research thesis on climate change

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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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Climate change research and the search for solutions: rethinking interdisciplinarity

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• Published: 18 October 2021
• Volume 168 , article number  18 , ( 2021 )

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• E. Lisa F. Schipper   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6228-9178 1 ,
• Navroz K. Dubash   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3758-8971 2 &
• Yacob Mulugetta   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3191-8896 3  

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Growing political pressure to find solutions to climate change is leading to increasing calls for multiple disciplines, in particular those that are not traditionally part of climate change research, to contribute new knowledge systems that can offer deeper and broader insights to address the problem. Recognition of the complexity of climate change compels researchers to draw on interdisciplinary knowledge that marries natural sciences with social sciences and humanities. Yet most interdisciplinary approaches fail to adequately merge the framings of the disparate disciplines, resulting in reductionist messages that are largely devoid of context, and hence provide incomplete and misleading analysis for decision-making. For different knowledge systems to work better together toward climate solutions, we need to reframe the way questions are asked and research pursued, in order to inform action without slipping into reductionism. We suggest that interdisciplinarity needs to be rethought. This will require accepting a plurality of narratives, embracing multiple disciplinary perspectives, and shifting expectations of public messaging, and above all looking to integrate the appropriate disciplines that can help understand human systems in order to better mediate action.

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1 Urgency to solve climate change

Following the launch of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on 1.5C (IPCC 2018 ), pressure to take action on climate change has escalated significantly (Boykoff and Pearman 2019 ). While this attention is to be welcomed, it has implications for researchers of, and research on, climate change. A clear push is evident from within both the scientific and policy communities to get scientists to move beyond merely providing knowledge about climate change, to also helping society define the solutions (Haasnoot et al.  2020 ; Callaghan et al.  2020 ). Additionally, the solutions focus mirrors—and drives—civil society pressure for governments to take action on the climate crisis (Fisher and Nasrin 2020 ). This introduces new challenges for the ways in which science on climate change is undertaken and how the knowledge gained is used in the world of practice and policy (Hulme 2020 ). In particular, the search for solutions to climate change forces us to examine the way different disciplines interact in this process, most prominently through interdisciplinary research approaches (Castree et al. 2014 ).

In response to pressure for concrete, urgent, and actionable information, however, researchers often shear away detail, and pick one of a number of alternative messages to unite behind. The emerging narrative of ‘listen to the science’ unfortunately reinforces the message that discreet, clear, and neutral solutions readily exist (Evensen 2019 ). This is underpinned by a strong belief that science needs to be represented and communicated in easy-to-digest ‘bite-size’ statements targeting a policy audience, commonly believed to be working under time duress. The growing tendency for complex scientific findings to be summarized into single sentences for policy briefs is case-in-point. These communiqués are often simplified, tend to emphasize quantitative detail, and fail to do justice to the messiness of climate change impacts as they are experienced by people and ecosystems in different parts of the globe (Castán Broto 2020 ; Hulme 2011a ). Because they also abstract from political context, they avoid grappling with the reality of implementation challenges, and reflecting essential ambiguities that would raise the level of debate and reflection.

The critique that climate change research needs to be open to ways of knowing other than the natural sciences is not new (Shah 2020 ; Heymann 2019 ; Rigg and Reyes Mason 2018 ; Victor 2015 ; Barnes et al.  2013 ; Hulme 2011a and b ; Jasanoff 2010 ), nor are the calls for interdisciplinarity (Bhaskar et al.  2010 ; Simonovic and Davies 2006 ) and inter-epistemology (Murphy 2011 ). Interdisciplinarity is understood as the collective efforts to tackle a single issue from multiple disciplinary perspectives. In particular, this cuts across the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Our purpose here is to take that message further. We argue that in the push for solutions to climate change, knowledge on climate change is expressed in simplified and narrow ways that privileges predictive natural sciences over interpretative qualitative social sciences and humanities, even when this knowledge is generated in ostensibly interdisciplinary interactions.

Yet, because solutions are context-dependent and therefore not universal, the interpretive sciences are necessary to identify feasible and effective solutions. For example, a qualitative and locally informed assessment of vulnerability in a specific location can help avoid the maladaptation that otherwise risks resulting from poorly designed blue-print adaptation strategies (Eriksen et al.  2021 ). Consequently, we need new ways of generating and communicating knowledge on climate change through an interdisciplinarity that does not limit our visions nor narrow the evidence base needed for problems rooted in the deep relationship between the biosphere and human systems. We underscore the intricacy between interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity influenced by the need for policy relevance that is based on the assessment of scientific knowledge, which creates a unique context for reflection on which knowledge is needed to address the climate crisis. This commentary thus offers a cautionary tale about the consequences of conducting nominally interdisciplinary climate change research and assessment under the pressure to generate solutions. We explain why pressure for action leads to reductionist approaches, comment critically on interdisciplinarity as it is currently practised, and offer reflections on a way forward for rethinking interdisciplinarity.

2 Pressure for solutions leads to reductionism

Embracing the complexity of climate change research means reflecting both the natural and the social world, investigating the ways we give meaning to each and examining how they interact with each other. This requires conversations across disciplines to allow for answering questions that a single disciplinary lens cannot fully explain. It also means dealing with the inherent epistemic tensions between the disciplines and greater engagement with difference, which can be a source of creativity and deep learning. There is now increasing agreement that qualitative approaches and diverse ontological models are also needed to understand climate change in specific contexts (Nightingale et al. 2020 ; Goldman et al.  2018 ; Hulme 2010 ). Such perspectives bring out a more complete picture of climate change impacts, the drivers of vulnerability, and opportunities for adaptation and mitigation (Howarth et al.  2018 ). But this can lead to messy, contradictory information that is at odds with the type of evidence that decision-makers require for their applied world. For example, rather than a narrative about who is more vulnerable to climate change in a specific location, decision-makers ask for vulnerability indicators that lump diverse populations together in typologies, forcing categorization even when some individuals would span multiple categories. As a consequence, there remains a strong tendency to focus on reductionist messages, i.e. ‘clean’ narratives that offer discreet pathways (Rigg and Reyes Mason 2018 ), by definition excluding alternative, conflicting approaches that stem from diverse knowledges, including indigenous knowledge (Murphy 2011 ; Ford et al.  2016 ; Farbotko and Lazrus 2012 ). To illustrate these points, we examine two ways in which current representations of climate change knowledge sideline interpretivist disciplines: the way that numbers embody the process of reductionism, and how lack of epistemological diversity also reinforces reductionism and prevents interdisciplinarity from taking place.

2.1 Numbers—not stories

Visual representations of science have a long history (Trumbo 2000 ). Numbers and graphics, which underpin such representations, undoubtedly have an impact in policy conversations, particularly by concretizing complicated information for non-experts and are frequently seen as a way to convey both quantitative and qualitative knowledge on climate change. The result is that often numbers get prioritized over stories. Indeed, the desire by governments for IPCC figures to express ideas simply (Thoni and Livingston 2019 ) suggests that decision-makers are attuned to reductionist messages to help them navigate the masses of climate change knowledge. This is problematic, as both graphics and numbers can oversimplify intricacy of science, and thereby become misused or misunderstood. One example is when the IPCC 1.5 °C report was widely misrepresented as saying that there were 12 years left to act to avert the climate catastrophe. In fact, the report stated that in order to stay under 1.5 °C warming, CO 2 emissions needed to be reduced by half by or before 2030 (i.e. 12 years away from 2018). This led to confusion about when and how to take policy action (Allen 2019 ; Boykoff and Pearman 2019 ; Dubash 2020 ), exacerbating climate anxieties and extreme views, increasing the political polarization on climate change, and generating friction among scientists regarding the most suitable way to frame climate change in communication.

The UNEP Gap Report produced annually since 2010 provides a good illustration of both the power and pitfalls of non-contextual quantitative representation (UNEP 2019 ; Höhne et al.  2020 ). The articulation of an emissions ‘gap’ has been a politically powerful tool, communicated through one number—the Gigaton gap—and one iconic figure with a range of scenarios. Each report provides examples of promising sectoral actions—energy efficiency, land use, urbanization, and more—to fill this gap. Yet, in each subsequent year, the gap has remained and even grown, leaving unasked, and unanswered, why mitigation potential does not seem to be realized. To do so would require going beyond the discussion of an emissions gap, rooted in science, modelling, and technology, to perhaps examine an ‘implementation gap’, focused on politics, policy studies, sociology, and anthropology. Specifically, it would require understanding, at minimum, the national and local politics of realizing low-carbon transitions, the institutions required to oversee those transitions, and the behavioural changes needed at the level of citizens. But these questions, and their answers, are not amenable to reductionist analysis or acontextual answers.

2.2 (Lack of) epistemological diversity

Since the 1st Assessment Report, published in 1990, the IPCC has come a long way toward diversifying the disciplines in authors, starting with only a handful of scholars outside of the natural sciences, to a more even balance across the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) with authors, including Coordinating Lead Authors, stemming from both social sciences and humanities to provide greater diversity of perspectives. This is important because Corbera et al. ( 2016 ) find that epistemological homogeneity among 5th Assessment Report Working Group III authors contributes to narrowing the range of viewpoints and understandings of solutions to climate change. Similarly, lack of disciplinary representation among IPCC authors contributes to unevenness in the literature and evidence assessed (e.g. Hulme and Mahony 2010 ). Bjurström and Polk ( 2011 : p. 543), for example, have found that the IPCC, rather than being seen as an interdisciplinary effort, was a ‘loose cooperation between disciplines with limited integration’.

But while bringing theories, methods, and practices from across the range of scholarly disciplines is one step toward interdisciplinarity (Freeth and Caniglia 2020 ), these efforts can fall flat when the different philosophical underpinnings—i.e. epistemological perspectives—clash and default to ‘disciplinary capture’ by a single perspective (Brister 2016 ). The problem lies with the way in which different disciplines are not provided equal opportunities to contribute to thinking about solutions in the IPCC. For example, while Working Group II is entitled ‘impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability’, vulnerability is given far less emphasis within the reports, and only became part of the focus in the Third Assessment Report in 2007. Consequently, those researchers working on vulnerability are often devalued by a perspective that emphasizes climate change impacts over the underlying drivers of vulnerability, such as poor development, gender inequality, or racism. Addressing this problem would require an acknowledgement that interdisciplinary approaches need to be a platform for epistemological diversity in order to move away from reductionism, rather than only an exercise in multi-disciplinary representation.

The politically sensitive issue of carbon removal technologies illustrates how the IPCC’s contents are influenced by the dominance of a reductionist perspective. As Vardy et al. ( 2017 ) describe, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM) techniques are controversial among both scientists and decision-makers due to the considerable known and potentially unknown risks with these measures. Some have observed that by even acknowledging the literature on CDR and SRM, the IPCC was validating a potentially dangerous approach (Gardiner and Fragnière 2018 ; Frumhoff and Stephens 2018 ). However, more importantly, the qualitative knowledge on social transformations that could have accompanied the carbon removal narrative in the IPCC scenarios was ‘almost impossible’ to model in a way that would have fit with the scenarios (Vardy et al.  2017 : p. 63). Thus, by forcing the knowledge to fit into a reductionist framing, valuable understandings of human behaviour were marginalized. This sends the message that humanity can continue extracting resources and using energy at an ever-accelerating pace without acknowledging that how resources are used will need to change. Even scaling up renewable energy production and use, undoubtedly an important part of the solution to climate change that does not challenge lifestyles and consumption behaviour, can become yet another form of technofix. Knowing that the IPCC has significant influence on scientific knowledge and directions of climate change research in general (Vasileiadou et al.  2011 ; Goldman et al.  2018 ), this could also be highly worrying.

In short, the search for solution-oriented, generalizable statements to guide policy lead to an emphasis on forms of knowledge emerging from natural sciences, technology studies, and economics. These understandings do not engage with questions around the social dynamics of climate resilient futures, examined through the social sciences and humanities disciplinary lenses, which engage more with the context-specific politics and the ‘wicked’ nature of the problem, nor with the narratives found in indigenous knowledge. Yet it is precisely contextual understandings that are salient to implementation challenges, particularly in a Paris Agreement world driven by explicitly contextual ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ to mitigation.

