7 (Mem.) (D.C. Cir. 2014), cert. denied , 135 S. Ct. 774 (2014).

Sanders-Reed v. Martinez, 350 P.3d 1221 (N.M. Ct. App. 2015).

Id . at 1225.

Federal common law tort suits filed before 2011 focused on mitigation. Burkett, supra note 39, at 11,145 (referring to “mitigation-oriented carbon torts”).

These industry lawsuits, many challenging CAA regulations, are collected in the Sabin Center Database. E.g. , Util. Air Regulatory Grp. v. EPA, 134 S. Ct. 2427 (2014) (challenge to regulation of stationary sources under the CAA).

Kain v. Dep't of Envtl. Prot., 49 N.E.3d 1124 (Mass. 2016).

Id . at 1142. The opinion does not consider public trust.

Foster v. Washington Dep’t of Ecology, No. 14-2-25295-1 (Wash. Super. Ct. Sept. 15, 2014). The judge issued orders on June 23, 2015; Nov. 19, 2015 (reported at 2015 WL 7721362); May 16, 2016; Dec. 19, 2016; and April 18, 2017. Orders are collected in Sabin Center Database , supra note 29. For a detailed discussion of Foster , see Wood & Woodward, supra note 23, at 669–72.

Order, Foster , No. 14-2-25295-1 (June 23, 2015).

Order, Foster , 2015 WL 7721362 (Nov. 19, 2015).

Order, Foster , No. 14-2-25295-1 (May 16, 2016), following an April 29, 2016 ruling from the bench (recognizing “extraordinary circumstances”).

Foster , No. 14-2-25295-1 (Wash. Ct. App. filed June 15, 2016).

Foster , No. 14-2-25295-1 (Dec. 19, 2016) (order denying motion for order of contempt and granting sua sponte leave to file amended pleading).

Foster (Apr. 18, 2017) (order granting petitioner’s motion for leave to file supplemental brief), cited in Blumm & Wood, supra note 147, at 66 n.360.

Foster , No. 75374-6-1, 2017 WL 3868481 (Wash. Ct. App. Sept. 5, 2017). The trial court had not met the requirements for granting relief under the provision of Washington law on which it relied.

On Foster ’s significance, see Wood & Woodward, supra note 23, at 673–83.

Id . at 673. See also Martinez v. Colo. Oil & Gas Conservation Comm’n , a rulemaking petition by young plaintiffs who relied in part on public trust and constitutional rights. The Court of Appeals relied on a Colorado statute, and so did not reach the public trust issue. No. 16CA0564, 2017 WL 1089556 (Colo. App. Mar. 23, 2017) (not released for publication as of Oct. 18, 2017), petition for cert. granted , No. 17 SC 297 (Colo. Jan. 29, 2018).

The ESA requires consideration of climate change, primarily in agency consultations. See David Owen, Endangered Species Act , in Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, supra note 33, at 183, 196. See 16 U.S.C. §§ 1536(a)(2), 1536(a)(2), (b)(3); citizen-suit provision, § 1540(g). E.g. , Nat. Res. Def. Council v. Kempthorne, 506 F. Supp. 2d 322 (E.D. Cal. 2007) (consultation about threatened fish and its habitat must consider climate change), cited in Markell & Ruhl, supra note 22, at 63–64.

Markell & Ruhl, supra note 22, at 85. The NEPA is procedural and provides public notice of environmental impacts. Unlike many other federal environmental statutes, the NEPA does not have a citizen-suit provision, but litigants can sue under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 702, which allows persons adversely affected to seek review of agency action.

Up until 2010, no court had found an agency analysis of climate change in an EIS to be inadequate. Markell & Ruhl, supra note 22, at 61–62. For a recent analysis, see Michael Burger & Jessica Wentz, Downstream and Upstream Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Proper Scope of NEPA Review , 41 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 109 (2017).

Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in NEPA Reviews, announced at 81 Fed. Reg. 51,866 (Aug. 5, 2016).

Exec. Order No. 13,783, supra note 15, at 16,094; Council on Environmental Quality, Withdrawal of Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews, 82 Fed. Reg. 16,576 (Apr. 5, 2017).

E.g. , Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Nat’l Highway Traffic Safety Admin., 538 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 2008) (requiring agency to consider cumulative impact GHG implications); Mid States Coal. for Progress v. Surface Transp. Bd., 345 F.3d 521 (8th Cir. 2003) (requiring agency to consider air-quality effects and GHG emissions in rail project that would transport coal). See Paul Weiland, Robert Horton & Erik Beck, Environmental Impact Review , in Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, supra note 33, at 153, 160–64 (analyzing case law).

Weiland, Horton & Beck, supra note 170, at 161. See, e.g. , WildEarth Guardians v. Jewell, 738 F.3d 298 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (upholding a BLM decision to lease tracts for coal mining; EIS discussed climate change, but not its global impacts, and followed Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) guidance, so the court upheld it). But see High Country Conservation Advocates v. U.S. Forest Serv., 52 F. Supp. 3d 1174 (D. Colo. 2014) (EIS rejected for failure to consider impacts of emissions or costs of climate change). For more detail, see Barry Kellman, NEPA Review of Climate Change , 46 Envtl. L. Rep. 10,378, 10,382–83 (2016).

120 F. Supp. 3d 1237 (D. Wyo. 2015). Petitioners challenged the actions under the Administrative Procedure Act. The NEPA and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act lack citizen-suit provisions.

Id . at 1257.

Id . at 1273.

Kellman, supra note 171, at 10,384. See also Jessica Wentz, Planning for the Effects of Climate Change on Natural Resources , 47 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,220, 10,223 & n.28 (2017) (stating that courts defer to agency decisions about the scope of climate change review).

