Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

And just like summertime in the US, this period (December, January, and February) has transformed into a “ danger season ” as a result of climate change, replete with deadly heatwaves, drought, and wildfires. Sixty times more likely is a remarkable figure to me.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

Fossil fuel companies are well established as founts of disinformation , agents of obstruction, and drivers of climate change. We draw attention to the outsized role that a small number of business enterprises have had in driving climate change and obstructing action. Which courts are expected to issue Advisory Opinions?

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Circle of Blue

AUGUST 16, 2021

As famines historically are caused by conflict or political issues, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities, the famine in Madagascar–one of the lowest emitters of carbon and greenhouse gasses in the world–stands out as being heavily influenced by climate change.

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Circle of Blue

DECEMBER 6, 2021

For months, international’s organizations have blamed the calamity on climate change. International organizations had blamed the calamity on climate change, but a new study rejects that assumption. agencies that the emergency was “the world’s first climate-induced famine.”

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Climate Change Climate Scientist Atmosphere Greenhouse 278

Legal Planet

JULY 21, 2023

As Gernot Wagner puts it in ‘ Geoengineering: the Gamble ’: “The decision is all about risk-risk tradeoffs” He urges us to put the risks of potentially pursuing solar geoengineering against “the risks of unmitigated climate change.” The National Academy of Sciences adopted a ’risk-risk’ framing in its 2021 report.

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Legal Planet

APRIL 13, 2023

A new wave of cases differs from traditional environmental lawsuits by highlighting the connections between preserving the Amazon and the climate, the grave risk of greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation, and the critical role of the forest as a major global carbon sink. The timing of these climate disputes is not accidental.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 17, 2022

The reason for this long drought has a lot to do with changes in precipitation patterns and rising temperatures linked to human-caused climate change, but it also has to do with human decisions that have led to the overexploitation of water resources of our rivers, lakes, and groundwater and a lack of sufficient policies to protect these resources.

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Legal Planet

OCTOBER 17, 2024

None of this should make you feel better, either about the election or climate change. Yes, your favored candidate could sweep the swing states, and yes, climate change could be more moderate than we now expect.

Politics 264

Politics Climate Change Climate Scientist Environmental Science 264

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

The biggest barriers to progress are political and psychological. What helped me jump on board was the chance to join two dozen badass women climate advocates, business leaders and philanthropists from all over the globe, on a research and learning trip.

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Legal Planet

JUNE 3, 2024

Rather than rehearse familiar arguments, I want to focus specifically on climate change. In my view, holding out for ideal climate policies makes no sense. Because of the nature of climate change, delay is just too costly. Climate change is a unique problem in many ways.

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Yale E360

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Adapting to climate change does not address the societal systems and values that spawned the current crisis. What’s needed is “systemic adaptation” that fundamentally changes our economy, our politics, and our priorities in ways that put community and the planet first. Read more on E360 →

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Climate Change Politics 363

Circle of Blue

JUNE 14, 2021

The conflict is a consequence of extreme heat and worsening droughts, byproducts of climate change, which bruises Africa’s Sahel region and nearby countries more deeply than almost anywhere else in the world. There’s a political dimension. Temperatures here are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 8, 2023

While there are thousands of people here in Dubai at COP28 fighting for genuine change, the climate summit is facing a barrage of disinformation. Combatting climate change has never been more urgent, and COP28 is poised to advance critical global action. What’s lacking is political will.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Renewable Energy Carbon Dioxide 340

Enviromental Defense

JANUARY 14, 2025

Prime Minister Trudeaus recent decision to prorogue Parliament and announce his upcoming resignation may have left you wondering about what this could mean for climate change policy. All political leaders should be bolder on climate. Climate is set to be a key differentiating issue in the upcoming election.

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Politics Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy Climate Change 117

Legal Planet

AUGUST 15, 2023

A Montana state district court has issued its long-awaited decision in a major climate change case brought by Montana children against state officials. Judge Seeley did so after presiding over a two-week, non-jury trial in June 2023–the first such climate change trial in U.S. In Held v. legal history.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 10, 2024

In a pivotal week for environmental justice, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, delivered rulings on three climate cases. The court’s ruling in this case was groundbreaking, explicitly linking climate change action with human rights protections for the first time.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Without the Clean Electricity Performance Program, it will be harder to meet the nation's climate targets, but it can be done.

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Politics Electricity Climate Change 303

Legal Planet

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

There’s no logical connection between a belief in authoritarian government, upholding traditional hierarchies, and views about protecting the environment or the reality of climate change. Thus, the reasons must relate to psychology or political science, not philosophy. In many countries, including the U.S,

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Politics Paris Agreement 2025 Environmental Protection 59

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 31, 2022

Losses and damages caused by climate change to intangible cultural heritage such as Indigenous and local knowledge, and traditional agricultural practices have been vastly underestimated in discussions of Paris Agreement implementation. This needs to change. Cultural heritage impacts underestimated. Yakama Nation eel dance.

