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What are the solutions to climate change?

Climate change is already an urgent threat to millions of lives – but there are solutions. From changing how we get our energy to limiting deforestation, here are some of the key solutions to climate change.

Climate change is happening now, and it’s the most serious threat to life on our planet. Luckily, there are plenty of solutions to climate change and they are well-understood.

In 2015, world leaders signed a major treaty called the Paris agreement  to put these solutions into practice.

Core to all climate change solutions is reducing greenhouse gas emissions , which must get to zero as soon as possible.

Because both forests and oceans play vitally important roles in regulating our climate, increasing the natural ability of forests and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide can also help stop global warming.

The main ways to stop climate change are to pressure government and business to:

• Keep fossil fuels in the ground . Fossil fuels include coal, oil and gas – and the more that are extracted and burned, the worse climate change will get. All countries need to move their economies away from fossil fuels as soon as possible.
• Invest in renewable energy . Changing our main energy sources to clean and renewable energy is the best way to stop using fossil fuels. These include technologies like solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power.
• Switch to sustainable transport . Petrol and diesel vehicles, planes and ships use fossil fuels. Reducing car use, switching to electric vehicles and minimising plane travel will not only help stop climate change, it will reduce air pollution too.
• Help us keep our homes cosy . Homes shouldn’t be draughty and cold – it’s a waste of money, and miserable in the winter. The government can help households heat our homes in a green way – such as by insulating walls and roofs and switching away from oil or gas boilers to heat pumps .
• Improve farming and encourage vegan diets . One of the best ways for individuals to help stop climate change is by reducing their meat and dairy consumption, or by going fully vegan. Businesses and food retailers can improve farming practices and provide more plant-based products to help people make the shift.
• Restore nature to absorb more carbon . The natural world is very good at cleaning up our emissions, but we need to look after it. Planting trees in the right places or giving land back to nature through ‘rewilding’ schemes is a good place to start. This is because photosynthesising plants draw down carbon dioxide as they grow, locking it away in soils.
• Protect forests like the Amazon . Forests are crucial in the fight against climate change, and protecting them is an important climate solution. Cutting down forests on an industrial scale destroys giant trees which could be sucking up huge amounts of carbon. Yet companies destroy forests to make way for animal farming, soya or palm oil plantations. Governments can stop them by making better laws.
• Protect the oceans . Oceans also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep our climate stable. But many are overfished , used for oil and gas drilling or threatened by deep sea mining. Protecting oceans and the life in them is ultimately a way to protect ourselves from climate change.
• Reduce how much people consume . Our transport, fashion, food and other lifestyle choices all have different impacts on the climate. This is often by design – fashion and technology companies, for example, will release far more products than are realistically needed. But while reducing consumption of these products might be hard, it’s most certainly worth it. Reducing overall consumption in more wealthy countries can help put less strain on the planet.
• Reduce plastic . Plastic is made from oil, and the process of extracting, refining and turning oil into plastic (or even polyester, for clothing) is surprisingly carbon-intense . It doesn’t break down quickly in nature so a lot of plastic is burned, which contributes to emissions. Demand for plastic is rising so quickly that creating and disposing of plastics will account for 17% of the global carbon budget by 2050 (this is the emissions count we need to stay within according to the Paris agreement ).

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and to feel that climate change is too big to solve. But we already have the answers, now it’s a question of making them happen. To work, all of these solutions need strong international cooperation between governments and businesses, including the most polluting sectors.

Individuals can also play a part by making better choices about where they get their energy, how they travel, and what food they eat. But the best way for anyone to help stop climate change is to take collective action. This means pressuring governments and corporations to change their policies and business practices.

Governments want to be re-elected. And businesses can’t survive without customers. Demanding action from them is a powerful way to make change happen.

Take action

For seven years, a government ban has blocked new onshore wind farms in England – the cheapest, cleanest energy going. With a global energy crisis and sky-high energy bills, now's the time for change. Add your name to tell Rishi Sunak to end the ban on new onshore wind projects in England.

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The fossil fuel industry is blocking climate change action

Major oil and gas companies including BP, Exxon and Shell have spent hundreds of millions of pounds trying to delay or stop government policies that would have helped tackle the climate crisis.

Despite the effects of climate change becoming more and more obvious, big polluting corporations – the ones responsible for the majority of carbon emissions – continue to carry on drilling for and burning fossil fuels.

Industries including banks, car and energy companies also make profits from fossil fuels. These industries are knowingly putting money over the future of our planet and the safety of its people.

What are world leaders doing to stop climate change?

With such a huge crisis facing the entire planet, the international response should be swift and decisive. Yet progress by world governments has been achingly slow. Many commitments to reduce carbon emissions have been set, but few are binding and targets are often missed.

In Paris in 2015, world leaders from 197 countries pledged to put people first and reduce their countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris agreement has the aim of limiting global warming to well below 2ºC and ideally to 1.5°C.

If governments act swiftly on the promises they made in the Paris climate agreement, and implement the solutions now, there’s still hope of avoiding the worst consequences of climate change .

World leaders and climate negotiators meet at annual COPs – which stands for Conference of the Parties (the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC).

At COPs and other climate talks, nations take stock of their ability to meet their commitments to reduce emissions.

Recently, talks have focused on climate finance – money to help poorer countries adapt to climate change and reduce emissions. Rich countries have pledged $100 billion in annual funding to help developing countries reduce emissions and manage the impacts of climate change. This is yet to materialise, and much more money is needed.

As the impacts of climate change are increasing, important talks have also started on “loss and damage” funding. This is money needed by worst-impacted countries to deal with extreme weather and other climate change impacts.

Global climate change activism

Around the world, millions of us are taking steps to defend our climate. People of all ages and from all walks of life are desperately demanding solutions to the climate emergency.

Over the years, Greenpeace has challenged oil companies chasing new fossil fuels to extract and burn. We’ve also called out the governments for their failure to act fast enough on the climate emergency. Greenpeace activists are ordinary people taking extraordinary action, to push the solutions to climate change.

Indigenous Peoples are most severely affected by both the causes and effects of climate change . They are often on the front lines, facing down deforestation or kicking out fossil fuel industries polluting their water supplies.

Communities in the Pacific Islands are facing sea level rises and more extreme weather. But they are using their strength and resilience to demand world leaders take quicker climate action.

For many of these communities, the fight against climate change is a fight for life itself.

Even in the UK, climate change is impacting people more severely. As a country with the wealth and power to really tackle climate change, it’s never been more important to demand action.

Keep exploring

What can I do to stop climate change?

Individuals can make changes to their lives to reduce their personal carbon footprint. But it’s more important to persuade decision-makers in governments and businesses to drive emissions reductions on a much larger scale. This is the best way to stop climate change getting worse.

What is the UK doing about climate change?

All countries need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. So how’s the UK doing?

Renewable energy: a beginner's guide

Clean renewable energy is a vital tool for tackling climate change. Discover how it works and understand the advantages of wind, solar and water power.

Environmental justice, explained

The environmental crisis doesn't affect everyone equally. Often the worst impacts fall on those who are already most exploited by people in power. The fight for environmental justice is about addressing this unfairness, and making sure green solutions don't add to the problem.

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Ten solutions to climate change that will actually make a difference

Jun 20, 2022

At this point we need solutions bigger than any one person. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

There are a lot of differing opinions on whether it's too late to climate change — and, if it's not the best way of going about it. Some say recycling is useless and that individual action means nothing against the larger policy reforms that need to happen. This is, in part, true — although you should absolutely still be recycling. But it doesn’t tell the whole story, and it doesn’t help those who are currently on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Here, we break down 10 solutions to climate change that will actually make a difference — and how you can help make them all a reality.

Stand with the people most affected by climate change

1. shift to renewable energy sources in all key sectors.

The United Nations identified a six-sector solution to climate change, focusing on actions that can be taken by the energy, industry, agriculture, transportation, nature-based solutions, and urban planning. If all of these actions are completed, the UN Environment Programme estimates we could reduce global carbon emissions by 29 to 32 gigatonnes, thereby limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5º C.

One key element of this plan is shifting to renewable energy sources, both at home and at work. “We have the necessary technology to make this reduction by shifting to renewable energy and using less energy,” the UNEP writes of our personal energy consumption (generally, fossil fuels power our homes, keeping the lights on, our rooms warm, and Netflix streaming). But the energy usage of the industrial sector also plays a key role: Addressing issues like methane leaks and switching at large scale to passive or renewable energy-based heating and cooling systems could reduce industrial carbon emissions by 7.3 gigatonnes every year.

2. Reduce food loss and waste and shift to more sustainable diets

There are a few different ways that climate change and hunger go hand-in-hand. Whether it’s kale or Kobe beef, producing food accounts for some measure of greenhouse gasses. In 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated we consumed more meat than ever before . By 2050 this will, by some estimates, increase greenhouse gas emissions from food production by 60%. Likewise, many farmers use nitrous-based fertilizers to grow more crops, more quickly to meet demand.

It’s important to reduce food waste at every step of the food system . For us as consumers, we can commit to eating what we buy and composting what we don’t get to in time. We can also switch our focus to plant-based and other sustainable diets, supporting farms that use organic fertilizers and making beef and other meat products the exception rather than the rule at the dinner table.

3. Halt deforestation and commit to rebuilding damaged ecosystems

The rapid deforestation of the Earth, especially over the last 60 years, has contributed to climate change, creating “heat islands” out of land that would normally be protected by trees and other flora from overheating. Simply put, this has to stop. There are actions each of us can take as individuals to help halt this—going paperless and buying recycled paper products, planting trees or supporting organizations that do this (like Concern ), and recycling.

But change has to happen at a larger scale here. Illegal logging happens both in the United States and abroad. Last year, world leaders committed to halting this and other harmful practices by 2030 as part of COP26. You can help by holding your own elected leaders to account.

4. Embrace electric vehicles, public transport, and other non-motorized options for getting around

The carbon savings on junking your current car in favor of an electric model are basically nullified if you aren’t seriously in the market for a new vehicle. However, mass adoption of electric vehicles and public transport — along with walking, biking, skating, and scooting — is key to cutting the greenhouse gas emissions from fuel-based motor vehicles.

This is another issue you can raise with elected officials. Earlier this year, for example, you may remember hearing that President Biden had been encouraging the US Postal System to adopt electric vans as part of its new fleet. This didn’t come to pass , but it’s changes like these — changes beyond any one person’s transportation method — that need to happen. You can call on your representatives to support these switchovers for delivery vehicles, cab and taxi fleets, ambulances, and other auto-centric services. Or, if your city or town lacks decent public transportation or enough bike lanes or sidewalks to make those alternatives to driving, lobby for those.

5. Subsidize low-carbon alternatives for urban planning

In tandem with low-carbon alternatives for public transportation, governments need to commit to similar measures with our growing cities. New buildings mean a new opportunity to reward green design methods that help to decrease the strain on urban resources, whether they’re apartments or entertainment venues. (Fun fact: The Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Athens runs almost entirely off of solar panels during the bright and sunny summer months. ) In cities like New York, we’ve seen the toll that excessive power use can take through rolling blackouts and brown-outs, especially in the summer months. Changes to public infrastructure that reduce our reliance on the power grid will help to keep the system from becoming untenably overloaded.

6. Strengthen resilience and climate adaptation methods in MAPA communities

So far, we’ve looked at solutions to climate change that can take place within our own homes and communities. However, these only go so far to mitigate the damage that the climate crisis has already inflicted on a large portion of the world. The most affected people and areas (MAPAs) are largely in the Global South. Many are located in low-income countries without the resources or infrastructure to respond and adapt to climate disasters, even as they become more frequent and destructive.

Countries like the United States and organizations responding to the climate crisis must support MAPA communities, particularly the most vulnerable, in developing and carrying out strategies specific to context and designed to bolster resilience where it’s needed most. Often these communities know what needs to be done to mitigate the effects of climate change, and they simply need to be supported with access to additional research and meteorological data, new technologies, and funding.

What we talk about when we talk about resilience

The word “resilience” has taken on new meanings and contexts in recent years, but at Concern it still has a specific definition relating to our emergency and climate response. Here’s what we mean when we use it.

7. Address poverty and other inequalities that increase vulnerability

The tem MAPA can also apply to individuals within a community. Women, disabled people, children, the elderly, people living in poverty, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQIA+ people are among those who are most likely to be hit harder by climate change because of preexisting societal marginalization. This is why it’s critical that they also have a seat at the decision-making table when it comes to solutions to climate change within their own communities. Ending poverty and the other systemic inequalities that give some people greater access to resources than others will help to offset some of the greatest threats posed by the climate crisis.

8. Invest in disaster risk reduction (DRR)

Disaster Risk Reduction (otherwise known as DRR) protects the lives and livelihoods of communities and individuals who are most vulnerable to disasters or emergencies. Whether the crisis is caused by nature or humans (or a combination of both), DRR limits its negative impact on those who stand to lose the most.

We can’t undo much of climate change’s impact so far, but we can help the communities who are hit hardest by these impacts to prepare for and respond to these emergencies once they strike.

9. Commit to fair financing and climate justice

Of course, DRR strategies and other resilience, adaptation, and mitigation practices cost money. Money that the countries most affected by climate change often lack. As part of a global commitment to climate justice , countries with the highest carbon footprints should be making restitution to those countries with lower footprints, countries that tend to be more vulnerable to global warming.

Countries like the United States must increase investments in disaster prevention and DRR strategies, such as early warning and response systems, forecast-based financing mechanisms, and adapted infrastructure. What’s more, these funds need to be made rapidly dispersible and flexible so that when emergency strikes, they can be accessed more quickly. Additional investment to prevent conflicts over the use of natural resources will also help countries facing both fragile political systems and a high risk for climate-related disasters.

Project Profile

Responding to Pakistan's Internally Displaced (RAPID)

RAPID is a funding program that allows Concern to quickly and efficiently deliver aid to people displaced by conflict or natural disaster.

10. Guarantee these changes in the long-term via policy reform

Few of the solutions listed above are not sustainable without policy reform. You can help by encouraging your elected officials to consider the above points, and to support bills that incorporate one or more of these solutions to climate change, many of which are currently being written and shared at the local and national levels.

Smart climate policy will prioritize people over corporations, consider the framework of climate justice — including land and water rights of indigenous peoples and rural communities, address the intersectional effects of climate change on hunger, poverty, and gender equality, and enforce regulatory frameworks and standards that commit people and institutions to honoring these new standards. Bold and aggressive action must be taken if we’re to reach the goal of not exceeding 1.5º C and mitigating the current effects of climate change by 2030. But it’s not a lost cause yet. It’s on all of us to now support those actions that are needed most.