Amigos Bravos v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., 816 F. Supp. 2d 1118 (D.N.M. 2011).

Id . at 1138–39.

CA Pub. Res. §§ 21,000–21,189.3.

Markell & Ruhl, supra note 22, at 63 (cases to 2010).

No. RIC464585, 2008 WL 3996186 (Cal. Super. Ct. Aug. 6, 2008).

Rominger v. County of Colusa, 229 Cal. App. 4th 690 (2014).

Anderson v. City & County of San Francisco, No. A129910, 2013 WL 144915 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 14, 2013). See also Jones v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 183 Cal. App. 4th 818 (2010) (finding no requirement to allow public comment in final EIR amended to consider GHG emissions).

Jacqueline Peel & Hari M. Osofsky, Sue to Adapt? , 99 Minn. L. Rev. 2177, 2178–79, 2192 (2015). Little adaptation litigation occurred before 2012, although ESA and tort cases had implications for adaptation. Id . at 2192 (citing Markell & Ruhl, supra note 22, at 30–32).

Burger & Grundlach , supra note 116, at 22.

David Dana, Incentivizing Municipalities to Adapt to Climate Change: Takings Liability and FEMA Reform as Possible Solutions , 43 Envtl. Affairs 281, 290 (2016).

In re Katrina Canal Breaches Consol. Litig., 647 F. Supp. 2d 644, 679–98 (E.D. La. 2009). A number of opinions decided claims of various plaintiffs.

28 U.S.C. § 2674. The discretionary function exception, 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a), excepts any claim “based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or an employee of the Government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.”

In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 673 F.3d 381, 399 (5th Cir. 2012) (withdrawn).

In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 696 F. 3d 436, 454 (5th Cir. 2012), cert. denied sub nom ., Lattimore v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2855 (2013). The Fifth Circuit also held that the government was immune from liability under the Flood Control Act of 1928, 33 U.S.C. § 702c.

St. Bernard Parish Gov’t v. United States, 121 Fed. Cl. 687 (2015), originally filed as Tommaseo v. United States. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction under the Tucker Act, 29 U.S.C. § 1491, for damage claims against the United States that are not tort claims; the Tucker Act does not create substantive rights.

By July 2009, the ACE had closed the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet because of the likelihood of continued flooding. St Bernard Parish , 121 Fed. Cl. at 691. The Fifth Circuit, 696 F.2d 436, 441–43, upheld the District Court’s findings of fact in Katrina Canal Breaches , which assigned causation to the Army Corps of Engineers.

121 Fed. Cl. at 746.

Id . at 707. Recent Supreme Court decisions indicate that governments can be liable for flooding as a temporary taking. E.g. , Arkansas Game & Fish Comm’n v. United States, 568 U.S. 23 (2012).

St. Bernard Parish Gov’t v. United States, No. 16–2301 (Fed Cir. Mar. 24, 2017).

Dana, supra note 185, at 287–88, n.29 (quote on 288).

Id . at 286.

Christopher Serkin, Passive Takings: The State’s Affirmative Duty to Protect Property , 113 Mich. L. Rev. 345, 389–401 (2014); Dana, supra note 185, at 289–90.

Burkett, supra note 39, at 11,145, 11,147. Proof of causation may be difficult.

Jennifer Klein, Sabin Ctr. for Climate Change Law, Potential Liability of Governments for Failure to Prepare for Climate Change (2015), http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/files/2016/06/Klein-2015-08-Liability-US-Gov-Failure-to-Prep-Climate-Change.pdf . On fraud, knowing misrepresentation of information about climate change, see id . at 15–23; on takings, see id . at 23–27. U.S. Const. amend. XI bars cases against states, but not local governments, in federal courts. Klein , supra , at 4.

Burkett, supra note 39, at 11,153–54.

Id . at 11,154. See also Maxine Burkett, Duty and Breach in an Era of Uncertainty: Local Government Liability for Failure to Adapt to Climate Change , 20 Geo. Mason L. Rev . 775 (2013).

Tzakis v. Berger Excavating Contractors, Inc., 2009 CH 6159 (Ill. Cir. Ct. 2009). In May 2014, Illinois Farmers Insurance, Co. brought nine class-action lawsuits against municipalities and counties in the Chicago area, after 600 insured homes suffered flood damage in heavy April 2013 storms. The suits alleged that defendants were aware of the effects of climate change, but did not prepare for the heavy rains and floods caused by higher global temperatures. The company withdrew the suits in June 2014. See, e.g. , Illinois Farmers Ins., Co. v. Metro. Water Reclamation Dist. of Greater Chi., No. 2014CH06608 (Ill. Cir. Ct. filed Apr. 16, 2014) (dismissed June 4, 2014).

Borough of Harvey Cedars v. Karan, 70 A.3d 524, 527 (N.J. 2013).

See Peel & Osofsky, supra note 183, at 2203–05, 2247. See also Stephen R. Miller, The Local Official and Climate Change , 46 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10,883, 10,883 (2016). “[E]ven the most aggressive efforts to address climate change have largely ignored land use,” usually the responsibility of local officials. Issues for cities include lack of technical capability, lack of political will, ineffective land use planning and regulatory institutions. Id . at 10,884.

See, e.g., American Electric Power and Kivalina , discussed supra Part II.C.

Burkett, supra note 39, at 11,147.

See, e.g. , Pietrangelo v. S&E Customize It Auto Corp., No. SCR 100/13, 39 Misc. 3d 1239(A) (N.Y. Civ. Ct. May 22, 2013). Court dismissed suit against auto bailee for damage after Hurricane Sandy; bailee had no obligation to have insurance, and an “act of God” defense barred the negligence claim.