3 Revisiting—and rethinking—interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity is the go-to, unquestioned approach to gain more diverse perspectives, because it suggests the opportunity to consider a single problem from a variety of angles, and seek answers through multiple methodologies. However, collaboration is challenged by underlying differences in research methods, and fundamental epistemological disagreements about what constitutes knowledge needed for action. Indeed, whose model of knowledge should come at the forefront of deciding how society needs to respond to climate change? One can argue that ‘such matters are not climate science’ (Bendell 2020 ), rather that these lie in the domains of political science, sociology, or other human-focused disciplines. But if the nature of the challenge lies well beyond the scope of any single discipline, as climate change does, we have little choice but to grapple with these questions jointly. This is additionally complicated by growing policy pressures to filter statements from a political feasibility perspective. As a result, interdisciplinarity is not insulated from reductionism: quite to the contrary. In an effort to overcome these communications challenges, we often relate results in the form of familiar narratives, eliminating discipline-specific terms that convey the nuances of argument or evidence within the dialect of a single discipline and much meaning is lost.

Importantly, the willingness of all disciplines working on climate change to engage with each other is not a given. Even within the social sciences, competition between how to frame problems and design research means that collaborations can struggle to bear good results (Bracken and Oughton 2006 ). These clashes have left a room for a positivist worldview to dominate, consequently devaluing qualitative sciences and knowledges rooted in diverse epistemologies. The example of how indigenous knowledge has been sidelined from IPCC reports until recently even though many Indigenous Peoples are at the frontlines of climate change (García-del-Amo et al.  2020 ; Alexander et al.  2011 ) demonstrates how ontological disconnects create hierarchies of knowledge, whereby scientific knowledge that can be empirically measured is given greater validity. Encouragingly, there are efforts to link indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge (Alexander et al.  2011 ), most notably in the ongoing IPCC AR6. Yet, these processes should not just use indigenous knowledge to ‘validate’ empirical measurements of climate change. To represent such knowledge adequately requires shifting framings away from reductionist science and instead embracing that indigenous knowledge brings other and equally valid understandings of why climate change is happening and what consequences it has.

4 New directions for interdisciplinary climate research

We recognize the increasing importance of interdisciplinarity as the climate change crisis worsens (Mooney et al.  2013 ; Olsen et al.  2013 ). Research has already identified characteristics of effective interdisciplinary collaborations on climate change. For example, Bruine de Bruin and Morgan ( 2019 ) draw on a technique called ‘mental models’ to focus on reorienting collaborations around a common goal and a joint methodology, using improved communication between researchers and their audience, something also underscored by Leigh and Brown ( 2021 ) in their study in interdisciplinary projects. Klink et al. ( 2017 ) suggest that the key to good interdisciplinary work is continuous evaluation of how researchers interact with each other, the project and the outputs. While retaining our belief in the benefits of interdisciplinary work, and the virtues of encouraging these approaches among new generations of researchers, we also believe we have to do interdisciplinarity better. Here, we propose four interrelated components of a way forward.

First, we have to change the objective of our research from a quest for a unitary vision of the past, present, and future, toward plural and co-existing perspectives. Diverse simultaneous narratives provide greater opportunity for political creativity than single narratives. Indeed, Pearce et al. ( 2005 ) suggest that ‘dissensus’ as an entry point, rather than consensus, may allow for greater deliberative decision-making. Studies of the IPCC for example suggest that the search for consensus frequently leads IPCC documents to frame unhelpfully bland conclusions on precisely those issues that are of the greatest policy relevance, and therefore politically charged, losing an opportunity to contribute to learning and debate (Victor 2015 ; Vardy et al.  2017 ). This can stem directly from the way that natural and social scientists are forced to make compromises due to their inherently different framings (Vardy et al.  2017 ). Reflecting the co-existence of the different epistemologies grounding different disciplines allows for productive engagement by a broader cross section. For example, the idea behind large-scale implementation of renewable energy as a climate mitigation strategy needs to be framed in its wider social and environmental impacts. These may include mineral extraction as inputs for manufacturing of renewables with all their exploitative implications of poor communities upstream and land expropriation to make way for solar farms that bring localized problems in the interest of globalized solutions of emission reductions. At the point of renewable energy use, vast areas of land for the expansion of solar farms are likely to present competition over land, often occupied by poor communities, hence giving rise to localized challenges.

Second, we need to draw on more (epistemologically) diverse knowledge sources. An acceptance of contestation and contradiction requires a messier intellectual landscape of climate understanding that emerges from different disciplinary perspectives. This would acknowledge the need for ‘uncomfortable knowledge’ in policy making proposed by Rayner ( 2012 ). This means avoiding sanctifying one disciplinary formulation and instead juxtaposing multiple disciplinary formulations. This compels researchers to find new approaches to speak across disciplines, for example, not just drawing on knowledge about human behaviour that can easily be plugged into integrated assessment or other models. Our inherently diverse ways of understanding the world requires us to ask, and answer, questions in different and deeper ways. This epistemological diversity requires us to acknowledge that there are different understandings of what knowledge is, and that this influences how knowledge is constructed (Gobbo and Russo 2020 ) and whose knowledge counts (England 2015 ; Haraway 1988 ). Critically, this also implies a re-working of how researchers communicate with policymakers, the media, and the public. Expectations of definitively stated universalistic statements will need to give way to an appreciation for multiple, contextually embedded messages about future pathways and their implications.

Third, we need to invest more in qualitative research that examines human behaviour. To adequately respond to the call to action, we need to better understand the basis of human responses to climate change. In other words, we need a sound understanding of the implementation gap as much, if not more, than the emissions gap. To do so, we have to go beyond a technical understanding of the potential for mitigation and adaptation, and draw on the social sciences and humanities to explore the factors—political, sociological, and institutional—that help explain whether and how these potentials can actually be realized, as argued by Nightingale et al. ( 2020 ). A recent review shows that many adaptation projects are contributing to increased, rather than reduced, vulnerability to climate change due in part to poor understandings of local contexts where projects are being implemented (Eriksen et al.  2021 ). These findings suggest that adaptation strategies should not be prioritized based on indicators of their implementation feasibility; more important is the consideration of whether they actually reduce the impacts of climate change. Embracing contextual knowledge requires national and local understandings and, as such, works as a defence against reductionism.

Finally, we need to broaden the knowledge base for action-relevant decision-making on climate change—from the current mechanistic approach to setting targets and charting a course alone, to also creating an information base for more regular and informed course correction. Part of the answer lies in encouraging interdisciplinary approaches among new generations of climate change researchers. This also involves asking ‘who speaks for climate change?’ and lessening the focus on reductionist messages and materials. This shift in emphasis comes from a position of humility about future-looking projections, because while our collective behaviour fits certain patterns, it does not fall neatly into deterministic categories. Who could, for instance, have predicted the scale and impact of the Fridays for the Future movement, substantially stimulated by one young pioneer, a feat well-funded NGOs that have been protesting climate change for decades were not able to achieve? Or the lessons about preparedness that we are learning from the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. Schipper et al.  2020 )? In addition to research that allows us to chart a course, we need a climate science that allows us to react flexibly to new developments, and holistically embrace the links between climate change, climate change policy action, and civil society uprisings such as the Black Lives Matter movement (e.g. Sigwalt 2020 ).

The climate debate requires careful quantitative analysis, without doubt. While there is widespread assumption that numerical values can speak a universal language, reductionist messages can easily be misunderstood and misused if they are stripped of the social and political dimensions within which they are framed—or even worse, if they emerge out of assessment that has marginalized such dimensions. We argue here that current mainstream approaches to interdisciplinarity result in limiting overall contributions from the social sciences and humanities to knowledge on climate change. First, it tends to induce all disciplines to assimilate reductionist sciences, tempted by the incentive that the resultant messages may be more palatable to natural scientists for the purposes of collaboration, consequently eliminating the richness otherwise contributed by these scholars. Second, it may alienate talented qualitative researchers who feel their work is less valued from climate change research, or who cannot find a common entry point for their knowledge. To find adequate solutions to climate change, we need to not only embrace inputs from all disciplines, but also to reframe the questions we ask and the approaches we pursue if we are to inform action without slipping into reductionist framings. To do so, this requires rethinking interdisciplinarity by welcoming a plurality of narratives, embracing multiple disciplinary perspectives, understanding human systems that mediate action better, and actively seeking knowledge that enables adaptive response to surprises.

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Acknowledgements

The authors benefited from conversations with Brigitte Knopf and Heide Hackmann as co-members of the UN Secretary-General’s Science Advisory Group for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, and from comments and conversations with Lauren Rickards and Jamie Haverkamp, and constructive comments by three anonymous reviewers.

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Schipper, E.L.F., Dubash, N.K. & Mulugetta, Y. Climate change research and the search for solutions: rethinking interdisciplinarity. Climatic Change 168 , 18 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-03237-3

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Green is the new black: exploring how a philosophical approach to the fashion industry will reduce its environmental impact.

Darion A. Gibbs , CUNY Bernard M Baruch College Follow

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The fashion industry is the third largest contributor to pollution globally, behind only oil and agriculture. It also accounts for one-fifth of the plastic produced annually. Despite its impact, it is hard to trace accountability. For example, mega-retailers often outsource production to developing countries, without strong structures of accountability for their environmental impact. In addition, companies often claim to be environmentally sustainable, but it is easy to inflate the truth, and entities designed to protect consumers have limited enforcement. In this context, who should be held responsible for the fashion industry’s contribution to climate change?

In response, this thesis delves into the environmental repercussions of the fashion industry through the prism of global distributive justice. The objective is to establish mechanisms for holding the industry accountable for its climate change contributions. The research confronts these challenges by leveraging the frameworks of international and domestic environmental justice, and applying philosophical perspectives to the unique context of the fashion industry. The investigation aims to unravel how the fashion sector evolved into one of the planet's major polluters and seeks the most equitable means of instigating transformative change.

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Gibbs, Darion A., "Green is the New Black: Exploring How a Philosophical Approach to the Fashion Industry Will Reduce Its Environmental Impact" (2023). CUNY Academic Works. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/bb_etds/196

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Climate change and peacebuilding: sub-themes of an emerging research agenda

This research was supported by the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS), Hiroshima University.

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Florian Krampe, Dylan O'Driscoll, McKenzie Johnson, Dahlia Simangan, Farah Hegazi, Cedric de Coning, Climate change and peacebuilding: sub-themes of an emerging research agenda, International Affairs , Volume 100, Issue 3, May 2024, Pages 1111–1130, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae057

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Climate change is having profound effects on global security and peacebuilding efforts. While existing research has mainly focused on the link between climate change and conflict, it has largely overlooked the complex interplay between climate change, conflict-affected states and peacebuilding. Climate change exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in conflict-affected societies by adding stress to livelihoods and negatively impacting food, water and energy security. This is particularly concerning as climate change is often felt most acutely in settings where public institutions are already failing to meet the population's needs. Consequently, climate change can contribute to exacerbating grievances and hinder the ability to maintain, reinforce and build peace. Although practitioners in the peacebuilding field are beginning to respond to the effects of climate change, academic research has not adequately addressed the question of how climate change affects peacebuilding and how peacebuilding strategies can respond effectively. To fill this gap, a multidisciplinary approach drawing from climate security, environmental peacebuilding, environmental studies, and peace and conflict studies is needed in order to develop a research agenda that encompasses the intersections of climate change and peacebuilding. By recognizing the importance of climate change in peacebuilding efforts, this research agenda aims to provide critical insights and guide future studies.