Support Concern's climate response

Solutions to Climate Change in Action

Ten countries with water stress and scarcity — and how we're helping

Climate Smart Agriculture: Back to the basics to fight climate change and hunger

Ten of the countries most affected by climate change

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November 26, 2007

10 Solutions for Climate Change

Ten possibilities for staving off catastrophic climate change

By David Biello

Mark Garlick Getty Images

The enormity of global warming can be daunting and dispiriting. What can one person, or even one nation, do on their own to slow and reverse climate change ? But just as ecologist Stephen Pacala and physicist Robert Socolow, both at Princeton University, came up with 15 so-called " wedges " for nations to utilize toward this goal—each of which is challenging but feasible and, in some combination, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions to safer levels —there are personal lifestyle changes that you can make too that, in some combination, can help reduce your carbon impact. Not all are right for everybody. Some you may already be doing or absolutely abhor. But implementing just a few of them could make a difference.

Forego Fossil Fuels —The first challenge is eliminating the burning of coal , oil and, eventually, natural gas. This is perhaps the most daunting challenge as denizens of richer nations literally eat, wear, work, play and even sleep on the products made from such fossilized sunshine. And citizens of developing nations want and arguably deserve the same comforts, which are largely thanks to the energy stored in such fuels.

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Oil is the lubricant of the global economy, hidden inside such ubiquitous items as plastic and corn, and fundamental to the transportation of both consumers and goods. Coal is the substrate, supplying roughly half of the electricity used in the U.S. and nearly that much worldwide—a percentage that is likely to grow, according to the International Energy Agency. There are no perfect solutions for reducing dependence on fossil fuels (for example, carbon neutral biofuels can drive up the price of food and lead to forest destruction, and while nuclear power does not emit greenhouse gases, it does produce radioactive waste), but every bit counts.

So try to employ alternatives when possible—plant-derived plastics, biodiesel, wind power—and to invest in the change, be it by divesting from oil stocks or investing in companies practicing carbon capture and storage.

Infrastructure Upgrade —Buildings worldwide contribute around one third of all greenhouse gas emissions (43 percent in the U.S. alone), even though investing in thicker insulation and other cost-effective, temperature-regulating steps can save money in the long run. Electric grids are at capacity or overloaded, but power demands continue to rise. And bad roads can lower the fuel economy of even the most efficient vehicle. Investing in new infrastructure, or radically upgrading existing highways and transmission lines, would help cut greenhouse gas emissions and drive economic growth in developing countries.

Of course, it takes a lot of cement, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, to construct new buildings and roads. The U.S. alone contributed 50.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2005 from cement production, which requires heating limestone and other ingredients to 1,450 degrees Celsius (2,642 degrees Fahrenheit). Mining copper and other elements needed for electrical wiring and transmission also causes globe-warming pollution.

But energy-efficient buildings and improved cement-making processes (such as using alternative fuels to fire up the kiln) could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world and prevent them in the developing world.

Move Closer to Work —Transportation is the second leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. (burning a single gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of CO 2 ). But it doesn't have to be that way.

One way to dramatically curtail transportation fuel needs is to move closer to work, use mass transit, or switch to walking, cycling or some other mode of transport that does not require anything other than human energy. There is also the option of working from home and telecommuting several days a week.

Cutting down on long-distance travel would also help, most notably airplane flights, which are one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions and a source that arguably releases such emissions in the worst possible spot (higher in the atmosphere). Flights are also one of the few sources of globe-warming pollution for which there isn't already a viable alternative: jets rely on kerosene, because it packs the most energy per pound, allowing them to travel far and fast, yet it takes roughly 10 gallons of oil to make one gallon of JetA fuel. Restricting flying to only critical, long-distance trips—in many parts of the world, trains can replace planes for short- to medium-distance trips—would help curb airplane emissions.

Consume Less —The easiest way to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions is simply to buy less stuff. Whether by forgoing an automobile or employing a reusable grocery sack, cutting back on consumption results in fewer fossil fuels being burned to extract, produce and ship products around the globe.

Think green when making purchases. For instance, if you are in the market for a new car, buy one that will last the longest and have the least impact on the environment. Thus, a used vehicle with a hybrid engine offers superior fuel efficiency over the long haul while saving the environmental impact of new car manufacture.

Paradoxically, when purchasing essentials, such as groceries, buying in bulk can reduce the amount of packaging—plastic wrapping, cardboard boxes and other unnecessary materials. Sometimes buying more means consuming less.

Be Efficient —A potentially simpler and even bigger impact can be made by doing more with less. Citizens of many developed countries are profligate wasters of energy, whether by speeding in a gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicle or leaving the lights on when not in a room.

Good driving—and good car maintenance, such as making sure tires are properly inflated—can limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from a vehicle and, perhaps more importantly, lower the frequency of payment at the pump.

Similarly, employing more efficient refrigerators, air conditioners and other appliances, such as those rated highly under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, can cut electric bills while something as simple as weatherproofing the windows of a home can reduce heating and cooling bills. Such efforts can also be usefully employed at work, whether that means installing more efficient turbines at the power plant or turning the lights off when you leave the office .

Eat Smart, Go Vegetarian? —Corn grown in the U.S. requires barrels of oil for the fertilizer to grow it and the diesel fuel to harvest and transport it. Some grocery stores stock organic produce that do not require such fertilizers, but it is often shipped from halfway across the globe. And meat, whether beef, chicken or pork, requires pounds of feed to produce a pound of protein.

Choosing food items that balance nutrition, taste and ecological impact is no easy task. Foodstuffs often bear some nutritional information, but there is little to reveal how far a head of lettuce, for example, has traveled.

University of Chicago researchers estimate that each meat-eating American produces 1.5 tons more greenhouse gases through their food choice than do their vegetarian peers. It would also take far less land to grow the crops necessary to feed humans than livestock, allowing more room for planting trees.

Stop Cutting Down Trees —Every year, 33 million acres of forests are cut down . Timber harvesting in the tropics alone contributes 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere. That represents 20 percent of human-made greenhouse gas emissions and a source that could be avoided relatively easily.

Improved agricultural practices along with paper recycling and forest management—balancing the amount of wood taken out with the amount of new trees growing—could quickly eliminate this significant chunk of emissions.

And when purchasing wood products, such as furniture or flooring, buy used goods or, failing that, wood certified to have been sustainably harvested. The Amazon and other forests are not just the lungs of the earth, they may also be humanity's best short-term hope for limiting climate change.

Unplug —Believe it or not, U.S. citizens spend more money on electricity to power devices when off than when on. Televisions, stereo equipment, computers, battery chargers and a host of other gadgets and appliances consume more energy when seemingly switched off, so unplug them instead.

Purchasing energy-efficient gadgets can also save both energy and money—and thus prevent more greenhouse gas emissions. To take but one example, efficient battery chargers could save more than one billion kilowatt-hours of electricity—$100 million at today's electricity prices—and thus prevent the release of more than one million metric tons of greenhouse gases.

Swapping old incandescent lightbulbs for more efficient replacements, such as compact fluorescents (warning: these lightbulbs contain mercury and must be properly disposed of at the end of their long life), would save billions of kilowatt-hours. In fact, according to the EPA, replacing just one incandescent lightbulb in every American home would save enough energy to provide electricity to three million American homes.

One Child —There are at least 6.6 billion people living today, a number that is predicted by the United Nations to grow to at least nine billion by mid-century. The U.N. Environmental Program estimates that it requires 54 acres to sustain an average human being today—food, clothing and other resources extracted from the planet. Continuing such population growth seems unsustainable.

Falling birth rates in some developed and developing countries (a significant portion of which are due to government-imposed limits on the number of children a couple can have) have begun to reduce or reverse the population explosion. It remains unclear how many people the planet can comfortably sustain, but it is clear that per capita energy consumption must go down if climate change is to be controlled.

Ultimately, a one child per couple rule is not sustainable either and there is no perfect number for human population. But it is clear that more humans means more greenhouse gas emissions.

Future Fuels —Replacing fossil fuels may prove the great challenge of the 21st century. Many contenders exist, ranging from ethanol derived from crops to hydrogen electrolyzed out of water, but all of them have some drawbacks, too, and none are immediately available at the scale needed.

Biofuels can have a host of negative impacts, from driving up food prices to sucking up more energy than they produce. Hydrogen must be created, requiring either reforming natural gas or electricity to crack water molecules. Biodiesel hybrid electric vehicles (that can plug into the grid overnight) may offer the best transportation solution in the short term, given the energy density of diesel and the carbon neutral ramifications of fuel from plants as well as the emissions of electric engines. A recent study found that the present amount of electricity generation in the U.S. could provide enough energy for the country's entire fleet of automobiles to switch to plug-in hybrids , reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the process.

But plug-in hybrids would still rely on electricity, now predominantly generated by burning dirty coal. Massive investment in low-emission energy generation, whether solar-thermal power or nuclear fission , would be required to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And even more speculative energy sources—hyperefficient photovoltaic cells, solar energy stations in orbit or even fusion—may ultimately be required.

The solutions above offer the outline of a plan to personally avoid contributing to global warming. But should such individual and national efforts fail, there is another, potentially desperate solution:

Experiment Earth —Climate change represents humanity's first planetwide experiment. But, if all else fails, it may not be the last. So-called geoengineering , radical interventions to either block sunlight or reduce greenhouse gases, is a potential last resort for addressing the challenge of climate change.

Among the ideas: releasing sulfate particles in the air to mimic the cooling effects of a massive volcanic eruption; placing millions of small mirrors or lenses in space to deflect sunlight; covering portions of the planet with reflective films to bounce sunlight back into space; fertilizing the oceans with iron or other nutrients to enable plankton to absorb more carbon; and increasing cloud cover or the reflectivity of clouds that already form.

All may have unintended consequences, making the solution worse than the original problem. But it is clear that at least some form of geoengineering will likely be required: capturing carbon dioxide before it is released and storing it in some fashion, either deep beneath the earth, at the bottom of the ocean or in carbonate minerals. Such carbon capture and storage is critical to any serious effort to combat climate change.

Additional reporting by Larry Greenemeier and Nikhil Swaminathan .

A sunset lights a glacier in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park. Around the world, many glaciers are melting quickly as the planet warms.

• ENVIRONMENT

Are there real ways to fight climate change? Yes.

Humans have the solutions to fight a global environmental crisis. Do we have the will?

The evidence that humans are causing climate change, with drastic consequences for life on the planet, is overwhelming .

Experts began raising the alarm about global warming in 1979 , a change now referred to under the broader term climate change , preferred by scientists to describe the complex shifts now affecting our planet’s weather and climate systems. Climate change encompasses not only rising average temperatures but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising seas , and a range of other impacts.  

Over 200 countries—193 countries plus the 27 members of the European Union—have signed the Paris Climate Agreement , a treaty created in 2015 to fight climate change on a global scale. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which synthesizes the scientific consensus on the issue, has set a goal of keeping warming under 2°C (3.6°F) and pursuing an even lower warming cap of 1.5 °C (2.7° F).

But no country has created policies that will keep the world below 1.5 °C, according to the Climate Action Tracker . Current emissions have the world on track to warm 2.8°C by the end of this century.  

Addressing climate change will require many solutions —there's no magic bullet. Yet nearly all of these solutions exist today. They range from worldwide changes to where we source our electricity to protecting forests from deforestation.  

The promise of new technology

Better technology will help reduce emissions from activities like manufacturing and driving.  

Scientists are working on ways to sustainably produce hydrogen, most of which is currently derived from natural gas, to feed zero-emission fuel cells for transportation and electricity.  

Renewable energy is growing, and in the U.S., a combination of wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable sources provide 20 percen t of the nation’s electricity.  

New technological developments promise to build better batteries to store that renewable energy, engineer a smarter electric grid, and capture carbon dioxide from power plants and store it underground or turn it into valuable products such as gasoline . Some argue that nuclear power—despite concerns over safety, water use, and toxic waste—should also be part of the solution, because nuclear plants don't contribute any direct air pollution while operating.

Should we turn to geoengineering?

While halting new greenhouse gas emissions is critical, scientists say we need to extract existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, effectively sucking it out of the sky.  

Pulling carbon out of the atmosphere is a type of geoengineering , a science that interferes with the Earth’s natural systems, and it’s a controversial approach to fighting climate change.

Other types of geoengineering involve spraying sunlight-reflecting aerosols into the air or blocking the sun with a giant space mirror. Studies suggest we don’t know enough about the potential dangers of geoengineering to deploy it.

Restoring nature to protect the planet  

Planting trees, restoring seagrasses, and boosting the use of agricultural cover crops could help clean up significant amounts of carbon dioxide .  

The Amazon rainforest is an important reservoir of the Earth’s carbon, but a study published in 2021, showed deforestation was transforming this reservoir into a source of pollution.  

Restoring and protecting nature may provide as much as   37 percent of the climate mitigation needed to reach the Paris Agreement’s 203o targets. Protecting these ecosystems can also benefit biodiversity, providing a win-win for nature .

Adapt—or else

Communities around the world are already recognizing that adaptation must also be part of the response to climate change . From flood-prone coastal towns to regions facing increased droughts and fires, a new wave of initiatives focuses on boosting resilience . Those include managing or preventing land erosion, building microgrids and other energy systems built to withstand disruptions, and designing buildings with rising sea levels in mind.

Last year, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law and was a historic investment in fighting and adapting to climate change.

( Read more about how the bill will dramatically reduce emissions. )

Recent books such as Drawdown and Designing Climate Solutions have proposed bold yet simple plans for reversing our current course. The ideas vary, but the message is consistent: We already have many of the tools needed to address climate change. Some of the concepts are broad ones that governments and businesses must implement, but many other ideas involve changes that anyone can make— eating less   meat , for example, or rethinking your modes of transport .

"We have the technology today to rapidly move to a clean energy system," write the authors of Designing Climate Solutions . "And the price of that future, without counting environmental benefits, is about the same as that of a carbon-intensive future."

Sarah Gibbens contributed reporting to this article.

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

Kashif abbass.

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

Muhammad Zeeshan Qasim

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

Huaming Song

Muntasir murshed.

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

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

Haider Mahmood

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

Ijaz Younis

Associated data.

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

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

Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

Review methodology

Related study and its objectives.

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

Review methodology for reviewers

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

Methodology search for finalized articles for investigations.

Source : constructed by authors

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

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

Framework of the analysis Process.

Natural disasters and climate change’s socio-economic consequences

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

Global deaths from natural disasters, 1978 to 2020.

Source EMDAT ( 2020 )

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

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

Source: EM-DAT ( 2020 )

Climate change and agriculture

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

Decline in cereal productivity

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

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

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

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

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

Climate change impacts on biodiversity

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

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

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

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

Climate change implications on human health

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

Climate change and antimicrobial resistance with corresponding economic costs

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

A typical interaction between the susceptible and resistant strains.