Burkett, supra note 39, at 11,150.

Id . at 11,155–56.

585 F.3d 855, 859–60 (5th Cir. 2009), vacated , 598 F.3d 208 (2010). Other claims were unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy.

598 F.3d 208 (5th Cir. 2010).

607 F.3d 1049, 1055 (5th Cir. 2010).

Conservation Law Found. v. ExxonMobil Corp., No. 1:16-cv-11950, at 49–51 (¶¶ 183–86) (D. Mass. filed Sept. 29, 2016).

County of San Mateo v. Chevron Corp., No. 17CIV03222 (Cal. Super. Ct. July 17, 2017); County of Marin v. Chevron Crop., No. CIV1702586 (Cal. Super. Ct. July 7, 2017); City of Imperial Beach v. Chevron Corp., No. C17-01227 (Cal. Super. Ct. July 17, 2017). In August 2017, defendants removed the cases to federal court, and plaintiffs moved to remand. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted plaintiffs’ motion to remand. Removal was not warranted, among other reasons, under federal common law or the doctrine of complete preemption. An appeal is pending. Order Denying Remand, County of San Mateo v. Chevron Corp., No. 17-cv-04929-VC (N.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2018). In re Peabody Energy Corp. , No. 16-42529-399 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. Dec. 8, 2017), dismissed the cases against Peabody.

Environmental organizations have suggested that liability may follow from energy companies’ “funding climate denial and disseminating false or misleading information on climate risks.” Kevin LaCroix, Is Climate Change a D&O Insurance Issue? , The D&O Diary (June 2, 2014), https://www.dandodiary.com/2014/06/articles/director-and-officer-liability/is-climate-change-a-do-liability-and-insurance-issue/ .

Ramirez v. ExxonMobil Corp., No. 3:16-cv-03111 (N.D. Tex. filed Nov. 7, 2016). Defendant moved to dismiss in September 2017.

SEC, Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change, 75 Fed. Reg. 6290, 6297 (Feb. 8, 2010). See also SEC, Concept Release, Business and Financial Disclosure Required by Regulation S–K, 81 Fed. Reg. 23,916 (Apr. 22, 2016). See Dundon, supra note 21, at 23. On disclosure requirements, see Matthew Morreale, Corporate Disclosure Considerations Related to Climate Change , in Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, supra note 33, at 205.

Banda & Fulton, supra note 56, at 10,134.

Petition for Suspension or Debarment, Waterkeeper All., Inc. (Dec. 14, 2016), http://blogs2.law.columbia.edu/climate-change-litigation/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/case-documents/2016/20161214_docket-na_petition.pdf .

Ctr. for Int’l Envtl. Law, Smoke & Fumes: The Legal and Evidentiary Basis for Holding Big Oil Accountable for the Climate Crisis (2017), http://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Smoke-Fumes-FINAL.pdf . See also David Anderson, Matt Kasper & David Pomerantz, Energy & Pol’y Inst., Utilities Knew: Documenting Electric Utilities’ Early Knowledge and Ongoing Deception on Climate Change from 1968–2017 (2017), https://www.eenews.net/assets/2017/07/25/document_gw_08.pdf .

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Essay on Climate Change

Climate Change Essay - The globe is growing increasingly sensitive to climate change. It is currently a serious worldwide concern. The term "Climate Change" describes changes to the earth's climate. It explains the atmospheric changes that have occurred across time, spanning from decades to millions of years. Here are some sample essays on climate change.

100 Words Essay on Climate Change

200 words essay on climate change, 500 words essay on climate change.

The climatic conditions on Earth are changing due to climate change. Several internal and external variables, such as solar radiation, variations in the Earth's orbit, volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics, etc., are to blame for this.

There are strategies for climate change reduction. If not implemented, the weather might get worse, there might be water scarcity, there could be lower agricultural output, and it might affect people's ability to make a living. In order to breathe clean air and drink pure water, you must concentrate on limiting human activity. These are the simple measures that may be taken to safeguard the environment and its resources.

The climate of the Earth has changed significantly over time. While some of these changes were brought on by natural events like volcanic eruptions, floods, forest fires, etc., many of the changes were brought on by human activity. The burning of fossil fuels, domesticating livestock, and other human activities produce a significant quantity of greenhouse gases. This results in an increase of greenhouse effect and global warming which are the major causes for climate change.

Reasons of Climate Change

Some of the reasons of climate change are:

Deforestation

Excessive use of fossil fuels

Water and soil pollution

Plastic and other non biodegradable waste

Wildlife and nature extinction

Consequences of Climate Change

All kinds of life on earth will be affected by climate change if it continues to change at the same pace. The earth's temperature will increase, the monsoon patterns will shift, the sea level will rise, and there will be more frequent storms, volcano eruptions, and other natural calamities. The earth's biological and ecological equilibrium will be disturbed. Humans won't be able to access clean water or air to breathe when the environment becomes contaminated. The end of life on this earth is imminent. To reduce the issue of climate change, we need to bring social awareness along with strict measures to protect and preserve the natural environment.

A shift in the world's climatic pattern is referred to as climate change. Over the centuries, the climate pattern of our planet has undergone modifications. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has significantly grown.

When Did Climate Change Begin

It is possible to see signs of climate change as early as the beginning of the industrial revolution. The pace at which the manufacturers produced things on a large scale required a significant amount of raw materials. Since the raw materials being transformed into finished products now have such huge potential for profit, these business models have spread quickly over the world. Hazardous substances and chemicals build up in the environment as a result of company emissions and waste disposal.