Climate change is rapidly altering the global security landscape; its security implications are highly diverse and pose a host of complex challenges. 1 Climate change is also shifting the dynamics of peacebuilding. 2 In many conflict-affected and post-conflict societies the effects of climate change place additional stress on livelihoods and create harmful outcomes which exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in food, water and energy security. This often takes place in settings where public sector institutions are failing to answer the population's needs, even before they have been compounded by the impacts of climate change. Consequently, climate change can also contribute to exacerbating grievances. In this regard, the effects of climate change influence the ability to sustain, reinforce and build peace.

Peacebuilding research must take this into consideration. 3 At the same time, making climate adaptation initiatives conflict-sensitive and peace-positive can have peace dividends, and making peacebuilding more climate-/environment-sensitive can lead to more synergies and co-benefits that can enhance the effects and sustainability of climate adaptation and related initiatives. Much of the existing research on climate-related security risks, however, has focused predominantly on the limited question of whether or how climate change causes conflict. 4 This limited focus has meant that scholars frequently overlook the double burden of states and societies caught between climate change and ongoing conflict. 5 Currently, very few studies look at three critical and related research areas—the impacts of climate change on peacebuilding efforts; the impact of climate change on the prospects for building and sustaining peace in conflict-affected states; and how peacebuilding and climate adaptation actions can be mutually beneficial and compounding. 6

In contrast, peacebuilding practitioners have begun responding to the security implications of climate change, as they see first-hand how it affects communities' relations with each other and how it undermines the mandate of peacebuilding missions. 7 The gap in attention from research is a concern, because 1) there is a strong overlap between the locations of conflict, fragility and climate change; 8 and 2) as the few existing studies indicate, the double burden of violent conflict and climate change is already making peacebuilding more complicated. 9 Part of the problem is that the interaction between climate change and peacebuilding is a topic that stretches over multiple academic disciplines. To that end, we draw from co-authors' expertise in research on climate security, environmental peacebuilding and peacebuilding to offer a critical perspective on what we know and what we do not yet know about the connection between climate change and peacebuilding. Building on identified gaps and tensions in the current academic debate on peacebuilding, we bring four core sub-themes into the conversation in a new research agenda on climate change and peacebuilding: 1) climate change and peacebuilding discourse and norm development; 2) climate change and effectiveness of peace operations; 3) climate change and local peacebuilding; and 4) climate change and hybrid peacebuilding. Within each theme we use existing knowledge from the discipline of environmental peacebuilding. We have chosen these themes as they are areas within the peacebuilding literature that have evolved as key research streams over the past decade. For each sub-theme, we outline key findings and highlight where future research is needed in an area that is growing rapidly in importance. In taking the basic principle that peacebuilding cannot be considered to comprehensively address peace without taking into account the effects of climate change, we see this agenda as critical to the study of peacebuilding.

The article starts with a sketch of the emerging field, looking at peacebuilding, environmental peacebuilding, and climate change and security. Through sketching the field, the article highlights major gaps in existing research: this analysis is then used to build our four themes to push the research agenda forward. The article concludes with implications for future research.

In this section we briefly review the literature on peacebuilding, climate security and environmental peacebuilding. We review the current state of knowledge and identify key research trends. Our review suggests that in peacebuilding scholarship, considerations of the double burden of climate and conflict are often absent, while in climate security scholarship, considerations of peacebuilding are similarly absent. Despite its potential to bring these research areas together, environmental peacebuilding has not yet effectively done so.

Peacebuilding

Peacebuilding is defined in early literature as the pursuit of peace by addressing the root causes of conflict and incorporating local capacities. 10 It is a comprehensive concept covering various processes, approaches and stages of conflict resolution. 11 The surge in civil wars in the aftermath of the Cold War and international security concerns over the consequences of ‘state failure’ or ‘state collapse’ justified liberal interventionism. The question of how to build and sustain peace in conflict-affected and post-conflict societies led to some propositions being rooted in the Kantian argument that liberal polities and economies have a pacifying effect because of democratic representation and transnational interdependence. 12 The United Nations acknowledged the link between strong democratic institutions and stable peace and security in the 1992 Agenda for peace , 13 and this position has been reiterated in subsequent reports by the UN Secretary-General. As such, from the 1990s the mandates of the UN peacekeeping operations that were deployed often included conducting elections, strengthening the rule of law and promoting economic growth, among other tasks. With respect to the environment, peacebuilders focused almost exclusively on securitizing valuable natural resources thought to contribute to violent conflict. 14 Liberal peacebuilding, guided by the assumption that liberal democratic institutions and market-oriented policies can sustain peace and development in conflict-affected societies, has been a defining feature of UN peace interventions since then. 15

However, incidents of conflict relapse and reversals to authoritarianism in some countries that have hosted UN peacekeeping operations raised doubts about the effectiveness and legitimacy of liberal peacebuilding. Even the UN has admitted that it is not in the best position to lead the process for sustaining peace, but can only assist or facilitate national stakeholders. 16 Peace and conflict scholars have contributed to this critical discourse on peacebuilding, with some even characterizing the failure of the UN to sustain peace as an ideological decline of liberal peacebuilding. 17 Arguments against liberal peacebuilding can be summarized as either critical or problem-solving. The critical view emphasizes the western roots of liberal peace and questions its compatibility with local contexts. 18 Meanwhile, the problem-solving critique does not necessarily reject the liberal peace assumptions; rather, it scrutinizes the implementation of peace in conflict-affected societies. 19 These critiques have led to several ‘turns’ in peacebuilding research, prominently paved by the local and hybrid approaches to building peace. The ‘local turn’—or the move to understand both peace and conflict within the context of the influence local actors have on it, as well as on local voices and local lived experiences—has been the most significant development in the study of peacebuilding over the past decade. 20 It calls for bottom-up peacebuilding approaches that are situated in and informed by societal and cultural contexts at the subnational level in contrast to the top-down implementation of internationally led interventions. 21 Since local realities and aspirations may differ from those of international actors, relevant actors may interact through accommodation, cooperation, compromise or resistance, resulting in hybrid peace. 22 The local turn includes many strands, such as: local perceptions of peace; the arts, including graffiti; bottom-up peacebuilding; everyday peace and conflict; the urban; the economy; culture and many others. 23 While the environment has been highlighted as a critical topic for local engagement, 24 climate change is distinctly missing within the broader local peace literature, even though it has very local consequences.

However, peacebuilding actors across the spectrum, and local and international NGOs, are increasingly facing climate-related security risks in the field. 25 For example, the vast majority (circa 80 per cent) of the personnel deployed to UN peace operations are deployed in countries likely to be disproportionately affected by climate change; thus, peacebuilding cannot ignore the impacts of such change. 26

Climate security

Understanding of climate-related security risks has progressed substantially in recent years. 27 Although there remains considerable neglect of research in certain regions, 28 and climate change is hardly the only risk factor that leads to conflict or its aggravation, 29 a large body of qualitative and quantitative studies from different disciplines shows that increased vulnerability as a result of climate change can increase the risk of violence as it interacts with specific social, political and economic contexts. 30 Among other drivers, this scholarship indicates that climate change undermines human livelihoods and security by increasing a population's vulnerabilities, grievances and political tensions through an array of indirect—at times non-linear—pathways, thereby increasing human insecurity and the risk of violent conflict, beyond armed conflict. 31 Climate change will contribute to human insecurity in a number of areas, including water security, food security, migration and geopolitical stability—not least through the necessary transition to clean energy. 32

Well-functioning and adaptive institutions can, however, reduce the likelihood of climate-related conflict and improve human security. 33 Marwa Daoudy contends that government policy can ameliorate or exacerbate insecurities related to climate change. 34 Moreover, our ability to equitably address insecurity both internally and internationally—for instance, through technological innovation and deployment—is critical to mitigate such insecurity. 35 The importance of the state in combating the risks posed by climate change is also reflected in the adoption by several states of climate-related security risks in their Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement and in their National Adaptation Plans, which determine a country's adaptation planning for the coming years. 36

Environmental peacebuilding

The field of environmental peacebuilding emerged to counter the idea that natural resources and the environment primarily or mostly contribute to violent conflict . Instead, scholars argued that environmental cooperation could contribute to peacebuilding along a continuum of negative to positive peace. 37 In a recent review, Tobias Ide and colleagues defined environmental peacebuilding as comprising ‘the multiple approaches and pathways by which the management of environmental issues is integrated in and can support conflict prevention, mitigation, resolution and recovery’. 38 Other reviews have attempted to refine environmental peacebuilding theory by identifying the mechanism linking environment to peace both in interstate and intrastate contexts. 39 Of the mechanisms identified, environmental peacebuilders have prioritized five as particularly important for peacebuilding: fostering livelihood security; building institutions with a focus on equity and inclusion; developing shared interests; enhancing resource sustainability; and building resource-related knowledge. 40

While environmental peacebuilding scholarship is well positioned to examine climate change in its relation to peace and conflict, the field has been relatively slow to engage with topics involving the way in which climate change affects peacebuilding. Early work by Richard Matthew argued both that climate change was critical to consider in peacebuilding and that climate change adaptation and mitigation have been historically excluded from peacebuilding activities. 41 Matthew's research suggested three broad opportunities to integrate climate change into peacebuilding: 1) identifying climate-sensitive sectors in conflict-affected contexts via cross-scale planning; 2) engaging in climate-sensitive general capacity-building (e.g. creating adaptation tools or best practices); and 3) building adaptation/mitigation capacity by fostering bilateral, regional or global cooperation between conflict actors or states. 42 Matthew emphasized, in line with the evolving nature of peacebuilding theory, a need to ensure that climate change adaptation in peacebuilding contexts is ‘responsive to the needs, values, experiences, knowledge, and assets of the communities that will be affected by it’. 43 Randall Amster, on the other hand, posited that the global nature of climate change serves to create a mutual struggle among nations that can itself unify states to act against a common threat. 44 From this perspective, countries likely to experience similar climate-related impacts are more likely to come together in search of common solutions.

Jon Barnett emphasized that institution-building is critical for making states more resilient to the potential for climate-related conflict. In particular, the presence of strong social institutions can reduce environmental vulnerability and enhance ecological resilience, thereby creating and sustaining peaceful societies that are resilient to disruptions from climate change. 45 Building on these insights, Hanna Leonardsson et al. propose a framework for transformative climate adaptation governance , which they argue can foster more peaceful societies ‘through the identification of socially just sustainable governance across scales that is inclusive, needs-based and adaptive to local agencies’. 46 In line with local and hybrid peacebuilding, such an approach advocates for prioritizing local needs and capacities, especially as they come into contact with global expert knowledge and technology.

Despite recognizing a ‘scarcity’ of climate change and environmental peacebuilding research, Daniel Abrahams argues that filling in the gap will be challenging. Citing recent work in Uganda, for instance, he argues that the complex scalar and temporal aspects of how climate change affects local landscapes make it difficult for actors located across different scales to identify and agree on how to prioritize and address such effects. This has hindered the integration of climate–conflict priorities into peacebuilding programming. 47 Nevertheless, this research suggests that reframing climate discourse to encompass ‘a wider spatial and discursive conceptualization’ that highlights opportunities for cooperation and peace can, in part, address some of these challenges. 48 Our approach, centred on discourse/norm development, the effectiveness of peace operations, local peacebuilding and hybrid peacebuilding, seeks to help fill this gap.

Climate change and peacebuilding—a major gap in research

While some early work that is emerging in environmental peacebuilding has begun looking explicitly at the intersection of climate change and peacebuilding, much more is needed. In this section, we identify four overarching gaps in the literature. First, more research is required on how to effectively integrate climate change into peacebuilding work. Although studies highlight the concentration of peacebuilding in countries and regions vulnerable to climate change impacts, existing peacebuilding activities often neglect climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. Efforts to integrate climate change into peacebuilding should focus on socio-economic recovery, politics and governance, security and rule of law, and human rights. 49 Furthermore, Héctor Morales-Muñoz and colleagues advocate for the coordination of climate action and peacebuilding. 50 They highlight the importance of integrating efforts and programmes at different scales, including climate and conflict risk assessments, land and water resource management, ecosystem restoration, nature-based adaptation, sustainable agriculture, natural resources governance and market development. Such coordinated actions generate co-benefits, such as increased social cohesion and livelihood creation. Paul Diehl examines the potential of mainstreaming climate change concerns into peace operations. 51 Early warning systems and preventive deployments can adapt peacekeeping strategies to proactively address climate change impacts. Post-conflict peacebuilding strategies that incorporate climate change concerns can promote sustainable programmes and mitigate environmental degradation. These strategies represent important steps in integrating climate change into peace operations, although further exploration is required.

