photo essays on climate change

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

Thanks for signing up as a global citizen. In order to create your account we need you to provide your email address. You can check out our Privacy Policy to see how we safeguard and use the information you provide us with. If your Facebook account does not have an attached e-mail address, you'll need to add that before you can sign up.

This account has been deactivated.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to re-activate your account.

This article was contributed by Amanda Lenhardt in support of The Overseas Development Institute.

Growing up in a small town in Northern Canada, climate change wasn’t something I thought of often. And once I did learn about the global impacts of a changing climate a little later in life, the topic seemed too daunting to fully process. I tend to think of myself as an optimist, of the opinion that through thoughtful action we can see the positive changes we want for the world. The environment was always my one exception though, and while I’m typically up for a good challenge, I chose to work on global poverty issues because this seemed more within the realm of the possible than anything related to climate change.  

It wasn’t until a recent trip to Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, that some light was shed on my gloomy outlook for the future of the planet. It was there, at the front lines of the fight against climate change, that I witnessed people taking up the task that I had been too timid to even consider. 

Image: Amanda Lenhardt / ODI

Amidst all the talk of climate change, for most people dominating the discussion, climate change is a distant concept - either it's something of concern for the future, or something experienced elsewhere. For farmers in Northern Burkina Faso on the edge of the Sahel desert though, climate change is a daily reality.  The temperaments of the climate dictate whether the season’s crops will yield enough food for families to eat, and whether enough will be produced to sell in order to afford to send kids to school or attend to health needs.

Last year, like many years in recent memory, the rains came late. Uncertainty has become the new normal for those living off of an unforgiving landscape where population pressures, deforestation and unsustainable farming practices have paved the way for the Sahel desert to creep ever closer. 

But farmers in Northern Burkina Faso are not sitting idly as the climate changes around them. For many years they have been adapting farming techniques to conserve water and regenerate soil in an effort to reclaim land from the desert and to adapt to changing weather patterns. 

Over the last 25 years, around 200,000 to 300,000 hectares of desertified lands have been reclaimed in Burkina Faso through the labour and investments of smallholder farmers, and with the support of national NGOs, international donors and government services. 

The use of improved farming techniques has meant that more food is produced and that families’ periods of food shortage have been significantly reduced. Although drought remains a threat year-on-year, the devastating famines experienced in the 1970s have so far been averted.  

However these gains are fragile, and many of the poorest farmers are unable to take on any further investment or dedicate any additional labour to continue to help the region adapt. More needs to be done to translate promises made by the world’s leaders into practical and effective support for families on the front lines of the fight against climate change.  

I left Burkina Faso feeling both humbled by the tireless efforts of people who are combatting desertification and climatic change, but also with a newfound optimism for the efficacy of actions towards a more sustainable world.  For those of us feeling overwhelmed by what that task might entail, one way to start is to extend support to those who’ve already taken up the challenge, as their fight is also our common fight. 

To find out more about how farmers in Burkina Faso are finding solutions to climate change, take a look at this short film:

Defend the Planet

Photo Essay: The real faces of climate change

Nov. 26, 2015

• ENVIRONMENT
• PLANET POSSIBLE

Photos show a climate change crisis unfolding—and hope for the future

Melting ice, wildfires, heat waves, floods: These images show life in a warming world, and solutions to address it.

As the UN’s global climate change conference—COP26—approaches, ever-more-extreme weather has shown us climate change is here. Yet COVID-19 and the actions taken to control it have also shown us that cooperation can prompt dramatic global change.

Sometimes, all it takes is one photo to spark that action. Sometimes, it's a collection of vignettes that show us what is at stake, and more importantly, inspire ideas of what we can do about it. In short, pictures can change the world. And as our world comes to terms with the reality of climate change, never has that been more needed.

Some of these images offer an instant visual punch to the gut: a dying coral outcrop on the Great Barrier Reef, for instance, juxtaposed with an older photo of how vibrant coral can be. Some of the images inspire in their ability to show that change is not only possible, it is happening—and that we have the ingenuity and the skill to make a real difference.  

But amidst these odds, there is hope. Nature is resilient, and given the chance, it can recover, if we have the courage to make it happen.

Related Topics

• CLIMATE CHANGE
• CLIMATOLOGY
• SEA LEVEL CHANGE
• FIRE FIGHTING

You May Also Like

Aboriginal women are reclaiming traditions of fire

These breathtaking natural wonders no longer exist

What fuel made from the sun could do for the planet

Another weapon to fight climate change? Put carbon back where we found it

Don't cut them down: Letting dead trees rot can help make new life

• Best of the World
• Environment
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• History & Culture
• Out of Eden Walk
• Mind, Body, Wonder
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

Donate Now, choose a donation type:

Photo Essay, Snap Shot 3 – Climate Change and Food #Connected2

November 10, 2021 • 3 min read

Why a Photo Essay?  

This Photo Essay are the result of small groups of young people coming together and asking themselves what it meant to be #Connected2 to the bigger system. 

Why Snap Shots?   

If the Photo Essay was a book, each Snap Shop is  a chapter telling stories from around the world.

Welcome to our third   Snap Shot!  Explore with us the impact of climate change on global food systems and how these are felt  across different countries and communities. Even though each environment is unique and so different, we are all impacted by them equally. Global challenges such as climate change and our actions have Global consequences.

Sara Dada & Telma Sibanda’s Photos

credit: Sara Dada

credit: Telma Sibanda

Our daily activities have a deep impact not only on our immediate surroundings but on the wider planet. Litter, noise and CO2 emissions are eroding the natural beauty of our world, threatening the diversity of wildlife, and impacting the wellbeing of humans. As global citizens, we recognize that the earth’s air, land, and oceans are polluted by landfills in Uganda, traffic in Zimbabwe, and industrial air pollution in Ireland. We see the potentially irreversible effects of climate change in our communities every day.  

Emmanuel Dusabimana & Catherine Finn ‘s Photos

credit: Catherine Finn

credit: Emmanuel Dusabimana

These high levels of pollution affect our fields, rivers, and sources of food and water. As pollution continues to contribute to climate change, the effects often present themselves unequally: the areas which contribute the least are impacted the most. Water is an essential resource to all human life, and has the power to shape our lands and the food that we eat. Unchecked, pollution and climate change threaten access to drinking water, and rising sea levels may permanently flood settled land. We are connected as global citizens through these impacts, whether we are already living with climate change or have yet to experience it.  

Catherine Finn & Telma Sibanda’s Photos

Like dominos falling, our actions and behaviours have consequences in our own communities and around the globe. The manner in which we produce and access food demonstrates that each of us are deeply connected to one another and to the planet. The marketplace gives an insight into this relationship –  imported produce in Ireland, locally sourced food in Uganda, and empty stalls in Zimbabwe. While some communities will be unable to produce enough food or may face empty shelves at the market, others will throw away unused excess. This reality can be a catalyst for a more sustainable future, but it is the collective effort of our global community that will determine the direction we follow.  

Follow @GOALNextGen and @goal_global and make sure you don’t miss the rest of the Snap Shots!

Interested in joining the  #Connected2  campaign or our  GOAL Global Youth Program?   Check out our Global Citizenship page or contact the team at  [email protected]  for more info.

It looks like you started to make a donation and didn't finish, would you like to complete your donation?

Goal global cookies.

We and our {{count}} partners use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your experience on our website. We may store and/or access information on a device and process personal data, such as your IP address and browsing data, for personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development. Additionally, we may utilize precise geolocation data and identification through device scanning.

Please note that your consent will be valid across all our subdomains. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “Consent Preferences” button at the bottom of your screen. We respect your choices and are committed to providing you with a transparent and secure browsing experience.

Privacy Overview

• Most purposes explained in this notice rely on the storage or accessing of information from your device when you use an app or visit a website. For example, a vendor or publisher might need to store a cookie on your device during your first visit on a website, to be able to recognise your device during your next visits (by accessing this cookie each time).
• A car manufacturer wants to promote its electric vehicles to environmentally conscious users living in the city after office hours. The advertising is presented on a page with related content (such as an article on climate change actions) after 6:30 p.m. to users whose non-precise location suggests that they are in an urban zone.
• A large producer of watercolour paints wants to carry out an online advertising campaign for its latest watercolour range, diversifying its audience to reach as many amateur and professional artists as possible and avoiding showing the ad next to mismatched content (for instance, articles about how to paint your house). The number of times that the ad has been presented to you is detected and limited, to avoid presenting it too often.
• If you read several articles about the best bike accessories to buy, this information could be used to create a profile about your interest in bike accessories. Such a profile may be used or improved later on, on the same or a different website or app to present you with advertising for a particular bike accessory brand. If you also look at a configurator for a vehicle on a luxury car manufacturer website, this information could be combined with your interest in bikes to refine your profile and make an assumption that you are interested in luxury cycling gear.
• An apparel company wishes to promote its new line of high-end baby clothes. It gets in touch with an agency that has a network of clients with high income customers (such as high-end supermarkets) and asks the agency to create profiles of young parents or couples who can be assumed to be wealthy and to have a new child, so that these can later be used to present advertising within partner apps based on those profiles.
• An online retailer wants to advertise a limited sale on running shoes. It wants to target advertising to users who previously looked at running shoes on its mobile app. Tracking technologies might be used to recognise that you have previously used the mobile app to consult running shoes, in order to present you with the corresponding advertisement on the app.
• A profile created for personalised advertising in relation to a person having searched for bike accessories on a website can be used to present the relevant advertisement for bike accessories on a mobile app of another organisation.
• You read several articles on how to build a treehouse on a social media platform. This information might be added to a profile to mark your interest in content related to outdoors as well as do-it-yourself guides (with the objective of allowing the personalisation of content, so that for example you are presented with more blog posts and articles on treehouses and wood cabins in the future).
• You have viewed three videos on space exploration across different TV apps. An unrelated news platform with which you have had no contact builds a profile based on that viewing behaviour, marking space exploration as a topic of possible interest for other videos.
• You read articles on vegetarian food on a social media platform and then use the cooking app of an unrelated company. The profile built about you on the social media platform will be used to present you vegetarian recipes on the welcome screen of the cooking app.
• You have viewed three videos about rowing across different websites. An unrelated video sharing platform will recommend five other videos on rowing that may be of interest to you when you use your TV app, based on a profile built about you when you visited those different websites to watch online videos.
• You have clicked on an advertisement about a “black Friday” discount by an online shop on the website of a publisher and purchased a product. Your click will be linked to this purchase. Your interaction and that of other users will be measured to know how many clicks on the ad led to a purchase.
• You are one of very few to have clicked on an advertisement about an “international appreciation day” discount by an online gift shop within the app of a publisher. The publisher wants to have reports to understand how often a specific ad placement within the app, and notably the “international appreciation day” ad, has been viewed or clicked by you and other users, in order to help the publisher and its partners (such as agencies) optimise ad placements.
• You have read a blog post about hiking on a mobile app of a publisher and followed a link to a recommended and related post. Your interactions will be recorded as showing that the initial hiking post was useful to you and that it was successful in interesting you in the related post. This will be measured to know whether to produce more posts on hiking in the future and where to place them on the home screen of the mobile app.
• You were presented a video on fashion trends, but you and several other users stopped watching after 30 seconds. This information is then used to evaluate the right length of future videos on fashion trends.
• The owner of an online bookstore wants commercial reporting showing the proportion of visitors who consulted and left its site without buying, or consulted and bought the last celebrity autobiography of the month, as well as the average age and the male/female distribution of each category. Data relating to your navigation on its site and to your personal characteristics is then used and combined with other such data to produce these statistics.
• An advertiser wants to better understand the type of audience interacting with its adverts. It calls upon a research institute to compare the characteristics of users who interacted with the ad with typical attributes of users of similar platforms, across different devices. This comparison reveals to the advertiser that its ad audience is mainly accessing the adverts through mobile devices and is likely in the 45-60 age range.
• A technology platform working with a social media provider notices a growth in mobile app users, and sees based on their profiles that many of them are connecting through mobile connections. It uses a new technology to deliver ads that are formatted for mobile devices and that are low-bandwidth, to improve their performance.
• An advertiser is looking for a way to display ads on a new type of consumer device. It collects information regarding the way users interact with this new kind of device to determine whether it can build a new mechanism for displaying advertising on this type of device.
• A travel magazine has published an article on its website about the new online courses proposed by a language school, to improve travelling experiences abroad. The school’s blog posts are inserted directly at the bottom of the page, and selected on the basis of your non-precise location (for instance, blog posts explaining the course curriculum for different languages than the language of the country you are situated in).
• A sports news mobile app has started a new section of articles covering the most recent football games. Each article includes videos hosted by a separate streaming platform showcasing the highlights of each match. If you fast-forward a video, this information may be used to select a shorter video to play next.
• An advertising intermediary delivers ads from various advertisers to its network of partnering websites. It notices a large increase in clicks on ads relating to one advertiser, and uses data regarding the source of the clicks to determine that 80% of the clicks come from bots rather than humans.
• Clicking on a link in an article might normally send you to another page or part of the article. To achieve this, 1°) your browser sends a request to a server linked to the website, 2°) the server answers back (“here is the article you asked for”), using technical information automatically included in the request sent by your device, to properly display the information / images that are part of the article you asked for. Technically, such exchange of information is necessary to deliver the content that appears on your screen.
• When you visit a website and are offered a choice between consenting to the use of profiles for personalised advertising or not consenting, the choice you make is saved and made available to advertising providers, so that advertising presented to you respects that choice.

Photo essay: Climate change is a women’s issue

Date: 08 November 2017

The planet is under threat. From human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to the overexploitation of the earth’s natural resources, unsustainable production and consumption patterns pose a risk to all of humanity. As early adopters of new agricultural techniques, first responders in crises, entrepreneurs of green energy, or decision-makers at home, women are agents of change who must equally be part of the solution towards a sustainable future. Learn more about the topic and how UN Women and its partners are paving the way towards change >>

• ‘One Woman’ – The UN Women song
• UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous
• Kirsi Madi, Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships
• Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results
• Guiding documents
• Report wrongdoing
• Programme implementation
• Career opportunities
• Application and recruitment process
• Meet our people
• Internship programme
• Procurement principles
• Gender-responsive procurement
• Doing business with UN Women
• How to become a UN Women vendor
• Contract templates and general conditions of contract
• Vendor protest procedure
• Facts and Figures
• Global norms and standards
• Women’s movements
• Parliaments and local governance
• Constitutions and legal reform
• Preguntas frecuentes
• Global Norms and Standards
• Macroeconomic policies and social protection
• Sustainable Development and Climate Change
• Rural women
• Employment and migration
• Facts and figures
• Creating safe public spaces
• Spotlight Initiative
• Essential services
• Focusing on prevention
• Research and data
• Other areas of work
• UNiTE campaign
• Conflict prevention and resolution
• Building and sustaining peace
• Young women in peace and security
• Rule of law: Justice and security
• Women, peace, and security in the work of the UN Security Council
• Preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism
• Planning and monitoring
• Humanitarian coordination
• Crisis response and recovery
• Disaster risk reduction
• Inclusive National Planning
• Public Sector Reform
• Tracking Investments
• Strengthening young women's leadership
• Economic empowerment and skills development for young women
• Action on ending violence against young women and girls
• Engaging boys and young men in gender equality
• Leadership and Participation
• National Planning
• Violence against Women
• Access to Justice
• Regional and country offices
• Regional and Country Offices
• Liaison offices
• 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change
• Commission on the Status of Women
• Economic and Social Council
• General Assembly
• Security Council
• High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
• Human Rights Council
• Climate change and the environment
• Other Intergovernmental Processes
• World Conferences on Women
• Global Coordination
• Regional and country coordination
• Promoting UN accountability
• Gender Mainstreaming
• Coordination resources
• System-wide strategy
• Focal Point for Women and Gender Focal Points
• Entity-specific implementation plans on gender parity
• Laws and policies
• Strategies and tools
• Reports and monitoring
• Training Centre services
• Publications
• Government partners
• National mechanisms
• Civil Society Advisory Groups
• Benefits of partnering with UN Women
• Business and philanthropic partners
• Goodwill Ambassadors
• National Committees
• UN Women Media Compact
• UN Women Alumni Association
• Editorial series
• Media contacts
• Annual report
• Progress of the world’s women
• SDG monitoring report
• World survey on the role of women in development
• Reprint permissions
• Secretariat
• 2023 sessions and other meetings
• 2022 sessions and other meetings
• 2021 sessions and other meetings
• 2020 sessions and other meetings
• 2019 sessions and other meetings
• 2018 sessions and other meetings
• 2017 sessions and other meetings
• 2016 sessions and other meetings
• 2015 sessions and other meetings
• Compendiums of decisions
• Reports of sessions
• Key Documents
• Brief history
• CSW snapshot
• Preparations
• Official Documents
• Official Meetings
• Side Events
• Session Outcomes
• CSW65 (2021)
• CSW64 / Beijing+25 (2020)
• CSW63 (2019)
• CSW62 (2018)
• CSW61 (2017)
• Member States
• Eligibility
• Registration
• Opportunities for NGOs to address the Commission
• Communications procedure
• Grant making
• Accompaniment and growth
• Results and impact
• Knowledge and learning
• Social innovation
• UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women
• About Generation Equality
• Generation Equality Forum
• Action packs

7 Photos that Capture the Heartbreak of Climate Change

Photojournalist Katie Orlinsky ’12JRN has spent over six years documenting the ever-shifting relationship between people, animals, and the land in one of the most environmentally vulnerable areas of the world.

For close to a decade I worked as a photojournalist covering stories in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. I documented sex trafficking in Nepal and women’s rights activists in Mali, and I spent time in Mexico photographing women and children whose lives have been upended by the drug war. Then, in 2014, a chance assignment for an Austrian magazine sent me to the Arctic to photograph the Yukon Quest, a thousand-mile sled-dog race along the historical route traveled by prospectors, adventurers, and mail carriers during the Klondike Gold Rush.

At that time, a trip to the frozen North American hinterlands was about as far out of my wheelhouse as you could get, both professionally and personally. I was born and raised in New York City, and my work revolved around conflict and social issues. Though I’d had plenty of experience with roughing it on assignment, the closest I’d come to living in the wilderness was as a preteen at summer camp in Vermont. I’d never been farther north than Montreal — which was already far too cold for my liking. The Arctic was a part of the world I rarely thought about.