Although climate change is a natural occurrence, it is evident that human activity is turning into the primary cause of the current climate change situation. The major cause is the growing population. Natural resources are utilised more and more as a result of the population's fast growth placing a heavy burden on the available resources. Over time, as more and more products and services are created, pollution will eventually increase.

Causes of Climate Change

There are a number of factors that have contributed towards weather change in the past and continue to do so. Let us look at a few:

Solar Radiation |The climate of earth is determined by how quickly the sun's energy is absorbed and distributed throughout space. This energy is transmitted throughout the world by the winds, ocean currents etc which affects the climatic conditions of the world. Changes in solar intensity have an effect on the world's climate.

Deforestation | The atmosphere's carbon dioxide is stored by trees. As a result of their destruction, carbon dioxide builds up more quickly since there are no trees to absorb it. Additionally, trees release the carbon they stored when we burn them.

Agriculture | Many kinds of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere by growing crops and raising livestock. Animals, for instance, create methane, a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The nitrous oxide used in fertilisers is roughly 300 times more strong than carbon dioxide.

How to Prevent Climate Change

We need to look out for drastic steps to stop climate change since it is affecting the resources and life on our planet. We can stop climate change if the right solutions are put in place. Here are some strategies for reducing climate change:

Raising public awareness of climate change

Prohibiting tree-cutting and deforestation.

Ensure the surroundings are clean.

Refrain from using chemical fertilisers.

Water and other natural resource waste should be reduced.

Protect the animals and plants.

Purchase energy-efficient goods and equipment.

Increase the number of trees in the neighbourhood and its surroundings.

Follow the law and safeguard the environment's resources.

Reduce the amount of energy you use.

During the last few decades especially, climate change has grown to be of concern. Global concern has been raised over changes in the Earth's climatic pattern. The causes of climate change are numerous, as well as the effects of it and it is our responsibility as inhabitants of this planet to look after its well being and leave it in a better condition for future generations.

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Steps To Follow While Writing An Essay On Climate Change

Table of Contents

Climate change is the most essential issue of our generation; we are the first to witness its early signs and the last who have a chance of stopping them from happening.

Living in a bubble of denial can only get us this far; the planet which is our home is already a scene for melting glaciers, raising floods, extinction of species… the list goes on and on. Spreading awareness on matters of climate change through any means available, including as seemingly trivial form as writing a school essay, cannot be underestimated.

Follow the guidelines suggested in the paragraphs below to learn how to create a perfect essay that will get you an appraisal of your teacher.

Essay on climate changes: how to write?

If you really want to make your teacher gasp while they are reading your work, there are three vital things to pay attention to .

First of all, read the topic carefully and understand it’s specific, i.e., what is expected from you.

For instance, if it is the role of individuals in helping prevent climate change, you should not focus so much on the global problems, but speak about how small changes all of us can introduce in our routines will eventually have a positive environmental effect.

Secondly, determine your personal take on the problem . Search for materials on your subject using keywords, and pile up the evidence that supports your point of view.

Finally, write a conclusion. Make sure that the conclusion you make reflects the viewpoints you have been expressing all throughout your essay.

Below you will find a more detailed breakdown of tasks you will have to accomplish to complete writing an essay on climate changes that is worthy of a top mark.

Check if it is an argumentative essay on climate change or more of a speculative one? Arrange your writing accordingly.

• Craft the outline and don’t go off-topic.
• Search for keywords .
• Make a plan .
• Avoid the most common mistakes from the start.
• Write an introduction thinking about what you will write later.
• Develop your ideas according to the outline .
• Make a conclusion which is consistent with what you’ve written in the main paragraphs.
• Proofread the draft , correct mistakes and print out the hard copy. All set!

One of the most focal of your writing will be factual evidence. When writing on climate change, resort to providing data shared by international organizations like IPCC , WWF , or World Bank .

It is undeniable that among the main causes of climate change, unfortunately, there are oil and fossil fuels that are the basis of the whole economy and still invaluable sources of energy.

Although everyone knows that oil resources are polluting and that it would be much more useful and environmentally sustainable to rely on renewable energies such as wind and solar energies and electricity, the power of the world seem not to notice or pretend not to see for don’t go against your own interests.

The time has come to react and raise awareness of the use of renewable energy sources.

In addition to the causes already mentioned, we must consider the increase in the carbon dioxide air that traps heat in our atmosphere, thus increasing the temperatures with the consequent of the Arctic glaciers melting.

WWF reported that in 2016, the recorded data was quite worrying with a constant increase in temperatures and a 40% decrease in Arctic marine glaciers.

Topics for essay on global warming and climate change

If you do not have any specific topic to write on, consider yourself lucky. You can pick one that you are passionate about – and in fact, this is what you should do! If we think back to the very definition of essay, it is nothing more than a few paragraphs of expressing one’s personal attitude and viewpoints on a certain subject. Surely, you need to pick a subject that you are opinionated about to deliver a readable piece of writing!

Another point to consider is quaintness and topicality factors. You don’t want to end up writing on a subject that the rest of your class will, and in all honesty, that has zero novelty to it.

Even if it is something as trivial as the greenhouse effect, add an unexpected perspective to it: the greenhouse effect from the standpoint of the feline population of Montenegro. Sounds lunatic, but you get the drift.