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

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

Climate change and vector borne-diseases

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

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

Source: Aron and Patz ( 2001 )

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

Psychological impacts of climate change

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

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

Climate change impacts on the forestry sector

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

Climate change impacts on forest-dependent communities

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

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

Pest outbreak

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

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

Source : Fischer ( 2019 )

Climate change impacts on tourism

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

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

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

Climate change impacts on the economic sector

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

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

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

Mitigation and adaptation strategies of climate changes

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

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

Sectoral impacts of climate change with adaptation and mitigation measures.

Conclusion and future perspectives

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

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

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

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

• The technological and socio-economic adaptation

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

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

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

Author contribution

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

Availability of data and material

Declarations.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Contributor Information

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

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

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

Muntasir Murshed, Email: [email protected] .

Haider Mahmood, Email: moc.liamtoh@doomhamrediah .

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

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What Is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change , primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

The main greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and cutting down forests can also release carbon dioxide. Agriculture, oil and gas operations are major sources of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main sectors  causing greenhouse gases.

Humans are responsible for global warming

Climate scientists have showed that humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. Human activities like the ones mentioned above are causing greenhouse gases that are warming the world faster than at any time in at least the last two thousand years.

The average temperature of the Earth’s surface is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s (before the industrial revolution) and warmer than at any time in the last 100,000 years. The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record , and each of the last four decades has been warmer than any previous decade since 1850.

Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others.

The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways

Climate change can affect our health , ability to grow food, housing, safety and work. Some of us are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other developing countries. Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point where whole communities have had to relocate, and protracted droughts are putting people at risk of famine. In the future, the number of people displaced by weather-related events is expected to rise.

Every increase in global warming matters

In a series of UN reports , thousands of scientists and government reviewers agreed that limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C would help us avoid the worst climate impacts and maintain a livable climate. Yet policies currently in place point to a 3°C temperature rise by the end of the century.

The emissions that cause climate change come from every part of the world and affect everyone, but some countries produce much more than others .The seven biggest emitters alone (China, the United States of America, India, the European Union, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, and Brazil) accounted for about half of all global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.

Everyone must take climate action, but people and countries creating more of the problem have a greater responsibility to act first.

We face a huge challenge but already know many solutions

Many climate change solutions can deliver economic benefits while improving our lives and protecting the environment. We also have global frameworks and agreements to guide progress, such as the Sustainable Development Goals , the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement . Three broad categories of action are: cutting emissions, adapting to climate impacts and financing required adjustments.

Switching energy systems from fossil fuels to renewables like solar or wind will reduce the emissions driving climate change. But we have to act now. While a growing number of countries is committing to net zero emissions by 2050, emissions must be cut in half by 2030 to keep warming below 1.5°C. Achieving this means huge declines in the use of coal, oil and gas: over two-thirds of today’s proven reserves of fossil fuels need to be kept in the ground by 2050 in order to prevent catastrophic levels of climate change.

Adapting to climate consequences protects people, homes, businesses, livelihoods, infrastructure and natural ecosystems. It covers current impacts and those likely in the future. Adaptation will be required everywhere, but must be prioritized now for the most vulnerable people with the fewest resources to cope with climate hazards. The rate of return can be high. Early warning systems for disasters, for instance, save lives and property, and can deliver benefits up to 10 times the initial cost.

We can pay the bill now, or pay dearly in the future

Climate action requires significant financial investments by governments and businesses. But climate inaction is vastly more expensive. One critical step is for industrialized countries to fulfil their commitment to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries so they can adapt and move towards greener economies.

To get familiar with some of the more technical terms used in connection with climate change, consult the Climate Dictionary .

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Science News

‘on the move’ examines how climate change will alter where people live.

Abrahm Lustgarten zooms in on how global warming will affect the United States

As the risk of wildfires grows in the American West (the 2020 Blue Ridge Fire in California, shown), some residents may look for other places to live.

David McNew/Getty Images

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By Saima Sidik

April 3, 2024 at 10:30 am

On the Move Abrahm Lustgarten Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30

Ellen Herdell’s nerves were nearing a breaking point. The fortysomething, lifelong Californian had noticed her home was increasingly threatened by wildfires. After relatives lost their house to a blaze and the constant threat traumatized her 9-year-old daughter, Herdell found herself up at 3 a.m. one night in 2020 searching Zillow for homes in Vermont.

She’s not alone. Across the United States, people facing extreme fires, storms, floods and heat are looking for the escape hatch. In On the Move , Abrahm Lustgarten examines who these people are, where they live, where climate change may cause them to move and how this reshuffling will impact the country ( SN: 5/12/20 ).

At about 300 pages, the book is a relatively quick read, but Lustgarten’s reporting is deep. Leaning on interviews with such high-profile sources as former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and on published research, Lustgarten explains the scientific and political sides of climate migration. Anecdotes from people across the socioeconomic spectrum reveal the mind-sets of people at the front lines of the climate crisis. And the author’s decades of experience as a climate journalist result in a particularly accessible analysis of the insurance landscape, which has long lent a false sense of economic safety to people living in places vulnerable to climate change.

Where will climate migrants end up? Lustgarten looks to scientists and economists for answers. Ecologist Marten Scheffer, for example, has repurposed tools for predicting where plants will thrive to identify zones that humans will find most habitable in the future.

But the book offers no list of the best places to live, as “safe” climate is only one consideration. Other necessities and comforts will also be factors, and some people won’t have the resources to move to an optimal spot. Like Herdell, Lustgarten is a Californian who has watched his state burn. Will he or Herdell leave? To find out, you’ll have to read the book.

Buy On the Move from Bookshop.org. Science News is a Bookshop.org affiliate and will earn a commission on purchases made from links in this article.

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Rethinking Durable Solutions to Displacement in the Context of Climate Change

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Megan bradley and megan bradley former brookings expert jane mcadam jane mcadam former brookings expert, scientia professor of law and director, andrew & renata kaldor centre for international refugee law - university of new south wales.

May 14, 2012

• 11 min read

Displacement caused by conflict and human rights violations is typically resolved through the pursuit of three “durable solutions”: local integration, resettlement or voluntary return. It has often been assumed that durable solutions mark the end of mobility for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). However, in recent years it has become clear that this assumption needs to be reconsidered. Even after the situations that forced them from their homes have been resolved, many former refugees and IDPs remain “on the move,” making choices that subvert the standard durable solutions framework. For instance, they may return periodically to their communities of origin while maintaining permanent residence in a resettlement country, or they may become migrant workers in other countries. The traditional trio of durable solutions may also need to be reconsidered in light of the challenges posed by climate change. In the following piece, we provide some brief reflections on the ways in which displacement linked to climate change may test some of the principles underpinning the durable solutions framework, and necessitate new thinking about solutions to displacement.

Already, the systems in place for supporting solutions to displacement are hard pressed to deal with refugees and IDPs uprooted by persecution and other forms of serious harm. Many wait decades to access a safe and dignified solution to their displacement, due to factors such as lack of political support for local integration, insufficient resettlement opportunities, and persistent insecurity and under-development in return communities. The pressures on the existing solutions framework are likely to increase as the effects of climate change start to influence people’s decisions to move away from their homes. While it is difficult to attribute movement solely to the impacts of climate change, it is clear that increasing numbers of people are already being displaced by disasters, such as major hurricanes and floods, whose severity and frequency are likely to increase with global warming. Slower-onset environmental processes, such as desertification, are also likely to be exacerbated by changes to the climate. Researchers expect that the majority of those uprooted by climate change-related phenomena will become internally displaced. A much smaller number of people, such as those from small island states, may be compelled to seek shelter in other countries. Since they will not qualify as refugees under international law, it is an open question whether the discourse and logic of “durable solutions” will be applied to them. In our view, it may prove more useful to focus on facilitating managed migration opportunities for those who cannot remain in their homes. This applies both to internal movement (for example, by national governments developing planned rural–urban migration schemes in consultation with affected communities), as well to international movement (for example, through the establishment of “merits-based migration” programs for citizens of small island states who wish to move preemptively, as advocated by the President of Kiribati). Indeed, the possibility of planning managed migration opportunities in advance of displacement linked to the effects of climate change sets these movements apart from many forced migration flows sparked by conflict and human rights abuses. For the present, however, it is useful to consider the ways in which the current durable solutions framework may be challenged by both internal displacement and cross-border migration associated with climate change.

A declining role for return?

Voluntary return is often portrayed by governments, UNHCR and other international actors as the “preferred” solution to displacement. Although this preference is not always shared by refugees and IDPs themselves, since the end of the Cold War voluntary return has undoubtedly become the predominant solution to refugee crises, with fourteen refugees returning to their countries of origin for each individual resettled between 1998 and 2008. Even though refugee repatriation rates have declined in recent years, IDP returns are on the rise, and for a range of reasons return tends to be privileged as the preferred solution. Why is this the case?

The reasons for privileging return range from intolerant desires to clear out unwelcome populations, to more rights-based stances premised on recognition of the right of return in international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 13(2)), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (article 12(4)), and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (Principle 28(1)). Enabling the return of refugees and IDPs to their homes may also be seen as an important form of redress for the “wrong” of displacement. [1] Yet it is clear that return may simply be a less relevant, if not impossible, solution for many of those displaced by disasters or processes connected to climate change. For the citizens of small island states, return may be untenable if fresh water supplies are no longer sustainable (for instance, last year Tuvalu declared a state of emergency on account of severe water shortages), and physically impossible if their territories are eventually inundated. In other cases, while people displaced from areas vulnerable to flooding, mudslides or riverbank erosion may wish to return to their homes (and at present often do so), the risk of exposure to further disasters may mean that a responsible durable solutions policy would require the promotion of permanent resettlement elsewhere instead of return. At times, secure returns may only be viable at great expense, with the construction of barriers against floods and other infrastructure necessary to mitigate the risk of disasters. Who bears the responsibility to fund such measures? Is it the role of national governments, the “international community”, or states that have contributed the most to climate change? There is, at the very least, an ethical dilemma if the durable solutions framework can contemplate return for refugees and IDPs uprooted by conflicts, but not for those displaced from environmentally-vulnerable areas simply on account of the resources that would be required to make this solution safe and sustainable.

While displacement linked to climate change raises new questions about the role of return as a solution, it also generates related questions about how displacement may best be redressed. In recent years, thousands of refugees and IDPs have benefitted from the work of property restitution commissions, through which they have regained their lost homes and lands. Some advocates involved in these processes have argued that just as return is the “preferred” solution to displacement, restitution is the “preferred” form of redress for displacement. This is largely because of the contribution that the restoration of displaced persons’ property rights may make to enabling sustainable returns. [2] The relevance of restitution as a remedy for displacement will undoubtedly come into question in cases where displaced persons’ homes and lands have been lost to inundation or erosion, or are otherwise no longer habitable. Financial compensation may be provided as an alternative form of redress for the loss of land, but it is clear that money cannot substitute for the loss of home and identity, nor for any loss of self-determination on communities’ traditional territory. Determining which actors have the responsibility to compensate those displaced in connection with the effects of climate change also raises thorny legal, moral and political questions that have yet to be resolved.

The increasing relevance of resettlement and planned relocation

In the context of the current durable solutions framework, resettlement has become an “extra-ordinary” solution used primarily in cases where refugees face particular protection needs that cannot be addressed in their country of asylum, and other durable solutions are not available. Demand for resettlement far outstrips supply, with UNHCR requesting resettlement for more than 108,000 refugees in 2010, but only 73,000 departing to resettlement countries. For IDPs displaced by conflict, opportunities to be resettled to third countries are virtually non-existent, while support for resettlement to other communities within their countries is often very limited and ad hoc. However, resettlement of displaced populations and the related process of planned relocation may become increasingly relevant in the context of displacement linked to the effects of climate change. Responding effectively to climate change-related displacement will necessitate moving from a reactive approach—responding to displacement that has already occurred—to a proactive approach, whereby movement is planned in close consultation with members of the affected communities, including those who have been displaced, those at risk of displacement, and members of the (prospective) host community. It will also require careful analysis of the lessons that may be learnt from experiences of development-related relocation and resettlement (when communities are moved to make way for projects such as the construction of dams or roads). [3]

While it is commonly thought that climate impacts will render small island states such as Kiribati and Tuvalu uninhabitable, there remains considerable uncertainty about the extent to which adaptation measures—including voluntary migration as a form of adaptation—will enable at least a small population to remain. “Durable solutions” in this context need to be more nuanced than the traditional three described above. In particular, movement is unlikely to be in the nature of refugee “flight” but rather pre-emptive—in anticipation of slow-onset changes which may ultimately render the continued habitation of a territory untenable. This raises different challenges for governments and other actors interested in supporting durable solutions, in particular how to create solutions that enable people to move in advance of immediate danger. While some advocates have suggested that displaced islanders should have the opportunity to be relocated to more secure locations, states are highly unlikely to formally cede territory to them. Although Kiribati is presently in negotiations with Fiji about purchasing an island to which its citizens could move, this would be a private property transaction and people could only relocate if they independently met the requirements of Fijian immigration law. Without acquiring Fijian citizenship, they would remain subject to removal, as there is no obligation under international law for states to shelter those who are displaced across borders by disasters or processes linked to climate change. Furthermore, they may not be accepted on an equal status by the host community. For instance, the Banaban islanders from Kiribati, who were relocated to Rabi island in Fiji in the 1950s when their island was mined for phosphate, still claim that they are discriminated against in Fiji and are not afforded the same opportunities as indigenous Fijians. This example speaks to the fundamental need to engage affected communities in early and meaningful consultation, and for governments to be open to proactive migration opportunities, rather than deferring to remedial protection once displacement has occurred.

The role of local integration

Particularly when return migration is not a viable option, governments will need to facilitate solutions that enable people to integrate into the communities into which they move, whether they are in their own countries or another state. Effective integration support requires ensuring that those who have recently arrived can access their legal rights and important social services. Since much of the population movement associated with climate change is (already) rural to urban, governments need to carefully develop urban planning schemes which ensure that the necessary infrastructure is put in place to support enlarged cities. In the absence of forward-looking local integration plans, it is likely that there will be a considerable growth of urban slums, as has already been observed in Bangladesh. Lessons from efforts to support the local integration of populations displaced by conflict and human rights abuses may be a valuable source of insight as integration plans are developed.

Supporting solutions

As humanitarians, human rights advocates, policymakers and researchers rethink frameworks for supporting solutions to displacement in light of the challenges posed by climate change, it will be essential to emphasize equity and even-handedness. These qualities increase the efficacy and popular acceptance of strategies to resolve displacement, and are an essential part of a rights-based approach to this issue. Conceptually and practically, it is generally impossible to identify those who have been displaced by the effects of “climate change” per se, since these always interact with pre-existing vulnerabilities (whether political, economic, social or environmental). It is particularly challenging to determine who amongst this group may be in need of—or have a claim to—special assistance in securing a solution to their displacement. Some individuals and families may be able to craft their own solutions, such as integrating into more secure communities where they have existing ties. Others may be less able to do so, due to factors such as age, infirmity, and access to financial resources, and may therefore need more support from actors such as governments and humanitarian agencies. Determining how to equitably distribute inevitably limited support for durable solutions is always a complex prospect, but this challenge will only become more acute as displacement linked to climate change increases. It must be met with a commitment to equitably consider the needs of not only the displaced, but also the communities that receive them, and be underscored by the fundamental principles of humanity and non-discrimination. At the same time, it must be recognized that while the durable solutions framework may structure efforts to support the resolution of displacement, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to these challenges. [4] Just as in cases of displacement caused by conflict and persecution, tailored solutions must be developed in close consultation with affected communities.