That February, when I arrived in the Canadian Yukon, average temperatures hovered around −30°F. But I couldn’t focus on the cold. The places where the Yukon Quest teams race and train are some of the most beautiful untouched landscapes in the world, and I was blown away by the sparkling snow, dramatic vistas, and muted pastel light. The race, along with the more well-known Iditarod, is one of the toughest sporting events on the planet, and the intense bond between the mushers and their incredible canine athletes both fascinated and moved me. Still, it was just one assignment. I assumed that after a few weeks I would go home to New York City and then return to covering projects in Latin America.

Yet as the race went on, something began to change. About three days in, I was driving around Dawson City, Canada, with Eva Holland, a local writer who has been covering the Yukon Quest for years. Dawson City marks the halfway point in the race, and all the teams were required to take a mandatory thirty-six-hour rest. Eva and I had started to drive across the frozen Yukon River to interview and photograph mushers who had set up camp on the other side of town. We were about twenty feet away from the shore when Eva realized that the ice road — one she had driven on every winter — was no longer frozen. After slamming the car into reverse and getting back on solid ground, we had to take a moment to get over the shock of what had just happened. Eventually we made our way to the camp on foot.

Once we got there, mushers told us their own stories about the dangers caused by erratic weather conditions. I learned that warm spells followed by cold weather create pockets of water in between deceptively thin layers of ice, destroying the trails and ice roads that numerous rural and indigenous villages rely on. This further isolates those communities and, worse, makes it unpredictable and dangerous to hunt by snowmobile or sled.

Hunting and fishing are the cultural and economic anchors of the North’s many indigenous groups, and in addition to creating dangerous conditions for humans, warming weather means that animals are now dying off or migrating in new patterns. This further impacts those who rely on hunting not only for nutrition and income but as a mainstay of their spiritual practices. People told us about how village elders used to be able to predict the weather by looking for certain signs in the landscape. These careful observations, preserved and adapted over hundreds if not thousands of generations, were no longer useful. I also learned about places farther south in Alaska, which I would visit years later, where climate change is exacerbating erosion, accelerating permafrost thaw, and creating storms and floods that are forcing entire villages to relocate. All over the world, communities are being displaced as a result of climate change, and in the US the majority of them are in Alaska. These tiny towns occasionally make headlines, only to recede into the background once the news cycle moves on.

It wasn’t until I saw the day-to-day impact of climate change that I grasped the severity of what is happening to our planet. I knew I had to share this understanding with others, and what started as a random assignment has led to a life-changing new mission. For the last six years, I have spent much of my time in Alaska documenting the real impacts of our changing planet and exploring how climate change is transforming the relationship between people, animals, and the land. A majority of my work has been focused on the resilience, perseverance, and survival of the Alaskan Native communities that are struggling valiantly to adapt their traditional practices to increasingly hostile environments.

Scientists call Alaska ground zero for climate change, and 2019 was its warmest year on record. What is happening there should serve as a warning to the rest of the world. In my work as a photographer I try to frame big-picture political issues by capturing the intimate moments of everyday life behind the headlines. I hope that by focusing on these human stories of our warming climate, I will inspire both empathy and action. 

This article appears in the Winter 2020-21 print issue of  Columbia Magazine  with the title "Images of Change."

More From Arts & Humanities

The Art of Mastering an Accent, According to a Dialect Coach

Michael Walsh ’17SOA weighs in on the hardest accents to learn and the best and worst examples from Hollywood

6 Major Artworks You Might Not Know Were Created by Columbians

From sculptures to subway art, these permanent installations in the New York City metro area were conceived by alumni and faculty

A Pride Month Watch List

Twelve notable films centered on LGBTQ+ characters, all made by or starring Columbians

Stay Connected.

Sign up for our newsletter.

General Data Protection Regulation

Columbia University Privacy Notice

 / 

Photo Essay: Documenting the Swift Change Wrought by Global Warming

More From E360

As ‘doomsday’ glacier melts, can an artificial barrier save it, e360 film contest, for 60,000 years, australia’s first nations have put fire to good use, faced with heavier rains, cities scramble to control polluted runoff, in montana’s northern plains, swift foxes are back from the brink, as canadian river shrivels, northern communities call for a highway, in warming world, global heat deaths are grossly undercounted, biodiversity, the ‘internet of animals’ could transform what we know about wildlife, grim dilemma: should we kill one owl species to save another, on gulf coast, an activist rallies her community against gas exports, with co2 levels rising, world’s drylands are turning green, as world’s springs vanish, ripple effects alter ecosystems, the race to save glacial ice records before they melt away.

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

How to create a photo essay

By Marissa Sapega

According to LDV Capital, there will be 45 billion cameras in the world by 2022 . The proliferation of smartphones with hi-res cameras — coupled with our obsession with documenting the mundane on social media — has led to a glut of images shared on the web .

We're talking 3.2 billion images shared online every single day.

A decade ago, observers were predicting that this would spell the end of professional photography. But as we all know from our Instagram feeds, the need for professional photography — properly produced, contextualised, and published — has never been greater.

With the emergence of next generation digital publishing platforms, we're seeing a new era for photographic essays. Many of the most powerful examples are from journalism, where immersive photos are transforming long-form journalism into a more dynamic and interactive experience.

But powerful photos — coupled with immersive, interactive digital storytelling techniques — are being increasingly incorporated in marketing and communications across multiple industries, from brands to nonprofits. 

In this guide, we'll cover:

• The main types of photo essays
• The new era of photo essays
• Tips for making thoughtful and powerful photo essays
• How to make a compelling photo essay
• We'll also provide a range of photo essay examples as we go

If you're looking for more examples, check out our roundup of photo essay examples .

Let's dive in!

What do the BBC, Tripadvisor, and Penguin have in common? They craft stunning, interactive web content with Shorthand. And so can you! Publish your first story for free — no code or web design skills required. Sign up now.

Types of photo essays

There are two primary types of photo essays: thematic and narrative.

Thematic photo essays

Thematic essays focus on a topical story (like a natural disaster). One example of a great thematic essay comes from NBC News Olympics photos: Emotion runs high .

This piece encapsulates the overall gloom of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — through a series of powerful behind-the-scenes photographs of athletes in varying levels of distress — but does not focus on a particular subject. 

Another example of a great photo story comes from the BBC. In “ From Trayvon Martin to Colin Kaepernick , they tell the story of how Black Lives Matter became entwined with sports. 

Narrative photo essays

Narrative photo essays take the story a step further and tell a specific story through images. 

One striking example is SBS's 28 Days in Afghanistan . This narrative essay documents photojournalist Andrew Quilty's time in the war-ravaged nation through stark photographs and supplementary text.

What is a photo essay in 2023?

A traditional photo essay aims to replace the written word with photographs. Done poorly, it is nothing more than series of images lumped together. Done well, though, the photojournalist or artist takes the reader on an engaging journey.

The main difference between photo essays of yore and photo essays in 2023 is the sophistication of digital publishing. With the rise of digital storytelling platforms, we're seeing a rise in truly interactive and immersive digital photo essays. 

Today, many digital photo essays include quotes and text to supplement the visuals and are formatted using interactive scrollytelling techniques. Scrollytelling is a form of visual storytelling that leverages user engagement (scrolling) to reveal images and text in an interesting and dynamic way. The interactivity compels the viewer to continue consuming the content, and creators have a wide latitude when designing the overall effect.    

Given the benefits of a more dynamic and interactive form of photo essays, it’s easy to see why they have become so popular in recent years. But as with any photo essay, creating an exceptional digital photo essays requires planning, structure, and know-how.

Let's take a closer look with ten tips for great photo essays.

Looking to learn more about interactive visual storytelling? Check out our guide, 8 tips for powerful visual storytelling .

10 tips for great photo essays

1. Create visual structure

An authentic photo essay requires visual markers to help transform a collection of images into a narrative. For example, photo chapter headings in Growing up young introduce each new girl in the story.

Similarly, in SBS’s photojournalism story — 28 days in Afghanistan , mentioned above — each dated header delineates a part of the story, providing an easy-to-follow chronological structure and pace.

Daniel Boud intersperses his own thoughts in between a haunting series of photographs of the iconic Sydney Opera House as it underwent a restoration during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in The Sydney Opera House at Rest .

Text can add depth to the photo essay—but take care where you add it. It should support and enhance the final product, not overshadow it.

2. Make it interactive

In 2023, the best photo essays are interactive. 

One great example of an interactive photo essay is WaterAid’s essay, Water and Climate . This photo essay highlights the people climate change has impacted most brutally, including a video, stark close-up photography, and graphics to get its point across. 

The photo essay uses minimal text, preferring to allow the images to speak for themselves. As a user scrolls, it exposes them to more content. Each visual and supplemental text further immerses the viewer into the story until the end, where they encounter a call to action to join WaterAid in helping those in need.

Nonprofits like WaterAid often use interactive photo essays to compel people to act , because they work. Half the battle of convincing someone to part with their money is creating an emotional connection with them—something a photo essay does particularly well.

3. Produce more content than you need

Have you ever seen how much film footage ends up on the cutting room floor for the average movie (known as the shooting ratio)? It’s a lot.   

Why is this? First, filmmakers know that many of the shots they take will be either poor-quality or simply not up to their exacting standards. Second, if a director included all the footage they took throughout the entire production in the final product, her movie would be a bloated mess.

The editor’s job is to strip away the dead weight to reveal a clean, refined, final product that keeps viewers raptly engaged. However, an editor may struggle to do his job if the director has not provided enough usable footage.

The same principles apply to creating an exceptional photo essay. Always assemble more visuals and content than you think you’ll need so you can use the cream of the crop for the final product. Shedding content may be difficult, but it’s necessary, so be prepared to edit your piece without mercy.

Publishing photos on the web, but confused about the range of file formats? Check out our guide to file formats .

4. Use only the best photos

A photo essay is not an excuse to throw together all the imagery you have. Just like any good story, it needs a focused and compelling narrative that keeps things connected. Each image needs to bring something to the table. 

Remember that photo quality plays a significant role in the overall caliber of a photo essay. If your iPhone isn’t doing your subject justice, don’t be afraid to pull in a professional to make your work come alive.

A great example of this comes from Sky Sports. In their photo essay, Pictured: Diego Maradona , they had to be ruthless when deciding upon the imagery to include.

They no doubt had hundreds — perhaps thousands — of photos to choose from from the many photo shoots in Maradona's life. Yet they knew that each one had to be poignant and compelling in its own way. 

5. Don’t be afraid to edit your photos

Not everyone can be Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz. Happily, with the readily available photo-editing software like Photoshop and high-quality cameras on every smartphone, you don’t need to be. Do your best to acquire top-quality photos, but don’t be timid about improving them!

Thanks to heavy exposure to advertising, viewers today now expect doctored images. Whether you’re refining a photo for a flawless finish or adding a touch of grittiness, use this expectation to your advantage. Dial up the contrast, crop out unnecessary elements, and use filters if they suit your needs.

6. Visit the archives

With so many gleaming, airbrushed-to-perfection photographs online today, exposure to imagery that’s not polished within an inch of its life can be a refreshing change. 

For example, take a look at Mancity’s My Debut Trevor Francis (v Stoke 1981) , which exclusively uses archival images. Not only was this a necessity (the focus was on a decades-old football match), but it lent the entire piece a tattered legitimacy. You wouldn’t expect “Insta-worthy” images because that’s not the experience the author is trying to convey.

7. Storyboard before building

You wouldn’t build a house without drafting a blueprint, would you? (Well, not unless you weren’t too invested in the end-product.) Much like a blueprint, a storyboard helps you convert the vision inside your head into a concrete plan for construction. It can also contribute to your shot list for your photography project. 

Storyboarding forces you to take a step back and evaluate how each element fits into the larger narrative. You may find that half your content is no longer necessary, and that’s okay. It may seem like a barrier to “getting to the fun part” of adding fancy flourishes and creative details, but it’s a critical step for building a good photo essay that genuinely influences viewers.

8. Experiment!

While there are certainly best practices to follow when creating a photo essay, no “one true path” will culminate in perfection every time. Photo essays are a way to express a story; such art is not limited to a template or cookie-cutter outputs.

So, mix it up! Test out different photos, filter effects, text, quotes, and visuals. Pretend you’re playing with a Rubik’s cube when you’re storyboarding and shuffle the content around with abandon. There is no right way to draft a photo essay, and you’ll never settle on one that you believe best conveys your story without a bit of experimentation. (Of course, your first iteration may end up being your best, but at least this way you won’t have any doubts.)

9. Combine data and maps

Adding hard metrics and maps to a photo essay can help support a narrative in ways that photographs can’t. In this essay on segregation in Detroit , NBC included interactive maps of the city that underscored the severity of Detroit’s redlining policy. 

These maps drive home this multimedia photo essay’s primary takeaway: Detroit’s enforced segregation has resulted in almost a century of lower quality of life for its black residents.

10. Get inspired

No matter how compelling the vision in your head is, you can still benefit from a little inspiration. If you're looking for photo essay ideas, consider: 

• Focusing on a single subject for a day (known as a day in the life photo essay).
• Document local events, such as art shows, protests, or community gatherings — this is an endless source of photo essay topics.
• Capture social issues from your local area.
• Start a photo series, in which you document the same specific subject over a period of time.
• Research the great photo essayists from history, such as W. Eugene Smith, and James Nachtwey.
• Dive into the archives of the great photo essay magazines, such as National Geographic and Life Magazine.
• Do some research on your potential subject. This will help you formulate different angles from which to approach your photo essay.
• Sign up to Shorthand's newsletter , which rounds up the best visual stories on the web every other week. 

Now, let's dive into how to make a stunning photo essay using Shorthand.

How to make a stunning digital photo essay

Traditionally, photo essays on the web were little more than a series of images pasted into a blog post. Because most blogs are structured primarily for words, these photos essays didn't do justice to their source media. 

However, as web browsers became more powerful and bandwidth increased, a range of content platforms — including no-code digital storytelling platforms like Shorthand — have evolved to make it easier to create stunning visual stories. We've linked to many of these in this guide. 

In this section, we're going to run through how to make a photo essay using Shorthand. If you're not a Shorthand customer, you can sign up here and follow along.

1. Create a new story

In your Shorthand dashboard, click 'New Story.' If you'd like, you can choose from any of our templates to help you get started. For now, though, we're going to start with a blank canvas.

The template chooser

2. Add your title image

Every photo essay needs a stunning title image to hook the reader. Depending on what kind of photo essay you're creating, this could be a photo of the subject or theme of the piece. You can also choose to add a title, subtitle, and author. 

3. Add a text section

Every photo essay needs a written introduction, to help contextualise the images that follow. Simply click 'New Section' and 'Text', before pasting in your introductory copy.

Adding a Text section.

4. Add your first photo

Now it's time to add the first photo in your essay. Simply click 'New Section' and 'Media.' In photo essays, hierarchy is critical, so make sure you've thought about which photo is most appropriate at the top of your essay. In Shorthand, your photo will appear in all its  full-screen glory.

Image in a 'Media' section.

5. Add a Reveal section

You also have the option of adding a 'Reveal' section, which allows you to add text that floats over your images. This text can act as a commentary or de facto caption for each photo in your essay.

Simply click 'New Section' and 'Reveal.' You'll be able to also upload a version of the image for mobile, and set focus areas to make sure the most important parts of your image are shown.

A 'Reveal' section with accompanying text box.

6. Add transition effects

Depending on the nature of your photo essay, you may wish to add transition effects between some images. A ‘Reveal’ section is the best way to achieve this. You'll have the option of choosing from several types of transitions that occur as your reader scrolls from one full-screen image to the next, and each image can have its own text box, too.

Testing a Reveal section in the Shorthand editor

7. Add Scrollmation effects

If you want to use images in concert with large amounts of text, then consider using Shorthand's Scrollmation feature. This allows you to transition through a range of images as the reader scrolls down a column of text. 

To do this — you guessed it — simply click 'New Section' and 'Scrollmation' or 'Background Scrollmation.' 

The difference between the two is simple: In a Scrollmation section, the text appears in a column beside your images, while in a Background Scrollmation section,  images fill the screen and the text column appears over the images. A sequence of related images can give the effect of animation triggered by the reader’s scrolling.

A Scrollmation section within the editor

Background Scrollmation in the editor

8. Add a Media Gallery

If you have many different images, and want to create a mosaic effect in your essay, then you can use a media gallery. To do this, simply click 'New Section' and 'Media Gallery.' 

You can then upload your images, and experiment with their size and arrangement to achieve your intended effect.

Creating a Media Gallery section in the editor

9. Preview your story

Photo essays — more than many other genres of content on the web — can run into problems with different screen sizes. Before you publish, make sure you test your story using Shorthand's preview option. 

You'll be able to see what your story looks like on desktop, mobile, and tablet viewports, and make adjustments as needed. You can also share your preview link with collaborators, and get pre-publication feedback and quality-assurance.

Story previews in the editor, simulating a phone and iPad.

10. Publish 🚀

The final step is to publish your essay to the world! You now have an immersive, potentially interactive photo essay — without writing a line of code. 

Contemporary photo essays are creative endeavours rife with opportunities for interactivity. Organisations and artists alike use them as modern, impactful vehicles to convey powerful stories. Try creating one for yourself using Shorthand for free today!

Publish your first story free with Shorthand

Craft sumptuous content at speed. No code required.

• Newsletters

This photographer-scientists collaboration shows the speed of climate change

Ian van Coller had scientists annotate his photos to show how climate change is warping geological time around the world.

• Ian van Coller archive page

Climate change is warping geological time, compressing the time scales of natural processes. In photographs taken around the world, Ian van Coller has documented these shifts, reflected in rocks, sediment, and the shrinking of glaciers. Van Coller collaborates with scientists who annotate his images, pointing out key geological features. He also uses historical photos to show changes, juxtaposing the black-and-white images taken by earlier expeditions with today’s landscapes; peaks once covered in snow are now bare rock.

Climate change and energy

Your future air conditioner might act like a battery

New technologies store cooling power for when it’s needed most.