Second, and relatedly, few studies have applied an empirical lens to the impact of climate change on peacebuilding efforts. Karolina Eklöw and Florian Krampe analyse the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and highlight the adverse effects of climate change on livelihoods, migration and vulnerability, hindering peacebuilding and governance efforts. 52 Farah Hegazi, Florian Krampe and Elizabeth Smith examine the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and emphasize the impact of climate change on natural-resource-based livelihoods, human security, grievances and marginalization. 53 These scholars emphasize that the effects of climate change pose challenges for peacebuilding because they exacerbate insecurity. They also find that peacebuilding actors face challenges in addressing the consequences of climate change on peacebuilding for various reasons, such as the need to prioritize their activities according to their mandate and budget, a lack of capacity, and poor coordination between peacebuilding and development actors. On the other hand, the research also emphasizes that policy responses to climate-related security risks create opportunities for sustaining peace, since, for example, they can provide legitimacy for a government or offer people alternative livelihood sources, both of which are important for building as well as sustaining peace.

Third, we require a broader conceptualization of the relationship between climate change, conflict and peace, beyond notions that it acts as a driver of conflict or threat multiplier. Even when the security implications of climate change are considered in development programming, the perspective that actors take is one of climate change increasing the risk of conflict, rather than climate change being an opportunity for peacebuilding, or how addressing climate change can affect peacebuilding. Not only does this gap have research implications, because we do not know how climate change is already affecting peacebuilding at the present time, but it also has policy and practical implications, because it limits the ways in which the effects of climate change can be addressed.

Finally, research on how to manage the effects of climate change shows that adaptation can have unintended negative consequences that can backfire, create additional conflict and undermine peacebuilding. For instance, in underdeveloped, fragile contexts such as Afghanistan, the local-level side effects of climate adaptation and mitigation projects might result in different development outcomes and put into question the potential for supporting efforts to build sustainable peace. The unanticipated effects of increased water scarcity because of poor water management of a new hydropower dam in Afghanistan's Herat province increased grievances among local communities and made the likelihood of communal violence greater. 54 Such outcomes undermined peacebuilding efforts in the country. In Myanmar, large-scale hydropower and agricultural expansion projects have been relabelled as climate adaptation and mitigation interventions to allow the government to continue with its development plans and to rationalize dispossessing communities of their livelihoods. Such an approach has led to increasing tension over land in conflict-affected regions in Myanmar, potentially undermining broader peacebuilding efforts. 55 Given the clearer understanding of the intertwined nature of climate change, security and development—especially in fragile and conflict-affected regions—a rethinking of how to transfer this knowledge to policy solutions is necessary for the formulation of climate-resilient peacebuilding plans and programmes.

The few existing studies highlighted above note that there is a key research gap in empirical studies that specifically examine the impacts of climate change with respect to peacebuilding. To address this gap, we suggest four research areas that will provide necessary empirical insights that link to research on both peacebuilding and climate change.

In this section, we outline four sub-themes which must form part of a research agenda that bridges climate change and peacebuilding. In each case, the research should examine the outcomes of climate change, both in general, and as a security issue, with respect to:

The discourse around peacebuilding—and the associated development of norms around peacebuilding;

The effectiveness of formal peacebuilding efforts, specifically in terms of the operational resilience of international peacekeeping operations and special political missions, and the impact that climate issues have on mandate fulfilment for these missions;

Local and everyday peace, and what peace means at the local level;

Hybrid peace outcomes, as peacebuilding interventions bring about tensions between norms and practice that produce more divergent outcomes than intended.

We do not claim that these sub-themes are exclusive or sufficient. The ways in which climate change variously affects humanitarian interventions, the Responsibility to Protect and disaster diplomacy are notable topics that deserve attention but that fall outside the narrower scope of this article. The chosen sub-themes align with four of the major themes in the academic peacebuilding literature (norms, effectiveness, local/everyday peace and hybridity). In addition, based on the different disciplines from which the authors come (peace and conflict research, climate security, environmental peacebuilding and environmental governance), these themes are the most relevant in providing a comprehensive examination of the field and offering ideas for future research. Below, we sketch out a brief overview of each sub-theme and give suggestions for core research questions and approaches within each.

Climate change, peacebuilding discourse and international norm development

Climate change and its implications for peacebuilding have become increasingly significant topics within international discourse and norm development. 56 The expansion of the peace and security agenda within the UN has gone beyond the traditional focus on liberal peacebuilding and now includes transitional justice, reconciliation, human development, poverty alleviation and the inclusion of groups such as women, youth and marginalized communities. 57 Additionally, there is growing recognition of the interconnection between natural resources, the environment and peacebuilding. 58 While several studies have started to explore climate change and security within the UN Security Council (UNSC), 59 the discourse surrounding climate change and peacebuilding in the UNSC remains underexplored. A closer examination of UNSC resolutions mandating UN peace operations and their evolution over time can shed light on the development of discourse, agency and norms related to climate, peace and security. 60 This is important to understand, because such discourses and norms have practical implications for whether and how the repercussions of climate change on peacebuilding are addressed by major peacebuilding actors. The UNSC is one of the most important global actors in the maintenance of international peace and security. 61 The UNSC's understanding of climate-related security risks, therefore, affects the type of international response, or lack thereof, to the peace and security consequences of climate change.

Furthermore, analysing and understanding the discourse, norms and understandings of UNSC member states themselves is important because the member states constitute the Security Council, so their priorities and conceptions will affect whether and how the issue is addressed within the UNSC. 62 They all take different approaches to climate-related security risks. This is reflected in how the UNSC as an institution understands the concept and the discourse surrounding such risks. And, since the composition of the UNSC changes each year, when five new non-permanent members are elected, understanding how the discourse changes because of this turnover could inform reflection about how to create continuity as membership changes, and could generate insight into potential entry-points for building the UNSC's understanding of climate change, peace and security.

In addition to within the UNSC, the link between climate change and security has gained increasing attention within the wider UN peacebuilding architecture. Yet, there is a lack of specific research on the peacebuilding architecture. Given the varying mandates of different entities, exploring the diffusion of climate-related security risks as norms within, for example, the UN's Peacebuilding Commission, Peacebuilding Fund and Peacebuilding Support Office can provide valuable insights into how each of these incorporates climate-related security risks into its discourse and policies. Analysing how the discourse has evolved over time would provide valuable insights into the normative diffusion of climate change and security within the UN system, and, in particular, whether norm cascades are discernible. This analysis could be further linked to broader discussions on the emergence of resilience thinking in the context of climate change and peacebuilding. Understanding how resilience concepts are integrated into the discourse can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the evolving norms and their implications.

Research on the discourse and international norm development surrounding climate change and peacebuilding thus offers valuable insights that can be synergistic with existing peacebuilding literature 63 and with the field of global environmental governance, which focuses on international institutions, norms and mechanisms addressing environmental issues. This interdisciplinary link facilitates the exploration of how actors, norms and structures interact within global environmental governance and peacebuilding contexts, and is crucial for understanding the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating climate change and peacebuilding into existing governance structures. It is evident that transnational or global norms do not automatically align with national and local ones, leading to tensions and differences. The same is true in peacebuilding (see the subsection below on ‘Hybrid peacebuilding’). Analysing the discourse on climate change and peacebuilding is necessary to explore the tensions and potential hybrid outcomes arising from clashes between local and international norms. This understanding is crucial for effective peacebuilding efforts in the context of climate change, as it enables the promotion of coherence between different scales of normative frameworks. The resulting need to hybridize, combine, or indigenize norms is essential to navigate and address these challenges effectively.

Climate change and effectiveness of peace operations

Peace operations undertaken by the UN, or regional organizations like the African Union (AU) and European Union, represent a formal or institutionalized intervention undertaken by an international organization on behalf of a collection of states to influence a particular conflict situation in a state or region. Peace operations in this context include multidimensional military, police and civilian operations that are mandated to use force, such as peacekeeping or peace enforcement operations, as well as special political missions that do not have a coercive mandate. 64 Research on the effectiveness of peace operations in the face of climate change is essential for these peace operations. Climate change requires action on multiple levels, including the state level, but statebuilding has not been very successful for peacebuilders. It is thus important to understand how we address the need to ‘build’ the state to meet the challenge of climate change without undermining the state's legitimacy in society and without adversely affecting local ownership.

In the context of the effectiveness of peace operations, there are three core areas where further research could be undertaken: 1) the impact climate change has on the peace operations' mandates, and their work; 2) the need to develop adequate responses on the part of peace operations in these contexts; and 3) understanding of the negative impacts peace operations have on the environment and of how they might be mitigated, as well as how this mitigation can exacerbate conflicts and tensions.

Climate-related extreme weather events can also affect the ability of peace operations to carry out their mandated tasks. For example, flooding has on occasion prevented peacekeepers from reaching communities in need of protection when the vehicles they had available were unable to cross flooded roads. However, where peacekeepers had amphibious vehicles, or the engineering capability to build or fix bridges, they have been able to continue their operations and to assist others, such as humanitarian agencies, to reach communities in need. It is thus important that those who plan peacekeeping missions, at headquarters and in the field, and those who prepare, equip and provide troops for peace operations, consider the extent to which a particular region is exposed to climate change, and the demands this is likely to place on peacekeeping personnel in terms of equipment and preparedness.

Peace operations also need to adapt to climate change by incorporating its effects into their understanding of the conflicts they are mandated to prevent and manage. Research into the factors that influence the effectiveness of peace operations when they set out to attempt to influence those conflicts, including how they can identify the stakeholders they engage with, how climate change may affect their own ability to carry out their mandated tasks (especially critical, life-saving tasks like protecting civilians and supporting humanitarian assistance), as well as how they can engage in peacebuilding amid increased migration as a result of climate change, will thus be of practical relevance for institutions like the UN, AU, EU and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as well as for governments of countries that contribute personnel to peace operations. Peace operations do engage with climate-related security risks to different extents and at different levels (individual, unit, operational and so on). More empirical research is needed to understand what they do and why, as well as what factors limit or support responses. Additionally, it is important to understand the level of interaction/cooperation between the leadership and the mission team on the effects of climate change.

Peace operations themselves may also have negative effects on the host country environment. For instance, in Mali MINUSMA has faced criticism for its adverse environmental impact, exacerbating existing grievances against the mission. The extraction of groundwater without regulation has led to the depletion of local water resources, affecting the local population's access to water and increasing food prices. This environmental issue has resulted in protests and a loss of trust in MINUSMA among the local community. 65 In such contexts, however, it may be possible to find ways of mitigating missions' environmental impacts. For example, power purchase agreements (PPAs) provide a positive counterpoint. This model, exemplified by initiatives such as the development of a hybrid solar power plant in Baidoa, Somalia, and the installation of a solar hub in the Malakal Protection of Civilians site for internally displaced persons in South Sudan, demonstrates how UN peace operations can address climate security challenges while minimizing negative environmental impacts. By partnering with private sector developers of renewable energy, the PPAs allow the UN to support renewable energy projects without incurring upfront financing costs, thus reducing the strain on local resources and fostering sustainable energy access. This approach can also contribute to building trust and support for peacekeeping missions by actively addressing environmental concerns and promoting the well-being of local communities. 66 As climate change will alter the availability and quality of natural resources in geographic space, thus undermining a foundational building block for environmental peacebuilding—the building of a shared identity around resource management—it is important to understand how to tailor peace operations to uncertain space and scale.