[1] See United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law (Article IX(19)) and Megan Bradley, Refugee repatriation: Justice, responsibility and redress . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming.

[2] S. Leckie, “New Housing, Land and Property Restitution Rights,” Forced Migration Review 25 (2006), p. 52, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), “UN to Adopt Pathbreaking New Global Standard which Demands Return of Confiscated Refugee Land and Housing,” Media Release, 11 August 2005.

[3] E. Ferris, “Protection and Planned Relocations in the Context of Climate Change”, UNHCR Legal and Protection Policy Research Series (forthcoming).

[4] For a detailed discussion, see J. McAdam (2012) Climate Change, Forced Migration, and International Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

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How Improved Housing in Under-served Communities Can Strengthen Climate Resilience

• climate change
• Climate Equity

In the crowded slums of Zambia, Africa, members of the Zambia Youth Federation, a social movement of the urban poor, conducted climate change research and presented it in an emotional spoken word poem . Their message let policymakers know how climate change is impacting their lives:

“I woke up this morning and you wouldn’t believe what happened last night. I could hear cats and dogs barking and meowing and I almost woke up praying … and thinking maybe witches have entered our house ... When I opened my eyes … half of my roof was already blown off by the harsh winds of the night. My bed was baptized in unforgiving rains and my sheets were soaked and wet. You should have seen my kitchen; it was floating spoons and plates.”

Their informal settlements are home to low-income and marginalized communities prone to landslides, sea-level rise and flooding as a result of climate change. Their experience is not unique.

One in three people living in cities globally — more than 1 billion people — do not have reliable, safe or affordable access to basic everyday necessities like decent housing, running water and sanitation, electricity, health care, or transportation to get to work or school. As the urban population is projected to increase by another 2.5 billion people by 2050, this “urban services divide” is not only a development challenge but a roadblock to climate action. Inadequate housing and lack of services exacerbate the impacts of extreme weather events, leading to increased damage, more lives lost and longer recovery times.

Why Climate Action Must Start with Housing

Housing has the most direct impact on people’s health and livelihoods. Equitable housing integrated with low-carbon and affordable key services like water, sanitation, energy and accessible transportation is critical to ensuring the least amount of harm from climate change and opportunities for a prosperous future for all. Yet housing is rarely discussed in international climate forums; and informal settlements (slums) located in developing and vulnerable countries are completely ignored.

In low-income countries, 64% of urban dwellers live in slums. By 2050, over 200 million climate migrants are expected to move to urban areas , who often settle in informal settlements, while seeking jobs.

Adequate housing and urban services may be a fiscal challenge, but it also provides opportunities for a just, climate-friendly transition that can help achieve sustainable development goals when done right.

The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) made strides in the right direction by setting the Loss and Damage Fund in motion, holding the first of its kind Local Climate Action Summit and hosting the first ever Health Day. Additionally, the first Buildings and Climate Global Form, held in March 2024, released a declaration , which acknowledges that climate change is impacting access to basic urban services and housing for those living in informal settlements. But this isn’t enough.

Disasters and extreme weather events that are increased by climate change can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities due to overcrowding, unsafe housing, inadequate infrastructure and poor healthcare facilities. At 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) warming, without adaptation, an additional 350 million people living in cities and urban areas will experience the effects of severe drought, including water scarcity. At 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) warming, that number grows to around 410 million. With climate impacts escalating every day, research shows we need transformative adaption policies in cities to reduce impacts on the most vulnerable communities.

Solutions are possible. WRI and its partners are working with communities through the REHOUSE (Resilient, Equitable Housing Opportunities and Urban Services) partnership to find scalable ways in which equitable housing and urban services make cities more climate resilient.

Here are four innovative approaches we learned by working with vulnerable communities throughout Asia and Africa:

1) Address Challenges Posed by Rapid Urbanization 

Ninety percent of urban growth by 2050 is projected to occur in Asia and Africa, where vulnerability to climate risks is also the highest . Improving access to adequate housing and urban services can simultaneously address the compounded challenges of rapid urbanization, the urban services divide and vulnerability to climate risks. A participatory housing project in Iloilo City, Philippines and a water access expansion project in Tanzania illustrate how to foster inclusive and climate-resilient development:

Participatory Housing and Urban Development in Iloilo City, Philippines

Iloilo City, Philippines, faces a multifaceted housing challenge due to rapid urbanization, informal settlements and susceptibility to floods and typhoons. The Homeless People’s Federation of the Philippines in collaboration with other civil society organizations and the government effectively provided housing development, relocation and disaster rehabilitation for nearly two-thirds of the city’s 27,000 urban poor families, without resorting to forced evictions or distant relocations.

The city government provided land within city limits, and community groups organized informal households — those who were often evicted and squatting — using innovative approaches. These included savings groups (voluntarily organized groups that combine their savings and then lend out money to pay for household expenses or for business investments) and participatory planning, which involves the entire community in the planning process. As a result, 1,250 households received new housing within the city, which provided greater access to employment opportunities, education and health care facilities. Iloilo City exemplifies an inclusive and collaborative approach by local and national governments and organizations.

Expanding Water Access in Tanzania

The residents of Sangara village in Tanzania faced a daily struggle to access clean water, with only eight hand water pumps available for a population of 2,000 people, out of which only six were operational. Since community members frequently needed to contribute to fixing them, there was not enough money to expand the water network. Habitat for Humanity, in collaboration with WaterAid Tanzania, UTT-MFI (a microfinance institution), eWATERpay and Babati District Council, initiated a project to bring reliable water access to Sangara .

Innovative solutions, including a solar pumping system, prepaid meters and a loan model were introduced. The loan model allows income generated from water purchases to be reinvested in the community. Community members contribute 30 Tanzanian shillings ($0.01) per 20-liter bucket, and the generated revenue can be used for housing improvements or other infrastructure enhancements.

This approach addresses both the maintenance and creation of modern water sources, powered by solar technology through collaboration across sectors, involving the community, private businesses, government institutions and non-profit organizations. It saves time for residents who were walking hours to fetch water, allowing them to start small vegetable farms, speed up brick laying to build new houses and improve sanitation.

2) Reduce Vulnerability and Engage Communities in Disaster Preparedness

Building and retrofitting housing and infrastructure to be climate-resilient — as projects in Bangladesh have done — and engaging communities in disaster preparedness efforts — as a program in Indonesia did— can save money and lives as climate change intensifies natural disasters.

Innovative Resilient Practices in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's distinctive geography of low-lying coastal plains and rivers, and its significant population density render it susceptible to major flooding from a shifting climate.

Connected infrastructure is vital for people to evacuate in the event of a flood, an urban development initiative by BRAC , an organization focused on people and poverty, collaborated across cities to construct 3.1 miles of roads and 118.9 miles of elevated sidewalks using sturdy materials at the highest flood level in low-income communities.

The program also provides drainage facilities and durable retaining walls. With 121 drains covering 11.7 miles, benefiting 35,290 households in 20 cities, the initiative safeguards against erosion, floods and liquid waste while maintaining proper water drainage gradients. BRAC also addressed the impact of cyclones by providing climate-resilient housing support, featuring elevated pedestals, sturdy roofs and robust construction materials to protect vulnerable families during extreme weather events.

Bangladesh is also investing in migrant-friendly climate-resilient towns and cities with the required housing, services and social infrastructure created through community participation, as part of its National Adaptation Plan.

Disaster-resilient Construction Practices in Indonesia

Earthquakes are responsible for a 50% mortality rate of all natural disasters annually in Indonesia, and impact more than 100,000 people each year. Much of this devastation is caused by substandard housing units that can’t stand up to the earthquakes as the homes were built with poor materials, are overcrowded or lack basic services. Approximately 20% of the country’s 64.1 million housing units are considered substandard, with around 70% of these units self-built and owned by low-income households.

After the 2016 earthquake in Aceh , Build Change conducted a 5-month project that was paired with government reconstruction subsidies to build timber-framed houses with masonry skirts that are designed to stand-up to earthquakes and other disasters. A builder training program for disaster-resistant construction practices and promotional campaign then engaged 155 affected villages, involving its leaders, government officials and religious leaders.

Religious leaders played a crucial role in spreading the message of building safer homes, supported by a sermon-writing competition on disaster risk mitigation. The government distributed design and construction guidelines to at least 2,300 homeowners, incorporating technical capacity for safer reconstruction.

3) Implement Local Solutions for Increased Resilience to Heat and Floods

Excessive heat and increased flooding from worsening climate change will hit the urban poor the hardest, causing health, financial and water-related challenges. Local solutions addressing cooling and flooding already exist but need to be expanded. For example, in Ahmedabad, India, women community leaders who live in informal settlements are being trained on climate resilience measures to combat extreme heat, while in Surat, an early-warning alarm system was put into place.

Empowering Women Leaders in Ahmedabad, India

Women living in informal settlements are particularly affected by extreme heat, flooding and other climate impacts since their livelihoods are more dependent on work done at home. The Women’s Action Towards Climate Resilience for the Urban Poor project by Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) involves climate training for women community leaders (Vikasinis) in informal settlements to empower them to advocate for the specific needs of the slum communities and help create viable solutions. 

MHT’s sustainable cooling initiatives in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, also aim to address heat stress and high electricity costs in slums. Pilot solutions included replacing or refinishing roofs with solar-reflective white paint, green roofs, Airlite ventilation systems that enhance air circulation and reduces energy consumption, and ModRoofs, a modular roof made from cardboard and agricultural waste. Of all these solutions, the white solar-reflective paint proved most accessible for women in slums as this cost-effective solution shields against scorching temperatures, providing comfort to residents.

Many women painted their roofs and experienced an improvement in indoor temperature. MHT also aims to install 5,000 more cool ModRoofs roofs in India by 2026 and is collaborating with local authorities for broader initiatives. The success of MHT's work led to its involvement in revising the Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan, which will help other cities implement similar programs.

Addressing Flooding in the City of Surat

Surat, a populous and economically thriving city on the Tapi River in south Gujarat, India, faces flood risks, exacerbated by high tides during the rainy season and emergency releases from the Ukai Dam. A comprehensive report conducted in Surat, as part of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) initiative, revealed higher vulnerabilities among lower-income groups. Approximately 71,000 households are susceptible to flooding (around half of which live within 50 meters of streams) and around 450,000 households are vulnerable to flooding from emergency releases from the Ukai dam.

To help residents, ACCCRN supported an early warning system in Surat that not only provides a 4-day advance warning against floods, but also supports vulnerable populations — many who don’t have phones — by including geo-tagging of all residential buildings, providing pre-monsoon updates to people who require special medical care during emergencies, aiding evacuation efforts and minimizing flood damage.

More than 20% of the city’s low-income households who live alongside creeks and rivers benefit from reduced risks due to more controlled releases from the dam and sufficient time to evacuate to safer locations.

There are also plans for a database of people who are vulnerable to flood risk and a community-managed bank that can provide disaster-relief resources, adapting building by-laws for the low-income settlements so the city can help make them more resilient. Other flood mitigation actions include clearing drainage and sewer systems, conducting emergency evacuation preparedness and regular drills. The city also plans to establish a data-assisted two-way information system for residential buildings, incorporating pre-monsoon updates for vulnerable groups.

4) Improve Access to Clean and Sustainable Energy through Community Participation

Housing is the integrator of many urban services such as energy, water and sanitation. Improving access to these services improves health, raises productivity and saves time and money. For example, in Africa, an energy program was designed to improve access to clean renewable energy through community participation.

Experiences From an Energy Justice Program in Africa

The Energy Justice Programme (EJP) and the Know Your City (KYC) data collection program, led by Slum Dwellers International (SDI) are helping to improve energy access within slum areas by engaging the community in energy planning. Lack of access to sustainable energy is a significant obstacle to slum development, and financial and practical barriers to extending the grid can often leave low-income communities without service for decades.

In the Mukuru Special Planning Area , Nairobi’s biggest slum upgradation project, Community Data Teams were formed by Mukuru residents — 70% of whom are women and youth — to gather information about demand and gaps in energy access. The information is then used to suggest better ways for people in Mukuru to obtain regular energy access in their homes including alternatives such as off-grid solar technologies.

In another project, SDI's group savings and loan approach facilitated off-grid solar home systems in Zimbabwe and showcased a practical financing solution. Through community savings groups, households can secure loans to better afford expensive solar systems, with payments returning to the fund for new loans. The implementation plans also involve training community members as technicians to install, repair and maintain the solar systems.

Solar energy is also the focus of a project in the Ugandan cities of Kampala and Jinja, where solar streetlights were installed to reduce accidents and alleviate traffic congestion and air pollution. As a result, crime rates lowered, allowing marginalized groups, especially women, to reclaim public spaces at night. The nighttime economy improved with extended trading hours for businesses, potentially creating around 4,000 additional jobs in Kampala. In Jinja, the production of solar-powered streetlights, generated skilled and technical jobs, particularly benefiting vulnerable youth in slum areas.

Scaling Solutions for More Climate-resilient Housing

REHOUSE'S 3-track Program

REHOUSE aims to scale global, national and local efforts by:

1) Developing data, finance and learning systems: Leverage engagements at global events like COP and the World Urban Forum and collectively build a global data platform to evaluate urban climate risks and vulnerabilities, foster peer learning and channel climate finance to the most vulnerable communities.

2) Scaling by influencing country policies and programs: Deliver impact at the national level by engaging with national climate and urbanization policies, data, funding programs and urban infrastructure programs.

3) Demonstrating community-city collaboration in priority settlements: Pilot city and settlement-level climate risks and vulnerability mapping initiatives with the community, along with innovative climate resilient housing and infrastructure delivery models and scale them by leveraging the experiences, capacity and grassroots presence of partner organizations.

Housing is a crucial entry point to advance climate goals and sustainable development. It has the most direct impact on people’s lives and livelihoods, the ability to pull along other core urban services and can serve as the foundation for climate mitigation and adaption policies, programs and peer learning across cities and countries. 

National and urban decision makers and stakeholders need to prioritize access to climate-resilient basic services and urban housing within informal settlements, positioning them prominently on the political, developmental and climate agendas.

The projects discussed in this article demonstrate how vulnerable communities, with the help of REHOUSE partners and other organizations, are already addressing the multifaceted challenges to make cities and communities climate resilient. But these solutions need to be scaled.