• Casey Crownhart archive page

This rare earth metal shows us the future of our planet’s resources

The story of neodymium reveals many of the challenges we’ll likely face across the supply chain in the coming century and beyond.

Want to understand the future of technology? Take a look at this one obscure metal.

Here’s what neodymium can tell us about the next century of material demand.

Hydrogen bikes are struggling to gain traction in China

Over a dozen Chinese cities are experimenting with hydrogen-powered shared bikes, partly because of safety concerns around lithium-ion batteries.

• Zeyi Yang archive page

Stay connected

Get the latest updates from mit technology review.

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at [email protected] with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.

Sign up for our  free weekly newsletter  and understand everything better!

Climate Change

Photo Essay: Climate Change in the Central Valley

Share this:.

Photographer Jonno Rattman spent a week photographing the Central Valley for Bay Nature’s summer 2019 cover story, “A Time of Reckoning”. He was struck, as he traveled, by the near total absence of people — it was, he says, one of the brightest, emptiest landscapes he’s ever worked in.

Reckoning in the Central Valley

“Reckoning in the Central Valley” is a collaboration between Bay Nature and KQED Science examining how climate change is laying bare the vulnerabilities of California agriculture.

“Centers of Insurrection”: Central Valley Farmers Reckon With Climate Change

The Disrupters Meet the Disruption: Tech Steps Up to Big Ag and Climate Change

A Time of Reckoning: Climate change is upending agriculture and land use in California’s Central Valley

About the Author

Jonno Rattman is a photographer and master printer. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine , The New Yorker , and The Atlantic , among other publications. Rattman was recognized as one of Photo District News' 30 Emerging Photographer to Watch in 2015. jonnorattman.com

Every story from Bay Nature magazine is the product of a team dedicated to connecting our readers to the world around them and increasing environmental literacy. Please help us keep this unique regional magazine thriving, and support the ecosystem we’ve built around it, by subscribing today—you’ll get Bay Nature four times a year in your mailbox!

Read This Next

Dos Rios Is California’s First State Park in 15 Years, and It Has a Lot to Do

A River Runs Above Us

The Rewilding of California’s Parched Central Valley

Historic Money for Bay Area Nature Has Started to Flow. The Challenge? Spending it.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

Climate change is a women’s issue

Scroll to learn more

Video: Sky News/Film Image Partner

We owe it to ourselves and to the next generation to conserve the environment so that we can bequeath our children a sustainable world that benefits all. Wangari Maathai Environmental activist

The planet is under threat

From human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to the overexploitation of the earth’s natural resources, unsustainable production and consumption patterns pose a risk to all of humanity.

Photo: Yuyao city, Zhejiang province, 2013. Credit: Xinhua / eyevine/Redux

The world’s poorest are often hardest hit

A changing climate affects everyone – but it’s the world’s poorest and those in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls, who bear the brunt of environmental, economic and social shocks.

Photo: Bangladesh, 2011. Credit: Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR/Redux

Climate-induced disasters exacerbate entrenched gender inequalities

Often, women and girls are the last to eat or be rescued; face greater health and safety risks as water and sanitation systems become compromised; and take on increased domestic and care work as resources disappear.

Photo: Haiti, 2016. Credit: UN/MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi

Climate's impact

In many developing countries, women and girls often carry the burden of water and fuel collection and food provision.

Let’s look closer at an example

Photo: Jammu, Kashmir, India, 2016. Credit: Jaipal Singh/EPA

Combined hours spent fetching water every day in 25 sub-Saharan African countries

Data: Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation , 2012 Update, UNICEF, WHO

This is my routine three times a day…I have to fetch water for our use and for the goats and sheep too, as they are too weak to walk

Paulina Epung’u

Mother of seven in Kenya’s drought-stricken District Turkana

Photo: Kenya, 2017. Credit: UN Women/Kennedy Okoth

Climate change increases the risk of droughts

Droughts can destroy crops, soils, flora and fauna, intensify food scarcity, and worsen the situation of women and girls, particularly in already fragile places.

Photo: Llapallapani, Bolivia, 2016. Credit: Josh Haner/The New York Times/Redux

The various consequences of drought

• Violence against women
• Maternal deaths
• Child Marriage
• Malnutrition
• Illegal land grabbing
• Sanitation & hygiene
• Living conditions
• Food security
• Fuel supplies
• School attendance

We have no other spare or replacement planet. We have only this one, and we have to take action. Berta Cáceres Honduran indigenous and environmental rights activist

Implementing change

The time to act is now.

As early adopters of new agricultural techniques, first responders in crises, entrepreneurs of green energy, or decision-makers at home, women are agents of change who must equally be part of the solution towards a sustainable future.

Here’s how UN Women and its partners are paving the way

Photo: Mali, 2013. Credit: World Bank/Dominic Chavez

Sustainable solutions

The situation

Today, greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels remain primary energy sources. Women disproportionately bear the burden of energy poverty.

1 . 1  billion

People lacking access to electricity.

3  billion

People still cooking and heating their homes with solid fuels.

4 . 3  million

Deaths linked to household air pollution generated by solid fuels in 2012.

Data: Access to electricity , The World Bank; World Health Statistics 2017, Monitoring Health for the SDGs , World Health Organization. Photo: Vietnam, 2011. Credit: UN Photo/Kibae Park

The response

UN Women and UN Environment have joined forces under a global programme to promote women’s entrepreneurship for sustainable energy. The programme will initially roll out in Senegal, Morocco, Myanmar, India, Indonesia and Bolivia.

Women in India estimated to gain access to clean, renewable energy as part of current programme efforts

Photo: Liberia, 2015. Credit: Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos for UN Women

Gender-responsive action

Parts of Africa and Western Asia are confronting a humanitarian crisis brought on by drought.

3 . 4  million

People lacking food security out of the 5.6 million affected by drought.

3 6 , 9 8 8

Pregnant and lactating women requiring treatment for malnutrition.

Data: 2017 Flash Appeal, September-December 2017 , ReliefWeb;  Kenya: US$106 million needed to step up drought response in the critical months ahead , UN OCHA. Photo: Yemen, 2016. Credit: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times/Redux

UN agencies have mobilized to provide shelter, water, food, sanitation, emergency relief and protection services. In Kenya, for instance, UN Women is working with the government’s drought agency to address women’s unique needs.

$ 1 0 6  million

2017 flash appeal by 46 humanitarian agencies to reach 1.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of drought in Kenya

Data: 2017 Flash Appeal, September-December 2017 , ReliefWeb;  Kenya: US$106 million needed to step up drought response in the critical months ahead , UN OCHA. Photo: Kenya, 2015. Credit: Dai Kurokawa/EPA

Climate resilience

Global warming, rising temperatures and sea levels, and extreme weather events are threatening island nations and coastal communities, putting the livelihoods of millions at risk.

Additional climate-related deaths per year expected between 2030 and 2050 from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.

Data: Climate change and health , World Health Organization. Photo: Texas, USA, 2017. Credit: Andrew Burton/The New York Times/Redux

In Seychelles, women-led Wildlife Clubs, supported by a UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, are teaching future generations about mangrove conservation and ocean sustainability. In Bangladesh, UN Women has strengthened disaster response systems across the country’s 10 most climate-vulnerable districts.

Bangladeshi women trained under UN Women- supported efforts to respond to disasters.

Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Together, we can achieve a sustainable future for all.

Step it up for gender equality..

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.

Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region..

• Annual Reports
• Policies and Strategies

ORGANIZATION

• Board of Governors
• Board of Directors
• Departments and Country Offices

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Access to Information
• Accountability Mechanism
• ADB and Civil Society
• Anticorruption and Integrity
• Development Effectiveness
• Independent Evaluation
• Administrative Tribunal
• Ethics and Conduct
• Ombudsperson

Strategy 2030: Operational Priorities

Annual meetings, adb supports projects in developing member countries that create economic and development impact, delivered through both public and private sector operations, advisory services, and knowledge support..

ABOUT ADB PROJECTS

• Projects & Tenders
• Project Results and Case Studies

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

• Public Sector Financing
• Private Sector Financing
• Financing Partnerships
• Funds and Resources
• Economic Forecasts
• Publications and Documents
• Data and Statistics
• Asia Pacific Tax Hub
• Development Asia
• ADB Data Library
• Agriculture and Food Security
• Climate Change
• Digital Technology
• Environment
• Finance Sector
• Fragility and Vulnerability
• Gender Equality
• Markets Development and Public-Private Partnerships
• Regional Cooperation
• Social Development
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Urban Development

REGIONAL OFFICES

• European Representative Office
• Japanese Representative Office | 日本語
• North America Representative Office

LIAISON OFFICES

• Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office
• Pacific Subregional Office
• Singapore Office

SUBREGIONAL PROGRAMS

• Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)
• Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program
• Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Program
• Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT)
• South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)

With employees from more than 60 countries, ADB is a place of real diversity.

Work with us to find fulfillment in sharing your knowledge and skills, and be a part of our vision in achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable asia and the pacific., careers and scholarships.

• What We Look For
• Career Opportunities
• Young Professionals Program
• Visiting Fellow Program
• Internship Program
• Scholarship Program

FOR INVESTORS

• Investor Relations | 日本語
• ADB Green and Blue Bonds
• ADB Theme Bonds

INFORMATION ON WORKING WITH ADB FOR...

• Consultants
• Contractors and Suppliers
• Governments
• Executing and Implementing Agencies
• Development Institutions
• Private Sector Partners
• Civil Society/Non-government Organizations

PROCUREMENT AND OUTREACH

• Operational Procurement
• Institutional Procurement
• Business Opportunities Outreach

Climate Change: Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level

Photo essay | 05 june 2014, share this page.

The 2014 World Environment Day theme is Raise your voice, not the sea level. These pictures show the impact of climate change on small islands, and how the people of Asia and the Pacific are bravely struggling to adapt where they can.

• Micronesia, Federated States of
• Climate change

Latest Photo Essays

Tajikistan is among the countries with a very high exposure to climate and disaster risks. Around 400 climate-induced incidents (such as avalanches, mudflows, landslides, and flash floods) happen yearly in the country, severely affecting people and the economy. Students of an art school in Tajikistan painted images of the impacts of climate change they’d witnessed in August 2023.

An ADB-assisted $20 million COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency Project improved the longer-term capacity of the Kyrgyz Republic’s health system. With ADB support, the Kyrgyz Republic has upgraded 18 hospitals nationwide by expanding and equipping their intensive care units. The project helped procure medical and personal protection equipment, finance minor rehabilitation, and support salary top-ups and other eligible expenses. The project also improved government resilience to future health pandemics and disasters.

ADB provides steadfast assistance in improving key road corridors and livelihoods in southern Tajikistan. The assistance includes training activities for empowering the economic capacity of women living near the project roads using a mobile app. Such a comprehensive approach is expected to demonstrate the synergetic effects and eventually contribute to strengthening the region's economic platform.

• UN Women HQ

Photo essay: Nine women leading the fight against climate change in Lebanon

Date: Saturday, 5 March 2022

On International Women’s Day, the United Nations in Lebanon celebrates the contribution of women and girls who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all through a virtual photo exhibition featuring nine women climate action activists . Nadida Raad, Caroline Chaptini, Maya Nehmeh, Aaida Ghadban, Myriam Ghsoub, Carole Ayat, Mona Fawaz, Nouhad Awwad and Najat Saliba who are taking innovative actions for climate adaptation across the country. Their work is contributing to a greener, more equitable and prosperous future for Lebanon.

Driving energy initiatives for change

“Energy poverty unfortunately impacts more women than men, therefore as women, we need to have an active role in shaping energy public policy” - Carol Ayat

Carol Ayat is an energy finance professional, an investment banker, and a Senior Fellow at the American University of Beirut Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs. She is on the board of the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative “LOGI” and advocates for producing electricity in a sustainable way. She believes green energy is about creating an ecosystem and improving the well-being of citizens. Ayat says “In Lebanon, the heavy reliance on fossil fuels for electricity production has had a detrimental impact on public finances and our balance of payments; and lately we faced shortages of fossil fuels which threatened energy security. Energy security - the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption - is critical for any country to become more energy independent from foreign countries.” Read Carol’s story>>

Recycling, upcycling and making Lebanon clean

“If I collect five tons of plastic for every project I complete, and if I realize three projects a year, this means that, at the individual level, I can prevent 15 tons of plastic from ending up in forests, streets, and at sea, over the course of one year. It gives me a lot of joy to know that I am making Lebanon cleaner.” - Caroline Chaptini

Caroline Chaptini is a recycling artist, holder of three Guinness World Records in 2020. Even though she does not consider herself an environmental activist, her work has inspired many young people to pay more attention to waste management and to join recycling initiatives. She says “I set my first Guinness record at 36. I never imagined myself doing something even close to recycling. Since then, I truly believe that you can create something out of nothing. Ten years ago, I got divorced. People used to refer to me as ‘the divorcee’. Ever since I embarked on this journey, I became ‘the woman who has won three World Guinness Records.” Read Caroline’s story>>

Sprouting rooftop gardens make for a greener Al Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp

“Our environment is our life. Pollution leads to diseases and the spread of viruses which will endanger our health. We can take the right steps to keep our communities clean.” - Aida Ghadban

Aida Ghadban is a Palestinian refugee living in Al Rashidieh camp. Aida helped train over 100 women to grow their own vegetables on their home’s rooftops. Aida says “They learned useful tips including the distance between plants per row, and how to repel insects. Every day I would visit these women at home, to make sure they are taking good care of their plants and watering them”. This activity was a turning point for these women. “It gave them a sense of freedom and they regained self-confidence, they felt they were giving back to their community. They were happy to accomplish new tasks, beyond routine house chores.” Read Aida’s story>>

Reshaping the quality of life in Lebanon

“Climate action is not simply about choosing our carbon footprints but understanding our role as human beings on this planet, with much more humility.” - Dr Mona Fawaz

Mona Fawaz is a professor in urban Studies and planning at the American University of Beirut and co-founder of the Beirut Urban Lab, a collaborative and interdisciplinary research space producing scholarship on urbanization. Fawaz is the author of over 50 scholarly articles, book sections, and reports. “In Lebanon, people have been encouraged to abuse the environment. When buildings are audited, it is common to find that about 40% of the uses can be curtailed. With the public policy to deliberately subsidize fuel, people did not care about electricity’s cost. One of our ongoing projects with a lab at MIT is investigating urban and housing regulations. We are trying to recommend urban regulations that size buildings in relation to solar capacity, so urban neighborhood can secure a minimum electric lifeline through affordable solar energy.” Read her story>>

Preserving Lebanon’s trees

“We want people to understand that forestry can be a woman’s job.” - Maya Nehme

Maya Nehme, 41, is the Director of Lebanese Reforestation Initiative, a local NGO which aims at conserving and expanding Lebanon's forests through a community-based approach and public-private partnerships. As wildfires in Lebanon have exponentially increased since 2019, reforestation, forest management, wildfires management and land use planning, are needed more than ever. In Lebanon, the number of women specialized in forestry, is not significant, even though the three major NGOs working in forestry, are led by women. “There is a gap in academia, as the Lebanese University is the only higher-education institution to provide a master’s degree in forestry. My team of experts includes more women than men, while this sector is traditionally dominated by men, worldwide,” says Nehme. “Over the years, we’ve seen heads of municipalities focusing on the need to include more women force in local committees, which we willingly do. This is a success on its own.” Read her story>>

Thinking green leads to acting green

“Even if Lebanon’s coast is not as contaminated as we might think, the situation will deteriorate, if we do not act fast. We need to protect our sea life.” - Myriam Ghsoub

Myriam Ghsoub, 29, is a research consultant at the National Center for Marine Sciences in Lebanon. A firm believer in science, she seeks to understand the global environmental changes caused by human activities which are threatening the physical, economic, and food security of local communities, as well as resources for global businesses. She says, “at the Center, we consider ourselves to be the family of the sea”. For Ghsoub, an effective response to environment challenges is linked to early detection. Local communities are the main actors in the mitigation of emergency incidents, such as oil spills. Volunteers can be mobilized in cleanup campaigns. Change starts with us. We do not have to be decision-makers. Change can begin at home.” Read her story>>

Pedalling climate action

“What sort of world are we bringing children into? We must start the change, individually. We need to act now before it is too late. Let us adopt and promote environmentally friendly commute options, such as walking (when possible), cycling, using the bus, or even carpooling.” - Nadida Raad

Nadida Raad, 34, is a co-founder of The Chain Effect, a non-profit organization that promotes the use of the bicycle as a means of transport in Lebanon through street art, public interventions, community projects and city planning. The Chain Effect also addresses the ever-growing problem of mobility and lack of public spaces. Over the past years, their “Bike to Work” events have gathered hundreds of participants. She says, “creating a cycling culture, requires involvement of the community.” Read Nadida’s story>>

Redefining the concept of empowerment and sustainability

“It is proven that green spaces can absorb air pollution. I realize that we cannot remove the diesel generators now, but what we can do is create a culture of green spaces, especially in villages.” - Najat Saliba

Najat A. Saliba, 57, is the co- founder and Executive Director of Environment Academy (EA), an environmental movement led by the American University Beirut (AUB) in collaboration with communities across the country aiming to find transformative and just solutions to environmental breakdown in Lebanon. Dr. Saliba and the team at EA work on climate action with communities in times of unprecedented national crisis. She says, “This is how the Environment Academy came to life; it started from deep frustration with conventional development models and science being silenced. We need to be part of the solution.” Read Najat’s story>>

Boosting the role of youth in environmental issues

“Young children are very enthusiastic about finding solutions to climate change and to tackle the problem of pollution. Older generations seem more reluctant to take action, as they ask for concrete evidence that human activities are contributing to climate change.” - Nouhad Awwad.