Do not worry, below you will find the list of legitimately coverable topics to choose from:

• The last generation able to fight the global crisis.
• Climate change: top 10 unexpected causes.
• Climate changes. Things anyone can do.
• Climate changes concern everyone. Is it true?
• The Mauna Loa volcano: climate change is here.
• Water pollution and coastal cities: what needs to be done?
• Is there global warming if it’s still cold?
• The CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.
• Celebrity activists and climate changes.
• Individual responsibility for the environment.
• How the loss of biodiversity is the biggest loss for humanity.
• Ways to fight global warming at home.
• Sustainable living as a way of fighting climate change.
• Climate change fighting countries to look up to.
• Industrial responsibility and climate change.
• What future will be like if we fail to make an environmental stand?
• Discovering water on Mars: a new planet to live on?
• Climate change effects on poor countries.
• Nuclear power laws and climate change.
• Is it true that climate change is caused by man?

Mistakes to avoid when writing an essay on climate change

When composing your essay, you must avoid the following (quite common!) mistakes:

• Clichés – no one wants to read universal truths presented as relevant discoveries.
• Repeating an idea already expressed – don’t waste your readers’ time .
• Making an accumulation of ideas that are not connected and that do not follow one another; structure your ideas logically .
• Being contradictive (check consistency).
• Using bad or tired collocations .
• Using lackluster adjectives like “good”/”bad”. Instead, think of more eye-catching synonyms.

Structure your essay in a logical way : introduce your thesis, develop your ideas in at least 2 parts that contain several paragraphs, and draw a conclusion.

Bottom line

Writing an essay on global warming and climate change is essentially reflecting on the inevitable consequence of the irresponsible behavior of people inhabiting the planet. Outside of big-scale thinking, there is something each of us can do, and by shaping minds the right way, essential change can be done daily.

Each of us can act to protect the environment, reducing the use of plastic, recycling, buying food with as little packaging as possible, or turning off water and light when not in use. Every little help, even a short essay on climate change can help make a difference.

Can’t wait to save the planet? Do it, while we write your essay. Easy order, complete confidentiality, timely delivery. Click the button to learn more!

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Global Warming

Long-term warming trends and increases in extreme weather events have the potential to impact all life on Earth. Even though at least 97 percent of climate scientists agree that human activities have contributed to rising global temperatures, the predominance and causes of these phenomena continue to be debated and many Americans deny global warming.

Read the overview below to gain a balanced understanding of the issues and explore the previews of opinion articles that highlight many perspectives on the response to global warming and climate change.

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Global warming topic overview.

"Global Warming and Climate Change." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection , Gale, 2023.

Though the terms global warming and climate change are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings. Climate change describes long-term shifts in Earth's weather patterns that affect temperature, humidity, wind, cloud cover, and precipitation. Global warming refers explicitly to an increase in Earth's average surface temperatures caused by human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels. Anthropogenic climate change refers to changes in the climate caused by human activity, particularly industrialization and agricultural practices that release pollutants into the atmosphere.

Overwhelming scientific evidence supports the existence of both global warming and climate change. Through the United Nations' (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), thousands of scientists work together to collect and analyze the latest available research related to climate change, its effects, and potential responses. In an interim update to its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) in 2023, the IPCC estimated that global surface temperatures increased by 1.1°C (1.98°F) between the latter half of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twenty-first century. The IPCC has linked climate change and global warming to the increased occurrence and severity of storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires, warning that such disasters will increase further if temperatures continue to rise. The scientists' group also identifies water availability and food production as well as health and wealth being as experiencing observable, widespread, and substantial changes related to climate change. These threats have led scientists to identify global warming and climate change as a climate crisis . The IPCC recognizes human activity, particularly industrialization and certain agricultural practices that release carbon dioxide (CO2), as the primary driver of global warming and climate change.

Despite substantial evidence and a consensus among the scientific community, a vocal minority continues to challenge the science behind climate change. These critics characterize climate change as a natural phenomenon and dispute assertions that human activity has contributed to rising global temperatures. This position may be referred to as climate denial , and those who reject the scientific consensus are considered climate deniers . Fossil fuel companies often provide financial support to politicians, media campaigns, and organizations that promote climate denial.

• Climate chang e refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns. Global warming is the increase in the planet's average surface temperatures caused by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.
• Causes of climate change related to human activity are referred to as anthropogenic . Natural causes of climate change are called naturogenic .
• Earth's atmosphere contains several gases that trap heat from the sun and prevent it from escaping into space. These gases are called greenhouse gases (GHGs).
• July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth.
• Global warming has the potential to cause disruptions in the food supply, harm ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and threaten the planet's biodiversity.
• Countries that experience the harshest effects of climate change are often low- and middle-income countries who contribute fewer greenhouse gas emissions than wealthier countries that do not experience the effects so intensely.
• The United States has joined other countries in making commitments to fight climate change, but that commitment has largely depended on the country's leadership.
• Though the administration of President Joe Biden has taken more aggressive steps to combat the climate crisis, critics question whether these steps will meet the administration's ambitious goals and whether those goals are sufficient.

CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Earth's atmosphere contains several gases that trap heat from the sun and prevent it from escaping into space. This phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect , and the gases are called greenhouse gases (GHGs). The main GHGs in nature are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would be too cold to support life. Over time, the amount of GHGs trapped in Earth's atmosphere has increased significantly, causing worldwide temperatures to rise.

Natural processes on Earth constantly create and destroy GHGs. For example, plant and animal matter decay produce carbon dioxide, which plants then absorb during photosynthesis. This natural cycle stabilizes atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. Climate change scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other federal and international agencies recognize that natural factors, including volcanic activity and shifts in the planet's crust, continue to play a role in climate change. However, they generally agree that these factors alone do not explain the substantial rise in Earth's temperature. Natural causes of climate change are referred to as naturogenic , while causes of climate change related to human activity are called anthropogenic .