For more examples of successful scalable innovations from REHOUSE partners’ work and information on how to get involved, visit REHOUSE.org .

Relevant Work

In ahmedabad, india, women are climate leaders, not victims, in iloilo city, philippines, an inclusive housing program protects vulnerable communities from flood risks, photo essay: how climate change affects the urban poor in india and indonesia, photo essay: poor communities in surat, india, take climate resilience into their own hands, how you can help.

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Warming Is Getting Worse. So They Just Tested a Way to Deflect the Sun.

A spraying machine designed for cloud brightening on the flight deck of the Hornet, a decommissioned aircraft carrier that is now a museum in Alameda, Calif. Credit...

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By Christopher Flavelle

Photographs by Ian C. Bates

Christopher Flavelle reported from a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Alameda, Calif. He spoke with scientists, environmentalists and government officials.

• April 2, 2024

A little before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, an engineer named Matthew Gallelli crouched on the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Francisco Bay, pulled on a pair of ear protectors, and flipped a switch.

A few seconds later, a device resembling a snow maker began to rumble, then produced a great and deafening hiss. A fine mist of tiny aerosol particles shot from its mouth, traveling hundreds of feet through the air.

It was the first outdoor test in the United States of technology designed to brighten clouds and bounce some of the sun’s rays back into space, a way of temporarily cooling a planet that is now dangerously overheating. The scientists wanted to see whether the machine that took years to create could consistently spray the right size salt aerosols through the open air, outside of a lab.

If it works, the next stage would be to aim at the heavens and try to change the composition of clouds above the Earth’s oceans.

As humans continue to burn fossil fuels and pump increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the goal of holding global warming to a relatively safe level, 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with preindustrial times, is slipping away. That has pushed the idea of deliberately intervening in climate systems closer to reality.

Universities, foundations, private investors and the federal government have started to fund a variety of efforts, from sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to adding iron to the ocean in an effort to store carbon dioxide on the sea floor.

“Every year that we have new records of climate change, and record temperatures, heat waves, it’s driving the field to look at more alternatives,” said Robert Wood, the lead scientist for the team from the University of Washington that is running the marine cloud brightening project. “Even ones that may have once been relatively extreme.”

Brightening clouds is one of several ideas to push solar energy back into space — sometimes called solar radiation modification, solar geoengineering, or climate intervention. Compared with other options, such as injecting aerosols into the stratosphere, marine cloud brightening would be localized and use relatively benign sea salt aerosols as opposed to other chemicals.

And yet, the idea of interfering with nature is so contentious, organizers of Tuesday’s test kept the details tightly held, concerned that critics would try to stop them. Although the Biden administration is funding research into different climate interventions, including marine cloud brightening, the White House distanced itself from the California study, sending a statement to The New York Times that read: “The U.S. government is not involved in the Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) experiment taking place in Alameda, CA, or anywhere else.”

David Santillo, a senior scientist at Greenpeace International, is deeply skeptical of proposals to modify solar radiation. If marine cloud brightening were used at a scale that could cool the planet, the consequences would be hard to predict, or even to measure, he said.

“You could well be changing climatic patterns, not just over the sea, but over land as well,” he said. “This is a scary vision of the future that we should try and avoid at all costs.”

Karen Orenstein, director of the Climate and Energy Justice Program at Friends of the Earth U.S., a nonprofit environmental group, called solar radiation modification “an extraordinarily dangerous distraction.” She said the best way to address climate change would be to quickly pivot away from burning fossil fuels.

On that last point, the cloud researchers themselves agree.

“I hope, and I think all my colleagues hope, that we never use these things, that we never have to,” said Sarah Doherty, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Washington and the manager of its marine cloud brightening program.

She said there were potential side effects that still needed to be studied, including changing ocean circulation patterns and temperatures, which might hurt fisheries. Cloud brightening could also alter precipitation patterns, reducing rainfall in one place while increasing it elsewhere.

But it’s vital to find out whether and how such technologies could work, Dr. Doherty said, in case society needs them. And no one can say when the world might reach that point.

In 1990, a British physicist named John Latham published a letter in the journal Nature, under the heading “Control of Global Warming?,” in which he introduced the idea that injecting tiny particles into clouds could offset rising temperatures.

Dr. Latham later attributed his idea to a hike with his son in Wales, where they paused to look at clouds over the Irish Sea.

“He asked why clouds were shiny at the top but dark at the bottom,” Dr. Latham told the BBC in 2007 . “I explained how they were mirrors for incoming sunlight.”

Dr. Latham had a proposal that may have seemed bizarre: create a fleet of 1,000 unmanned, sail-powered vessels to traverse the world’s oceans and continuously spray tiny droplets of seawater into the air to deflect solar heat away from Earth.

The idea is built on a scientific concept called the Twomey effect: Large numbers of small droplets reflect more sunlight than small numbers of large droplets. Injecting vast quantities of minuscule aerosols, in turn forming many small droplets, could change the composition of clouds.

“If we can increase the reflectivity by about 3 percent, the cooling will balance the global warming caused by increased C02 in the atmosphere,” Dr. Latham, who died in 2021 , told the BBC. “Our scheme offers the possibility that we could buy time.”

A version of marine cloud brightening already happens every day, according to Dr. Doherty.

As ships travel the seas, particles from their exhaust can brighten clouds, creating “ship tracks,” behind them. In fact, until recently, the cloud brightening associated with ship tracks offset about 5 percent of climate warming from greenhouse gases, Dr. Doherty said.

Ironically, as better technology and environmental regulations have reduced the pollution emitted by ships, that inadvertent cloud brightening is fading, as well as the cooling that goes along with it.

A deliberate program of marine cloud brightening could be done with sea salts, rather than pollution, Dr. Doherty said.

Brightening clouds is no easy task. Success requires getting the size of the aerosols just right: Particles that are too small would have no effect, said Jessica Medrado, a research scientist working on the project. Too big and they could backfire, making clouds less reflective than before. The ideal size are submicron particles about 1/700th the thickness of a human hair, she said.

Next, you need to be able to expel a lot of those correctly sized aerosols into the air: A quadrillion particles, give or take, every second. “You cannot find any off-the-shelf solution,” Dr. Medrado said.

The answer to that problem came from some of the most prominent figures in America’s technology industry.

In 2006, the Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, got a briefing from David Keith, one of the leading researchers in solar geoengineering, which is the idea of trying to reflect more of the sun’s rays. Mr. Gates began funding Dr. Keith and Ken Caldeira, another climate scientist and a former software developer, to further their research.

The pair considered the idea of marine cloud brightening but wondered if it was feasible.

So they turned to Armand Neukermans, a Silicon Valley engineer with a doctorate in applied physics from Stanford and 74 patents. One of his early jobs was at Xerox, where he devised a system to produce and spray ink particles for copiers. Dr. Caldeira asked if he could develop a nozzle that would spray not ink, but sea salt aerosols.

Intrigued, Dr. Neukermans, who is now 83, lured some of his old colleagues out of retirement and began research in a borrowed lab in 2009, with $300,000 from Mr. Gates. They called themselves the Old Salts.

The team worked on the problem for years, eventually landing on a solution: By pushing air at extremely high pressure through a series of nozzles, they could create enough force to smash salt crystals into exceedingly small particles of just the right size.

Their work moved to a larger laboratory at the Palo Alto Research Center, a former Xerox research facility now owned by SRI International, a independent nonprofit research institute. Dr. Medrado became the lead engineer for the project two years ago. By the end of last year, the sprayer had been assembled and was waiting in a warehouse near San Francisco.

The machine was ready. The team needed somewhere to test it.

As the researchers were perfecting the sprayer, a profound transformation was happening outside their laboratory.

Since Dr. Latham first proposed the idea of marine cloud brightening, the concentration of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere has increased by about 20 percent. Last year was the hottest in recorded history and the World Meteorological Organization projects that 2024 will be another record year . Global ocean temperatures have been at record highs for the past year.

As the effects of climate change continue to grow, so has interest in some sort of backup plan. In 2020, Congress directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study solar radiation modification. In 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine published a report saying the United States should “cautiously pursue” research into the idea. Last month, scientists from NOAA and other federal agencies proposed a road map for researching marine cloud brightening.

Interest is growing overseas, as well. In February, an Australian team of researchers at Southern Cross University, which was advised by Dr. Neukermans, conducted a monthlong experiment off the country’s northeast coast, spraying aerosols from a ship and measuring the response of clouds.

Daniel P. Harrison, the lead researcher, called the tests “the smallest of baby steps aimed at confirming and refining the underpinning theory in the real world.” He said it was too early to discuss any findings.

Private funding is also growing. Kelly Wanser is a former technology executive who helped establish the marine cloud brightening project at the University of Washington. In 2018 she created SilverLining , a nonprofit organization to advance research into what she calls “near-term climate interventions” like cloud brightening.

Ms. Wanser’s group is contributing part of the funding for the research at the University of Washington and SRI, which is budgeted at about $10 million over three years, she said. That includes the study aboard the Hornet, which is expected to cost about $1 million a year.

Finding money for that work has gotten easier as record heat has “really shifted attitudes” among funders, Ms. Wanser said. Donors include the Quadrature Climate Foundation, the Pritzker Innovation Fund and the Cohler Charitable Fund, established by the former Facebook executive Matt Cohler, according to Ms. Wanser.

Last year, Ms. Wanser spoke with a member of the board that runs the Hornet, which now operates as a museum affiliated with the Smithsonian. Would they host a first-of-its-kind study?

The museum agreed. The test was a go.

The flight deck of the Hornet rises 50 feet above the shore of Alameda, a small town on the east side of San Francisco Bay. On Tuesday, it held a series of finely calibrated sensors, perched atop a row of scissor lifts reaching into the air.

Underneath a United States flag at the far end of the flight deck was the sprayer: Shiny blue, roughly the shape and size of a spotlight, with a ring of tiny steel nozzles around its three-foot-wide mouth. The researchers call it CARI, for Cloud Aerosol Research Instrument.

On one side of the sprayer was a box the size of a shipping container that housed a pair of compressors, which fed highly pressurized air to the sprayer through a thick, black hose. On the other side was a tank of water. A series of switches, turned in careful sequence, fed the water and air into the device, which then shot a fine mist toward the sensors.

The goal was to determine whether the aerosols leaving the sprayer, which had been carefully manipulated to reach a specific size, remained that size as they rushed through the air in different wind and humidity conditions. It will take months to analyze the results. But the answers could determine whether marine cloud brightening would work, and how, according to Dr. Wood.

Ms. Wanser said she hoped the testing, which could continue for months or longer, will demystify the concept of climate intervention technologies. Toward that aim, the equipment will remain on the Hornet and be on display during hours when the ship is open to the public. Even if the equipment is not ultimately used to cool the planet, the data it generates can add to the understanding of how pollution and other aerosols interact with clouds, the researchers said.

Dr. Wood estimated that scientists could need another decade of tests before they were in a position to potentially use marine cloud brightening at the scale required to cool the Earth.

Ms. Wanser is already looking ahead to the next phase of that research. “The next step is go out to the ocean,” she said, “aim up the spray a little higher, and touch clouds.”

Christopher Flavelle is a Times reporter who writes about how the United States is trying to adapt to the effects of climate change. More about Christopher Flavelle

Learn More About Climate Change

Have questions about climate change? Our F.A.Q. will tackle your climate questions, big and small .

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Did you know the ♻ symbol doesn’t mean something is actually recyclable ? Read on about how we got here, and what can be done.

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Scientists are breeding 'super corals.' Can they withstand climate change?

Lauren Sommer

Ryan Kellman

Outside the city of Townsville, Australia a group of scientists is breeding 'super coral' in the hope that they might better withstand the ocean's record breaking heat levels and strengthen the Great Barrier Reef living just offshore. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

Just after the full moon, Annika Lamb goes into work late at night. She puts on a headlamp with a red light and peers into large tanks of water in a marine science lab.

It's a special week. Inside the lab, corals with delicate branching arms are about to undergo a vital ritual. Only one night a year, they release eggs and sperm that fill the water like confetti and that will combine to create the next generation of reef builders.

"You're not really sure what's going to happen," Lamb says. "There's a lot of magic. There's a lot of unknown."

One way to save coral reefs? Deep freeze them for the future

Lamb is standing by patiently to scoop up the genetic bundles, in the hope that these corals hold the key to surviving an ocean that is rapidly heating up. She's part of a team at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, located on the east coast of Australia, that is breeding corals to endure an increasingly hostile planet – what some have nicknamed "super corals."

A team from the Australian Institute of Marine Science monitors coral spawning, which occurs only at night and just once a year. Marie Roman/AIMS hide caption

Since corals only spawn at night, the red headlamps help keep the lab dark. The lights seem like sultry mood lighting for the corals–and a red alert for climate change at the same time.

During spawning corals release their eggs and sperm, filling the water like confetti, which combine to create the next generation of reef builders. Marie Roman/AIMS hide caption

Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the largest in the world, is currently undergoing its fifth mass bleaching event in the last eight years. Corals bleach, turning a ghostly white color, when they're under stress from hotter temperatures. If the heat subsides, corals can recover. But long periods of heat and repeated marine heat waves cause corals to die, wreaking havoc on one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.

It's estimated that a quarter of all marine species depend on coral reefs. Biologists say that's a best guess, since life on reefs is so dense, it's very likely there are species yet to be discovered. Reefs are also vital for humans. Half a billion people depend on coral reefs for food, livelihoods and flood protection, since reefs can dissipate the power of waves hitting shore.

Although coral reefs take up only a small fraction of the ocean it's estimated that a quarter of all marine species depend on them. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

Reefs are vital for humans. Half a billion people depend on coral reefs for food, livelihoods and flood protection, since reefs can dissipate the power of waves hitting shore. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

If climate change continues at its current rate, the outlook for coral reefs is grim. Within a few decades, the world is expected to hit 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming on average, a threshold where the majority of the world's coral reefs are not expected to survive .

In the face of that threat, scientists around the world are searching for corals that can tolerate extreme heat better, selectively breeding them to help reefs adapt faster than nature could. The big question is how much time it will buy coral reefs, given how rapidly temperatures are rising.

"Coral reefs are amongst the most vulnerable of our ecosystems to climate change," says David Wachenfeld, research program director at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, just outside of Townsville, Queensland. "There are certainly very plausible future scenarios where, with the best science in the world, we won't be able to protect the Great Barrier Reef."

During coral bleaching the algae that live inside coral, providing them with food and their bright colors, are expelled from the coral, leaving them without their major food source. Renata Ferrari/AIMS hide caption

Putting corals to the test

The corals inside Annika Lamb's tanks are all contenders to help reefs survive, but not all of them are winners. They're labeled with a ranking, like athletes after a race. They're housed at the National Sea Simulator, a vast facility of tanks where scientists have figured out the art of keeping the delicate animals alive.