Climate change and local and hybrid peacebuilding

The promotion of western democracy and a capitalist economy, embedded in liberal peacebuilding efforts, has been criticized for failing to sustain peace in conflict-affected societies. Rapid democratization and unregulated marketization can renew or incite new sources of conflict in attempts to (re)build a conflict-affected society in the image of a western liberal state. Top-down and internationally led peacebuilding that is insensitive to local contexts can exacerbate the underlying structures that led to violence and conflict in the first place. 67 In opposition to the liberal peace agenda, two interconnected research strands have developed, namely local peace and hybrid peace.

Local peacebuilding Although the effects of climate change are global, they are more likely to influence conflict at the local, rather than national or international levels. Competition for resources (such as water), land issues due to climate-related forced migration and livelihood challenges, for example, are all more likely to play out at the local level. 68 It is therefore imperative to understand whether and how the effects of climate change have changed what peace means at the local level, and how to situate these effects within peacebuilding. Taking into consideration that there is not always a direct link between national capacities and the local level it is also important to understand local conflict-mitigating mechanisms and methods of adaptation, and local dialogue/mediation initiatives to leverage existing practices (and in turn ensure local ownership) to help prevent the consequences of climate change from leading to conflict or worsening existing conflict dynamics.

Mirroring the hubris of top-down and western-centric design of international peacebuilding, some aspects of environmental peacebuilding also tend to be too technocratic and prescriptive in carrying out positivist approaches to knowledge production and implementing the liberal assumptions of peace. 69 In fact, when risks are left unmanaged, environmental peacebuilding could have unintended consequences, such as depoliticizing conflicts, displacement, discrimination, conflict escalation and even environmental degradation. 70 Some of the observations and recommendations in environmental peacebuilding scholarship fall short of engaging with local agencies and integrating local perspectives. As a result, these externally driven technocratic solutions are detached from the political institutions, social structures, culture and traditions, and economic realities of conflict-affected societies. They sometimes fail to recognize that intractable conflicts have created path dependencies that lead to environmental stressors and deter structural changes. These conditions also limit ordinary people's options for peace and environmental sustainability. Fortunately, more recent studies on the climate–conflict nexus highlight the complex network of actors and interests, especially at the local level. 71

It has also been recognized recently that bottom-up approaches to environmental peacebuilding could transform our understanding of the complex and indirect relationship between climate and conflict. 72 The local turn in peacebuilding and its focus on local context, agency and inclusion is well placed to address the above criticisms and provide guidance, 73 but can in itself also be enriched by research efforts on climate change and peacebuilding. Yet, as already highlighted, despite growing in conceptual terms over the past decade, the local turn largely ignores the effects of climate change. This is a considerable gap in the local turn, as—beyond its local impact—climate change impacts are growing considerably, heavily affecting the most vulnerable, and are predominant in conflict-affected countries and localities. 74 It is thus important that research within the local turn considers how pre-existing local drivers of peace can be developed and supported to prevent the consequences of climate change from leading to, or exacerbating, conflict, and how policy-makers and practitioners can ensure that peacebuilding initiatives that consider the impacts of climate change are truly local, rather than being internationally formulated programmes involving local actors.

At the same time, climate impacts need to be incorporated into existing peacebuilding initiatives. However, to do this it is necessary to examine how to prioritize limiting the effects of climate change when local communities are facing multiple shocks. For international peacebuilders, the local community often consists in those actors to whom they have the best access, rather than those who would be the best to drive peace. 75 This poses the dual question of who is the local community, in the peacebuilding/climate impacts sense, and how international actors can best engage with them. In the climate security field, research around this question has been ambiguous. While stressing local agency, 76 key policy frameworks frame environmental peacebuilding in ways that reinforce power inequalities and favour international ownership rather than local agency. 77 Nonetheless, to be sustainable in its practice, peacebuilding needs to move beyond the local and gain support on multiple levels, and the scale of focus needs to be understood in terms of what is necessary to build peace and limit climate impacts. 78

Finally, both conflict and the effects of climate change exacerbate existing inequalities, with the most vulnerable being the most affected. Yet, the most marginalized are often left behind in peacebuilding and peace processes—hence, the ‘leave no one behind’ principle is central to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Peacebuilding research which takes the effects of climate change into consideration needs to understand who bears the burdens of climate-related challenges in communities. In addition, taking account of the gendered impacts of climate change, 79 it needs to consider how the gendered roles of different actors affect their perceptions and actions related to existing conflict, and, finally, how the active and valued participation of these marginalized actors can be ensured.

Hybrid peacebuilding Despite attempts by external actors to export liberal peace, local actors have the agency to contextualize, negotiate, resist or even reject international norms, practices and institutions, resulting in a hybrid form of peace. 80 Hybrid peace is the outcome of accommodation, cooperation or compromise between international and local agents, networks and structures of peacebuilding. 81 Breaking away from a binary understanding of the international/global and the local, hybrid peace represents the ‘juxtaposition between international norms and interests and local forms of agency and identity’. 82 Climate change is likely to reconfigure the norms and power relations that influence the conditions for peace or conflict. It will bring about tensions between the global and local norms and practices on peacebuilding and climate action. It is therefore crucial to understand how the impacts of, and proposed solutions to, climate change can potentially bring about peace or conflict from these international/global and local encounters in peacebuilding. The scholarship on hybrid peace can help inform future research and policy directions in recognizing and integrating local agency into global solutions to climate change and conflict.

In addition to the call in the previous subsection for research on climate change and peacebuilding to engage with local agencies and integrate local perspectives, future research and policy directions must be cognizant of existing power asymmetries that undermine the relevance and effectiveness of peacebuilding and climate action. A lack of such awareness could result in new or reinforced power asymmetries, feeding a vicious cycle of conflicts and risks. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation practices are relevant and considerate of local norms and power dynamics.

Contrary to the programmatic design of peacebuilding, hybrid peacebuilding focuses on the processes of peace formation; it is adaptive to uncertainty and reflexive to the most vulnerable to conflict and climate change. 83 The concept of hybridity is a reminder to constantly reconsider and reassess the myriad actors and factors involved in these processes. Peacebuilding is a complex and non-linear process. In addition, it is driven by dynamic interactions and evolving systems. 84 In the context of climate change, peacebuilding efforts must recognize and escape these path dependencies by breaking down institutional silos and programmatic objectives. This could be done by welcoming non-western norms and methodologies that could enhance or radically change existing practices on building peace and mitigating the effects of climate change. Many local and indigenous norms and practices on peacemaking and reconciliation have been delegitimized by externally driven peacebuilding processes. 85 Similarly, ecologically aligned ontologies and environmentally sustainable practices found in many Indigenous communities are either tokenized or romanticized, instead of empowered, in much of the global discussion on climate action. 86 How do we incorporate local knowledge and norms on peace and nature into efforts that combine peacebuilding and climate action? This is a question that technocrats alone cannot answer without meaningful and respectful interaction with consenting local, Indigenous and marginalized groups/communities.

Hybrid peace is not just an amalgamation of agencies and norms, but also a plot in the long and overlapping histories of peace and conflict. Climate change is one of the global transformations confirming the entanglement of natural and human history. 87 Hence, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners need to accommodate the legacies of colonialism, racism and other forms of oppression in societies that have experienced or are experiencing widespread conflict and are also highly exposed to climate change risks. For instance, colonial expansion ‘prompted unsustainable means of resource extraction and disrupted indigenous ways of living in nature’, 88 stunting institutional and financial capacities for resilience and adaptation amid uncertainties and disruptions. Climate change mitigation and adaptation must not replicate these historical injustices and reproduce oppressive structures that often fan violent conflicts and reproduce inequalities. It is, therefore, imperative to revisit and challenge, if needed, dominant frameworks underpinning our understanding of peace, conflict, and the causes and consequences of climate change. 89 Further interdisciplinary research on the impact of proposed global solutions on local norms and practices will be fundamental to a climate-sensitive peacebuilding approach and conflict-sensitive climate action.

Climate change adaptation efforts have the potential to affect conflict dynamics in both positive and negative ways. It is crucial to examine how climate adaptation interventions can be designed and implemented in a conflict-sensitive manner, with local knowledge being central. Research should explore how climate adaptation measures can be integrated into peacebuilding frameworks to mitigate conflict risks and promote sustainable and resilient peace. This includes examining the potential trade-offs and synergies between climate adaptation and peacebuilding objectives, as well as identifying strategies to address potential conflicts that may arise during the implementation of adaptation initiatives. Furthermore, understanding the differential impacts of climate adaptation on various social groups and vulnerable populations, such as marginalized communities or internally displaced persons, is essential to ensure that adaptation measures do not exacerbate existing inequalities or contribute to new sources of conflict. By adopting a conflict-sensitive approach to climate adaptation, policy-makers and practitioners can enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of adaptation efforts while promoting peace and social justice.

The impacts of climate change are deeply affecting both peace and conflict. Peacebuilding can no longer exist without taking into consideration the effects of climate change. Peacebuilding practice shows signs that this has already been taking place. But research is lagging. This is not an agenda for research on climate impacts and peacebuilding, but rather a research agenda for which aspects should be included in peacebuilding research more broadly. Climate change affects the most vulnerable and the most marginalized the hardest, exacerbating inequalities and increasing grievances. In turn, this not only makes building peace more difficult, but changes the dynamics of how a society sustains, reinforces or builds peace. As a result, both peacebuilding research and policy-making must adapt quickly to ensure that they are indeed working towards sustainable peace.

We have outlined sub-themes that should be taken into consideration in both research and policy-making. At the same time, we have highlighted why taking climate impacts into consideration is important for peace operations' effectiveness, peace operations' responses, international peacebuilding efforts, local peacebuilding efforts and broader international responses in conflict-affected societies, and posed several key research questions. Our hope in doing so is to encourage future research that brings climate impacts and peacebuilding together and increases our knowledge of what it means to build and sustain peace in this rapidly changing world.

Acknowledging the existing research gaps within the four research sub-themes, we propose seven principles that must form part of the approach for an emerging research agenda on climate change impacts and peacebuilding:

Increase interdisciplinary engagement between climate change research, development research, peace and conflict research, and environmental peacebuilding;

Engage with local actors and organizations and integrate local perspectives, while furthering understandings of the capacity of the state and international actors to address power asymmetries that undermine peacebuilding effectiveness;

Prioritize indigenous knowledge, as it includes unique knowledge systems and practices that can help shape adaptive responses to climate-driven environmental change at the local level and beyond. At the same time, form greater understandings of how climate change is affecting the adaptive capacity of Indigenous knowledge systems;

Design more iterative adaptive peacebuilding interventions that can respond to the cross-sectional impacts and challenges—and opportunities—that climate change poses for peacebuilding;

Further our understanding of the potential for transforming the governance of peace and security, in light of climate change considerations.

Build understandings of where mitigating the effects of climate change fits into the priorities of local communities facing multiple challenges, and how it can be prioritized with a multifaceted approach; and

Build an understanding of the negative impacts of peacebuilding activities on the environment.

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• Published: 21 August 2024

The role of electric grid research in addressing climate change

• Le Xie   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9810-948X 1 , 2 ,
• Subir Majumder   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0237-8376 1 ,
• Tong Huang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2630-4825 3 ,
• Qian Zhang   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0003-8787-1043 1 ,
• Ping Chang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9085-0759 4 ,
• David J. Hill   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-0839 5 &
• Mohammad Shahidehpour 6  

Nature Climate Change ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Energy grids and networks
• Energy management
• Energy security

Addressing the urgency of climate change necessitates a coordinated and inclusive effort from all relevant stakeholders. Critical to this effort is the modelling, analysis, control and integration of technological innovations within the electric energy system, which plays a major role in scaling up climate change solutions. This Perspective presents a set of research challenges and opportunities in the area of electric power systems that would be crucial in accelerating gigaton-level decarbonization. Furthermore, it highlights institutional challenges associated with developing market mechanisms and regulatory architectures, ensuring that incentives are aligned for stakeholders to effectively implement the technological solutions on a large scale.