Nouhad Awwad, 31, is the founder of the Lebanese national chapter of the Arab Youth Climate Change and project campaigner at Greenpeace MENA, supporting the implementation of the Ummah For Earth project, a global alliance-led initiative working to empower Muslim communities on climate action. From beach cleanups to planting trees to representing Greenpeace MENA and the Ummah For Earth Alliance at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Nouhad has been engaging youth in environmental issues since the age of 15. In 2015, at the age of 25, Nouhad established the Lebanese national chapter of the Arab Youth Climate Movement to create early awareness on climate change of young children, at schools. Read her story>>

VIEW THE VIRTUAL PHOTO EXHIBITION HERE>>

• About UN Women
• Executive Director
• Regional Office
• Regional Director
• Guiding documents
• Report wrongdoing
• Procurement
• Leadership and political participation
• Civil Society
• UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls
• Areas of work and programmes
• Facts and Figures
• Facts and figures: Women and girls during the war in Gaza
• Scope of Our Work: Women, Peace and Security (WPS)
• Scope of Our Work: Humanitarian Action
• Expert Platform on Gender & Countering Violent Extremism in North Africa
• PeaceFem: an app to boost women’s contribution to peacemaking
• Syria WPS programme
• Work for Women Joint Programme
• Governance and national planning
• Gender Innovation Agora
• Young Women Peacebuilders
• UN system coordination
• Intergovernmental support
• Evaluation in the Arab States Region
• Programme implementation
• Contact Information
• Fact and Figures
• UN Women – Nokia partnership
• UN Women Media Compact
• International Women’s Day 2024
• In-focus: The conflict in Gaza
• 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
• International Women's Day 2023
• In Focus: CSW67 (2023)
• International Women’s Day 2022
• Gender equality matters in COVID-19 response
• Beijing+25 Youth Voices
• Publications

News from the Columbia Climate School

Photo Essay: Climate Change, Sea Level and the Vikings

Kevin Krajick

A thousand years ago, powerful Viking chieftans flourished in Norway’s Lofoten Islands, above the Arctic Circle. In an environment frequently hovering on the edge of survivability, small shifts in climate or sea level could mean life or death. People had to constantly adapt, making their living from the land and the sea as best they could. By plumbing the bottoms of deep lakes near key archaeological sites, scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and other institutions are trying to understand how the Vikings did it.   READ THE FULL SCIENTIFIC STORY

Related Posts

How Greenland’s Ice Holds Clues to Our Future

Columbia Climate School Named University Partner for Climate Week NYC 2024

Combating Microplastics With AI Real-Time Monitoring

Columbia Climate School has once again been selected as university partner for Climate Week NYC, an annual convening of climate leaders to drive the transition, speed up progress and champion change. Join us for events and follow our coverage .

Get the Columbia Climate School Newsletter

• Community Voices
• Agriculture
• Artist's Corner
• Editor's Desk
• Environment
• Public Health
• Transportation
• Water Supply

Independent, fact-based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties

In the face of increased risk of wildfire, the San Juan community is taking precautions. Fire-scarred Douglas firs on San Juan Island’s Young Hill evidence past fires. (Salish Current file photo)

The essays, analyses and opinions presented as Community Voices express the perspectives of their authors on topics of interest and importance to the community, and are not intended to reflect perspectives on behalf of the  Salish Current.

Commentary: Proactive approach and community resilience offer hope for protecting landscapes and way of life from escalating wildfire threat

Climate change can significantly heighten the risk of natural disasters, particularly wildfires which pose a concern to the San Juan Islands. The Washington Department of Ecology notes that “climate change causes forest fuels to be drier and more ready to burn.” They report that the number of large fires in the western United States has doubled between 1984 and 2015.

Projections cited by Ecology show that an average annual rise in temperature of one degree Celsius may increase the area burned in a typical year by as much as 600%.

Paul Anderson, executive director of the San Juan Islands Conservation District, shares that concern.

“Wildfire risk and being prepared for wildfire is at the top of mind for a lot of people,” he said. “With extended droughts, more competition for water and hotter, drier summers, we are going to be more prone to fire risk.”

Brendan Cowan, emergency nanagement director of San Juan County, spoke to the importance of understanding the science behind these risks.

“I don’t think anyone knows yet exactly how that’s going to play out, but we certainly have to be on the lookout for that,” he said. However, Cowan remains optimistic: “I do think that if we are thoughtful and careful in how we prepare for that and avoid starting fires in the first place, I think it’s manageable.”

Lopez Island Fire Chief Adam Bigby also cautioned about the implications of  drier summers and dwindling water supplies. “The big thing that concerns me is we’re going to have longer, drier summers,” Bigby said. “We don’t have the water available even now, so what’s that going to look like in the future?” 

Carson Sprenger, general manager of Rain Shadow, a company specializing in ecological restoration, echoed these concerns, noting that the current vegetation composition on the islands makes the landscape highly fire-prone under dry and windy conditions. “I think a lot about drought and fire with the current composition of our vegetation,” he said.

However, Cowan emphasized, “There’s still a lot of work to do.”

David Bill from Midnight’s Farm on Lopez Island also highlighted the compounding effects of climate change on fire risk. He observed, “It’s kind of a multiple storm where you have wetter springs, which make for more vegetation and grass paired with drier summers to make it great fuel for fires. Also, partly as a result of climate change, we are having more people coming up to the islands and people are the cause of fire in the San Juan Islands.”

Regarding the county’s current state of preparedness, Cowan asserted, “Overall, our community does a better job of [preparing ourselves against natural disasters] than many other places.” He attributed this to the islanders’ independent mindset, noting, “People who choose to live on islands usually have a desire to be self-sufficient and use common sense and understand that we live in a place where our connection to the mainland is tenuous … we’ve all seen how the ferry can be disrupted and power can go out.”

Fortunately, San Juan County is already taking proactive measures to mitigate wildfire risks to protect our community. 

Anderson highlighted the Wildfire Ready Neighbors program. Through this initiative, landowners and homeowners can sign up for a free site assessment, during which experts evaluate properties and provide a report card on wildfire preparedness.

The Lopez Community Land Trust (LCLT) is setting an example in building homes with fire risk in mind and taking proactive steps. LCLT Director Sandy Bishop explained the importance of choosing fire-resistant building materials and creating defensible space around homes.

Cowan emphasized the importance of proactive thinking. He underscored that there is no single solution to preparedness, advocating for diverse approaches: “Lots of different people have different ways to be resilient, and they are all right. As long as you have thought about it and have a plan, that’s great.”

Bigby echoed the need for individual responsibility. “People worry too much about their neighbors and not enough about their own property,” he noted. Bigby also raised concerns about the shortage of volunteers and funding for the fire department.

San Juan County is taking action to address the growing wildfire risks fueled by climate change. Through initiatives like Wildfire Ready Neighbors and fuel-load reduction, the community is taking important steps toward preparedness.

However, as climate threats increase, ongoing efforts are needed. Local leaders stress the importance of individual responsibility, ecosystem restoration, and securing adequate funding and volunteers. While challenges remain, the county’s proactive approach and community resilience offer hope for protecting its landscapes and way of life from the escalating wildfire threat.

— By Isara Greacen

Also read in Salish Current :

• “ Wildfire fighting is on a year-round cycle ,” Dec, 13, 2023
• “ San Juans assess fire risk, in the aftermath of Lahaina ,” Sept. 1, 2023

We welcome  letters to the editor  responding to or amplifying subjects addressed in Community Voices. If you wish to contribute to  Community Voices , please send an email with a subject proposal to Managing Editor Patheresa Wells-Vick ( [email protected] ) and she will respond with guidelines.

Help keep the local news flowing — support nonpartisan, fact-based, no-paywall local journalism with a  donation  to the  Salish Current  — news for people, not for profit.

written by:

Isara Greacen is a climate communications intern for the Lopez Community Land Trust. She grew up on Lopez Island and now attends Scripps College.

• Agriculture ,
• Artist's Corner ,
• Community Voices ,
• Editor's Desk ,
• Education ,
• Environment ,
• Governance ,
• Journalism ,
• Public Health ,
• Recreation ,
• Transportation ,
• Water Supply ,

More to read from our nonprofit news partners

• Crosscut / Cascade PBS: Independent, reader-supported, nonprofit news for the Pacific Northwest
• ICT News: Independent, nonprofit, multimedia news covering Indigenous peoples
• InvestigateWest: Dedicated to change-making investigative journalism for the Pacific Northwest
• KMRE-FM Kulshan Community Media: Listener-supported community radio for Bellingham and Whatcom County
• KNKX Public Radio: Jazz, blues and news that inspire, enlighten and connect our community
• KUOW Public Radio: Seattle’s NPR news station
• Post Alley: Seattle-based Northwest writers' collective
• Rainshadow Journal: News and opinion from the Upper Left Coast
• Salish Sea News and Weather: Weekday news from around the Salish Sea
• Washington State Standard: Original reporting, analysis and commentary on Washington state government and politic
• Whatcom Watch: A community forum on government, environmental issues and media

A STRONG COMMUNITY NEEDS A STRONG LOCAL PRESS.

Help us revive local journalism.

Sign up for news alerts and our weekly newsletter:

40 degrees in August? A climate expert explains why Australia is ridiculously hot right now

The Conversation

Topic: Weather

Sydneysiders enjoyed a few days of beach weather over the weekend.  ( ABC News: Berge Breiland )

It's winter in Australia, but as you've probably noticed, the weather is unusually warm. The top temperatures over large parts of the country this weekend were well above average for this time of year.

The outback town of Oodnadatta in South Australia recorded 38.5 degrees Celsius on Friday and 39.4C on Saturday — about 16C above average. Both days were well above the state's previous winter temperature record. In large parts of Australia, the heat is expected to persist into the coming week.

A high-pressure system is bringing this unusual heat — and it's hanging around. So temperature records have already fallen and may continue to be broken for some towns in the next few days.

It's no secret the world is warming. In fact, 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record . Climate change is upon us. Historical averages are becoming just that: a thing of the past.

That's why this winter heat is concerning. The warming trend will continue for at least as long as we keep burning fossil fuels and polluting the atmosphere. Remember, this is only August. The heatwaves of spring and summer are only going to be hotter.

Records broken across Australia

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) was expecting many records to be broken over the weekend across several states. On Thursday, meteorologist Angus Hines described:

"A scorching end to winter, with widespread heat around the country in coming days, including the chance of winter records across multiple states for maximum temperature."

The amount of heat plunging into central Australia was particularly unusual, Hines said.

On Friday, temperatures across northern South Australia and southern parts of the Northern Territory were as much as 15C above average.

Temperatures continued to soar across northern parts of Western Australia over the weekend, with over 40C recorded at Fitzroy Crossing on Sunday. It has been 2–12C above average from Townsville all the way down to Melbourne for several days in a row.

Bear in mind, it's only August. As Hines said, the fire weather season hasn't yet hit most of Australia, but the current conditions — hot, dry and sometimes windy — are bringing moderate to high fire danger across Australia. It may also bring dusty conditions to central Australia.

And for latitudes north of Sydney and Perth, most of the coming week will be warm.

What's causing the winter warmth?

In recent days a stubborn high pressure system has sat over eastern Australia and the Tasman Sea. It has kept skies clear over much of the continent and brought northerly winds over many areas, transporting warm air to the south.

High pressure promotes warm weather — both through clearer skies that bring more sunshine, and by promoting the descent of air which causes heating .

By late August, both the intensity of the Sun and the length of the day has increased. So the centre of Australia can really warm up under the right conditions.

High pressure in June can be associated with cooler conditions because more heat is lost from the surface during those long winter nights. But that's already less of an issue by late August.

This kind of weather set-up has occurred in the past. Late-winter or early-spring heat does sometimes occur in Australia. However, this warm spell is exceptional, as highlighted by the broken temperature records across the country.

August temperatures have been rising over the past century.  ( Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology )

Feeling the heat

The consequences of humanity's continued greenhouse gas emissions are clear. Australia's winters are getting warmer overall. And winter "heatwaves" are becoming warmer.

Australia's three warmest Augusts on record have all occurred since 2000 — and last August was the second-warmest since 1910 . When the right weather conditions occur for winter warmth across Australia, the temperatures are higher than a century ago.

The warmth we are experiencing now comes off the back of a recent run of global temperature records and extreme heat events across the Northern Hemisphere .

This warm spell is set to continue, with temperatures above 30C forecast from Wednesday through to Sunday in Brisbane. The outlook for spring points to continued above-normal temperatures across the continent, but as always we will likely see both warm and cold spells at times.

Such winter warmth is exceptional and already breaking records. Climate change is already increasing the frequency and intensity of this kind of winter heat — and future warm spells will be hotter still if humanity's greenhouse gas emissions continue.

Andrew King is senior lecturer in climate science at The University of Melbourne. This piece first appeared on The Conversation .

Knowledge is power

Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our newsletters.

• Eye on the Storm News
• Weekly News from Yale Climate Connections

Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Yale Climate Connections

When will climate change turn life in the U.S. upside down?

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)

The words of explorer John Wesley Powell on the eve of his departure into the unexplored depths of the Grand Canyon in 1869 best describe how I see our path ahead as we brave the unknown rapids of climate change:

We are now ready to start our way down the Great Unknown. We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls rise over the river, we know not. Ah, well! We may conjecture many things. The men talk as cheerfully as ever; jests are bandied about freely this morning; but to me the cheer is somber and the jests are ghastly.

Powell’s expedition made it through the canyon, but the explorers endured great hardship, suffering near-drownings, the destruction of two of their four boats, and the loss of much of their supplies. In the end, only six of the nine men survived.

Likewise, we find ourselves in an ever-deepening chasm of climate change impacts, forced to run a perilous course through dangerous rapids of unknown ferocity. Our path will be fraught with great peril, and there will be tremendous suffering, great loss of life, and the destruction of much that is precious.

It is inevitable that climate change will stop being a hazy future concern and will someday turn everyday life upside down. Very hard times are coming. At the risk of causing counterproductive climate anxiety and doomism, I offer here some observations and speculations on how the planetary crisis may play out, using my 45 years of experience as a meteorologist, including four years of flying with the Hurricane Hunters and 20 years blogging about extreme weather and climate change. The scenarios that I depict as the most likely are much harsher than what other experts might choose, but I’ve seen repeatedly that uncertainty is not our friend when it comes to climate change. This will be a long and intense ride, but if you stick through the end, I promise there will be a rainbow.

By late this century, I am optimistic that we will have successfully ridden the rapids of the climate crisis, emerging into a new era of non-polluting energy with a stabilizing climate. There are too many talented and dedicated people who understand the problem and are working hard on solutions for us to fail.

Jump to a section of this essay

What is a dangerous level of climate change, climate change’s impacts will be highly asymmetric, an immediate u.s. climate change threat: an insurance crisis, a second potential immediate u.s. climate change threat: a global food shock, “black swan” and “gray swan” extreme weather events, a “new normal” of extreme weather has not yet arrived, longer-range concerns: global catastrophic risk events, devastating impacts from climate change are accelerating, paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology, hope for the future via ‘cathedral thinking’.

Although there is a major climate change hurricane approaching, we’re busy throwing a hurricane party , charging up our planetary credit card to pay for the expenses, with little regard to the approaching storm that is already cutting off our escape routes. This great storm will fundamentally rip at the fabric of society, creating chaos and a crisis likely to last for many decades.

The intensifying climate change storm will soon reach a threshold I think of as a category 1 hurricane for humanity — when long-term global warming surpasses 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures, a value increasingly characterized over the last decade as “dangerous” climate change .

For humanity as a whole, this amount of warming is risky, but not devastating. Global warming is currently at about 1.2-1.3 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures and is likely to cross the 1.5-degree threshold in the late 2020s or early 2030s .

Assuming that we don’t work exceptionally hard to reduce emissions in the next 10 years, the world is expected to reach 2 degrees Celsius of warming between 2045 and 2051. In my estimation, that will be akin to a major category 3 hurricane for humanity — devastating, but not catastrophic.

Allowing global warming to exceed 2.5 degrees Celsius will cause category 4-level damage to civilization — approaching the catastrophic level. And warming in excess of 3 degrees Celsius will likely be a catastrophic category 5-level superstorm of destruction that will crash civilization.

We must take strong action rapidly to rein in our emissions of heat-trapping gases to avoid that outcome — and build great resilience to the extreme climate of the 21st century that we have so foolishly brought upon ourselves.

According to the Carbon Action Tracker (see tweet below), we are on track for 2.7 degrees Celsius of warming; if the nations of the world meet their targets for reducing heat-trapping climate pollution, warming will be limited to 2.1 degrees. There’s a big difference between being hit by a Cat 4 versus a Cat 3, and every tenth of a degree of warming that we prevent will be critical.

Two years on from Glasgow and our warming estimates for government action have barely moved. Governments appear oblivious to the extreme events of the past year, somehow thinking treading water will deal with the flood of impacts? https://t.co/fbM4xY9OJe pic.twitter.com/MekGIeU1Z3 — ClimateActionTracker (@climateactiontr) December 5, 2023

As climate scientist Michael Mann explains in his latest book, “ Our Fragile Moment ,” great climate science communicator Stephen Schneider once said, “The ‘end of the world’ or ‘good for you’ are the two least likely among the spectrum of potential [climate] outcomes.” So forget sci-fi depictions of planetary apocalypse. That will not be our long-term climate change fate.

But the impacts of climate change will be apocalyptic for many nations and people — particularly those that are not rich and White. People and communities with the least resources tend to be the first and hardest hit by climate change , not only because poorer people and communities are inherently more vulnerable to the impacts of any disaster, but also because the extremes induced by climate change tend to be worse in the tropics and subtropics, home to many poor nations.

In the U.S., climate change has already turned life upside down for numerous communities. For example, in North Carolina, the financially strapped, Black-majority towns of Fair Bluff and Princeville are in danger of abandonment from hurricane-related flooding (from Hurricane Floyd in 1999, Matthew in 2016, and Florence in 2018). Seven Springs, North Carolina (population 207 in 1960, now just 55) is largely abandoned.

Climate change was a key contributor to these floods; a 2021 study found that about one-third of the cost of major U.S. flood events since 1988, totaling $79 billion, could be attributed to climate change. And for the town of Paradise, California — utterly destroyed by the devastating Camp Fire of 2018, which killed 85 and caused over $16 billion in damage — climate change has been apocalyptic.