Annika Lamb looks over a tank of coral at AIMS that have been tested for their ability to handle heat. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

These ranked corals have gone through tests, placed into hotter water to see how they perform. When ocean temperatures rise, it upsets the cornerstone relationship between a coral and the algae that live inside it. The algae give the coral its color, and they also photosynthesize, making food for the coral with energy from the sun. They're essentially the roommates that do the grocery shopping.

Under stress though, those algae get expelled, turning the corals white and leaving them without their major food source. Given enough time, corals can rebuild their algae and recover. But if conditions stay hot, corals will die.

Still, bleaching doesn't happen uniformly. Corals have different sensitivities to heat, even within the same species. Lamb is looking for the individuals who seem to be able to hack it better.

"We have 25 corals here that got ranked from number one, being our most resilient coral, all the way down to 25, which was our most thermally sensitive coral," she says, peering into the tank.

During spawning, Lamb and colleagues carefully scoop up the eggs and sperm from the corals and mix them in different combinations. Just days afterward, the tiny coral babies are swimming around in glass tanks, each group the result of a different pairing of moms and dads.

Still, creating a heat-tolerant "super coral" isn't as simple as combining the top-ranked parents. The babies of #1 and #2 could be rock stars when it gets hot, but they may fall short when it comes to other stressors a coral has to survive.

"Are they also able to withstand winter temperatures?" Lamb says. "Are they also able to compete with other corals on the reef? Can we maintain enough genetic diversity so that population has enough tools at its disposal to deal with different environments?"

Selective breeding has been used by humans for millennia on crops and livestock. Now, as the climate gets hotter, it's being used for conservation. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

As a result, Lamb says they're trying out all combinations of parents. And once the babies grow, are putting them onto the Great Barrier Reef to see how they survive in the wild. Other corals they're testing out are being crossbred, where two different species are combined to create hybrids. The hope is to breed heat-tolerant corals that can one day be used to restore reefs as the damage from climate change gets worse.

Selective breeding is a technique that's been used by humanity for centuries, responsible for everything from the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store to the dogs and cats in our homes. It's been used much less in the field of conservation, but as the toll of climate change has become apparent, more biologists are looking into "assisted evolution."

"When we're talking about assisted evolution, we're trying to take those natural processes and speed them up, in the way that would naturally occur on the reef," Lamb says.

Coral larvae swim under a microscope.

Credit: AIMS

Super corals aren't a super solution

Many coral biologists cringe at the term "super coral" for a simple reason: no amount of biological tweaking can produce corals that will survive the future climate that humans are creating. Breeding corals is about buying extra time until humans can get climate change under control.

"We cannot just keep making the climate warmer, and it will all be okay because we can bioengineer everything," says Madeleine van Oppen, senior principal research scientist at AIMS who leads the coral breeding work. "So we really see this as an intermediate solution to try and not lose the reef until we deal with the climate."

The stakes became painfully clear in Florida and the Caribbean in 2023, when the ocean temperatures broke records. The heat was so intense, some corals died outright, even before they had the chance to bleach. Less than a quarter of one sensitive species, staghorn coral, was left alive. Some of the corals that were lost had been grown specifically to restore the reef.

Muhammad Azmi Abdul Wahab holds one of the devices that budding coral colonies are attached to before being placed in the ocean. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

"In my mind, it brought home the message that we really need to restore with thermally-enhanced coral stock, because otherwise a lot of effort might be wasted," van Oppen says.

Still, some coral scientists worry that focusing on projects like coral breeding could harm the broader effort to rein in climate change.

"They send the subliminal message that the clever scientists can fix this, when in reality the only way we're going to fix it is by reducing greenhouse gas emissions," says Terry Hughes, coral scientist at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia.

Hughes says given the massive scale of the Great Barrier Reef, stretching over 1,000 miles, the amount of corals that could be grown in tanks onshore would only make up a tiny fraction of the reef. He says the most vital solution is ending the use of fossil fuels, like coal and oil, and switching to renewable energy.

"It's in our hands as a global society to determine the trajectory of the world's coral reefs and where it ends up," Hughes says. "There's still time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions very sharply."

The corals developed at AIMS are being tested in the ocean, placed by divers on the central Great Barrier Reef as part of a large field trial. Saskia Jurriaans/ AIMS hide caption

Before super corals can be used to restore reefs, they're being studied in small trials on the Great Barrier Reef. Eventually, regulators would need to determine if deploying them would pose any risk to the wild coral populations. And to grow huge numbers of them, massive aquarium facilities would need to be built.

"As scientists we can't just fix everything, but we can develop the tools for tomorrow that give reefs and the people that depend upon them the best fighting chance possible," Wachenfeld says. "And that's what gets me out of bed every morning."

Coral scientists know the clock is against them, given how rapidly the oceans are warming.

"It is sort of depressing when you get a year like this and you see so much mortality," van Oppen says. "You do worry: can we get there on time?"

• coral reefs
• Great Barrier Reef
• climate change

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• Published: 02 April 2024

Discrepancies in academic perceptions of climate change and implications for climate change education

• Marcellus Forh Mbah   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4199-0819 1  

npj Climate Action volume  3 , Article number:  24 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Climate change is arguably the most severe threat faced by humanity today. In an attempt to understand how humanity can manage this phenomenon for planetary health, it is fundamental to have an understanding of what it is. This aligns with a critical gap in the extant literature, that is, how different perceptions of climate change among facilitators of learning (in this case, academics) can enable the establishment of a framework of critical consciousness that could boost climate change education and contribute to climate change management. To this end, the study that underpins this paper set out to capture the perceptions of climate change among a selection of academics at a local university in Cameroon. Following a comprehensive analysis of the data, different views on the subject emerged, aligning with scientific, observational, and cultural definitions. Drawing on theoretical insights into critical consciousness, the findings of this study have wider implications for climate change education at universities. A framework is suggested to support educators as they foster critical thinking among learners, as this can facilitate their ability and the wider community to make informed decisions on mitigation and adaptation strategies in light of climate change and the threats it carries.

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Introduction

Climate change is a global issue posing unprecedented threats to populations around the world. Its impacts are felt severely on vulnerable regions and populations, as well as in contexts such as agriculture and the wider environment. Despite this, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reveals that governments are ill prepared for climate change, and that they lack immediate plans to limit global temperatures below 1.5 °C 1 . To tackle this threat, governments must introduce effective and efficient mitigation and adaptation strategies that help communities move forward responsibly. One of the key measures for adaptation and mitigation is through the fostering of climate change education (CCE) which endows people with relevant knowledge and helps them make informed decisions as they understand climate variability, natural and anthropogenic causes, and the impacts of climate change 2 , 3 , 4 . Previous studies are a testament to this claim as various scholars have demonstrated the importance of integrating CCE into different levels of education to ensure that communities become climate resilient 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 .

To implement successful programs on CCE, it is necessary for educators to have a well-founded explanation and a logical insight into what climate change is about 2 , 3 . There are existing definitions of climate change, such as it being conceived as a distribution over time for constant external conditions (such as solar radiation), and distribution over time where external conditions vary, and other definitions that look at the atmosphere or change in weather statistics over many decades 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 . Such changes that characterize climate change are often due to anthropogenic activities, such as deforestation and burning of fossil fuels, leading to CO2, greenhouse gas emissions and a rise in ocean, land, and atmospheric temperatures 12 , 13 .

Although there are recent extant studies on climate change in the educational context 3 , 14 , 15 , 16 , little is known about how climate change is defined among academics from different disciplinary backgrounds working in higher educational institutions and associated with teaching environmentally related subjects. It is significant to address this for two main reasons: 1) many university academics are at the forefront of empowering young people with a relevant knowledge base to confront climate change, and 2) it is essential to ascertain whether CCE can benefit from varied insights from academics on what climate change represents, or if it would be a cause of confusion among learners. This paper sets out to highlight discrepancies in climate change perception among a group of academics and discusses the implications of these diverse opinions for CCE.

Currently, there is not enough data or evidence to support a uniform definition of climate change among academics. There are studies that discuss perceptions of climate change in different contexts. For example, a study conducted in public and private schools and colleges in Bangladesh indicates that teachers are generally aware of the term climate change 17 , but there is a difference in opinion on temperatures as they relate to the phenomenon. It elaborates that most private school teachers believe temperatures are rising, whereas most public school teachers believe that they are merely fluctuating. On the other hand, findings in the study suggest that respondents overall agree that extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, and droughts are occurring more frequently due to climate change. Another study finds that many informal educators are well informed about climate change, but there are some who find it difficult to keep up with the scientific information relating to the subject 18 . In the United States, for instance, a study on high school teachers’ perceptions demonstrates they believe that pesticides, aerosols, and nuclear energy contribute significantly towards climate change 19 . Elsewhere, in Norway, pre-service science teachers who have entered the education sector from their prior engagements with the oil industry have a high prevalence of climate change scepticism 20 . This study reveals that owing to their associations with the oil industry, these teachers are less likely to acknowledge the human factors influencing climate change. Eilam 21 posits that “the limited conceptualization of climate change by educators is one of the main problems leading to its poor representation in school education”. Furthermore, a misdefinition of climate change may not only have consequences for policy decisions 22 and human actions 23 but also education on the subject.

Although the examples above showcase teachers’ perceptions on climate change across different levels of education, there is an identifiable gap in how climate change is understood by academics in universities. Higher education has an immediate role to play in providing key skills for climate change mitigation and adaptation 3 , 16 . Therefore, this paper presents a study on how this concept is understood in academic contexts, and in doing so, fills an important gap in the extant literature. It achieves this aim by examining the perceptions of the term “climate change” among a selection of academics from a local university in Cameroon, before considering the wider implications for CCE.

Theoretical framework: theory of critical consciousness

This paper sets its foundation in Freire’s theory of critical consciousness to discuss the ways in which academics can gain an in-depth understanding of a subject, as well as encourage their students to think and interpret information critically within the framework of knowledge co-creation. Freire defined critical consciousness as a “requirement of our human condition” (24, p. 55). He elaborated that to have a true consciousness, individuals must portray a deep curiosity to reexamine experiences and information that exist as facts in our society. He further explained that individuals will break free from oppressive roles when they confront such biases and the unconscious acceptance of the status quo 24 , 25 . Consequently, critical consciousness is a learning process by which people can “take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (Ref. 26 , p. 4). Therefore, critical education is a key means of elevating not just educators, but also young people, from receivers of standardized knowledge to active participants in change and transformation. In this context, the lecture hall can be seen as a space for co-created learning and teaching, whereby there is no hegemony of knowledge and a plurality of insights are encouraged 27 , 28 , 29 . Through this, educators can also avoid the “banking model” of education 30 where they are seen as the custodian of authentic knowledge and students are only regarded as empty vessels for the imparting of information. This is consistent with the notion of engaged pedagogy, whereby, according to hooks (Ref. 31 , p. 202), “students and teachers celebrate their abilities to think critically.” So, then, it is not just the story or ideas of the learner that needs interrogating but also that of the educator 31 , as both learn, unlearn, and relearn.

For the purposes of CCE, critical consciousness can entail a framework of analytically examining and evaluating climate change issues, adaptation, and mitigation measures. Both educators and learners can achieve a deeper understanding of their realities as they relate to climate change and participate in solutions that are context-specific and holistic in nature. This will not only be seen as empowering with a context of freedom 32 but can also help create climate-resilient communities as knowledge diffuses, leading to behavioral changes and relevant practices. Moreover, for groups that are already dominant in our society – such as professional educators – critical consciousness calls for a necessary insight into one’s position in society and role in reinforcing power dynamics and social hierarchy 33 . Therefore, this theory underscores the key potential among both educators and students for their active involvement in implementing a successful CCE program.

Contextual background

This study was conducted at a local university in Cameroon, located in one of the two English-speaking regions of the country and made up of Faculties which include Arts; Health Sciences, Education; Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Science; Engineering and Technology, and Social and Management Sciences. The student population is over 12,000, with a diversified staff of about 600 (that is, permanent and part-time).

As climate change is expected to hit hardest on the more vulnerable countries around the world, it is important that Cameroon’s practices on climate mitigation and adaptation reflect a comprehensive approach to managing disasters and challenges. The country is home to a vast area of Congo Basin’s tropical rainforests. With more than 40% of Cameroon’s land being covered by dense rainforests, it can play a crucial role in adapting to climate change across Africa 34 , 35 . However, this immense natural land is threatened by deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices 36 . A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 35 further suggests that degradation of the African tropics could have major consequences on rainfall patterns, impacting agriculture and temperatures in the region.

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Cameroon, employing up to 70% of the economically active population 37 . This figure suggests that agriculture is crucial for poverty reduction and the development of Cameroon. However, the dependence on rain-fed agriculture disproportionately affects farmers in Cameroon who are experiencing climate variability. Therefore, it is important that the country is prepared to tackle the challenges and risks that are brought on. CCE has the potential to equip communities with the knowledge and tools needed to mitigate or adapt to climate change. In Cameroon, where the vast population is involved in the agriculture sector, it becomes increasingly important that relevant information is communicated to students during learning sessions, for the management of related vulnerabilities to climate change.

This study employed a qualitative case study approach and data was collected by interviewing academics from a variety of disciplines, including Environmental Science, Education, Agricultural Economics, Social and Management Science, Forestry, Water Resource Management, Gender and Development, Petroleum Geology, Plant Protection, and Geography, and they all had a teaching and research responsibility. In particular, semi-structured interviews were employed as it provided participants with the latitude to articulate their thoughts more freely when compared to structured interviews. An interview guide was used to ask questions to 38 academics at the university who were recruited via a combination of purposive, snowball and opportunistic sampling techniques. These questions focused on: 1) vulnerability to climate change, 2) education for climate change adaptation, and 3) policies and practices that support climate change education in the country. While a set of questions was asked as part of a broader study, this paper is concerned with the following fundamental line of inquiry: What is your understanding or definition of climate change? The in depth semi-structured interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed. Participants consented to take part in the study, which is consistent with the ethical protocol that guided the process. The data captured and analyzed reveal a plethora of views on climate change.

Data analysis

Thematic analysis was used to examine and interpret the data collected in the study. Widely used in qualitative research, this method of analysis provides flexible approaches to identifying patterns and themes 38 . According to Braun and Clarke 39 , thematic analysis helps to systematically interpret and organize patterns across a dataset so that collective and shared experiences can be reported. It is important for the purposes of this paper that interviews collected are analysed to address meaningful insights into education for climate change adaptation. While there are various ways to conduct a thematic analysis, the six-step approach described by Braun and Clarke 40 was chosen as appropriate for this study, given its systematic approach, straightforward application, and relevance. These steps are getting familiar with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining, and naming themes, and producing the report 40 .