Earth's vegetation releases and absorbs over two hundred billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, add approximately seven billion metric tons per year. Climate scientists believe the cumulative effect of this additional carbon dioxide has had a dramatic impact on the atmosphere. Deforestation has also contributed to this increase by releasing carbon dioxide stored in trees and eliminating forests that would continue to absorb many tons of carbon dioxide. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as of 2023 the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had increased by 50 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain in the eighteenth century.

Increased levels of other GHGs, such as nitrous oxide and methane, have also resulted from human activity. Several agricultural and industrial processes, such as the use of certain fertilizers in farming, produce extensive amounts nitrous oxide. Methane emissions come from fossil fuel production, landfills, and livestock. Though much smaller quantities of these gases exist in Earth's atmosphere, some scientists believe they cause more harm than carbon dioxide. Methane, for example, is about twenty-one times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat. Humans have also created and released GHGs that do not occur in nature. These include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). These gases, released during industrial processes such as aluminum production and electrical transmission, trap thousands of times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

CLIMATE CHANGE PREDICTIONS

A broad consensus exists in the scientific community that the consequences of climate change may be devastating, though the exact nature of the changes is difficult to predict. No model to chart climate patterns has had complete accuracy. For instance, most climate models failed to predict a slowdown in rising temperatures starting in 1998 and ending in 2012. The slowdown was attributed to volcanic eruptions that blocked out the sun and cooled temperatures, low levels of solar activity, and naturally occurring variability. Similarly, some predictions have underestimated threats.

In its initial assessment of rising sea levels in 1990, the IPCC initially anticipated a sea level rise of 1.9 millimeters per year from that year onward. However, as of 2023, the IPCC reports that sea levels rose at a rate of 3.7 millimeters per year between 2006 and 2018. Sea level rise contributes to increased flooding and the damage caused by extreme storms such as hurricanes in coastal cities. The IPCC predicts that sea level rise could threaten as many as one billion people living in low-lying cities and communities by 2041, noting the threats to livelihoods, cultural heritage, and the existence of many island nations.

US PUBLIC OPINION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The effects of human activities on global warming and climate change are acknowledged and accepted by most people in the United States. According to annual polls conducted by Gallup since 2001, the public's beliefs in anthropogenic climate change has increased. In 2023, 62 percent of Americans accepted that human activities cause climate change (up from 61 percent in 2001), 60 percent believed that the effects have begun (up from 54 percent), and 46 percent stated that global warming will soon pose a serious threat (up from 31 percent).

Researchers have observed a strong correlation between Americans' political affiliations and their acceptance of climate science and levels of concern about global warming. In 2023, about 85 percent of Democrats believed the effects of global warming were already apparent, and 88 percent believed humans caused them. In comparison, only 33 percent of Republicans agreed with the first statement and 29 percent agreed with the second. Most independents believed both statements (61 and 66 percent, respectively). However, further analysis by Gallup in 2022 revealed that Republicans under age fifty-five expressed greater concern about global warming than those age fifty-five and older but still significantly fewer than Democrats or Independents of any age group.

EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

The potential consequences of global warming remain an issue of great debate and uncertainty. However, most experts predict dramatic and severe problems for future generations. Warmer oceans could result in stronger and more frequent hurricanes. As temperatures climb, some regions could experience frequent heat waves that bring devastating droughts and wildfires. In the United States, the 2023 summer season experienced a series of heat waves that broke temperature records in different parts of the country, particularly in Washington and Oregon. In July 2023, heat waves also affected many countries in the Northern Hemisphere, including Canada, China, and some European countries. NASA has confirmed that July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth by a significant margin, identifying global warming as the principal causal factor.

Climate change has been linked to severe, exceptional droughts across several western states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Climate scientists refer to this phenomenon a "megadrought," and it has contributed to massive wildfires in the first decades of the twenty-first century.

From 2018 to 2021, California and Oregon endured massive wildfires that burned millions of acres and led to the displacement of thousands of residents, widespread destruction of property, and the deaths of dozens of people. California had a record-breaking wildfire season in 2020, including the state's first gigafire —a blaze that burned over one million acres of land. By the end of the year, wildfires burned more than four million acres throughout the state. Though wildfires were less frequent throughout the United States from 2022 to 2023 than in the preceding several years, the effects of global warming and the federal and state governments' lack of emergency preparedness led to one of the deadliest wildfires in recorded history. In August 2023 a small brush fire that a broken powerline may have caused started burning just outside the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii. In just a few minutes, winds blew the fire toward town, devouring wooden buildings, telephone and electric power lines, and water pipes. Without enough water pressure, Lahaina's fire department failed to contain the wildfire, and with the town's communication and power systems down, residents were not immediately alerted. As of September 2023, authorities had confirmed that ninety-seven people had been killed in the wildfire and thirty-one individuals were still missing in what had become the eleventh deadliest wildfire in world history.

A megadrought could also lead to water shortages. For example, the US government issued its first Tier 1 federal water shortage declaration in August 2021 for the Colorado River. The river provides water for several US states and parts of Mexico. The first cuts to state water supplies took effect in October in Arizona and Nevada. Upon revisiting the issue in August 2022, the government intensified its alarm, raising the classification to a Tier 2 federal water shortage and issuing drastic cuts to state water allowances. In August 2023, the government announced that the Colorado River water shortage would return to Tier 1 in 2024 and that water restrictions would be eased. The government's decision came after an unusually high amount of snowpack formed on the mountains near the Colorado River during the 2022–2023 winter season.