In the U.S., the most likely major economic disruption from climate change over the next few years might well be a collapse of the housing market in flood-prone and wildfire-prone states. Billion-dollar weather disasters — which cause about 76% of all weather-related damages — have steadily increased in number and expense in recent years and would be even worse were it not for improved weather forecasts and better building codes. The recent increase in weather-disaster losses has brought on an insurance crisis — especially in Florida , Louisiana , California , and Texas — which threatens one of the bedrocks of the U.S. economy, the housing and real estate market.

In California, the insurer of last resort, the FAIR plan, had only about $250 million in cash on hand as of March 2024.

“One major fire near Lake Arrowhead, where the Plan holds $8 billion in policies, would plunge the whole scheme into insolvency,” observed Harvard’s Susan Crawford, author of “Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm.”

It is widely acknowledged that higher weather disaster losses result primarily from an increase in exposure : more people with more stuff moving into vulnerable places, including those at risk of floods. Martin Bertogg, Swiss Re’s head of catastrophic peril, said in a 2022 AP interview that two-thirds, perhaps more, of the recent rise in weather-related disaster losses is the result of more people and things in harm’s way.

But this balance will likely shift in the coming decades. Increased exposure will continue to drive increased weather disaster losses, but the fractional contribution of climate change to disaster losses — at least for wildfire, hurricane, and flood disasters — is likely to increase rapidly, making the insurance crisis accelerate.

A 2023 study (Fig. 2) drew attention to a massive real estate bubble in the U.S.: the vast number of properties whose purported value doesn’t account for the true costs of floods. The study estimated that across the U.S., residential properties are overvalued by a total of $121-$237 billion under current flood risks. This bubble will likely continue to grow as sea levels rise, storms dump heavier rains, and unwise risky development continues.

Likewise, U.S. properties at risk of wildfires are collectively overvalued by about $317 billion, according to David Burt , a financial guru who foresaw the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. Insurers are already pulling out of the areas most at risk, threatening to make property ownership too expensive for millions and posing a serious threat to the economically critical real estate industry.

Climate futurist Alex Steffen has described the climate change-worsened real estate bubble this way:

As awareness of risk grows, the financial value of risky places drops. Where meeting that risk is more expensive than decision-makers think a place is worth, it simply won’t be defended. It will be unofficially abandoned. That will then create more problems. Bonds for big projects, loans, and mortgages, business investment, insurance, talented workers — all will grow more scarce. Then, value will crash, a phenomenon I call the Brittleness Bubble .

Something brittle is prone to a sudden, catastrophic failure and cannot easily be repaired once broken. The popping of the real estate Brittleness Bubble will potentially trigger panic selling and a housing market collapse like a miniature version of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 but focused on the 20% of American homes in wildfire and flood risk zones. In his 2023 Congressional testimony , Burt estimated that a wildfire and flood-induced repricing of risk of the U.S. housing market could have a quarter to half the impact of the 2008 Great Financial Crisis.

However, the 2008 crisis was relatively short-lived, as fixes to the financial system and a massive federal bailout led to a rebound in property values after a few years. A climate change-induced housing crisis will likely be resistant to a similar fix because the underlying cause will worsen: Sea levels will continue to rise, flooding heavy rains will intensify, and wildfires will grow more severe, increasing risk.

Science writer Eugene Linden wrote in 2023, “as we saw in 2008, a housing crisis can quickly morph into a systemic financial crisis because banks own most of the value, and thus the risk, in housing and commercial real estate.”

Crawford of Harvard recently wrote : “Because insurance can help communities and households recover more quickly from disasters, and because so much of the U.S. economy is driven by spending on housing, the inaccessibility and unaffordability of insurance poses a threat to the stability of the entire economy.”

As Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse , a Democrat from Rhode Island, said earlier this year, “The thing about economic crises is that they come on slowly, until they come on fast.”

How the insurance crisis may play out: the “Wholly irrational and completely ad-hoc pirate capitalism” solution

In his blunt 2023 essay, “ Insurance Politics at the End of the World ,” journalist Hamilton Nolan offers these thoughts on the potential ways this climate change-induced insurance crisis could be addressed:

The rational capitalism solution here is: We accurately price your risk and that risk becomes unaffordable and people move away from areas that are stupid to live in and therefore climate adaptation is achieved. The rational socialism solution is: We collectively embrace the idea that we need to adapt to climate change and the federal government creates long-term programs that incentivize moving away from areas that are stupid to live in and disincentivize “build as much crap in South Florida flood zones as you can now to take advantage of the real estate bubble” and generally cushion the economic blow for all the people whose lives will have to change. The path we are on today, though — the path that our current political system makes likely — is the path of Wholly Irrational and Completely Ad-Hoc Pirate Capitalism: Increasing climate change-induced disasters cause panic among homeowners as a class; politicians rush to grab dollars to enable everyone to live the same as they are now for as long as possible; and eventually the whole thing crashes into the wall of reality in a way that causes uncontainable, national pain rather than just the specific, regional, temporary pain of the smarter solutions.

When will the Brittleness Bubble pop?

When might this “crash into the wall of reality” happen and the Brittleness Bubble pop? Politicians are working extremely hard to keep their jobs by delaying this day of reckoning, artificially limiting insurance rate rises and offering state-run insurance plans of last resort. This approach — the equivalent of giving a blood transfusion to the injured, without stopping the bleeding — does not fix the underlying problem and all but guarantees that the pain of the eventual national reckoning will be much larger. Insurance is designed to transfer risk, but risk is rising everywhere.

As the hurricane season is set to begin soon and wildfire risk gradually increasing, private insurers in some states are fleeing areas considered at high risk. It's leaving so-called "residual," or last resort plans, to pick up the tab. https://t.co/3sxv9m0FOS pic.twitter.com/YTkZ9OlJE3 — Axios (@axios) May 10, 2024

Crawford addressed the issue in a 2024 essay, “ Who ends up holding the bag when risky real estate markets collapse? ” Citing financial guru Burt, she concluded: “2025 or 2026 is when things give way and it becomes very difficult to offload houses and buildings in risky places where mortgages are suddenly hard to get, much less insurance.” When asked in an interview with Marketplace if the market is due for another correction, as homeowners in places with growing risk of flooding and wildfire have to pay more for insurance, Burt said:

This is actually happening right now and is probably going to happen over the next three to five years, like a full reckoning of these new costs for 15 or 20% of the homes in the U.S. … If all their equity is already gone [because of lowered property values], their costs are going up a ton, they can barely afford it, that’s when people walk away.

In the same Marketplace story, though, Ben Keys, a professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, said, “The idea that we would expect there to be a huge wave of defaults or delinquencies feels relatively unlikely.”

But like Burt, climate change futurist Steffen predicts the real estate Brittleness Bubble will pop within five years (10 at the most).

I suspect we're less than 5 years away from a prolonged surge of value loss in real estate assets based on risk, insurability, economic brittleness and local capacities to ruggedize (or not). That kind of devaluation will echo through the whole economy. https://t.co/Qs0zyMS38g — Alex Steffen (@AlexSteffen) May 21, 2024

This reckoning could come sooner for Florida if another $100-billion hurricane hits. The Florida insurance and coastal property market did manage to withstand the $117-billion cost of Category 4 Hurricane Ian of 2022, but another blow like that might well cause a severe downward spiral in the Florida real estate market from which it might never fully recover. This vulnerability was underscored by Florida Gov. DeSantis during a 2023 radio interview with a Boston host, when DeSantis suggested homeowners should “ knock on wood ” and hope the state didn’t get hit by a hurricane in 2024.

But “knocking on wood” is not an effective climate adaptation strategy for Florida. Because of climate change, Mother Nature is now able to whip heavier bowling balls with more devastating impact down Hurricane Alley. It’s only a matter of time before she hurls a strike into a major Florida city, causing an intensified coastal real estate and insurance crisis. And the odds of such a strike are higher than average in 2024 because of record-warm ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic, combined with a developing La Niña event.

Watch out for increased coastal flooding in the mid-2030s

We may manage to avoid a coastal real estate market crash in the next 10 years if we get lucky with hurricanes and if our politicians continue to pump huge amounts of money to bail out the failing system.

But it will become increasingly difficult to keep the coastal property market propped up beginning in the mid-2030s, because of accelerating sea level rise combined with an 18.6-year wobble in the moon’s orbit. Thus, I expect that the longest we might stave off the popping of the coastal real estate Brittleness Bubble is 15 years.

As I wrote in my 2023 post, 30 great tools to determine your flood risk in the U.S. , beginning in 2033, the moon will be in a position favorable for bringing higher tides to locations where one high tide and low tide per day dominate. This will bring a rapid increase in high tide flooding to the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Southeast, the West Coast, and Hawaii. This expected acceleration in the mid-2030s is obvious for St. Petersburg (Fig. 3), plotted using NASA’s Flooding Analysis Tool and Flooding Days Projection Tool . The rapid acceleration in coastal flooding simultaneously along a huge swathe of heavily developed U.S. coast in the mid-2030s will be sure to significantly stress the coastal housing market. And according to the Coastal Flood Resilience Project , the nation is flying blind on the possible impacts: There are no national assessments of the potential loss of major, critical infrastructure assets to coastal storms and rising seas.

Another immediate danger: a series of global extreme weather events affecting agriculture, causing global economic turmoil.

In my 2024 post, “ What are the odds that extreme weather will lead to a global food shock? ” I reviewed a 2023 report by insurance giant Lloyd’s, which modeled the odds of a globally disruptive extreme food shock event bringing simultaneous droughts in key global food-growing breadbaskets. The authors estimated that a “major” food shock scenario costing $3 trillion globally over a five-year period had a 2.3% chance of happening per year (Fig. 4). Over a 30-year period, those odds equate to about a 50% probability of occurrence — assuming the risks are not increasing each year, which, in fact, they are.

Yet another concern for the U.S. is the risk of wholly unanticipated “black swan” extreme weather events that scientists didn’t see coming. As Harvard climate scientists Paul Epstein and James McCarthy wrote in a 2004 paper, “Assessing Climate Instability”: “We are already observing signs of instability within the climate system. There is no assurance that the rate of greenhouse gas buildup will not force the system to oscillate erratically and yield significant and punishing surprises.”

One example of such a punishing surprise was Superstorm Sandy of 2012, that unholy hybrid spawn of a Caribbean hurricane/extratropical storm that became the largest hurricane ever observed and one of the most damaging, costing $88 billion. And who anticipated that a siege of climate-change-intensified wildfires in western North America beginning in 2017, causing multiple summers of horrific air quality that would significantly degrade the quality of life in the West? Or the jet stream experiencing a sudden increase in unusually extreme configurations over the past 20 years, leading to prolonged periods of intense extreme weather over multiple portions of the globe simultaneously? As the late climate scientist Wally Broecker once said, “Climate is an angry beast, and we are poking at it with sticks.”

Just as concerning might be future “gray swan” events — extreme weather events that climate models anticipate could happen but exceed anything in the historical record. (“Gray swan” is an expression first coined by hurricane scientist Kerry Emanuel in his 2016 paper, “ Grey swan tropical cyclones .”) Several potential gray swan events I have written about include a $1 trillion California “ARkStorm” flood , the potential failure of the Old River Control Structure during an extreme flood that allows the Mississippi River to change course, or a storm like 2015’s Hurricane Patricia , with winds over 200 mph, hitting Miami, Galveston/Houston, Tampa, or New Orleans. The risk of gray swan events is steadily increasing.

I’m often asked if the absurdly extreme weather events we’ve been experiencing recently are the new normal. “No!” I reply. “Heat is energy, so the energy to fuel more intense extreme weather events will increase until we reach net-zero emissions. At that time, the climate will finally stabilize at a new normal with a highly dangerous level of extreme weather events.”

Barring a series of extraordinary volcanic eruptions or a major geoengineering effort, even under an optimistic “low” emissions climate scenario, the earliest the climate might stabilize is in the mid-2070s (Fig. 5); thus, the weather will grow more extreme, on average, for at least the next 50 years. Considering that CO2 emissions have not yet peaked and may be following the “Intermediate” pathway shown below, there is considerable danger that the weather will still be growing more extreme when today’s children are very old early next century. But even when net zero emissions are reached, sea level rise will continue to occur at a pace difficult to adapt to, and the climate crisis will continue to intensify.

The high probability that the weather will grow more extreme throughout the lifetime of everybody reading this essay means that we have to take seriously some very bad long-term threats. As I wrote in my 2022 post, “ The future of global catastrophic risk events from climate change ,” a global catastrophic risk event is defined as a catastrophe global in impact that kills over 10 million people or causes over $10 trillion (2022 USD) in damage. Since the beginning of the 20th century, there have been only three such events: World War I, World War II, and the COVID-19 pandemic. But climate change is a threat multiplier, increasing the risk of five types of global catastrophic risk events:

• Coastal flooding from sea-level rise and land subsidence
• Collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the powerful currents that circulate warm water in the tropical Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic and back (an August 2024 study gave a 59% chance of an AMOC collapse occurring before 2050)

The likeliest of these is a global catastrophic risk event from sea level rise, which is highly likely to occur by the end of the century. For example, a moderate global warming scenario will put $7.9-12.7 trillion dollars of global coastal assets at risk of flooding from sea level rise by 2100, according to a 2020 study, “ Projections of global-scale extreme sea levels and resulting episodic coastal flooding over the 21st century .” Although this study did not take into account assets that inevitably will be protected by new coastal defenses, neither did it consider the indirect costs of sea level rise from increased storm surge damage, mass migration away from the coast, increased saltiness of fresh water supplies, and many other factors. A 2019 report by the Global Commission on Adaptation estimated that sea level rise will lead to damages of more than $1 trillion per year globally by 2050.

Furthermore, sea level rise, combined with other stressors, might bring about megacity collapse — a frightening possibility when infrastructure destruction, salinification of freshwater resources, and a real estate collapse potentially combine to create a mass exodus of people from a major city, reducing its tax base to the point that it can no longer provide basic services. The collapse of even one megacity might have severe impacts on the global economy, creating increased chances of a cascade of global catastrophic risk events. One megacity potentially at risk of this fate is the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, with a population of 10 million. Land subsidence of up to two inches per year and sea level rise of about an eighth of an inch per year are causing so much flooding in Jakarta that Indonesia is constructing a new capital city in Borneo.

Is the #AMOC approaching a tipping point? Here's my take after researching this topic for over 30 years. Open access, peer-reviewed, in full colour & understandable for non-experts. https://t.co/gMu6Zw5mR7 pic.twitter.com/mrgzO9NMxR — Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf 🌏 🦣 (@rahmstorf) April 11, 2024

I also expect one or more climate change-amplified global catastrophic risk events from drought will occur this century. Mexico City, with a metro area population of 22 million, has suffered record heat over the past year, is in danger of its reservoirs running dry, and is drilling ever-deeper wells to tap an overtaxed aquifer. Though the city will muddle through the crisis now that the summer rains have come this year, what is the plan for 30 years from now, when the climate is expected to be drier and much, much hotter? Although Mexico City can greatly improve its water situation by fixing a poorly maintained system that has a 40% loss rate , it is unclear how the city will be able to survive the much hotter and drier climate of 30 years from now. And at least 10 other major cities are in a similar bind.

Technology can help us adapt to a hotter climate by providing air conditioning (if you are rich enough), but technological solutions to create more water availability when the taps run dry are much more difficult to achieve. I believe water shortages will drive a partial collapse of and mass migration out of multiple major cities 20-40 years from now, significantly amplifying global political and economic turmoil. For example, a 2010 study, “ Linkages among climate change, crop yields and Mexico-US cross-border migration ,” found that a 10% reduction in crop yields in Mexico leads to an additional 2% of the population emigrating to the United States.

In his frightening 2019 book “ Food or War ,” science writer Julian Cribb documents 25 food conflicts that have led to famine, war, and the deaths of more than a million people — mostly caused by drought. Since 1960, Cribb says, 40-60% of armed conflicts have been linked to resource scarcity, and 80% of major armed conflicts occurred in vulnerable dry ecosystems. Hungry people are not peaceful people, Cribb argues.

Though climate change itself is not accelerating faster than what climate scientists and climate models predicted , devastating impacts from climate change do seem to be accelerating. That is because the new climate is crossing thresholds beyond which an infrastructure designed for the 20th century can withstand. These breaches are occurring in tandem with an increase in exposure — more people with more stuff living in harm’s way — which is the dominant cause of the sharp increase in weather-disaster losses in recent years. It’s sobering to realize that the current U.S. insurance crisis has primarily been driven by increased exposure and foolish insurance policies that promote development in risky places — not climate change — and that climate change’s relative contribution to the crisis is set to grow significantly.

Accelerating sea level rise alone is sure to cause a massive shock to the U.S. economy; according to a 2022 report from NOAA , sea level along the U.S. coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10-12 inches (0.25-0.30 meters) in the next 30 years (2020-2050), which will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years (1920-2020). At this level, 13.6 million homes might be at risk of flooding by 2051 , triggering a mass migration of millions of people away from the coast.

If we add to sea-level-rise-induced migration the additional migration that will result from climate change-intensified wildfires, heatwaves, and hurricanes, we are forced to acknowledge the reality that a nation-challenging Hurricane Katrina-level climate change storm has already begun in the U.S., one which has the potential to cause catastrophic damage. As I wrote in my June post, The U.S. is finally making serious efforts to adapt to climate change , there have been some encouraging efforts to prepare for the coming mass migration. But, as I argued in my follow-up post, The U.S. is nowhere near ready for climate change , we remain woefully unprepared for what is coming.

And my subsequent post, Can a colossal extreme weather event galvanize action on the climate crisis? , argues that we should not expect that any future extreme weather event or breakdown of the climate system will galvanize the type of response needed — we’ve already had at least 13 events since 1988 that should have done so, yet have not. Even if such an event did prompt strong, transformative change, it’s too late to avoid having life turned upside-down by climate change. It’s like we’ve waited until our skin started getting red before seeking shade from the sun, and we’re only now taking our first stumbling steps toward shade. Well, it’s a long hike to shade, and a blistering sunburn is unavoidable.

Given the unprecedented nature and complexity of this planetary crisis, there is huge uncertainty on how this drama may unfold; there are climate scientists who offer a more optimistic outlook than I do (for example, Hannah Ritchie , author of “Not the End of the World”), and those who are more pessimistic ( James Hansen ).