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Climate Change Paris Agreement Politics Carbon Emissions 334

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 14, 2022

The destruction caused by climate change is directly linked to human activity, primarily burning fossil fuels. There are multiple realistic, tangible solutions that would rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, yet policy addressing anthropogenic climate change remains slow and insufficient.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Renewable Energy Natural Gas 353

Law Columbia

MARCH 29, 2023

Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash Climate change litigation has finally reached the world’s highest court. On March 29, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of States with respect to climate change.

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Climate Change Paris Agreement Law 2023 145

Circle of Blue

MAY 23, 2022

Climate change and mismanagement sowed the seeds of a cholera outbreak. Entering the third month of extreme temperatures, people in Pakistan are confronting yet another calamity linked to an unforgiving climate: a deadly cholera outbreak. A child collects drinking water in Rajasthan, India in 2016. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue.

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Legal Planet

OCTOBER 13, 2022

The article surveys a range of criticisms of the use of carbon taxes as a tool to address greenhouse gas emissions, and criticisms of the focus of many economists on carbon taxes as the primary tool to address climate change. I think these political constraints are a key reason economists focused so long – too long – on carbon pricing.

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Politics Climate Change Fossil Fuels Technology 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 17, 2024

The climate impacts people around the world experience are connected to the fossil fuel industry’s record-breaking profits: “The profits made by the oil and gas majors come at the direct expense of all of us and our shared planet. This is a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed as climate change continues to make the world less safe.

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Circle of Blue

MARCH 1, 2022

In summarizing its report on the consequences of climate change, the scientific body described a society running out of time to prevent unbearable damage to the planet’s lands and waters — and to the people and creatures that depend on them. Climate change is a threat to human well-being and the health of the planet.

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Climate Change Carbon Emissions Fossil Fuels 2010 362

Legal Planet

MAY 23, 2022

The Liberals had done as little as possible to address climate change. So the change in government is more than welcome. The outgoing Liberals weren’t helped electorally by their foot-dragging about climate change. Polling showed broad public support for more aggressive cuts in carbon emissions.

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Carbon Emissions Climate Change Fossil Fuels Politics 246

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Rather than entering that debate, I’d like to reflect on how issues of colonialism might relate to climate change. The second concern is political domination, meaning that the autonomy of either the other country as a whole or parts of its population is impaired. I don’t purport to be an expert on that.

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Legal Planet

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

But he also voices full-throated conspiracy theories denying the reality of human-caused climate change. These election fraud and anti-vaccine conspiracies converge with some far-out ideas about climate science. No candidate who thought climate change was an important issue would have picked Bigtree to run communications.

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Climate Scientist Climate Change Renewable Energy 2016 364

Legal Planet

JUNE 27, 2022

The conventional view is that climate change is going to be a great thing for Russia. The article’s theme is in its title: “How Russia Wins the Climate Crisis.” Climate change will also bring big costs for Russia. On balance, climate change may produce opportunities for Russia. Download as PDF.

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Climate Change Politics 2010 Ocean 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 6, 2025

This past week, I attended the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting in Hangzhou, China. In previous posts, Ive explained what the IPCC is, why this assessment cycle is crucial , and highlighted its role in climate action. Whats Next for the IPCC? With AR7 now in motion, the real work begins.

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Climate Change Carbon Dioxide Technology Technology 233

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 24, 2023

The fossil fuel industry has known for decades that its products cause climate chang e Contrary to what the fossil fuel industry would like you to believe, the link between burning fossil fuels and climate change has been well established for decades.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Government Carbon Dioxide 312

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 20, 2022

Sea level rise presents numerous climate justice issues. Some of the venues where people are addressing the injustices of climate change are UN climate negotiations, the courts, and community organizing efforts around the world. Climate justice research can help inform these conversations.

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Sea Level Paris Agreement Climate Change Fossil Fuels 290

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 29, 2023

Earlier this month I visited my family in Sri Lanka and found that everything has changed since my last visit almost four years ago. As I embraced my family, I felt a palpable fatigue from the pressures of the pandemic, political unrest, and geopolitical turmoil bubbling beneath the surface.

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Sea Level Climate Change Fossil Fuels 2012 246

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 2, 2024

A new chapter of global climate accountability has hopefully begun, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prepares to issue an advisory opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. Hearings for that opinion began today with over 100 countries and other parties presenting over two weeks. L to R: Ms.

Climate Change 246

Climate Change Law Precautionary Principle Politics 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 12, 2022

Together with Scientists for Global Responsibility, we’ve launched a petition demanding that Elsevier and its parent company, RELX, detail their plans to align their business practices with their public commitments to address climate change. But reining in climate change requires us to quickly transition away from fossil fuel use.

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Fossil Fuels Climate Change Clean Energy Paris Agreement 355

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

When thinking about global emissions, don’t picture an individual—point your finger at powerful corporations, specifically the 88 companies that are largely responsible for climate change. They obviously include climate change, but it also include health impacts from air pollution and water pollution.

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Fossil Fuels Paris Agreement Renewable Energy Carbon Dioxide 321

Legal Planet

JUNE 24, 2024

To begin with, our embodied nature and situated existence in the world mean that to deny our interests in halting climate change would be disingenuous. If we want to see change, it would seem irrational to eschew helping key change agents. Recognize and embody the urgency. Combine diverse knowledges and ways of knowing.

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Politics Climate Change Climate Scientist 2024 263