Many coastal areas worldwide could also face severe flooding due to rising sea levels. Low-lying islands in the Pacific Ocean would eventually become uninhabitable. From 1880 to 2022, sea levels rose about eight to nine inches worldwide. The hurricane season of 2017 proved to be the costliest hurricane season since 1900, causing over $265 billion of property damage in the United States and more than three thousand deaths in Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico. The year 2020 experienced thirty named storms, the most to ever occur in a single hurricane season. The first hurricane to make landfall in 2022 was Hurricane Fiona, which struck Puerto Rico and other Caribbean Islands in September. All of Puerto Rico, which was still recovering from devastating hurricanes in 2017, lost power, and several areas suffered flooding and landslides. Though twenty tropical storms affected the United States during the 2023 hurricane season, only three made landfall. One of them, Hurricane Idalia, was the strongest hurricane to hit Florida's Big Bend region since 1950, leaving over $1 billion worth of damages.

Global warming also threatens vulnerable ecosystems and wildlife habitats. Extended periods of drought can turn fertile lands into deserts with little vegetation. Plants and animals may not survive the rapid changes caused by global warming and could become extinct. Over the long term, such changes would negatively affect Earth's biodiversity. Environmental scientists warn that some ecosystems, such as coral reefs and coastal mangrove swamps, will likely disappear entirely.

The climate crisis also threatens to disrupt the global food supply, worsen economic inequality, and create security issues. Some areas might become too dry or too wet to support agriculture. As global warming causes more places to become uninhabitable, such displacement can drive mass migration. Communities struggle to recover from climate disasters, often exacerbating existing problems in those areas. Disputes over access to water have arisen in several states, including those with areas that rely on Colorado River water. Around the world, some water disputes have developed into armed conflicts.

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

• For what reasons do you think perceptions of anthropogenic climate change vary among Democrats and Republicans in the United States?
• What potential long-term consequences of climate change do you think will be the most difficult to manage? Explain your reasoning.
• In what ways, if at all, do you think the federal government could change its approach to address climate change more effectively? Explain your answer.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE AND US POLICY

The scope and global nature of the climate crisis necessitate that countries work together. Because an effective response requires countries to make sacrifices, negotiations to develop a coordinated international response have encountered repeated obstacles. Further, industrialized countries have contributed a disproportionate amount to the crisis. In contrast, less industrialized, lower-income countries have disproportionately felt the effects of the crisis and often lack the resources and infrastructure for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Since 1995, the UN has hosted annual conferences to discuss climate change as part of its Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In 1997, delegates gathered in Kyoto, Japan, to negotiate an international treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol. This treaty required industrialized countries to reduce their GHG emissions by a certain percentage over five years. As of November 2023, 191 countries and the European Union had ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The United States has not ratified the agreement, citing concerns that it does not impose restrictions on China and India. Canada withdrew in 2011.

In 2015, world leaders set new climate goals at the UNFCCC conference (COP21) in Paris, France. The resultant Paris Agreement aimed to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial levels and provide countries with the tools needed to counteract climate change. President Barack Obama played a leading role in brokering the Paris Agreement and pushed for greater environmental restrictions during his presidency. The Paris Agreement went into effect with the commitment of the United States and seventy-three other parties in November 2016. Obama's successor, Donald Trump, announced in 2017 that the United States would withdraw its support. After a required period, the United States officially withdrew from the agreement in November 2020.

Upon taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden reentered the country in the Paris Agreement. Biden vowed that his administration would prioritize climate policy and issued several executive orders that made sustainability and addressing climate change important considerations across all federal government agencies. In April 2021, the president hosted a virtual climate summit attended by forty world leaders and pledged that the United States would reduce its carbon emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2030. In June 2022, the Biden administration experienced a setback when the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the Clean Air Act did not grant the EPA authority to regulate GHG emissions without Congress passing additional legislation.

In August 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a law promoting a sustainable green economy by incentivizing emissions reductions, supporting clean energy projects, and requiring the wealthiest individuals and corporations to pay more taxes. Though many advocates celebrated the law as the federal government's most aggressive step to combat the climate crisis, the law has also attracted criticism. Some detractors contend that the law remains insufficient to have a meaningful impact on the climate crisis or its other targets, which include health care costs, worker protections, and inflation. Further, Republicans have framed the law as an undue empowerment of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the agency responsible for collecting taxes. Public reception of Biden's climate policies has largely split along party lines. A June 2023 Pew Research Center survey revealed that 76 percent of Democrats approved of Biden's climate policies while 82 percent of Republicans disapproved.

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Global warming and climate change can be stopped if people try harder.

“Nations need to accelerate deployment of existing technologies to lock in and build on the gains of the last three years.”

Dr. Pep Canadell is Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project, Deputy Research Director at Atmosphere and Land Observation Assessment, and a research scientist at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.

In the following viewpoint, Canadell argues that recent efforts to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of clean energy have contributed to a stalling in fossil fuel emissions. However, Canadell contends that governments will need to increase their efforts to meet the climate goals established in the 2015 Paris Agreement. He compares the successes and shortcomings of China, the United States, India, Australia, and the European Union in reducing emissions. He examines the practice of storing carbon dioxide underground through carbon capture and storage (CCS) and concludes that thousands of CCS facilities will be necessary to meet climate goals.

Politicians Use Climate Change as an Excuse to Limit Personal Freedom

"Repetition is precisely what we are experiencing in the major media, which have selectively interviewed people who promote the climate change myth."

Cal Thomas is a syndicated columnist and the author of several books, including What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America .