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Acknowledgements

The work of L.X., S.M., Q.Z. and P.C. is supported in part by Texas A&M Energy Institute, College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station. The work of T.H. is supported by US National Science Foundation Grant 2328205. The work of L.X. is also supported in part by US National Science Foundation Grant ECCS-2038963.

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Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

Le Xie, Subir Majumder & Qian Zhang

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

David J. Hill

Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA

Mohammad Shahidehpour

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L.X., S.M., T.H. and Q.Z. conceived and designed the paper. P.C. and D.J.H. contributed material and analysis tools. L.X., S.M., T.H. and Q.Z. drafted the paper with input from all co-authors. L.X., S.M. T.H., Q.Z., P.C., D.J.H. and M.S. read and approved the final version of the paper.

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Xie, L., Majumder, S., Huang, T. et al. The role of electric grid research in addressing climate change. Nat. Clim. Chang. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02092-1

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337 Climate Change Research Topics & Examples

You will notice that there are many climate change research topics you can discuss. Our team has prepared this compilation of 185 ideas that you can use in your work.

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• Climate Change – Problems and Solutions It is important to avoid cutting trees and reduce the utilization of energy to protect the environment. Many organizations have been developed to enhance innovation and technology in the innovation of eco-friendly machines.
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• The Role of Technology in Climate Change The latter is people’s addiction, obsession, and ingenuity when it comes to technology, which was the main cause of climate change and will be the primary solution to it as well.
• The Impact of Climate Change on Food Security Currently, the world is beginning to encounter the effects of the continuous warming of the Earth. Some of the heat must be reflected in space to ensure that there is a temperature balance in the […]
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• Tourism and Climate Change Problem There are a number of factors that propelled the growth of tourism and these factors include the improvement of the standards of living in many developed nations, good work polices allowing more time for vacations […]
• Transportation Impact on Climate Change It is apparent that the number of motor vehicles in the world is increasing by the day, and this translates to an increase in the amount of pollutants produced by the transportation industry annually.
• Climate Change – Global Warming For instance, in the last one century, scientists have directly linked the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere with the increase in temperature of the earth.
• Climate Change’s Impact on Crop Production I will address the inefficiencies of water use in our food production systems, food waste, and the impact of temperature on crop yield.
• Research Driven Critique: Steven Maher and Climate Change The ravaging effects of Covid-19 must not distract the world from the impending ramifications of severe environmental and climatic events that shaped the lives of a significant portion of the population in the past year.
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• The Climate Change Articles Comparison In a broader sense, both articles address the concept of sustainability and the means of reinforcing its significance in the context of modern global society to prevent further deterioration of the environment from happening.
• Climate Change and Role of Government He considers that the forest’s preservation is vital, as it is the wellspring of our human well-being. As such, the legislature can pass policies that would contribute to safeguarding our nation’s well-being, but they do […]
• Climate Change, Development and Disaster Risk Reduction However, the increased cases of droughts, storms, and very high rainfalls in different places are indicative of the culmination of the effects of climate change, and major disasters are yet to follow in the future.
• Climate Change: Mitigation Strategies To address the latter views, the current essay will show that the temperature issue exists and poses a serious threat to the planet.
• Neolithic Revolution and Climate Change At the primary stage of the evolution of human civilization, the rise of agriculture in the later part of stone age, also known as the Neolithic Revolution, was ultimately necessary to keep pace with the […]
• Climate Change: The Day After Tomorrow In the beginning of the film “The Day After Tomorrow”, the main character, Professor Jack Hall, is trying to warn the world of the drastic consequences of a changing climate being caused by the polluting […]
• “Climate Change: Turning Up the Heat” by Barrie Pittock The researcher stresses that people should try to minimize the negative effects of climate change in order to enable humanity to adapt to the changing environment in a more effective way.
• Climate Change and Renewable Energy Options The existence of various classes of world economies in the rural setting and the rise of the middle class economies has put more pressure on environmental services that are highly demanded and the use of […]
• Wildfires and Impact of Climate Change Climate change has played a significant role in raise the likelihood and size of wildfires around the world. Climate change causes more moisture to evaporate from the earth, drying up the soil and making vegetation […]
• Rainforests of Victoria: Potential Effects of Climate Change The results of the research by Brooke in the year 2005 was examined to establish the actual impacts of climate change on the East Gippsland forest, especially for the fern specie.
• Climate Change Needs Human Behavior Change The thesis of this essay is that human behavior change, including in diet and food production, must be undertaken to minimize climate change, and resulting misery.
• Saving the Forest and Climate Changes The greenhouse gases from such emissions play a key role in the depletion of the most essential ozone layer, thereby increasing the solar heating effect on the adjacent Earth’s surface as well as the rate […]
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• Climate Change and Its Effects on Tourism in Coastal Areas It is hereby recommended that governments have a huge role to play in mitigating the negative effects of climate change on coastal towns.
• Biology of Climate Change There is sufficient evidence that recent climate change is a result of human activities.”Warming of the climate system is unequivocal; as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, […]
• The Global Warming Problem and Solution Therefore, it is essential to make radical decisions, first of all, to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as oil, carbon, and natural gas. One of the ways of struggle is to protest in […]
• The Straw Man Fallacy in the Topic of Climate Change The straw man fallacy is a type of logical fallacy whereby one person misrepresents their opponent’s question or argument to make it easier to respond.
• Global Warming and Climate Change The author shows the tragedy of the situation with climate change by the example of birds that arrived too early from the South, as the buds begin to bloom, although it is still icy.
• Climate Change and Threat to Animals In the coming years, the increase in the global temperatures will make many living populations less able to adapt to the emergent conditions or to migrate to other regions that are suitable for their survival.
• Starbucks: Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Climate Change Then in the 90s and onwards to the 21st century, Starbucks coffee can be seen almost anywhere and in places where one least expects to see a Starbucks store.
• Energy Conservation for Solving Climate Change Problem The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that of all the ways energy is used in America, about 39% is used to generate electricity.
• Environmental Issue – Climate Change If the right measures are put in place, our environment will be regenerated and the continued alterations to the climate will eventually stop.
• The Negative Effects of Climate Change in Cities This is exemplified by the seasonal hurricanes in the USA and the surrounding regions, the hurricanes of which have destroyed houses and roads in the past.
• Business & Climate Change The purpose of this paper is to apply principles of problem solving skills such as the K-T technique, in analyzing how the challenge of climate change is addressed in the soft drinks industry which in […]
• Impact of Food Waste on Climate Change In conclusion, I believe that some of the measures that can be taken to prevent food waste are calculating the population and their needs.
• Climate Change and Resource Sustainability in Balkan: How Quickly the Impact is Happening In addition, regarding the relief of the Balkans, their territory is dominated by a large number of mountains and hills, especially in the west, among which the northern boundary extends to the Julian Alps and […]
• Climate Change: Renewable Energy Sources Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity, and deforestation and “oil dependency” only exacerbate the situation and rapidly kill people. Therefore it is important to invest in the development of renewable energy sources.
• Climate Change and the Allegory of the Cave Plato’s allegory of the cave reflects well our current relationship with the environment and ways to find a better way to live in the world and live with it.
• Climate Change, Economy, and Environment Central to the sociological approach to climate change is studying the relationship between the economy and the environment. Another critical area of sociologists ‘ attention is the relationship between inequality and the environment.
• Terrorism, Corruption, and Climate Change as Threats Therefore, threats affecting countries around the globe include terrorism, corruption, and climate change that can be mitigated through integrated counter-terror mechanisms, severe punishment for dishonest practices, and creating awareness of safe practices.
• Climate Change’s Impact on Hendra Virus Transmission to humans occurs once people are exposed to an infected horse’s body fluids, excretions, and tissues. Land clearing in giant fruit bats’ habitats has exacerbated food shortages due to climate change, which has led […]
• Beef Production’s Impact on Climate Change This industry is detrimental to the state of the planet and, in the long term, can lead to irreversible consequences. It is important to monitor the possible consequences and reduce the consumption of beef.
• Cities and Climate Change: Articles Summary The exponential population growth in the United States of America and the energy demands put the nation in a dilemma. Climate change challenges are experienced as a result of an increase in greenhouse gas emissions […]
• The Impact of Climate Change on Vulnerable Human Populations The fact that the rise in temperatures caused by the greenhouse effect is a threat to humans development has focused global attention on the “emissions generated from the combustion” of fossil fuels.
• How Aviation Impacts Climate Change A measurement of the earth’s radiation budget imbalance brought on by changes in the quantities of gases and aerosols or cloudiness is known as radiative forcing.
• Food Waste Management: Impact on Sustainability and Climate Change How effective is composting food waste in enhancing sustainability and reducing the effects of climate change? The following key terms are used to identify and scrutinize references and study materials.”Food waste” and sustain* “Food waste” […]
• Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change The destruction of the ozone layer, which helps in filtering the excessive ray of light and heat from the sun, expose people to some skin cancer and causes drought.
• Climate Change and Immigration Issues Due to its extensive coverage of the aspects of climate migration, the article will be significant to the research process in acquiring a better understanding of the effects of climate change on different people from […]
• Global Warming: Speculation and Biased Information For example, people or organizations that deny the extent or existence of global warming may finance the creation and dissemination of incorrect information.
• Impacts of Climate Change on Ocean The development of phytoplankton is sensitive to the temperature of the ocean. Some marine life is leaving the ocean due to the rising water temperature.
• Impact of Climate Change on the Mining Sector After studying the necessary information on the topic of sustainability and Sustainability reports, the organization was allocated one of the activities that it performs to maintain it.
• Climate Change: Historical Background and Social Values The Presidential and Congress elections in the US were usually accompanied by the increased interest in the issue of climate change in the 2010s.
• Communities and Climate Change Article by Kehoe In the article, he describes the stringent living conditions of the First Nations communities and estimates the dangers of climate change for these remote areas.
• Discussion: Reverting Climate Change Undertaking some of these activities requires a lot of finances that have seen governments setting aside funds to help in the budgeting and planning of the institutions.
• Was Climate Change Affecting Species? It was used because it helps establish the significance of the research topic and describes the specific effects of climate change on species.
• Climate Change Attitudes and Counteractions The argument is constructed around the assumption that the deteriorating conditions of climate will soon become one of the main reasons why many people decide to migrate to other places.
• How Climate Change Could Impact the Global Economy In “This is How Climate Change Could Affect the World Economy,” Natalie Marchand draws attention to the fact that over the next 30 years, global GDP will shrink by up to 18% if global temperatures […]
• Effective Policy Sets to Curb Climate Change A low population and economic growth significantly reduce climate change while reducing deforestation and methane gas, further slowing climate change. The world should adopt this model and effectively increase renewable use to fight climate change.
• Climate Change: Social-Ecological Systems Framework One of the ways to understand and assess the technogenic impact on various ecological systems is to apply the Social-Ecological Systems Framework.
• The Climate Change Mitigation Issues Indeed, from the utilitarian perspective, the current state of affairs is beneficial only for the small percentage of the world population that mostly resides in developed countries.
• The Dangers of Global Warming: Environmental and Economic Collapse Global warming is caused by the so-called ‘Greenhouse effect’, when gases in Earth’s atmosphere, such as water vapor or methane, let the Sun’s light enter the planet but keep some of its heat in.
• Aviation, Climate Change, and Better Engine Designs: Reducing CO2 Emissions The presence of increasing levels of CO2 and other oxides led to the deterioration of the ozone layer. More clients and partners in the industry were becoming aware and willing to pursue the issue of […]
• Climate Change as a Problem for Businesses and How to Manage It Additionally, some businesses are directly contributing to climate change due to a lack of measures that will minimise the emission of carbon.
• Climate Change and Disease-Carrying Insects In order to prevent the spreading of the viruses through insects, the governments should implement policies against the emissions which contribute to the growth of the insects’ populations.
• Aspects of Global Warming Global warming refers to the steadily increasing temperature of the Earth, while climate change is how global warming changes the weather and climate of the planet.
• David Lammy on Climate Change and Racial Justice However, Lammy argues that people of color living in the global south and urban areas are the ones who are most affected by the climate emergency.
• Moral Aspects of Climate Change Addresses However, these approaches are anthropocentric because they intend to alleviate the level of human destruction to the environment, but place human beings and their economic development at the center of all initiatives.
• Feminism: A Road Map to Overcoming COVID-19 and Climate Change By exposing how individuals relate to one another as humans, institutions, and organizations, feminism aids in the identification of these frequent dimensions of suffering.
• Global Warming: Moral and Political Challenge That is, if the politicians were to advocate the preservation of the environment, they would encourage businesses completely to adopt alternative methods and careful usage of resources.
• Climate Change: Inconsistencies in Reporting An alternative route that may be taken is to engage in honest debates about the issue, which will reduce alarmism and defeatism.
• Climate Change: The Chornobyl Nuclear Accident Also, I want to investigate the reasons behind the decision of the USSR government to conceal the truth and not let people save their lives.
• “World on the Edge”: Managing the Causes of Climate Change Brown’s main idea is to show the possibility of an extremely unfortunate outcome in the future as a result of the development of local agricultural problems – China, Iran, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and others – […]
• Gendering Climate Change: Geographical Insights In the given article, the author discusses the implications of climate change on gender and social relations and encourages scholars and activists to think critically and engage in debates on a global scale.
• Climate Change and Its Consequences for Oklahoma This concept can be defined as a rise in the Earth’s temperature due to anthropogenic activity, resulting in alteration of usual weather in various parts of the planet.
• Climate Change Impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa This is why I believe it is necessary to conduct careful, thorough research on why climate change is a threat to our planet and how to stop it.
• Climate Change: Global Warming Intensity Average temperatures on Earth are rising faster than at any time in the past 2,000 years, and the last five of them have been the hottest in the history of meteorological observations since 1850.
• The Negative Results of Climate Change Climate change refers to the rise of the sea due to hot oceans expanding and the melting of ice sheets and glaciers.
• Addressing Climate Change: The Collective Action Problem While all the nations agree that climate change is a source of substantial harm to the economy, the environment, and public health, not all countries have similar incentives for addressing the problem. Addressing the problem […]
• Collective Climate Change Responsibility The fact is that individuals are not the most critical contributors to the climate crisis, and while ditching the plastic straw might feel good on a personal level, it will not solve the situation.
• Climate Change and Challenges in Miami, Florida The issue of poor environment maintenance in Miami, Florida, has led to climate change, resulting in sea-level rise, an increase of flood levels, and droughts, and warmer temperatures in the area.
• Climate Change as Systemic Risk of Globalization However, the integration became more complex and rapid over the years, making it systemic due to the higher number of internal connections.
• Impact of Climate Change on Increased Wildfires Over the past decades, America has experienced the most severe fires in its history regarding the coverage of affected areas and the cost of damage.