I suggest that you make the most of the current “calm before the storm” and prepare for the chaotic times ahead, which could begin at any time. I will offer my recommendations on how to do this in my next post in this series, “What should you do to prepare for the climate change storm?”

The urgency to rapidly deal with the climate crisis was succinctly summarized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its latest summary report: “There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”

But taking advantage of that window of opportunity is difficult because of human psychological and political realities. In climate scientist Peter Gleick’s 2023 book, “The Three Ages of Water,” he quotes Harvard’s E.O. Wilson, father of sociobiology, who perhaps said it best: “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.”

The boat of civilization has already hit multiple rocks along the rapids of climate change and is taking on water. Perilous rapids with even more dangerous rocks and waterfalls lie before us, but the course of our boat cannot be so easily altered to avoid the rocks, because of our Paleolithic emotions and medieval institutions. As a result, we may have only a few more years — or perhaps as long as 15 years — of relative normalcy in our everyday lives here in the U.S. before the approaching climate change storm ends our golden age of prosperity. But this “golden age” was made of fool’s gold, paid for with wealth plundered from future generations.

Though this essay has dwelt on some grim realities, I am optimistic that we will prevent climate change from becoming a civilization-destroying category 5-level catastrophe. But we must fight extremely hard to correct the course of our boat and not allow its inertia to carry us into the rocks that stud the rapids of climate change. This is not a task that can be accomplished in our lifetimes.

Susan Joy Hassol, the climate communication veteran who served as a senior science writer on three National Climate Assessments, put it this way in an interview with Yale Climate Connections contributor Daisy Simmons: “This is the fight of our lives, and it’s a multigenerational task. We need what’s been called ‘cathedral thinking.’ That is, the people who started working on that stone foundation , they never saw the thing finished. It took generations to get these major works done. This is that kind of problem. And we have to all do our part. The more I act, the better I feel, because I know I’m part of the solution.”

Actions we take now will yield enormous future benefits, and the faster we undertake transformative actions to adapt to the new climate reality, the less suffering will occur. The Global Commission on Adaptation says that “every $1 invested in adaptation could yield up to $10 in net economic benefits, depending on the activity.” We should work to build our cathedral of the future with the thought that each action we take now will multiply by a factor of 10 in importance in the future.

An excellent @nytimes article on rapid growth of wind, solar, & EVs, including factories, in the US. Costs are below fossil and nuclear (see graphs). Reasons why, graphs with how fast, pictures of it happening. https://t.co/uglQDnE97t pic.twitter.com/oIpLmlp28v — Willett Kempton (@WillettKempton) September 5, 2023

But some of the hardest work has been done: The cornerstone of this cathedral of the future has already been laid. The clean energy revolution is here and has progressed far more rapidly than I had dared hope. Passage of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 2023 Inflation Reduction Act has been instrumental in getting this cornerstone laid. Solar energy is now the cheapest source of energy in world history, and the costs of wind power and battery technology have also plummeted. Two recent reports were optimistic that climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions had finally peaked in 2023, and GDP growth has decoupled from carbon dioxide emissions in recent years, giving hope that economic growth can still occur without making the planet hotter.

At its heart, the root of the climate crisis is humanity’s spiritual inharmoniousness: We overvalue the pursuit of material wealth and we worship billionaires but undervalue growing more connected to our spiritual selves and acting to preserve and appreciate the natural systems that sustain us. Making yourself more peaceful and loving through quiet spiritual pursuits and time spent in nature will help counteract the anxiety and fear sparked by the climate crisis. But in tandem with your increased peace must come a righteous anger to “throw the money changers out of the temple” and topple the might of the fossil fuel industry and its enablers.

So put your shoulder to an oar! Help us power the boat of civilization through the rapids of climate change. All of humanity shares the same boat, and you have the opportunity to make your own unique and valuable contribution to the effort.

This is a nice way to visualize the pathway to your unique climate action. https://t.co/cjlv5XXrak — Jeff Masters (@DrJeffMasters) May 15, 2024

As promised, here is the rainbow at the end. It’s the intro image from my first and last Weather Underground blog posts, “ The 360-degree Rainbow ,” and “ So long, wunderground! ” My unique and valuable contribution to building our new cathedral has not yet reached the end of the rainbow, for a rainbow has no end — it is a full circle. One just has to fly high in a rainstorm where the sun is shining to see it.

I will continue to make my voice heard as long as climate science-denying politicians, corporations, media pundits, and wealthy individuals continue to row the boat of civilization into the rocks of climate-change catastrophe. I encourage those of you who have learned about extreme weather and climate change from me to do the same. To get started, learn from one of the best communicators in the business, climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe :

Recommended reading:

• What should you do to prepare for the climate change storm?
• Can a colossal extreme weather event galvanize action on the climate crisis?
• The U.S. is nowhere near ready for climate change
• The U.S. is finally making serious efforts to adapt to climate change
• Book review: “On the Move” is a must-read account of U.S. climate migration
• Book review: “The Great Displacement” is a must-read
• Part one of my three-part sea level rise series: How fast are the seas rising?
• Part two of my three-part sea level rise series: Eight excellent books on sea level rise risk for U.S. cities
• Part three of my three-part sea level rise series: 30 great tools to determine your flood risk in the U.S.
• Bubble trouble: Climate change is creating a huge and growing U.S. real estate bubble
• Many coastal residents willing to relocate in the face of sea level rise
• Disasterology: a book review
• The future of global catastrophic risk events from climate change
• With global warming of just 1.2°C, why has the weather gotten so extreme?
• Recklessness defined: breaking 6 of 9 planetary boundaries of safety
• Retreat From a Rising Sea: A book review
• Quick facts on climate change, extreme weather-related events, and their impacts on society
• Susan Crawford’s Substack feed on climate adaptation policy, Moving Day
• Climate futurist Alex Steffen’s newsletter

Susan Joy Hassol ( @ClimateComms ) and Bob Henson ( @bhensonweather ) provided helpful edits for this post.

We help millions of people understand climate change and what to do about it. Help us reach even more people like you.

more like this

‘Twisters’: Hollywood’s weird spin on tornadoes and climate change

The Pacific comes alive: Tropical cyclone threats to Hawai‘i and Japan

Free online tool kit can help small businesses prepare for climate change

Jeff masters.

Jeff Masters, Ph.D., worked as a hurricane scientist with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters from 1986-1990. After a near-fatal flight into category 5 Hurricane Hugo, he left the Hurricane Hunters to pursue a... More by Jeff Masters

• Logout Login
• Adventure Holidays
• Weekend Getaways
• Driving Holidays
• Travel News

7 places that could disappear by 2030: A grim reality of climate change

TRAVEL TRENDS , WORLD Created : Aug 26, 2024, 09:00 IST

Well, the specter of climate change looms ominously over numerous coastal cities, casting doubt on their very existence. By 2030, if significant measures are not taken to mitigate the impacts of climate change, several iconic cities around the globe could be on the brink of disappearance. Let's take you on a virtual tour of these places that you should visit before they disappear.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Known for its picturesque canals and historic charm, Amsterdam faces a dire predicament due to rising sea levels. With projections indicating a continuous ascent in water levels, the Netherlands' intricate flood defense systems, comprising dikes and dams, will face unprecedented strain. The alarming rate of sinking exacerbates this threat, underscoring the urgent need for robust climate action.

New Orleans, USA

Nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, New Orleans stands as a vibrant symbol of American culture. Yet, its very existence hangs in the balance as it grapples with the ominous reality of sea-level rise. Relying heavily on a protective levee system, the city is vulnerable to catastrophic flooding in the absence of adequate defenses. The stakes are high, and the clock is ticking for New Orleans to fortify its resilience against the encroaching waters.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City confronts an existential threat as it stares down the barrel of rising sea levels. Its eastern district, in particular, stands precariously on the precipice of inundation, while the looming specter of the Mekong Delta poses additional peril. Without concerted efforts to bolster its defenses, Ho Chi Minh City risks being submerged beneath the relentless tide by 2030.

Venice, Italy

Renowned for its timeless beauty and labyrinthine waterways, Venice finds itself locked in a desperate battle against the elements. The city's vulnerability to rising sea levels is compounded by its gradual subsidence, a phenomenon exacerbated by unchecked climate change. Already reeling from the onslaught of severe flooding, Venice braces itself for an uncertain future marred by the specter of more frequent high tides.

Bangkok, Thailand

The vibrant capital of Thailand confronts an existential crisis as it grapples with the twin perils of sinking land and rising seas. Rapid subsidence, coupled with the inexorable march of sea-level rise, threatens to engulf significant swathes of Bangkok by 2030. From the bustling streets of Samut Prakan to the sprawling expanse of Suvarnabhumi International Airport, no corner of the city is immune to the encroaching waters.

Kolkata, India

The bustling metropolis of Kolkata finds itself ensnared in a perilous dance with climate change, as its rapid urbanization encroaches upon vital wetlands and floodplains. During monsoon seasons, the city's sprawling growth exacerbates the risk of inundation, leaving its inhabitants vulnerable to the vagaries of nature. Kolkata stands at a critical juncture, poised to chart a course toward resilience and sustainability in the face of mounting environmental challenges.

Nagoya, Japan

As one of Japan's foremost industrial hubs, Nagoya grapples with the dual threats of rising sea levels and intensifying typhoon seasons. Its industrial port, a lifeline for the city's economy, stands perilously exposed to the encroaching waters, particularly during the tumultuous months of May and October. The time is ripe for Nagoya to fortify its defenses and confront the specter of climate change head-on.

Visual Stories

8 most romantic spots in Kashmir for honeymooners

8 famous ISKCON temples across the globe

Stunning pink beaches from around the world

Top 9 tiger reserves to explore in the Western Ghats

Janmashtami special: Famous Lord Krishna temples to visit in India

8 lesser-known parks in India to spot tigers

The New Seven Wonders of the World

9 most beautiful desert destinations to visit in Rajasthan

Janmashtami 2024: 8 international destinations that celebrate Krishna’s birth

Greenest destinations to visit in India

Join Us On Facebook Close

Poll of the day, which of these is one of earth's oldest geographical feature, comments (0).

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

Comments ( ) Sort: Newest UpVoted Oldest Discussed Down Voted closecomments

SIGN IN WITH

Or post without registration, trending stories.

• 6 most fascinating historical places to explore in Northeast India

• Anuradhapura: The sacred heart of Sri Lanka’s ancient civilisation

Ladakh to have 5 new districts by 2028; Centre announces

Natural phenomena to experience at least once in a lifetime

A quick guide to Zanzibar: One of Africa’s most beautiful destinations

5 worst tourist traps in Thailand: What to know before you go

Turning the tide, and tackling climate change to save Australia's Great Barrier Reef

From around the web, popular galleries.

6 places in India one must visit before the monsoon ends

5 best beach destinations in Kerala for sun, sand, and serenity

Follow us on

Latest news.

• A guide to Thailand's finest beaches
• The perfect times to visit Thailand
• Two passport scandals: Fashion student and businessman caught for passport tampering at Mumbai Airport
• 5 quintessential Jodhpur experiences: Discover the charms of Rajasthan’s Blue City

Congratulations!

You have been successfully added to the mailing list of Times of India Travel. To complete the subscription process, kindly open your inbox and click on the confirmation link which has been emailed to you.

Share with friends

Thank You for sharing! Your friend will receive the article link on email mentioned.

• (For more than one recipient, type addresses separated by commas)

Well, the specter of climate change looms ominously over numerous coastal cities, casting doubt on their very existence. By 2030, if significant measures are not taken to mitigate the impacts of clima...

• UN Women HQ
• Arab States/North Africa

Photo essay: Nine women leading the fight against climate change in Lebanon

Date: Friday, 4 March 2022

On International Women’s Day, the United Nations in Lebanon celebrates the contribution of women and girls who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all through a virtual photo exhibition featuring nine women climate action activists . Nadida Raad, Caroline Chaptini, Maya Nehmeh, Aaida Ghadban, Myriam Ghsoub, Carole Ayat, Mona Fawaz, Nouhad Awwad and Najat Saliba who are taking innovative actions for climate adaptation across the country. Their work is contributing to a greener, more equitable and prosperous future for Lebanon. 

Driving energy initiatives for change

“Energy poverty unfortunately impacts more women than men, therefore as women, we need to have an active role in shaping energy public policy” - Carol Ayat

Carol Ayat is an energy finance professional, an investment banker, and a Senior Fellow at the American University of Beirut Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs.  She is on the board of the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative “LOGI” and advocates for producing electricity in a sustainable way. She believes green energy is about creating an ecosystem and improving the well-being of citizens. Ayat says “In Lebanon, the heavy reliance on fossil fuels for electricity production has had a detrimental impact on public finances and our balance of payments; and lately we faced shortages of fossil fuels which threatened energy security. Energy security - the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption - is critical for any country to become more energy independent from foreign countries.”   Read Carol’s story>>

Recycling, upcycling and making Lebanon clean 

“If I collect five tons of plastic for every project I complete, and if I realize three projects a year, this means that, at the individual level, I can prevent 15 tons of plastic from ending up in forests, streets, and at sea, over the course of one year. It gives me a lot of joy to know that I am making Lebanon cleaner.” - Caroline Chaptini

Caroline Chaptini is a recycling artist, holder of three Guinness World Records in 2020. Even though she does not consider herself an environmental activist, her work has inspired many young people to pay more attention to waste management and to join recycling initiatives. She says “I set my first Guinness record at 36. I never imagined myself doing something even close to recycling. Since then, I truly believe that you can create something out of nothing. Ten years ago, I got divorced. People used to refer to me as ‘the divorcee’. Ever since I embarked on this journey, I became ‘the woman who has won three World Guinness Records.” Read Caroline’s story>>

Sprouting rooftop gardens make for a greener Al Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp

“Our environment is our life. Pollution leads to diseases and the spread of viruses which will endanger our health. We can take the right steps to keep our communities clean.”  - Aida Ghadban

Aida Ghadban is a Palestinian refugee living in Al Rashidieh camp. Aida helped train over 100 women to grow their own vegetables on their home’s rooftops. Aida says “They learned useful tips including the distance between plants per row, and how to repel insects. Every day I would visit these women at home, to make sure they are taking good care of their plants and watering them”. This activity was a turning point for these women. “It gave them a sense of freedom and they regained self-confidence, they felt they were giving back to their community. They were happy to accomplish new tasks, beyond routine house chores.” Read Aida’s story>>

Reshaping the quality of life in Lebanon

“Climate action is not simply about choosing our carbon footprints but understanding our role as human beings on this planet, with much more humility.” - Dr Mona Fawaz

Mona Fawaz is a professor in urban Studies and planning at the American University of Beirut and co-founder of the Beirut Urban Lab, a collaborative and interdisciplinary research space producing scholarship on urbanization. Fawaz is the author of over 50 scholarly articles, book sections, and reports. “In Lebanon, people have been encouraged to abuse the environment. When buildings are audited, it is common to find that about 40% of the uses can be curtailed. With the public policy to deliberately subsidize fuel, people did not care about electricity’s cost. One of our ongoing projects with a lab at MIT is investigating urban and housing regulations. We are trying to recommend urban regulations that size buildings in relation to solar capacity, so urban neighborhood can secure a minimum electric lifeline through affordable solar energy.” Read her story>>

Preserving Lebanon’s trees

“We want people to understand that forestry can be a woman’s job.” - Maya Nehme

Maya Nehme, 41, is the Director of Lebanese Reforestation Initiative, a local NGO which aims at conserving and expanding Lebanon's forests through a community-based approach and public-private partnerships. As wildfires in Lebanon have exponentially increased since 2019, reforestation, forest management, wildfires management and land use planning, are needed more than ever. In Lebanon, the number of women specialized in forestry, is not significant, even though the three major NGOs working in forestry, are led by women. “There is a gap in academia, as the Lebanese University is the only higher-education institution to provide a master’s degree in forestry. My team of experts includes more women than men, while this sector is traditionally dominated by men, worldwide,” says Nehme. “Over the years, we’ve seen heads of municipalities focusing on the need to include more women force in local committees, which we willingly do. This is a success on its own.” Read her story>>

Thinking green leads to acting green

“Even if Lebanon’s coast is not as contaminated as we might think, the situation will deteriorate, if we do not act fast. We need to protect our sea life.” - Myriam Ghsoub

Myriam Ghsoub, 29, is a research consultant at the National Center for Marine Sciences in Lebanon. A firm believer in science, she seeks to understand the global environmental changes caused by human activities which are threatening the physical, economic, and food security of local communities, as well as resources for global businesses. She says, “at the Center, we consider ourselves to be the family of the sea”.  For Ghsoub, an effective response to environment challenges is linked to early detection. Local communities are the main actors in the mitigation of emergency incidents, such as oil spills. Volunteers can be mobilized in cleanup campaigns. Change starts with us. We do not have to be decision-makers. Change can begin at home.” Read her story>>

Pedalling climate action 

“What sort of world are we bringing children into? We must start the change, individually. We need to act now before it is too late. Let us adopt and promote environmentally friendly commute options, such as walking (when possible), cycling, using the bus, or even carpooling.” - Nadida Raad

Nadida Raad, 34, is a co-founder of The Chain Effect, a non-profit organization that promotes the use of the bicycle as a means of transport in Lebanon through street art, public interventions, community projects and city planning. The Chain Effect also addresses the ever-growing problem of mobility and lack of public spaces. Over the past years, their “Bike to Work” events have gathered hundreds of participants. She says, “creating a cycling culture, requires involvement of the community.” Read Nadida’s story>>

Redefining the concept of empowerment and sustainability

“It is proven that green spaces can absorb air pollution. I realize that we cannot remove the diesel generators now, but what we can do is create a culture of green spaces, especially in villages.” - Najat Saliba

Najat A. Saliba, 57, is the co- founder and Executive Director of Environment Academy (EA), an environmental movement led by the American University Beirut (AUB) in collaboration with communities across the country aiming to find transformative and just solutions to environmental breakdown in Lebanon. Dr. Saliba and the team at EA work on climate action with communities in times of unprecedented national crisis. She says, “This is how the Environment Academy came to life; it started from deep frustration with conventional development models and science being silenced. We need to be part of the solution.” Read Najat’s story>>

Boosting the role of youth in environmental issues

“Young children are very enthusiastic about finding solutions to climate change and to tackle the problem of pollution. Older generations seem more reluctant to take action, as they ask for concrete evidence that human activities are contributing to climate change.” - Nouhad Awwad.