First, the transcripts of the interviews were read and reread, and initial notes were taken to highlight participants’ views and experiences. This stage involved reading the transcripts critically and using techniques such as annotations and comments to deepen the understanding of the dataset. After this, coding was carried out manually, and data was broken down into specific labels if it was consistent with the research questions outlined in the interview guide. Using what Braun and Clarke 40 described as a latent level of analysis, this phase of coding also extracted underlying ideas in the transcripts. Next, the coded data were examined to identify broader patterns and similarities, and themes were constructed by grouping codes that shared specific characteristics. During this process, participants’ quotations and experiences that were relevant to the codes were collated below their respective themes. By isolating such examples and stories, this phase ensured a comprehensive understanding of the content of the data and guaranteed that the results reflected a coherent analysis 40 . In line with the fourth and fifth step, the themes were reviewed to confirm that they were logical and consistent with the subject of the research and were carefully assigned names 41 . Once this was completed, the data was re-read once again to make certain that the themes finalized were meaningfully capturing the aims of the research overall. The following section discusses the findings as they relate to the questions asked on the definition of climate change. Where participants have been quoted, pseudonyms were used.

A deep insight into the interviews reveals that many academics conceptualize climate change differently from one another. While there are a few commonalities in the way some academics define climate change, it has generally not been defined using a set of similar characteristics or concepts relating to the subject. Therefore, there is a variety of views on what climate change constitutes. As this paper cannot share each participant’s responses on the definition or their understanding of climate change, the findings have been grouped into three main themes. These include climate change being defined as 1 : long-term changes in climatic conditions, measured or felt over several years, which have been presented under “climate variation over a long period of time” 2 ; climate change defined as a shift in weather conditions and/or the irregularity of climate parameters, which is discussed under “changes in weather patterns”; and 3 a shift from the natural course of the environment to rapid changes and the occurrence of global warming, which have been termed “changes in the natural environment.”

Climate variation over a long period of time

Many participants in the study viewed climate change as long-term changes in weather conditions and climate parameters such as rainfall and temperature. Respondents agreed that such changes occurred over a long period of time. One participant stated such a time to be between two to three decades:

“Climate change refers to changes in climate or one of the weather variables that goes on for a long period of time. Principally, what we refer to as climate change is usually associated to a significant change in temperature and rainfall parameters. The changes in such parameters that go on for a long time, spanning two or three decades, is what we call climate change.” – MOW (Lecturer in Environmental Science).

Similarly, another participant responded by suggesting the changes felt in the levels of intensity of hot and cold weather over decades is what constitutes climate change:

“When you have the weather of a place and you measure that for more than 30 years, you have its climate. Hence the change in climate will be the average change of what you have been observing. For example, if you put the elements of weather together and you measure that consistently for more than a decade, you have the climate. And, when you start seeing average changes in the degree of hotness or coldness within those decades then you can think of it as climate change.” – FOB (Lecturer in Education)

While some respondents resolutely understood climate change to mean variations measured over several decades, others gave no specific duration of time but still agreed it was a “long-term” change felt or measured in the environment. This is represented by one such participant who claims: “Climate change, I will say, is the variation in climatic parameters such as rainfall, humidity and sunshine over time and must not be confused with the weather which simply is the state of the climatic parameter. Climate change is usually recorded in the long-term such that we can evaluate the changes and variation of such parameters over time.” – JOA (Assistant Lecturer in Agricultural Economics).

An interesting theme that emerges is that many participants insist we must separate climate change from climate variability. In doing so, many academics compared the two terms considering the duration of years specific to each phenomenon. Some academics defined climate variation as a change in climate measured over a shorter period, while climate change was referred to as a shift measured over 30 years. The participant below looks at climate variation as changes occurring within 5 years:

“I think climate change refers to general change in the climatic conditions of the environment and it might be associated to general changes in temperature, weather, rain falls and changes in seasons. And I think when it is less than 5 years, we talk of climate variation and not climate change.” – NOV (Lecturer in Social and Management Science)

Another participant also shared the difference between the two phenomena: “Well, climate change is a change in temperatures and rainfall over a period which is not less than 30 or 25 years. However, below this we have climate variability, and this could be associated to cyclic movements, such as variations in weather patterns within a period of 5 to 10 years. But then this does not mean that the climate is changing.” – NOK (Lecturer, Forest and Environment).

Climate change as a concept occurring over 30 years of time, and climate vulnerability as a seasonal shift in weather conditions, was suggested by a different academic: “Climate change could be defined as a change in the weather conditions of a particular place for a long period of time. On average, this could be about 30 years. However, we also have what is known as climate vulnerability which is the change in the weather conditions seasonally or maybe within a year or two years.” – ROM (Lecturer, Water Resource Management).

The interviews presented a thoughtful understanding as some academics had strong beliefs about the specific time and duration needed to refer to climate change. The variety of knowledge on climate change’s definition does not end here, as many academics perceived it simply as changes in weather patterns. These findings are discussed in the following section.

Changes in weather patterns

Climate change has also been described as shifts in weather conditions and the unpredictability surrounding parameters such as humidity, rainfall, and temperatures. As one respondent simply puts it: “I think we can just associate it [climate change] with changes in temperature, changes in rainfall and humidity.” – NOA (Lecturer, Applied Economics).

However, there are other participants who go beyond this definition and talk about the consequences of these shifts manifesting into larger problems for communities such as droughts and famines. One participant explains:

“I can say that from my own understanding based on my personal experiences, climate change refers to fluctuations in climate. This has resulted in impacts like drought, floods, famine, and harsh weather conditions.” – AOJ (Lecturer, Gender and Development)

Another participant elaborates on their experiences living in a locality and witnessing how life has been altered due to climate change:

“Climate change is the change of the weather conditions like temperature, pressure, precipitation, and moisture over time. In 2011, when I came to this locality, places were very cold, but later, my first indicator for climate change was when I saw people buying fans. With time places in this locality have become very hot.” – OOT (Lecturer, Geography)

Indeed, the impact of extreme weather events is drastically felt in Cameroon. For a country that is so heavily reliant on its agricultural produce, this irregularity in weather patterns causes increased stress upon farmers and local communities. One academic notes:

“Most of our streams have dried off and our crops do not grow the same way as they did in the past. In essence we can consider a combination of one or more of these experiences to denote climate change. The two main aspects of climate change that I have worked on include rainfall and temperature changes. Rainfall pattern is becoming very irregular. The periods rain used to fall have changed, and we also have concerning temperatures. The records of the CDC, Delmonte farms and other weather stations at the University show that there have been on a rise in temperature in the past decade.” – AOT (Lecturer, Agricultural Economics)

Still, there are other respondents who viewed climate change as a shift from the normal way of life in the past and mentioned contextual changes in their environment in Cameroon. These impacts of climate change, as discussed by academics below, became a crucial factor in how they understood this global threat.

Changes in the natural environment due to anthropogenic activities

Often associated with human activities, for example the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, climate change is understood as a shift in the way the environment naturally reacts to rapid or extreme activities, and which sometimes has repercussions due to the way of life of community dwellers. One participant explains it comprehensively:

“It is the alteration in the aspect of the conventional aspect of how the world evolved to have some standard that is compatible for human life and hence, it is the change from that normal standard of the environment. This is because of human activities and even some natural processes which is not conducive to human habitation. In other words, we can say that the environment has been corrupted, regardless if that corruption is by natural activities or man-made.” – HOE (Senior Lecturer, Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology)

Despite extreme weather events brought on due to climate change, some participants expressed some positive impacts of increased temperatures on a segment of the agricultural sector. One academic discusses this in light of climate change’s contribution to the increase in crop yield:

“The climate as we know it, is changing at a rate that it is not supposed to. Now you may have some phenomenon like it becomes hotter in some regions, for example, in some of our villages, there are some crops that used to do well only in forest areas, but we discovered that they are now growing even in the grass field because the temperature has changed.” – COA (Lecturer, Petroleum Geology)

However, many respondents stand firmly on their understanding of climate change as a system exacerbated due to anthropogenic activities. Many participants agree that climatic conditions have accelerated because of human activities and that they are further worsening the habitats of plants and animal species:

“There has been a consistent increase in global temperatures, and this is due to a lot of anthropogenic activities for example burning of fossil fuels, destruction of forests and environmental pollutions that have speed up temperature rise. The ripple effect is that sea levels are rising, the ice is melting, and we are seeing some [animal and plant] species going extinct. We are also experiencing more wildfires and drought. A brief understanding of climate change is that things are no longer how they used to be; human activities have caused temperature increases, and globally this has resulted in the rise of sea levels and so on.” – TOA (Lecturer, Plant Protection)

One academic also related climate change to global warming, referring to increased levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere:

“What we understand today by climate change is global warming and this global warming is more because of anthropogenic factors rather than natural forces. We have a lot of greenhouse gases from industrial activities and from agricultural activities, and deforestation which is reducing nature capacity to absorb carbon dioxides. All of these are contributing to increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are trapping outgoing radiation in the atmosphere and then sending them back to the earth surface leading to climate change.” – TOE (Lecturer, Geography and Governance)

It is evident that academics in this study have a deep understanding of climate change; however, their perceptions of the phrase climate change bring forth varying concepts and explanations. Some of these are rooted in science, and others are rooted in cultural contexts and insightful observations. Moreover, their definitions offer a unique analysis of the local experiences, as many respondents discussed the impacts and consequences of extreme weather events on agriculture and the environment. In the next section, we delve into a deeper discussion of the perceptions of climate change from a wider perspective, bringing together views and opinions on the subject as explored in the extant literature.

The findings present key insights into academic perceptions of climate change. While academics in the study have a comprehensive understanding of the causes, drivers and impacts of climate change, the questioning asked for their own definition of the subject. This resulted in many academics relating climate change to its scientific explanations, those related to the rise in temperatures and the influence of human activities on the environment 11 , 12 , 42 . Meanwhile, others provided a more contextual focus, discussing the impacts of climate change on local groups and communities around them. The latter explanations were elaborated in more detail by the academics who related to climate change as a change in weather patterns and a change due to anthropogenic activities as captured above 11 , 13 . These participants looked at the consequences of extreme weather events on sectors such as agriculture and natural habitats. In sum, the following three themes are drawn from the findings and discussed below:

Climate Change Perceptions Aligning with Climate Science.

Climate Change Perceptions as a Reflection of Cultural Contexts and Observations.

Implications for Climate Change Education.

Firstly, the perception of climate change that hinge on science can be contextualized in the extant literature and relevant policy documents. For instance, the IPCC defines climate change as “a change in the state of the climate that can be identified… by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period” 43 . This understanding is reinforced in the findings of the data, where many academics refer to the long-term factor of climate change and the variations in different weather patterns. As the findings reveal, many academics mentioned measuring or observing changes in the natural state of the environment for periods ranging between 20 to 30 years as an indication of the onset of climate change. Moreover, this specific reference to the time period was elaborated upon by various other academics who differentiated between climate change and climate variability or seasonal disparities. Such responses were rooted in climate science, restating the definitions provided by the IPCC. While there is no consensus on the exact time duration of changes in certain parameters such as the emission of greenhouse gases, global average temperatures or rising of global sea levels to define climate change, the extant literature generally highlights a protracted time range, which can span many decades 11 , 12 , 44 . It was not the intention of the study to unpack the veracity of the claims advanced by different authors on the science that underpins climate change but to examine different understandings in an attempt to promote a space for critical engagement. However, the responses given by participants emphasizing human activities and their consequences for global temperatures reflect scientific advances in the field of climate change 12 , 42 , 45 . The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report explains how human influence has been a main driver of climate change since the 1800s due to activities like the burning of fossil fuels 46 . Participants discussed deep concern for these activities and viewed climate change with regards to the disruptions caused in the environment due to human advancements.

Other participants provided accounts of how climate change has impacted human lives and the natural environment of Cameroon. Observing effects on streams, rivers and agricultural activities, these participants viewed climate change as a cause of vulnerability. Indeed, the relationship between climate change and vulnerability has been discussed in the past. Schipper and Pelling 47 discuss how climate change slows down the development process in countries as disasters result in the loss of infrastructure and livelihoods. Similarly, climate change has hampered progress towards the realization of the SDGs 4 , 48 , 49 . In light of this, the perception of climate change as a factor that increases global vulnerability is undeniable. Embedding this subject in CCE could enhance the role of educators in raising awareness and stimulating an engaged citizenry into mitigating the risks associated with climate change or adapting to its adverse consequences.

Secondly, climate change perceptions as a reflection of cultural contexts and observations can be examined closely. While climate change and its impacts are of the utmost relevance and importance around the world, some perceptions are rooted in personal experiences that include observations of local communities and the impact of certain varying conditions on our livelihood and the natural environment. From the data gathered, we can see that many participants understand the term from the changes they experience or observe around them – for example, risks to local plants and animal species, the impact of prolonged hot temperatures on certain crop production, and the infrastructural damage due to flooding and heatwaves.

Climate itself is often viewed as a statistical phenomenon, one that averages the weather conditions of a particular region 50 . Perhaps because of this, there are expectations for climate change to be understood using a similar approach, such as those including references to meteorology, or reliable trends in weather patterns. Therefore, perceptions of climate change that are derived from observations and personal experiences may be neglected in the development of climate change education. Indeed, it has been argued in the past that observations are connected to time and the memory associated with past events can be faulty, including anomalies associated with the measurement or observation of the planet’s temperature 11 , 23 , 51 . However, various behavioral researchers have concluded that perceptions shaped by personal experiences involve associative and affective processes that capture the learner’s attention 52 , 53 . Such an approach to understanding climate change is more reflective and these local contexts bring more meaning to adaptation strategies.

As academics are leading climate knowledge in higher education, and disseminating information on this subject, it is important to discuss how their understanding of the subject can translate into CCE. The data in this study gives us an opportunity to discuss whether the diversity of opinions on climate change among academics can foster learning and understanding on the subject or whether it will cause or exacerbate ambiguity on the part of students.

Thirdly, implications of different perceptions of climate change for climate change education abound. Freire’s theory of critical consciousness helps us move towards a deeper analysis of our education systems. Keeping the different perceptions of climate change among academics in focus, a holistic CCE framework will allow students and educators to critically analyze and observe the causes, impacts and solutions for this global crisis. Certainly, the inclusion of local challenges in Cameroon is beneficial for students in universities as they learn to engage in dialogues with their educators, and reform mitigation and adaptation strategies. This exchange of knowledge reflects a critical approach to education as identified by Freire 26 . It also opens space for both educators and learners to gain contextual knowledge on the processes and impacts of climate change. This brings opportunities for efficient responses to climate change education because the disruption of hierarchal systems in teaching and learning generates an opportunity for critical pedagogies and valuable knowledge 26 , 32 , 54 .