• Creating a Policy Briefing Book: Climate Change in China After that, a necessary step included the evaluation of the data gathered and the development of a summary that perfectly demonstrated the crucial points of this complication.
• Natural Climate Solutions for Climate Change in China The social system and its response to climate change are directly related to the well-being, economic status, and quality of life of the population.
• Climate Change and Limiting the Fuel-Powered Transportation When considering the options for limiting the extent of the usage of fuel-powered vehicles, one should pay attention to the use of personal vehicles and the propensity among most citizens to prefer diesel cars as […]
• Climate Change Laboratory Report To determine the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causing global warming in the next ten decades, if the estimated rate of deforestation is maintained.
• Climate Change: Causes, Impact on People and the Environment Climate change is the alteration of the normal climatic conditions in the earth, and it occurs over some time. In as much as there are arguments based around the subject, it is mainly caused by […]
• Climate Change and Stabilization Wages The more the annual road activity indicates that more cars traversed throughout a fiscal year, the higher the size of the annual fuel consumption. The Carbon Capture and Storage technology can also reduce carbon emissions […]
• UK Climate Change Act 2008 The aim of the UK is to balance the levels of greenhouse gases to circumvent the perilous issue of climate change, as well as make it probable for people to acclimatize to an inevitable climate […]
• Sustainability, Climate Change Impact on Supply Chains & Circular Economy With recycling, reusing of materials, and collecting waste, industries help to fight ecological issues, which are the cause of climate change by saving nature’s integrity.
• Climate Change Indicators and Media Interference There is no certainty in the bright future for the Earth in the long-term perspective considering the devastating aftereffects that the phenomenon might bring. The indicators are essential to evaluate the scale of the growing […]
• Climate Change: Sustainability Development and Environmental Law The media significantly contributes to the creation of awareness, thus the importance of integrating the role of the news press with sustainability practices.
• How Climate Change Affects Conflict and Peace The review looks at various works from different years on the environment, connections to conflict, and the impact of climate change.
• Toyota Corporation: The Effects of Climate Change on the Word’s Automobile Sector Considering the broad nature of the sector, the study has taken into account the case of Toyota Motor Corporation which is one of the firms operating within the sector.
• The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture However, the move to introduce foreign species of grass such as Bermuda grass in the region while maintaining the native grass has been faced by challenges related to the fiscal importance of the production.
• Health and Climate Change Climate change, which is a universal problem, is thought to have devastating effects on human and animal health. However, the precise health effects are not known.
• The Issue of Climate Change The only confirmed facts are the impact of one’s culture and community on willingness to participate in environmental projects, and some people can refuse to join, thereby demonstrating their individuality.
• Climate Change as a Battle of Generation Z These issues have attracted the attention of the generation who they have identified climate change as the most challenging problem the world is facing today.
• Climate Change and Health in Nunavut, Canada Then, the authors tend to use strict and formal language while delivering their findings and ideas, which, again, is due to the scholarly character of the article. Thus, the article seems to have a good […]
• Climate Change: Anticipating Drastic Consequences Modern scientists focus on the problem of the climate change because of expecting the dramatic consequences of the process in the future.
• The Analysis of Process of Climate Change Dietz is the head of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
• The Way Climate Change Affects the Planet It can help analyze past events such as the Pleistocene ice ages, but the current climate change does not fit the criteria. It demonstrates how slower the change was when compared to the current climate […]
• Polar Bear Decline: Climate Change From Pole to Pole In comparison to 2005 where five of the populations were stable, it shows that there was a decline in stability of polar bear population.
• Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change The three areas of interest that this report discusses are the impacts of climate change on social, economic and environmental fronts which are the key areas that have created a lot of debate and discussion […]
• Strategy for Garnering Effective Action on Climate Change Mitigation The approach should be participatory in that every member of the community is aware of ways that leads to climate change in order to take the necessary precaution measures. Many member nations have failed to […]
• Impact of Global Climate Change on Malaria There will be a comparison of the intensity of the changes to the magnitude of the impacts on malaria endemicity proposed within the future scenarios of the climate.
• Climate Change Economics: A Review of Greenstone and Oliver’s Analysis The article by Greenstone and Oliver indicates that the problem of global warming is one of the most perilous disasters whose effects are seen in low agricultural output, poor economic wellbeing of people, and high […]
• Pygmy-Possum Burramys Parvus: The Effects of Climate Change The study will be guided by the following research question: In what ways will the predicted loss of snow cover due to climate change influence the density and habitat use of the mountain pygmy-possum populations […]
• Climate Change and the Occurrence of Infectious Diseases This paper seeks to explore the nature of two vector-borne diseases, malaria, and dengue fever, in regards to the characteristics that would make them prone to effects of climate change, and to highlight some of […]
• Links Between Methane, Plants, and Climate Change According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is the anthropogenic activities that has increased the load of greenhouse gases since the mid-20th century that has resulted in global warming. It is only the […]
• United Nations Climate Change Conference In the Kyoto protocol, members agreed that nations needed to reduce the carbon emissions to levels that could not threaten the planet’s livelihoods.
• The Involve of Black People in the Seeking of Climate Change Whereas some researchers use the magnitude of pollution release as opposed to closeness to a hazardous site to define exposure, others utilize the dispersion of pollutants model to comprehend the link between exposure and population.
• Climate Change Dynamics: Are We Ready for the Future? One of the critical challenges of preparedness for future environmental changes is the uncertainty of how the climate system will change in several decades.
• How Climate Change Impacts Ocean Temperature and Marine Life The ocean’s surface consumes the excess heat from the air, which leads to significant issues in all of the planet’s ecosystems.
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plan for Abu Dhabi City, UAE Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the UAE and the Abu Dhabi Emirate and is located on a triangular island in the Persian Gulf.
• Climate Change in Communication Moreover, environmental reporting is not accurate and useful since profits influence and political interference affect the attainment of truthful, objective, and fair facts that would promote efficiency in newsrooms on environmental reporting.
• Global Pollution and Climate Change Both of these works address the topic of Global pollution, Global warming, and Climate change, which are relevant to the current situation in the world.
• Climate Change Is a Scientific Fallacy Even in the worst-case scenario whereby the earth gives in and fails to support human activities, there can always be a way out.
• Climate Change: Change Up Your Approach People are becoming aware of the relevance of things and different aspects of their life, which is a positive trend. However, the share of this kind of energy will be reduced dramatically which is favorable […]
• Climate Change: The Broken Ozone Layer It explains the effects of climate change and the adaptation methods used. Vulnerability is basically the level of exposure and weakness of an aspect with regard to climate change.
• Climate Change and Economic Growth The graph displays the levels of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the years before our time with the number 0 being the year 1950.
• Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence The point of confluence in the cattle raids in East Africa and the planting of opium in the poor communities is the struggle to beat the effects of climatic changes.
• Personal Insight: Climate Change To my mind, economic implications are one of the most concerning because the economy is one of the pillars of modern society.
• A Shift From Climate Change Awareness Under New President Such statements raised concerns among American journalists and general population about the future of the organization as one of the main forces who advocated for the safe and healthy environment of Americans and the global […]
• Human Influence on Climate Change Climate changes are dangerous because they influence all the living creatures in the world. Thus, it is hard to overestimate the threat for humankind the climate changes represent.
• Environmental Studies: Climate Changes Ozone hole is related to forest loss in that the hole is caused by reaction of different chemicals that are found in the atmosphere and some of these gases, for example, the carbon dioxide gas […]
• Global Warming: Negative Effects to the Environment The effect was the greening of the environment and its transformation into habitable zones for humans The second system has been a consequence of the first, storage.
• Global Warming Problem Overview: Significantly Changing the Climate Patterns The government is not in a position to come up with specific costs that are attached to the extent of environmental pollution neither are the polluters aware about the costs that are attached to the […]
• Global Change Biology in Terms of Global Warming A risk assessment method showed that the current population could persist for at least 2000 years at hatchling sex ratios of up to 75% male.
• The Politics of Climate Change, Saving the Environment In the first article, the author expresses his concern with the problem of data utilization on climate change and negative consequences arising from this.
• Maize Production and Climate Change in South Africa Maize farming covers 58% of the crop area in South Africa and 60% of this is in drier areas of the country.
• Global Warming Issues Review and Environmental Sustainability Whether it is the melt down of Arctic ice, the damage of the Ozone layer, extra pollution in developing countries; all sums up to one thing in common and that is global warming.
• Global Warming: Ways to Help End Global Warming
• Biofuels and Climate Change
• The Influence of Global Warming and Pollution on the Environment
• How Global Warming Has an Effect on Wildlife?
• Climate Change Risks in South Eastern Australia
• The Politics and Economics of International Action on Climate Change
• Climate Change: Influence on Lifestyle in the Future
• Climate Change During Socialism and Capitalistic Epochs
• Climate Change and Public Health Policies
• Climate Changes: Cause and Effect
• World Trade as the Adjustment Mechanism of Agriculture to Climate Change by Julia & Duchin
• Chad Frischmann: The Young Minds Solving Climate Change
• Public Health Education on Climate Change Effects
• Research Plan “Climate Change”
• Diets and Climate Change
• The Role of Human Activities on the Climate Change
• Climate Change Factors and Countermeasures
• Climate Change Effects on Population Health
• Climate Change: Who Is at Fault?
• Climate Change: Reducing Industrial Air Pollution
• Global Climate Change and Biological Implications
• Global Warming, Its Consequences and Prevention
• Climate Change and Risks for Business in Australia
• Climate Change Solutions for Australia
• Climate Change, Industrial Ecology and Environmental Chemistry
• “Climate Change May Destroy Alaskan Towns” Video
• Climate Change Effects on Kenya’s Tea Industry
• Environmental Perils: Climate Change Issue
• Technologically Produced Emissions Impact on Climate Change
• City Trees and Climate Change: Act Green and Get Healthy
• Climate Change and American National Security
• Anthropogenic Climate Change and Policy Problems
• Climate Change, Air Pollution, Soil Degradation
• Climate Change in Canada
• International Climate Change Agreements
• Polar Transformations as a Global Warming Issue
• Moral Obligations to Climate Change and Animal Life
• Technology’s Impact on Climate Change
• Climate Change in Abu Dhabi
• Global Warming and Climate Change: Fighting and Solutions
• Climate Change Debates and Scientific Opinion
• Earth’s Geologic History and Global Climate Change
• CO2 Emission and Climate Change Misconceptions
• Geoengineering as a Possible Response to Climate Change
• Global Warming: People Impact on the Environment
• Climate Change: Ways of Eliminating Negative Effects
• Climate Change Probability and Predictions
• Climate Changes and Human Population Distribution
• Climate Change as International Issue
• Climate Change for Australian Magpie-Lark Birds
• Climate Change Effects on Ocean Acidification
• Climate Change Governance: Concepts and Theories
• Climate Change Impacts on the Aviation Industry
• Climate Change Management and Risk Governance
• United Nation and Climate Change
• Human Rights and Climate Change Policy-Making
• Climate Change: Anthropological Concepts and Perspectives
• Climate Change Impacts on Business in Bangladesh
• Climate Change: Nicholas Stern and Ross Garnaut Views
• Challenges Facing Humanity: Technology and Climate Change
• Climate Change Potential Consequences
• Climate Change in United Kingdom
• Climate Change From International Relations Perspective
• Climate Change and International Collaboration
• International Security and Climate Change
• Climate Change Effects on World Economy
• Global Warming and Climate Change
• Responsible Factors for Climate Change
• Organisational Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy
• The Effect of Science on Climate Change
• Vulnerability of World Countries to Climate Change
• Anthropogenic Climate Change
• The Implementation of MOOCs on Climate Change
• The Climate Change and the Asset-Based Community Development
• Global Warming and Its Effects on the Environment
• Climate Change Research Studies
• Climate Change Negative Health Impacts
• Managing the Impacts of Climate Change
• Early Climate Change Science
• Views Comparison on the Problem of Climate Change
• Climate Change and Corporate World
• Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) in Reducing the Effects of Climate Change
• Climate Change Affecting Coral Triangle Turtles
• Introduction to Climate Change: Major Threats and the Means to Avoid Them
• Climate Change and Its Effects on Indigenous Peoples
• Asian Drivers of Global Change
• The Causes and Effects of Climate Change in the US
• Metholdogy for Economic Discourse Analysis in Climate Change
• The Impact of Climate Change on New Hampshire Business
• Climate Change Effects on an Individual’s Life in the Future
• Ideology of Economic Discourse in Climate Change
• The Role of Behavioural Economics in Energy and Climate Policy
• The Economic Cost of Climate Change Effects
• Climate Change: Floods in Queensland Australia
• Impact of Climate Change and Solutions
• Climate Change and Its Global Implications in Hospitality and Tourism
• Negative Impacts of Climate Change in the Urban Areas and Possible Strategies to Address Them
• Climate Changes: Snowpack
• Climate Change and Consumption: Which Way the Wind Blows in Indiana
• The United Nation’s Response to Climate Change
• Critical Review: “Food’s Footprint: Agriculture and Climate Change” by Jennifer Burney
• Global Warming: Justing Gillis Discussing Studies on Climate Change
• Economics and Human Induced Climate Change
• Global Warming Causes and Unfavorable Climatic Changes
• Spin, Science and Climate Change
• Climate Change, Coming Home: Global Warming’s Effects on Populations
• Social Concepts and Climate Change
• Climate Change and Human Health
• Climate Change: The Complex Issue of Global Warming
• Climate Changes: Human Activities and Global Warming
• Public Awareness of Climate Changes and Carbon Footprints
• Climate Change: Impact of Carbon Emissions to the Atmosphere
• Problems of Climate Change
• Solving the Climate Change Crisis Through Development of Renewable Energy
• Climate Change Is the Biggest Challenge in the World That Affects the Flexibility of Individual Specie
• Climate Changes
• Climate Change Definition and Causes
• Climate Change: Nearing a Mini Ice Age
• Global Warming Outcomes and Sea-Level Changes
• Climate Change: Causes and Effects
• China Climate Change
• Protecting Forests to Prevent Climate Change
• Climate Change in Saudi Arabia and Miami
• Effects of Global Warming on the Environment
• Threat to Biodiversity Is Just as Important as Climate Change
• Does Climate Change Affect Entrepreneurs?
• Does Climate Change Information Affect Stated Risks of Pine Beetle Impacts on Forests
• Does Energy Consumption Contribute to Climate Change?
• Does Forced Solidarity Hinder Adaptation to Climate Change?
• Does Risk Communication Really Decrease Cooperation in Climate Change Mitigation?
• Does Risk Perception Limit the Climate Change Mitigation Behaviors?
• What Are the Differences Between Climate Change and Global Warming?
• What Are the Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture in North East Central Europe?
• What Are the Policy Challenges That National Governments Face in Addressing Climate Change?
• What Are the Primary Causes of Climate Change?
• What Are the Risks of Climate Change and Global Warming?
• What Does Climate Change Mean for Agriculture in Developing Countries?
• What Drives the International Transfer of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies?
• What Economic Impacts Are Expected to Result From Climate Change?
• What Motivates Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change?
• What Natural Forces Have Caused Climate Change?
• What Problems Are Involved With Establishing an International Climate Change?
• What Role Has Human Activity Played in Causing Climate Change?
• Which Incentives Does Regulation Give to Adapt Network Infrastructure to Climate Change?
• Why Climate Change Affects Us?
• Why Does Climate Change Present Potential Dangers for the African Continent?
• Why Economic Analysis Supports Strong Action on Climate Change?
• Why Should People Care For the Perceived Event of Climate Change?
• Why the Climate Change Debate Has Not Created More Cleantech Funds in Sweden?
• Why Worry About Climate Change?
• Will African Agriculture Survive Climate Change?
• Will Carbon Tax Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change?
• Will Climate Change Affect Agriculture?
• Will Climate Change Cause Enormous Social Costs for Poor Asian Cities?
• Will Religion and Faith Be the Answer to Climate Change?
• Flood Essay Topics
• Ecosystem Essay Topics
• Atmosphere Questions
• Extinction Research Topics
• Desert Research Ideas
• Greenhouse Gases Research Ideas
• Recycling Research Ideas
• Water Issues Research Ideas
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Climate Change: Evidence and Causes: Update 2020 (2020)