Nouhad Awwad, 31, is the founder of the Lebanese national chapter of the Arab Youth Climate Change and project campaigner at Greenpeace MENA, supporting the implementation of the Ummah For Earth project, a global alliance-led initiative working to empower Muslim communities on climate action. From beach cleanups to planting trees to representing Greenpeace MENA and the Ummah For Earth Alliance at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Nouhad has been engaging youth in environmental issues since the age of 15. In 2015, at the age of 25, Nouhad established the Lebanese national chapter of the Arab Youth Climate Movement to create early awareness on climate change of young children, at schools. Read her story>>

VIEW THE VIRTUAL PHOTO EXHIBITION HERE>>

• Publications

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Guest Essay

Europe’s Crackdown on Environmental Dissent Is Silencing Voices the World Needs to Hear

By Christopher Ketcham

Mr. Ketcham is writing a book about direct climate action and citizen rebellion in defense of nature. He is the author of “This Land: How Cowboys, Capitalism, and Corruption Are Ruining the American West.”

A British court last month issued extraordinarily harsh prison sentences to five climate activists convicted of helping to plan a series of road blockades in London. One of the activists, Roger Hallam, 58, a co-founder of the direct action groups Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, got five years. The others were each sentenced to four years.

Mr. Hallam’s crime wasn’t that he participated in the protest, which snarled London’s major beltway, the M25, during four days in November 2022. He merely gave a 20-minute talk on Zoom, a few days before the event, to explain the tactics of civil disobedience and emphasize its value as society’s failure to curb carbon emissions is increasing the chance of catastrophe within our lifetimes. He also stated during the Zoom call that he thought the action should go forward.

This is only the latest example of a wave of repressive government measures against climate protesters across Europe. The crackdown has come in response to a rise in demonstrations and disruptive tactics such as blocking roads and access to airports, defacing art in museums and interrupting sporting events.

Reflecting growing public frustration with such tactics, Rishi Sunak, the former British prime minister, endorsed this tough approach last year after two climate protesters were sentenced to prison terms of three years and two years and seven months for creating a public nuisance by climbing Queen Elizabeth II bridge in Kent. Forty hours of traffic gridlock followed after authorities closed the crossing.

“Those who break the law should feel the full force of it,” Mr. Sunak asserted , writing on X. “It’s entirely right that selfish protesters intent on causing misery to the hard-working majority face tough sentences. It’s what the public expects and it’s what we’ve delivered.”

But Michel Forst, the United Nations special rapporteur on environmental defenders, sees this crackdown as “a major threat to democracy and human rights,” as he put it in a report in February.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Schools Are Now Political Battlegrounds. We’ve Been Here Before

• Share article

When I reported on how schools were handling the Israel-Hamas war following the Oct. 7 attack, many educators I reached out to said they weren’t comfortable being on the record about whether and how they were talking about the war in their classrooms.

When I reported on how school-based health-care professionals are supporting LGBTQ+ students in an era when more lawmakers have curtailed how gender identity can be discussed, they said it’s like “walking on eggshells” to try to support students while keeping their jobs. 

When I interviewed a high school environmental science teacher in North Carolina about how she teaches media literacy skills to her students, she said she doesn’t start with a topic like climate change because she knows it sparks controversy.

About This Project

This project is part of a special report called Big Ideas in which EdWeek reporters, the EdWeek Research Center, and contributing researchers ask hard questions about K-12 education’s biggest challenges and offer insights based on their extensive coverage and expertise.

Even for someone like me, who’s been watching education news since my journalism career began in 2018, it seems as if suddenly what’s happening in schools is receiving outsized attention from politicians and the media, and the work of educators is becoming ever more visible. Reports of unruly school board meetings , protests over curricula , and lawsuits against district policies have been making regular appearances in the media. It feels as if every stakeholder—from school leaders to teachers, to parents, to students, to policymakers—is at odds.

Americans are divided about public-policy issues , they feel negatively toward people in the opposing political party and rarely spend time with those who think differently, according to the political scientists and historians I talked to. Survey data back this up. For instance, a 2024 analysis of Gallup poll data shows that political polarization among Republicans and Democrats has widened over the last two decades.

We’ve been here before

Though it might feel to you as well as if the polarization we’re experiencing is in overdrive, this isn’t the first time the United States has experienced deep division. In fact, it’s integral to our history—and most, if not all, of these tense periods reached education. In my conversations with political scientists and historians, they isolated several periods in the 20th century when our country was divided.

The U.S. Civil War, of course, is the example most people point to when they think of a split nation.  If students were in school during the war—and many were not because they were either enslaved or didn’t have access to school, especially in the South—what they were being taught about the war, for example, depended on whether they were in the Union or the Confederacy.

The Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s triggered anti-communist panic and paranoia across every corner of the country, including in schools. Among those looking over their shoulder were teachers who were interrogated over their alleged communist beliefs and pressured to reveal colleagues who espoused the same. 

In 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. Even so, the American public was injuriously divided over equal protection under the law for African Americans, bringing ugly, often violent, fights over desegregation to schoolhouse doors.

The Vietnam War (1955-1975) spurred the yearslong anti-war movement that engulfed college campuses (think: Kent State) and high schools. Often called “the first television war,” the conflict was mediated through the small screen, delivering graphic images to our living rooms nightly. (By the mid-1960s, nearly every home had a television.)

In 1971, two years before the United States ended its direct involvement in the Vietnam conflict by pulling out the last of its combat troops, public sentiment for the war shifted from positive to negative: According to a Gallup poll conducted in January 1971, only 31 percent of Americans thought it wasn’t a mistake to send troops, coinciding with the increased broadcasting of disturbing images of the war.

Three years earlier, in 1968, in his remarks to the National Association of Broadcasters in which he called on the media to guard against “the spirit of faction, against … divisiveness … , against the corrupting evils of partisanship… ,” President Lyndon B. Johnson expressed concerns about the impact the nightly news was having on public opinion. The “electronic media,” he said, has “added immeasurably to man’s power,” but it has “not cleared away all of the problems that we still have of communications. In some ways ... it has complicated them.” (His remarks are chillingly prescient if we think about social media’s impact on polarization today.)

Our media and information landscape operates (somewhat) differently now. During the Vietnam War era, Americans generally received news and information from the same (mostly) credible sources—three television networks, their newspaper, and/or radio. (This is not to ignore the country’s history with yellow journalism or the ebb and flow of trust in credible information sources. See the RAND Corp.’s 2018 “ Truth Decay ” report for a researched history of the nation’s “disagreement over facts,” including during the 1960s and 1970s.) Today, the array of unchecked user-generated platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and podcasts are a dangerous gateway to misinformation. 

While research shows that social media platforms are not the root causes of political polarization, research does show they exacerbate it. (Similarly, though not all historians believe that television divided the American public over the Vietnam War, it seems likely that the ubiquity of disturbing images influenced opinion.)

Social media and AI exacerbate polarization

What makes social media so addictive and dangerous is that it is designed to hook users and maximize their engagement for advertising revenue. It is not in the service of providing fact-checked information. Platforms are constantly adjusting their algorithms to bring in more dollars, flooding users’ feeds with the users’ own biases. (MIT Technology Review has compiled several visualizations that demonstrate just how divided we are , including on social media and how it creates vulnerability for foreign interests’ efforts to sow misinformation, further dividing us.)

Social media has also diminished the localism of any one issue, according to experts. Local controversies quickly become national conversations. If social media has the power to encourage divisions and can blow up even the smallest issues, this could spell trouble for schools. We’ve already seen how conflicts at local school board meetings can go viral.

So, my feeling that suddenly what’s happening in schools is receiving outsized attention is probably based on what my personal media and information landscape is feeding me, and perhaps that’s what your favorite news/social media platforms are feeding you, too.

There’s one more aspect of our current media landscape that is deeply concerning, though.

Generative artificial intelligence is now further complicating the landscape, making it easier to create and spread misinformation and exacerbate divisions. During testimony before a U.S. Senate AI insight forum last November, Jessica Brandt, then the policy director for the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at the Brookings Institution, said she was concerned that generative AI technologies could “stoke division,” “suppress votes,” “turbocharge propaganda,” and “seed nihilism about the existence of objective truth, thereby weakening democratic societies from within.”

The role schools can play in depolarizing

What does all this mean for schools?

We should be concerned that the field of education might not be in the strongest position to catch up with AI’s supercharged polarization force multiplier. How educators are currently addressing ideological and political polarization in their classrooms, schools, and districts, according to a recent EdWeek Research Center survey, reflects a concerning reality. More than a third of educators who responded to an open-ended survey question said that they either had no remedies for addressing polarization or just were avoiding political discussions and topics altogether in their districts, schools, or classrooms. None said that they were addressing AI’s influence, even though in response to a separate question 19 percent of educators noted that social media is the greatest contributor to polarization in their school or district.

Polarization in American history is nothing new. We know that. But throwing AI’s gas on the fire changes the calculus. Polarization could become an uncontrollable blaze. Fears of another civil war and the decline of democracy demonstrate this, a sense that polarization is so out of control that we might never be able to claw civility back.

Experts I talked to didn’t want to make predictions about where this is all headed, but they did agree that schools have a role to play countering polarization and ensuring a healthy democracy.

And here’s what I also heard: Schools should teach media literacy and critical-thinking skills so students can evaluate on their own any information they read or hear. Schools need to emphasize civics education; our future leaders and voters should have a common knowledge about the basics of the U.S. political system and democracy. Lastly, schools should develop students’ ability to engage with different perspectives. But this seems like it might be a steep hill to climb, especially when even the adults in the room are having a hard time engaging with different perspectives. EdWeek Research Center survey data show that more than 30 percent of teachers changed their approach to a lesson in the past year because they were concerned it could be controversial and result in complaints.

So yes, it might be difficult for schools to counter polarization in the current political climate that’s already scrutinizing public schools, but our democracy depends on it.

Coverage of leadership, social and emotional learning, afterschool and summer learning, arts education, and equity is supported in part by a grant from The Wallace Foundation, at www.wallacefoundation.org . Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.

Sign Up for The Savvy Principal

Edweek top school jobs.

Sign Up & Sign In

• All Articles
• Books & Reviews
• Anthologies
• Audio Content
• Author Directory
• This Day in History
• War in Ukraine
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Artificial Intelligence
• Climate Change
• Biden Administration
• Geopolitics
• Benjamin Netanyahu
• Vladimir Putin
• Volodymyr Zelensky
• Nationalism
• Authoritarianism
• Propaganda & Disinformation
• West Africa
• North Korea
• Middle East
• United States
• View All Regions

Article Types

• Capsule Reviews
• Review Essays
• Ask the Experts
• Reading Lists
• Newsletters
• Customer Service
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Subscriber Resources
• Group Subscriptions
• Gift a Subscription

The Case for a Clean Energy Marshall Plan

How the fight against climate change can renew american leadership, by brian deese.

For decades, global integration—of trade, of politics, of technology—was seen as a natural law. Today, integration has been replaced by fragmentation. The post–Cold War institutions are teetering, industrial strategies are back in vogue, and competition with China is growing. These dynamics are creating geopolitical friction across global supply chains, for vehicles, minerals, computer chips, and more.

Against this backdrop, the clean energy transition remains the most important planetary challenge. It also presents the greatest economic opportunity: it will be the largest capital formation event in human history. And it presents the United States with a chance to lead. Thanks to its still unparalleled power and influence, Washington maintains a unique capacity—and a strategic imperative—to shape world outcomes.

In 2022, the United States recognized these opportunities when it passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the world’s largest-ever investment in clean energy technologies. This transformative industrial strategy was a crucial first step for the United States in positioning its economy for success by accelerating the clean energy transition at home. Now is the time to take this leadership to the global stage, in a way that promotes U.S. interests and supports aligned countries. But the United States need not create a new model for doing so.

Seventy-six years ago, also facing a fractured world order and an emerging superpower competitor, U.S. President Harry Truman and U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall launched an ambitious effort to rebuild European societies and economies. Although often associated with free-market neoliberalism, the 1948 Marshall Plan was hardly laissez-faire. It was, in fact, an industrial strategy that established the United States as a generous partner to European allies while promoting U.S. industries and interests. Generations later, the Marshall Plan is rightly understood as one of the great successes of the postwar era.

Although today’s challenges are undoubtedly different, the United States should draw lessons from that postwar period and launch a new Marshall Plan, this time for the global transition to clean energy. Just as the Marshall Plan assisted those countries most ravaged by World War II, the new Marshall Plan should aim to help countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change: the United States’ partners in the developing world. Developing countries and emerging markets will need access to cheap capital and technology to transition away from fossil fuels quickly enough to halt global warming.

The United States again has the chance to help others while helping itself. Putting its own burgeoning industries front and center in the energy transition will generate further innovation and growth. Clean energy investment in the United States reached about 7.4 percent of private fixed investment in structures and equipment in the first quarter of this year, at $40 billion, up from $16 billion in the first quarter of 2021. Investment in emerging energy technologies—such as hydrogen power and carbon capture and storage—jumped by 1,000 percent from 2022 to 2023. Manufacturing investment in the battery supply chain went up nearly 200 percent over the same period. By creating global markets for its own clean energy industries and innovators, the United States can scale these economic gains and strengthen domestic support for an energy shift that has not always been an easy sell to voters.

The fracturing world order and the ominous climate crisis lead some observers to focus on the potential tensions between those two developments. But they also provide an opening for the United States to deploy its innovation and capital in a generous, pragmatic, and unapologetically pro-American way—by launching a Clean Energy Marshall Plan.

THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

Gauzy invocations of the Marshall Plan often induce eye rolling, and with good reason. In U.S. policy circles, commentators have called for a new Marshall Plan for everything from ending global poverty to rebuilding Ukraine. The term has become shorthand for a response to any problem that mobilizes public resources to achieve an ambitious end. But this overuse has blurred the substance of what the Marshall Plan really was—and was not.

The Marshall Plan was not, as many assume, born solely out of visionary ideals of international unity after the horrors of World War II. Instead, it reflected the pragmatic constraints of a fracturing, uncertain world order. In the spring of 1947, having returned from China after a failed attempt to head off a communist takeover there, Marshall was left to grapple with the newly emerged Iron Curtain in Europe. The shifting geopolitical reality forced Truman and Marshall to consider how to exert U.S. leadership to shape the world for good—to forge peace, rebuild cities, and promote American values in the face of communism. But they clearly recognized the limits of hard power and understood that economic stability could yield geopolitical stability.

Fundamentally, the Marshall Plan was an industrial strategy that deployed public dollars to advance U.S. manufacturing and industrial capabilities in service of reconstructing Europe. Washington spent $13 billion—equivalent to $200 billion today—over four years, mostly in the form of grants to discount the European purchase of goods and services. Because U.S. companies were at the center of the program, 70 percent of European expenditures of Marshall Plan funds were used to buy products made in the United States. Italy, for example, used Marshall Plan funds to buy American drilling technology, pipes, and other industrial equipment to rebuild its energy sector—including the equipment needed to restart Europe’s first commercial geothermal plant, powered by steam from lava beds in Tuscany. By 1950, that region had more than doubled its geothermal capacity and remained a major contributor to Italy’s total power demand.

The adoption of low-cost clean energy technologies is not self-executing.

The structure of the Marshall Plan allowed it to meet Europe’s pressing needs while winning over a skeptical and war-weary American public. Because there was little appetite for providing foreign aid following World War II, Marshall and Truman centered their plan on Americans’ economic interests. The country’s industrial capabilities had grown considerably during the war, but after the war, the task was to find new markets for them. As the plan’s chief administrator, Paul Hoffman, explained, the goal was to turn Europe into a “consumer of American goods” at a time when postwar U.S. GDP had fallen precipitously and exports were imperiled by a moribund European economy. The Marshall Plan would thus help American companies and save American jobs.

To sell the plan to the public, its architects and supporters launched a public relations campaign, squarely anchoring their case in these core U.S. economic interests. In the ten months after Marshall’s June 1947 speech introducing the plan, it gained traction, securing a 75 percent public approval rating and winning over a majority of the U.S. Congress—in an election year and with a divided government to boot.

Yet even though the Marshall Plan was attuned to U.S. economic interests, its architects recognized that it was important for the United States to be a generous, reliable partner to U.S. allies. The plan helped Europe rise from the rubble, pay off its debts, refill its foreign exchange reserves, recover its industrial production and agricultural output, adopt new technologies, and build goodwill for the United States, all while reducing the appeal of communism. By filling a financing gap that no other power could, the United States cemented its transatlantic partnerships. And by supporting its own economy, it became a capable and reliable global partner.

THE CHEAPER, THE BETTER

Like the original Marshall Plan, a Clean Energy Marshall Plan should meet other countries’ development needs while advancing U.S. interests. In this case, the goal is to speed the adoption of low-cost, zero-carbon solutions, such as the manufacture of batteries, the deployment of nuclear and geothermal energy, and the processing of critical minerals. This approach reflects the basic intuition that, as useful as it can be to make carbon pollution more expensive by putting a price on it, the most credible way to accelerate the adoption of zero-carbon technologies is to make that technology cheap and widely available.

The Inflation Reduction Act embodies this theory: it created long-term public incentives that promote the innovation and deployment of a variety of clean energy technologies. This public investment is already transforming the U.S. energy industry, and it holds even more potential for global energy markets. By driving down the cost of clean energy technologies—particularly innovative technologies such as nuclear power and carbon capture—the IRA could generate up to $120 billion in global savings by 2030. The resulting uptake of clean energy technologies in emerging markets could ultimately yield emission reductions in the rest of the world that would be two to four times as large as those achieved in the United States.