In the following viewpoint, Thomas argues that politicians use the issue of climate change as an excuse for the government to interfere in the lives of private citizens. Noting that some climate predictions have overestimated the impact of global warming, the author disputes the widely held belief that global temperatures are rising as a result of human activity. He contends that politicians and the mainstream media encourage public outrage and generate panic over climate change by promoting the opinions and predictions of alarmists while ignoring the views of skeptics.

Renewable Energy Sources Benefit Health, Climate, and the Economy

The Union of Concerned Scientists is a membership organization of citizens and scientists who work together to promote the responsible use of science to improve the world.

Renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass, each come with their own set of unique costs and benefits, but overall these cleaner energy sources have overwhelmingly positive effects on the climate, human health, and the economy. Renewable energy sources represent a vast and inexhaustible supply of energy, produce little or no global warming emissions, improve public health and environmental quality, help stabilize energy prices, create jobs and other economic benefits, and contribute to a more reliable and resilient energy system. The costs of renewable energy have declined in recent years and are projected to continue decreasing, making renewables more accessible and affordable for consumers than ever.

Biomass Power Plants Produce Just as Much Pollution as Coal-Fired Power Plants

"There is no quicker way to move carbon into the atmosphere—the opposite of what we want—than through utility-scale biomass energy plants that burn millions of trees per year."

In the following viewpoint, Gordon Clark and Mary Booth point out that although biomass energy has been promoted as environmentally friendly, new and proposed biomass power plants emit just as much pollution and carbon dioxide as those using fossil fuels, sometimes even more. The arguments favoring biomass power plants as a renewable energy source are not valid, they say; recent studies have shown this, and some states are eliminating subsidies and tightening regulations requiring efficiency. The authors speculate whether the Environmental Protection Agency will take federal action and formulate rules that make biomass power plants responsible for the greenhouse gases they release. Booth is the director of the Partnership for Policy Integrity, and Clark is its communications director.

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2017 Theses Doctoral

Essays on the Economics of Climate Change

Merte, Steffen

Climate change is a major environmental threat and likely one of the most important challenges of our time. In particular, climate extremes –such as heat waves– can have a significant negative effect on society. Yet, many impacts of climate change are poorly understood and binding international climate change agreements are notoriously hard to reach. This work deals with the economics of climate change in three separate essays. The first one introduces a new methodology to estimate the impacts of climate extremes on public health. The second utilizes this methodology to assess the impacts of several climate change scenarios on Europe. The third explores a way to increase cooperation on climate change mitigation policies through explicit communication of the uncertainty of future climate change impacts. In general, human mortality shows an oscillatory pattern on top of a nonlinear trend. It tends to be highest in winter and lowest in summer. The nonlinear trend follows changes in health policies, economic growth rates, and other institutional factors. The first essays shows that singular spectrum analysis can be used for the estimation of this base rate mortality and thus allows to isolate the impacts of climate extremes on human mortality. This methodology is an improvement over approaches based on fixed effects or classic spectral analysis. It makes it possible to extend climate impact analysis to regions and countries for which there are no detailed data from hospital records as only coarse monthly data on mortality are needed. The danger of climate change lies not necessarily in the shift in average temperatures, but more so the increase in frequency of extreme heat events. Yet, while heat waves become more common, cold spells become less frequent. As both types of extreme temperature events increase human morbidity and mortality, the net effect of this shift is unknown. The second essay finds that a scenario of moderate warming can have a positive net effect on some European countries, creating winners and losers. In contrast –severe warming as a result of failed climate change mitigation policies– affects all examined European countries in a negative way. There would be no winners, just losers. As a result of the uncertainty associated with it, climate change poses a different challenge than other social dilemma situations: The negative effects of climate change do not necessarily take place incrementally. While this should be a focal point for policy makers, the costs of climate change tend to be presented within an expected utility framework. Yet, the potential behavioral reactions to this uncertainty are –so far– neither explored nor accounted for in game-theoretic models of climate coalition building. The third essay finds that cooperation in a public goods game can be increased when the uncertainty is communicated explicitly. This means that uncertainty should not be hidden behind expected costs and benefits, but rather be acknowledged when the goal is to form a climate change mitigation agreement.

• Climatic changes
• Climatic changes--Economic aspects
• Public policy (Law)
• Sustainable development

More About This Work

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Essays in Agriculture Economics, Climate Change, and Nutrition

The dissertation consists of three essays in the field of agriculture economics, climate change, and nutrition. I have structured it as three chapters, namely ‘Fertilization Impact Of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide On Agricultural Yield’, ‘Are Production And Consumption Decisions Independent? Identifying Separability In Indian Agriculture’, and ‘Identifying The Income Nutrition Pathway For Agricultural Households’.In the first chapter I test for the effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on agricultural yield. Plant physiology suggests an increase in agriculture yield with increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, as plants fix carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis. In the study I find there is a positive effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on agriculture yield of wheat in India, and the effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on rice depends on the variety of the rice crop used. This is a first of its kind, large scale study for India identifying the effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on agriculture yield. In the second chapter I test for separability or its failure in India’s agriculture markets. Separability is the property of households making production decisions independent of their consumption preferences. I make use of a 960 household panel data from Chandrapur district for the test. I derive the condition that under separability the agriculture farm revenue is independent of input endowment of the farming households. I find that there is a breakdown of separability in the households . Identifying separability provide insights in to the performance and functioning of markets. The third chapter establishes the linkage from income to nutrition for the agriculture households where separability does not hold, making use of the panel of 960 households from the study on separability in the second chapter. I find that the diet diversity improve with increased farm revenue for these agriculture household.

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Research Areas

• Climate Change & Sustainable Agriculture
• Markets & Value Chains