Chapter: conclusion, c onclusion.

This document explains that there are well-understood physical mechanisms by which changes in the amounts of greenhouse gases cause climate changes. It discusses the evidence that the concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere have increased and are still increasing rapidly, that climate change is occurring, and that most of the recent change is almost certainly due to emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activities. Further climate change is inevitable; if emissions of greenhouse gases continue unabated, future changes will substantially exceed those that have occurred so far. There remains a range of estimates of the magnitude and regional expression of future change, but increases in the extremes of climate that can adversely affect natural ecosystems and human activities and infrastructure are expected.

Citizens and governments can choose among several options (or a mixture of those options) in response to this information: they can change their pattern of energy production and usage in order to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and hence the magnitude of climate changes; they can wait for changes to occur and accept the losses, damage, and suffering that arise; they can adapt to actual and expected changes as much as possible; or they can seek as yet unproven “geoengineering” solutions to counteract some of the climate changes that would otherwise occur. Each of these options has risks, attractions and costs, and what is actually done may be a mixture of these different options. Different nations and communities will vary in their vulnerability and their capacity to adapt. There is an important debate to be had about choices among these options, to decide what is best for each group or nation, and most importantly for the global population as a whole. The options have to be discussed at a global scale because in many cases those communities that are most vulnerable control few of the emissions, either past or future. Our description of the science of climate change, with both its facts and its uncertainties, is offered as a basis to inform that policy debate.

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following individuals served as the primary writing team for the 2014 and 2020 editions of this document:

• Eric Wolff FRS, (UK lead), University of Cambridge
• Inez Fung (NAS, US lead), University of California, Berkeley
• Brian Hoskins FRS, Grantham Institute for Climate Change
• John F.B. Mitchell FRS, UK Met Office
• Tim Palmer FRS, University of Oxford
• Benjamin Santer (NAS), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• John Shepherd FRS, University of Southampton
• Keith Shine FRS, University of Reading.
• Susan Solomon (NAS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research
• John Walsh, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
• Don Wuebbles, University of Illinois

Staff support for the 2020 revision was provided by Richard Walker, Amanda Purcell, Nancy Huddleston, and Michael Hudson. We offer special thanks to Rebecca Lindsey and NOAA Climate.gov for providing data and figure updates.

The following individuals served as reviewers of the 2014 document in accordance with procedures approved by the Royal Society and the National Academy of Sciences:

• Richard Alley (NAS), Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University
• Alec Broers FRS, Former President of the Royal Academy of Engineering
• Harry Elderfield FRS, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
• Joanna Haigh FRS, Professor of Atmospheric Physics, Imperial College London
• Isaac Held (NAS), NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
• John Kutzbach (NAS), Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin
• Jerry Meehl, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research
• John Pendry FRS, Imperial College London
• John Pyle FRS, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge
• Gavin Schmidt, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Emily Shuckburgh, British Antarctic Survey
• Gabrielle Walker, Journalist
• Andrew Watson FRS, University of East Anglia

The Support for the 2014 Edition was provided by NAS Endowment Funds. We offer sincere thanks to the Ralph J. and Carol M. Cicerone Endowment for NAS Missions for supporting the production of this 2020 Edition.

F OR FURTHER READING

For more detailed discussion of the topics addressed in this document (including references to the underlying original research), see:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2019: Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate [ https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc ]
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), 2019: Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25259 ]
• Royal Society, 2018: Greenhouse gas removal [ https://raeng.org.uk/greenhousegasremoval ]
• U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), 2018: Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States [ https://nca2018.globalchange.gov ]
• IPCC, 2018: Global Warming of 1.5°C [ https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15 ]
• USGCRP, 2017: Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume I: Climate Science Special Reports [ https://science2017.globalchange.gov ]
• NASEM, 2016: Attribution of Extreme Weather Events in the Context of Climate Change [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/21852 ]
• IPCC, 2013: Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) Working Group 1. Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis [ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1 ]
• NRC, 2013: Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18373 ]
• NRC, 2011: Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts Over Decades to Millennia [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12877 ]
• Royal Society 2010: Climate Change: A Summary of the Science [ https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/publications/2010/climate-change-summary-science ]
• NRC, 2010: America’s Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12782 ]

Much of the original data underlying the scientific findings discussed here are available at:

• https://data.ucar.edu/
• https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu
• https://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu
• https://ess-dive.lbl.gov/
• https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
• https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/
• http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu
• http://hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/hot/

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever, based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth's climate. The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, with their similar missions to promote the use of science to benefit society and to inform critical policy debates, produced the original Climate Change: Evidence and Causes in 2014. It was written and reviewed by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists. This new edition, prepared by the same author team, has been updated with the most recent climate data and scientific analyses, all of which reinforce our understanding of human-caused climate change.

Scientific information is a vital component for society to make informed decisions about how to reduce the magnitude of climate change and how to adapt to its impacts. This booklet serves as a key reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and others seeking authoritative answers about the current state of climate-change science.

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