In addition to this, the emphasis placed on the scientific knowledge and reasoning behind the advent of climate change by academics is a useful guide for all educators on implementing CCE in their classes. Climate change has been understood using different approaches in the past. However, areas of natural sciences, meteorology, atmospheric sciences, and oceanography have been working consistently to study and disseminate information on the subject 55 . By bringing multi-disciplinary approaches into CCE, we can look forward to a “collective human action” that aims to bring normalcy around the earth, and to minimize damages 56 . Without a doubt, the teachings of climate change rooted in scientific information act as a valuable approach to encourage the social action needed to combat this threat. Educational institutions may find it useful to implement the different perspectives of climate change into their CCE programs and examine how their students benefit from an integrated and interactive framework, illustrated by Fig. 1 .

The three thematic dimensions of climate change education touch on observations, depicted with the symbol of a magnifying lens; cultural knowledge, depicted with the symbol of a leaf, and climate science, depicted with the symbol of intersectionality.

The framework suggested in Figure One brings to the fore the three thematic dimensions associated with how the research participants perceived climate change, notably as a scientific, cultural, or observable phenomenon. These different dimensions of understanding climate change, as discussed by academics in this paper, constitute practical elements that can be captured within a successful CCE program. Collectively, they also represent multidisciplinary perspectives whose integration can help in the development and advancement of solutions to climate change 55 , 57 . It can be argued that advancing insights on climate change should not solely be focused on scientific knowledge but also on the associated local challenges and impacts upon communities, as well as the broader socio-economic issues faced at a global scale due to the crisis. Therefore, a successful CCE program must incorporate scientific knowledge, cultural insights and local contexts that are observable, which can include field visits or placement activities (see Fig. 1 ). This will shape a holistic understanding of the subject as educators promote critical consciousness by engaging students in processes that engender critical reflection, as they probe timely adaptation and mitigation strategies for communities. This framework is supported by a previous study that concludes perceptions of climate change are shaped by different elements, including personal experiences and statistical models 50 . Knowledge of climate change may not only be constructed in the classroom via the guidance of educators who possess scientific insights but can also include cultural and place-based elements contextualized in field visits. Promoting an engaged or experiential pedagogy, whereby students undertake placement opportunities or field trips, can provide contexts where certain assumptions are challenged by the realities on the ground or lived experiences of people in the local community, which can then help to guide solutions for adaptations or mitigation that are context-specific and pragmatic in their approach.

CCE, which involves diverse perceptions and opinions on climate change, supported by scientific insights, cultural knowledge, and observation (as illustrated by Fig. 1 ), can also use critical and analytical means to derive useful knowledge on a climate-related phenomenon. For educators, this can mean teaching students to transgress the boundaries that confine them to narrow insights and embrace multiple ontologies on climate change, as this can offer pathways to contribute to new approaches or hypotheses for mitigation and adaptation 58 . Such a pedagogical approach can benefit from wider and more comprehensive information for critical engagement as opposed to a uniform perspective on climate change, which may be heavily Eurocentric or Westernized and devoid of cultural and indigenous insights which are relatable.

In conclusion, climate change is arguably the most severe threat faced by humanity today. To highlight how humanity can manage this phenomenon for adequate planetary health, it is fundamental to understand what it is. To this end, the study that underpins this paper set out to capture the perceptions of climate change among a selection of academics at a local university in Cameroon. As CCE is becoming a vital tool to build the capacity of present and future generations towards sustainable climate actions 2 , 3 , 59 , the perception of academics who may be considered facilitators of learning on the subject can present a starting point for critical reflection, deeper understanding or even knowledge management 60 .

The thematic analysis of the data captured depicted different views about climate change expressed by the participants. While some participants perceived climate change as climate variation over a long period of time, some suggested it was changes in weather patterns and others pointed to changes in the natural environment because of anthropogenic activities. It can be argued that these findings aligned to elements of climate science, cultural contexts, and observations. Drawing on Freire’s insight into critical consciousness, the findings of this study have implications for climate change education at universities. A framework has been proposed to aid educators in their attempt to foster an engaged pedagogy with the effect of engendering critical thinking as they collectively (with learners) attempt to define the subject. Any definition of climate change arising from critical consciousness in a learning community must be inclusive and relatable. The attendant consequence of this is that it can facilitate the ability of both educators and learners to make informed decisions on mitigation and adaptation in light of climate change and the threat multiplying effects it carries.

A key shortcoming of this study is the fact that it drew from a single case study, which limits generalization. However, the paper fills a critical gap in the extant literature on how different perceptions of climate change among educators can enable the establishment of an impactful framework that could boost climate change education, contribute to critical consciousness, and appropriate actions. The study’s original contribution lies in the proposed framework for climate education that draws on the interaction between the dimensions of science, culture, and human observation.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to extend his heartfelt appreciation to colleagues in Cameroon for their invaluable contributions to the data collection process, as well as Ayesha Shingruf for her vital inputs on the initial draft.

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Mbah, M.F. Discrepancies in academic perceptions of climate change and implications for climate change education. npj Clim. Action 3 , 24 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00105-5

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What Are the Causes of Climate Change?

We can’t fight climate change without understanding what drives it.

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At the root of climate change is the phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect , the term scientists use to describe the way that certain atmospheric gases “trap” heat that would otherwise radiate upward, from the planet’s surface, into outer space. On the one hand, we have the greenhouse effect to thank for the presence of life on earth; without it, our planet would be cold and unlivable.

But beginning in the mid- to late-19th century, human activity began pushing the greenhouse effect to new levels. The result? A planet that’s warmer right now than at any other point in human history, and getting ever warmer. This global warming has, in turn, dramatically altered natural cycles and weather patterns, with impacts that include extreme heat, protracted drought, increased flooding, more intense storms, and rising sea levels. Taken together, these miserable and sometimes deadly effects are what have come to be known as climate change .

Detailing and discussing the human causes of climate change isn’t about shaming people, or trying to make them feel guilty for their choices. It’s about defining the problem so that we can arrive at effective solutions. And we must honestly address its origins—even though it can sometimes be difficult, or even uncomfortable, to do so. Human civilization has made extraordinary productivity leaps, some of which have led to our currently overheated planet. But by harnessing that same ability to innovate and attaching it to a renewed sense of shared responsibility, we can find ways to cool the planet down, fight climate change , and chart a course toward a more just, equitable, and sustainable future.

Here’s a rough breakdown of the factors that are driving climate change.

Natural causes of climate change

Human-driven causes of climate change, transportation, electricity generation, industry & manufacturing, agriculture, oil & gas development, deforestation, our lifestyle choices.

Some amount of climate change can be attributed to natural phenomena. Over the course of Earth’s existence, volcanic eruptions , fluctuations in solar radiation , tectonic shifts , and even small changes in our orbit have all had observable effects on planetary warming and cooling patterns.

But climate records are able to show that today’s global warming—particularly what has occured since the start of the industrial revolution—is happening much, much faster than ever before. According to NASA , “[t]hese natural causes are still in play today, but their influence is too small or they occur too slowly to explain the rapid warming seen in recent decades.” And the records refute the misinformation that natural causes are the main culprits behind climate change, as some in the fossil fuel industry and conservative think tanks would like us to believe.

Chemical manufacturing plants emit fumes along Onondaga Lake in Solvay, New York, in the late-19th century. Over time, industrial development severely polluted the local area.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection

Scientists agree that human activity is the primary driver of what we’re seeing now worldwide. (This type of climate change is sometimes referred to as anthropogenic , which is just a way of saying “caused by human beings.”) The unchecked burning of fossil fuels over the past 150 years has drastically increased the presence of atmospheric greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide . At the same time, logging and development have led to the widespread destruction of forests, wetlands, and other carbon sinks —natural resources that store carbon dioxide and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere.

Right now, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane , and nitrous oxide are the highest they’ve been in the last 800,000 years . Some greenhouse gases, like hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFCs) , do not even exist in nature. By continuously pumping these gases into the air, we helped raise the earth’s average temperature by about 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century—which has brought us to our current era of deadly, and increasingly routine, weather extremes. And it’s important to note that while climate change affects everyone in some way, it doesn’t do so equally: All over the world, people of color and those living in economically disadvantaged or politically marginalized communities bear a much larger burden , despite the fact that these communities play a much smaller role in warming the planet.

Our ways of generating power for electricity, heat, and transportation, our built environment and industries, our ways of interacting with the land, and our consumption habits together serve as the primary drivers of climate change. While the percentages of greenhouse gases stemming from each source may fluctuate, the sources themselves remain relatively consistent.

Traffic on Interstate 25 in Denver

David Parsons/iStock

The cars, trucks, ships, and planes that we use to transport ourselves and our goods are a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions. (In the United States, they actually constitute the single-largest source.) Burning petroleum-based fuel in combustion engines releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Passenger cars account for 41 percent of those emissions, with the typical passenger vehicle emitting about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. And trucks are by far the worst polluters on the road. They run almost constantly and largely burn diesel fuel, which is why, despite accounting for just 4 percent of U.S. vehicles, trucks emit 23 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

We can get these numbers down, but we need large-scale investments to get more zero-emission vehicles on the road and increase access to reliable public transit .

As of 2021, nearly 60 percent of the electricity used in the United States comes from the burning of coal, natural gas , and other fossil fuels . Because of the electricity sector’s historical investment in these dirty energy sources, it accounts for roughly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

That history is undergoing a major change, however: As renewable energy sources like wind and solar become cheaper and easier to develop, utilities are turning to them more frequently. The percentage of clean, renewable energy is growing every year—and with that growth comes a corresponding decrease in pollutants.

But while things are moving in the right direction, they’re not moving fast enough. If we’re to keep the earth’s average temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, which scientists say we must do in order to avoid the very worst impacts of climate change, we have to take every available opportunity to speed up the shift from fossil fuels to renewables in the electricity sector.

The factories and facilities that produce our goods are significant sources of greenhouse gases; in 2020, they were responsible for fully 24 percent of U.S. emissions. Most industrial emissions come from the production of a small set of carbon-intensive products, including basic chemicals, iron and steel, cement and concrete, aluminum, glass, and paper. To manufacture the building blocks of our infrastructure and the vast array of products demanded by consumers, producers must burn through massive amounts of energy. In addition, older facilities in need of efficiency upgrades frequently leak these gases, along with other harmful forms of air pollution .

One way to reduce the industrial sector’s carbon footprint is to increase efficiency through improved technology and stronger enforcement of pollution regulations. Another way is to rethink our attitudes toward consumption (particularly when it comes to plastics ), recycling , and reuse —so that we don’t need to be producing so many things in the first place. And, since major infrastructure projects rely heavily on industries like cement manufacturing (responsible for 7 percent of annual global greenhouse gas), policy mandates must leverage the government’s purchasing power to grow markets for cleaner alternatives, and ensure that state and federal agencies procure more sustainably produced materials for these projects. Hastening the switch from fossil fuels to renewables will also go a long way toward cleaning up this energy-intensive sector.

The advent of modern, industrialized agriculture has significantly altered the vital but delicate relationship between soil and the climate—so much so that agriculture accounted for 11 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. This sector is especially notorious for giving off large amounts of nitrous oxide and methane, powerful gases that are highly effective at trapping heat. The widespread adoption of chemical fertilizers , combined with certain crop-management practices that prioritize high yields over soil health, means that agriculture accounts for nearly three-quarters of the nitrous oxide found in our atmosphere. Meanwhile, large-scale industrialized livestock production continues to be a significant source of atmospheric methane, which is emitted as a function of the digestive processes of cattle and other ruminants.

Stephen McComber holds a squash harvested from the community garden in Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke, in Quebec.

Stephanie Foden for NRDC

But farmers and ranchers—especially Indigenous farmers, who have been tending the land according to sustainable principles —are reminding us that there’s more than one way to feed the world. By adopting the philosophies and methods associated with regenerative agriculture , we can slash emissions from this sector while boosting our soil’s capacity for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, and producing healthier foods.

A decades-old, plugged and abandoned oil well at a cattle ranch in Crane County, Texas, in June 2021, when it was found to be leaking brine water

Matthew Busch/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Oil and gas lead to emissions at every stage of their production and consumption—not only when they’re burned as fuel, but just as soon as we drill a hole in the ground to begin extracting them. Fossil fuel development is a major source of methane, which invariably leaks from oil and gas operations : drilling, fracking , transporting, and refining. And while methane isn’t as prevalent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide, it’s many times more potent at trapping heat during the first 20 years of its release into the atmosphere. Even abandoned and inoperative wells—sometimes known as “orphaned” wells —leak methane. More than 3 million of these old, defunct wells are spread across the country and were responsible for emitting more than 280,000 metric tons of methane in 2018.

Unsurprisingly, given how much time we spend inside of them, our buildings—both residential and commercial—emit a lot of greenhouse gases. Heating, cooling, cooking, running appliances, and maintaining other building-wide systems accounted for 13 percent of U.S. emissions overall in 2020. And even worse, some 30 percent of the energy used in U.S. buildings goes to waste, on average.

Every day, great strides are being made in energy efficiency , allowing us to achieve the same (or even better) results with less energy expended. By requiring all new buildings to employ the highest efficiency standards—and by retrofitting existing buildings with the most up-to-date technologies—we’ll reduce emissions in this sector while simultaneously making it easier and cheaper for people in all communities to heat, cool, and power their homes: a top goal of the environmental justice movement.

An aerial view of clearcut sections of boreal forest near Dryden in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, in June 2019

River Jordan for NRDC

Another way we’re injecting more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere is through the clearcutting of the world’s forests and the degradation of its wetlands . Vegetation and soil store carbon by keeping it at ground level or underground. Through logging and other forms of development, we’re cutting down or digging up vegetative biomass and releasing all of its stored carbon into the air. In Canada’s boreal forest alone, clearcutting is responsible for releasing more than 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year—the emissions equivalent of 5.5 million vehicles.

Government policies that emphasize sustainable practices, combined with shifts in consumer behavior , are needed to offset this dynamic and restore the planet’s carbon sinks .

The Yellow Line Metro train crossing over the Potomac River from Washington, DC, to Virginia on June 24, 2022

Sarah Baker

The decisions we make every day as individuals—which products we purchase, how much electricity we consume, how we get around, what we eat (and what we don’t—food waste makes up 4 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions)—add up to our single, unique carbon footprints . Put all of them together and you end up with humanity’s collective carbon footprint. The first step in reducing it is for us to acknowledge the uneven distribution of climate change’s causes and effects, and for those who bear the greatest responsibility for global greenhouse gas emissions to slash them without bringing further harm to those who are least responsible .

The big, climate-affecting decisions made by utilities, industries, and governments are shaped, in the end, by us : our needs, our demands, our priorities. Winning the fight against climate change will require us to rethink those needs, ramp up those demands , and reset those priorities. Short-term thinking of the sort that enriches corporations must give way to long-term planning that strengthens communities and secures the health and safety of all people. And our definition of climate advocacy must go beyond slogans and move, swiftly, into the realm of collective action—fueled by righteous anger, perhaps, but guided by faith in science and in our ability to change the world for the better.

If our activity has brought us to this dangerous point in human history, breaking old patterns can help us find a way out.

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