But the adoption of low-cost clean energy technologies is not self-executing. Without U.S. leadership, the world will simply not do enough fast enough to limit the worst effects of global warming. Unfortunately, the United States has yet to offer a full-throated answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the $1 trillion infrastructure project Beijing designed to expand its influence across the globe. And now, some leaders in China are calling for Beijing to go even further and develop a Marshall Plan–style approach to drive clean energy adoption in developing countries. Meanwhile, other players are also stepping up where the United States has not. For all the controversy about the United Arab Emirates—a fossil fuel nation—hosting last year’s UN climate conference, it is notable that it was the UAE, and not the United States, that proposed a large funding effort aimed at scaling zero-carbon technology to appropriate levels for emerging markets.

Ceding this space is a failure of American leadership and a missed economic opportunity. Skepticism of the United States, exacerbated by its handling of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, is already high in Southeast Asia and across the developing world, where Washington cannot afford to see alliances fray. And when countries there look to China or the UAE for capital and technology, American innovators and workers lose ground.

Implementing a Clean Energy Marshall Plan won’t be easy, but the process must begin now. As after World War II, the United States can be generous as well as pro-American in its approach. It can promote U.S. interests by scaling its industries to meet global needs while winning greater influence in this new geopolitical landscape. And it can meet developing countries where they are—supplying them with the energy they need to expand their economies and the innovation they need to decarbonize efficiently.

To accomplish these aims, however, Washington needs a clear mandate, adequate resources, and flexible tools. And it will need to enact a strategy that does three things: finances foreign deployment of U.S. clean energy technology, secures more resilient supply chains, and creates a new, more balanced trade regime that encourages the development and implementation of clean energy technology.

HOMEGROWN ADVANTAGES

The United States should begin with a focused investment and commercial diplomacy effort, akin to that of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan had a straightforward aim: subsidize European demand for U.S. products and services needed to rebuild Europe. Today, the United States should establish a Clean Energy Finance Authority with an updated mission: subsidize foreign demand for clean energy technology and put American innovation and industry at the front of the line.

This new body would enable the United States to participate in foreign deals that promote U.S. innovation and production while reducing emissions. The purpose would be to reduce the premium that emerging-market economies must pay to meet their energy needs in a low-carbon way. To receive U.S. investments, governments and private sectors in these countries would themselves need to invest in clean energy. The promise of reliable U.S. support would prompt reform.

The good news is that most of the technologies necessary, from solar power to battery storage to wind turbines, are already commercially scalable. Other technologies are now scaling up rapidly, thanks to U.S. investment. For example, the United States has used its existing drilling capacity to become the world’s leading producer of advanced geothermal energy. It is well positioned to leverage its homegrown advantages to export geothermal components to geopolitically important markets in Southeast Asia and Africa and beyond, where sources of reliable power are needed. And the more these technologies are deployed, the more costs will come down, as processes become more efficient with scale. With patient capital, the dividends will be manifold: steady, clean power; faster-growing markets; diversified supply chains; and support for hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. Similar opportunities exist for advanced nuclear and hydrogen power and carbon capture.

The United States has yet to offer a full-throated answer to the Belt and Road Initiative.

To be effective, the Clean Energy Finance Authority would need to be big yet nimble. Not only has the United States lagged other countries in offering public capital to lead the energy transition, but its financial support is also unnecessarily inflexible. Officials in foreign capitals joke that the United States shows up with a 100-page list of conditions, whereas China shows up with a blank check. The United States’ current financing authorities are constrained by byzantine rules that block U.S. investment that could advance its national interests.

For example, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, which invests in projects in lower- and middle-income countries, cannot invest in lithium processing projects in Chile because it is considered a high-income country, yet companies in the low-income Democratic Republic of the Congo often find it impossible to meet the DFC’s stringent labor standards. Meanwhile, Chinese companies invested over $200 million in a Chilean lithium plant in 2023 and gained rights to explore Congolese lithium mines the same year. Of course, U.S. finance must continue to reflect American values, but there is still room for far greater flexibility in the name of national interest and the energy transition.

Promising models for a Clean Energy Finance Authority also exist. Domestically, the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office rapidly expanded its capabilities, approving 11 investment commitments to companies totaling $18 billion in the past two fiscal years (versus just two commitments in the three years before that). Internationally, the DFC expanded its climate lending from less than $500 million to nearly $4 billion over the last three years. And the United States has supported creative financial partnerships with several countries. In Egypt, for example, the United States and Germany committed $250 million to stimulate $10 billion of private capital to accelerate the Egyptian energy transition.

The most effective aspects of these examples should be harnessed together under the Clean Energy Finance Authority, which should have a versatile financial toolkit, including the ability to issue debt and equity. It should be able to deploy this capital in creative arrangements, such as by blending it with foreign capital and lowering risk premiums with insurance and guarantees. It should draw on, not re-create, the Department of Energy’s expertise in assessing the risks and benefits of emerging technologies, such as advanced nuclear energy, hydrogen power, and carbon capture and storage. The Clean Energy Finance Authority could be managed by the U.S. Treasury Department, in light of the latter’s experience in risk underwriting and financial diligence, and given the mandate to coordinate closely across agencies.

With nimble, market-oriented financing capacities, the Clean Energy Finance Authority would be able to accelerate and initiate, not impede, financial transactions. Whereas the Marshall Plan was 90 percent financed with U.S. grants, a Clean Energy Marshall Plan could easily be the inverse, with less than ten percent of its expenditures in the form of grants and the rest of the capital being deployed as equity, debt, export credit, and other forms of financing. And whereas the Chinese Belt and Road model relies on government-dominated financing, an American approach would be market-based and therefore more efficient because it enables competition and encourages large investments of private capital.

The Clean Energy Finance Authority should be capitalized with a significant upfront commitment of money—enough to generate market momentum that tips the balance of clean energy investment toward the private sector; ultimately the private sector, not the public sector, will need to provide the majority of the financing the energy transition needs over the coming decades. If this new authority is set up and deployed properly, U.S. companies and innovators would gain more foreign demand, on favorably negotiated terms, and new market share. Foreign consumers, for their part, would gain access to new channels of cheap clean energy technology. For emerging-market countries and major emitters—such as Brazil, India, and Indonesia—the United States could act with both generosity and its own interests in mind.

THE DANGER OF DEPENDENCE

The United States should also establish a Clean Energy Resilience Authority, whose goal would be to create more resilient supply chains for the clean energy transition. To support burgeoning manufacturing production in developing countries, and to expand that of the United States, the world needs diversified supply chains that are not dominated by individual states and do not have exploitable chokepoints. Today, China controls 60 percent of the world’s rare-earth mining production and approximately 90 percent of its processing and refining capability.

The United States should lead a coalition of partners to build access to processed critical minerals such that the energy transition does not substitute dependence on foreign oil for dependence on Chinese critical minerals. Thankfully, the term “rare-earth minerals” is a misnomer: these elements are abundant and geographically dispersed. Eighty percent of the world’s lithium reserves, 66 percent of its nickel reserves, and 50 percent of its copper reserves are in democracies. Eighty percent of oil reserves, by contrast, are in OPEC countries, nearly all of which are autocracies.

In today’s energy market, the most important tool the United States wields is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stockpile of oil created 50 years ago as a response to the 1973 oil crisis. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine , in 2022, the U.S. government used this reserve to ensure adequate supply by selling 180 million barrels of oil. When prices fell, the administration began refilling the reserve, securing a profit for U.S. taxpayers of close to $600 million as of May 2024. This mechanism has reduced the volatility of oil prices while advancing U.S. strategic interests.

As part of the Clean Energy Marshall Plan, Washington must level the playing field through the use of trade tools.

The United States should create a strategic reserve capability for critical minerals, as well. A body similar to the U.S. Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund, a reserve fund used to prevent fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar, but for critical minerals would enable the United States to stabilize the market for these resources. The Clean Energy Resilience Authority could offer various forms of financial insurance that would steady prices, protect consumers from price spikes, and generate stable revenue for producers during low-price periods. And it should have the ability to build up physical stockpiles of key minerals, such as graphite and cobalt, whether on U.S. soil or in allied territory.

Support for this type of reserve capability already exists. The bipartisan House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party recommended just such a body. The United States’ allies are also on board: in May, South Korea allocated an additional nearly $200 million to build up domestic lithium reserves. Indeed, the original Marshall Plan also recognized the need to improve access to strategically important materials, funding domestic stockpiles for goods such as industrial equipment and medical supplies.

With the Clean Energy Resilience Authority, the United States would be better able to craft multilateral agreements to diversify critical minerals processing. As part of that effort, it could organize a critical minerals club among leading producers and consumers, wherein members could offer and receive purchase commitments. Such an arrangement would give countries that produce and process minerals reliable access to the United States and other developed markets—assuming they meet high standards for sustainable and ethical mining practices. The outcome would be more minerals processed in a more diverse supply chain, sold into a more stable market.

TRADING PLACES

The Marshall Plan underscored the importance of using trade policy to advance U.S. interests: it required European countries to integrate their economies and to remove trade barriers as a means of expanding U.S. exports, promoting capitalism, and warding off communism. A Clean Energy Marshall Plan should help lead a coalition to elicit a more balanced global trading system.

Right now, China is the central actor in global supply chains for clean energy technologies. Facing a stalling domestic economy, China is pursuing a state-led strategy of investing in domestic manufacturing capacity rather than in greater domestic demand or a stronger social safety net. For some goods, such as electric vehicles, batteries, and solar panels, China explicitly aims to dominate global manufacturing. That strategy is fundamentally unsustainable for the global economy. For one thing, it creates acute supply chain vulnerabilities; because the world relies so heavily on China for processing rare-earth minerals, a natural disaster or geopolitical tensions could threaten the entire global supply. For another thing, the strategy erodes industrial capacity across the world, including in the United States. By flooding global markets with artificially cheap goods without a commensurate increase in imports, China forces the cost of its subsidies onto its trade partners—undercutting employment, innovation, and industrial capacity elsewhere. Indeed, this strategy even harms China’s own industrial sector and fails to address the root causes of its domestic economic challenges.

As part of the Clean Energy Marshall Plan, Washington must level the global playing field through the active yet measured use of trade tools such as tariffs. Doing nothing and being resigned to China’s statist approach is neither economically nor politically sustainable. And using blunt tools to effectuate what amounts to a unilateral retreat is dangerous. Former U.S. President Donald Trump ’s call to essentially end all imports from China within four years is a cynical fantasy playing on populist fears. In 2022, U.S. goods and services trade with China amounted to over $750 billion. It is not practicable to decouple from any major economy, let alone the United States’ third-largest trading partner. Global trade delivers important benefits, whereas unilateral, asymmetric escalation would leave the United States isolated and vulnerable.

The right approach is to harmonize more active trade policies with like-minded countries. Indeed, Brazil, Chile, India, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam, among others, are all investigating or imposing tariffs on Chinese dumping practices. China is now the object of twice as many retaliatory measures as it was four years ago. This growing pushback represents a chance for the United States to address the Chinese-driven global trade imbalance by crafting a global coalition to galvanize a coordinated response while creating more global trade in clean energy goods and services.

To accomplish this, the United States must use expanded, stronger, and smarter trade authorities. For example, Washington should build into its tariffs on imported goods an assessment of how much carbon was used to produce them. Tariffs should be determined by the emission intensity of the trading partner’s entire industry, rather than company by company, to avoid “resource reshuffling,” whereby countries try to dodge penalties by limiting their exports to only products manufactured with clean energy instead of reducing their emissions overall. These tariffs should be aimed at all countries, but given its current production practices, China would be hit the hardest.

This form of tariff regime could be coordinated with what other countries are doing on the same front. The effort should begin with the steel sector. Chinese-made steel is two to five times as carbon-intensive as U.S.-made steel and is being dumped in markets around the world. The United States has been working on an arrangement with the European Union to harmonize tariffs on steel and aluminum. But the EU need not be the United States’ first or only partner in this initiative. There is a global appetite to enact a common external tariff regime on China to respond to its overproduction and carbon-intensive practices. Washington should work to pull this group together through the G-7 and G-20.

There is also a domestic appetite for this approach, in both the U.S. Congress and the private sector. For example, Dow Chemical has advocated the use of carbon policies to favor environmentally responsible industries that make heavily traded goods. Several bipartisan bills now in Congress propose similar policies. The United States could develop an industrial competitiveness program for heavy industries, such as those producing cement, steel, and chemicals, that bolsters domestic industry and makes trade more fair by charging a carbon-based fee on both domestic industries and imports at the border. This program would incentivize domestic innovation and efficiency, and it would advantage environmentally responsible U.S. companies that compete with heavy-carbon-emitting foreign producers. The revenue from the fee could be rebated to the U.S. private sector by rewarding the cleanest domestic producers and investing in research and development.

Investing in the clean energy transition abroad will benefit businesses and workers at home.

A carbon-based tariff, or a carbon border adjustment, should further motivate climate action by exempting countries that are hitting their nationally determined goals under the 2016 Paris climate agreement or those that fall below certain income and emission thresholds. To complement the Clean Energy Finance Authority, the tariff could be lowered in exchange for foreign procurement of clean energy technologies or of clean products made in the United States. For many developing countries, the tariff would act as a powerful accelerant to their energy development plans.

This approach would allow the United States to transition from its current indiscriminate, broad-based tariff regime to a more comprehensive carbon-based system that more accurately targets Chinese overcapacity and trade imbalance concerns. And the United States should leave the door open to cooperating with China in this context, as well.

Policymakers will have to reimagine existing trade rules—and be willing to lead the World Trade Organization and other international institutions in thinking about how trade can accelerate the clean energy transition. The WTO’s objective was never just to promote free trade for free trade’s sake; its founding document includes a vision for sustainable development. The WTO must reform if it is to deliver on that vision, but in the meantime, the United States shouldn’t cling to old trade conventions when more targeted and effective approaches exist.

BANKING ON THE FUTURE

Finally, as the United States upgrades its tools of economic statecraft, it should also increase its expectations of the world’s multilateral development banks, especially the World Bank . Like its predecessor, the Clean Energy Marshall Plan would be temporary, designed to unlock a wave of innovation investment to address a global need. The multilateral development banks are a necessary complement to active U.S. leadership today, just as they were in the postwar era. But the banks need to deploy their capital with the urgency that the energy transition and economic development demand. Although there has been a welcome recent focus on this reform agenda—including by the Biden administration, the G-20, and even the banks themselves—progress has been tepid, and conventional proposals lack ambition and creativity. Incremental change is not enough.

Some avenues already exist to spur the proper level of ambition. For example, donor countries can increase the stakes for the banks by fostering competition among them to make tangible progress on reforms that increase lending for climate-related projects and leverage their investments more effectively. Washington can already provide capital in the form of guarantees to multilateral development banks; this authority could be expanded such that U.S. capital is allocated to these banks based on which ones deserve it most. This “play to get paid” structure would challenge the banks to come forward with legitimate plans to improve their lending practices for clean energy projects. And the guarantee structure offers a great bang for the buck: the World Bank can spend $6 for every $1 of guarantee provided.

The Green Climate Fund, the sole multilateral public financial institution devoted to addressing climate change, could follow this approach, too. Almost 15 years after it was founded, the GCF has disbursed only 20 percent of the funding it has received. To speed up its progress and increase its leverage, the GCF should allocate a portion of its funds to the multilateral development banks, building on its existing practice of lending to these institutions, based on a similar “play to get paid” principle. Instead of submitting individual project applications, the banks would submit proposals for leveraging hybrid capital to scale climate lending in support of the GCF’s mission, including the even split between those projects that prevent climate change and those that respond to its current impacts. In other words, the banks that can best attack the problem would receive flexible GCF capital to scale those efforts. Such a change would be merely one part of a multilateral system that maintains the momentum created by a Clean Energy Marshall Plan.

WIN-WIN-WIN

A Clean Energy Marshall Plan has the makings of a compelling pitch to U.S. domestic audiences: investing in the clean energy transition abroad will benefit businesses and workers at home. Evidence of that effect is already easy to find. The clean investment boom is turning novel technologies into market mainstays: emerging technologies such as hydrogen power and carbon capture now each receive more investment than wind. Billions of dollars are flowing to areas of the United States left behind by previous economic booms, bringing new jobs with them. But to further this momentum, the country needs to turn to foreign markets to boost demand for U.S. products.

The United States should seize the occasion to lead on its own terms. The Clean Energy Marshall Plan would be good for U.S. workers and businesses, unlocking billions of dollars of market opportunities; good for the United States’ developing country partners, by delivering low-cost decarbonization solutions; and good for the world order, by building more resilient supply chains and a more balanced and sustainable trading system.

Such a plan requires political focus and money, but it is not impossible. The United States can spend far less than it did on the Marshall Plan, thanks to the better financial tools available today and falling clean technology costs. And it could recycle the proceeds from a carbon-based border adjustment tariff into the finance and resilience authorities, thus setting up a system that pays for itself.

In this moment of domestic economic strength—stark against the backdrop of heightened competition, a fracturing world, and a raging climate crisis—the United States can do something generous for people across the globe in a way that benefits Americans. It should take that leap, not just because it is the morally right thing to do but also because it is the strategically necessary thing to do.

You are reading a free article.

Subscribe to foreign affairs to get unlimited access..

• Paywall-free reading of new articles and over a century of archives
• Unlock access to iOS/Android apps to save editions for offline reading
• Six issues a year in print and online, plus audio articles
• BRIAN DEESE is the Innovation Fellow at MIT. He served as Director of the White House National Economic Council from 2021 to 2023.
• More By Brian Deese

Most-Read Articles

Why gaza matters.

Since Antiquity, the Territory Has Shaped the Quest for Power in the Middle East

Jean-Pierre Filiu

The crumbling foundations of american strength.

Knowledge Is Power—and the United States Is Losing It

The Perils of Isolationism

The World Still Needs America—and America Still Needs the World

Condoleezza Rice

Europe’s america problem.

Whether Trump Wins or Loses, the Continent Needs a New Strategy Toward the United States

Giovanna De Maio and Célia Belin

Recommended articles, the populist revolt against climate policy.

How the Culture War Subsumed Efforts to Curb Global Warming

Edoardo Campanella and Robert Z. Lawrence

Green peace.

How the Fight Against Climate Change Can Overcome Geopolitical Discord

Meghan L. O’Sullivan and Jason Bordoff

Stay informed., thank you for signing up. stay tuned for the latest from foreign affairs ..