tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/climate-crisis-51340/articles
Climate crisis – The Conversation
2024-03-21T18:01:47Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/225737
2024-03-21T18:01:47Z
2024-03-21T18:01:47Z
School’s out: how climate change is already badly affecting children’s education
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582542/original/file-20240318-20-6dukft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The education of students in countries like Sudan is already being negatively affected by the extremes of climate change. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-boy-school-south-sudan-juba-2428302529">Richard Juilliart/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Schools across <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/18/south-sudan-closes-schools-in-preparation-for-45c-heatwave">South Sudan</a> have been ordered to close as a heat wave of 45°C sweeps across the country. In recent years, severe flooding has already caused major disruptions to schooling in South Sudan where, on average, children complete less than five years of formal <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000387120&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_73bb9372-6eb2-4593-9406-f7a33c2f66d5?_=387120eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000387120/PDF/387120eng.pdf#p98">education across their lives</a>.</p>
<p>As researchers interested in both climate change and learning, we’ve been surprised that most public debate in this area concerns how best to teach children about climate change as part of the curriculum. Recently, we examined a less discussed, but arguably much more consequential, question: How is climate change impacting children’s education worldwide?</p>
<p>In a recent paper published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-01945-z">Nature Climate Change</a>, we reviewed studies linking climate change-related events or “climate stressors” to education outcomes. One of the clearest connections was between heat exposure and reduced academic performance. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w21157/w21157.pdf">study in the US</a> found that adolescents’ maths scores decreased significantly on days above 26°C. <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/726007">In China</a>, hotter day-of-test temperatures were associated with a drop in exam performance equal to losing a quarter of a year – or several months – of schooling.</p>
<p>But it’s not just test days that matter. Studies show that raised temperatures also affect learning over longer time periods. For example, pupils’ <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095069616301887">test scores suffered</a> when there were more hot days across the school year and even when the hotter weather occurred <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20180612">three to four years before</a> exam day.</p>
<p>Our review also highlights how climate-related regional disasters like wildfires, storms, droughts and floods are keeping many children out of school entirely. Floods can prevent children from <a href="https://jamba.org.za/index.php/jamba/article/view/138/285">travelling to school</a> and cause <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/51/article/738666/pdf">damage</a> to school buildings and materials, which disrupts learning and lowers test scores.</p>
<p>In developing countries, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014292115001427">storms</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-020-02869-1">droughts</a> commonly cause children to leave school permanently to join the workforce and support their families. Children in higher-income countries are not immune. They miss school days due to <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.4.1.109">hurricanes</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-06050-9#:%7E:text=We%20find%20no%20significant%20impacts,closures%20lasting%203%E2%80%935%20days.">wildfires</a> and these absences have measurable effects on education outcomes.</p>
<p>The impacts of climate disasters can also affect children before they are born with consequences that reverberate across their lives. For example, children whose mothers were pregnant during <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36129196/">Hurricane Sandy</a> were more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that can make schooling more challenging.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/710066">India</a>, researchers found that raised temperatures lead to lower test scores due to crop failure and malnutrition, highlighting the importance of indirect links between climate stressors and subsequent school participation and learning.</p>
<h2>Educational injustice</h2>
<p>Our analysis suggests that climate change will exacerbate existing inequalities in global education access and attainment, with already disadvantaged groups facing the largest learning setbacks. In the US, heat had <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-00959-9">worse effects</a> on exam scores for racial and ethnic minorities and children living in lower-income school districts. </p>
<p>Following a super typhoon in the Philippines, children whose families had fewer financial resources and smaller social networks were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014292115001427">more likely to drop out</a> of school than their better-resourced neighbours. In contexts where girls’ education is less prioritised than boys’, their school attendance and exam scores have suffered more following climate change stressors such as <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/environment-and-development-economics/article/rainfall-shocks-cognitive-development-and-educational-attainment-among-adolescents-in-a-droughtprone-region-in-kenya/E432EC63DAD24849A991E67C7B387844">droughts</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014292115001427">storms</a>.</p>
<p>Globally, regions where people are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change – in terms of risk of harmful stressors occurring and resources available to adapt – are also regions where children already receive fewer years of schooling. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="World map in green on left side, another in pink on right with shaded areas to indicate average years of formal education compared to vulnerability to climate change in each country" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582546/original/file-20240318-25-n98wau.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These maps show the average years of formal education (left) and vulnerability to climate change by country (right).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>The impacts of climate change on education are already widely visible. While the scale of the problem is daunting, there are many ways to take action. Most critically, global heating urgently needs to be limited by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. </p>
<p>At the same time, children’s education must be protected from climate change stressors that are already occurring. Possible measures include installing cooling technologies, effective disaster response planning, building <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/29/we-dont-need-air-con-how-burkina-faso-builds-schools-that-stay-cool-in-40c-heat">stressor-resilient schools</a> and addressing systemic global inequalities related to socioeconomic, gender and racial discrimination. </p>
<p>Preventing harm to children’s education is a worthy goal in itself. But improving education can also contribute to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01701-9">greater awareness</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01171-x">climate literacy</a>, while <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01444">mitigating</a> climate change and making children more resilient in the face of climate stressors. </p>
<p>Education can help fight climate change. But we must also fight climate change to prevent harm to education. Without action, the future of young people around the world hangs in the balance.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Louise Berry has received funding from the National Health & Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and various other national and international competitive and consultancy research funding sources. She is affiliated with The Australian Greens. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caitlin M Prentice, Francis Vergunst, and Kelton Minor do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Teaching children about the environmental crisis can help fight climate change, but climate change is already negatively affecting children’s education around the globe.
Caitlin M Prentice, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
Francis Vergunst, Associate Professor, Psychosocial Difficulties, University of Oslo
Helen Louise Berry, Honorary Professor, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Macquarie University
Kelton Minor, Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Computational Social and Behavioural Science, Columbia University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226246
2024-03-21T11:36:19Z
2024-03-21T11:36:19Z
Climate quitting: the people leaving their fossil fuel jobs because of climate change
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583118/original/file-20240320-16-57513d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=89%2C134%2C5901%2C3853&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-woman-hold-piece-paper-quit-430986301">Mayuree Moonhirun/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the climate crisis gets ever more severe, the fossil fuel industry is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-oils-talent-crisis-high-salaries-are-no-longer-enough-194545be">struggling to recruit new talent</a>. And now a number of existing employees are deciding to leave their jobs, some quietly, some very publicly, because of concerns over climate change. </p>
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly podcast</a>, we speak to a researcher about this phenomenon of “climate quitting”.</p>
<iframe src="https://embed.acast.com/60087127b9687759d637bade/65fc18c0e60d00001643ff81" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="190px"></iframe>
<p></p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-561" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/561/4fbbd099d631750693d02bac632430b71b37cd5f/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<blockquote>
<p>My name is Caroline Dennett and this is my resignation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a video posted on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/caroline-dennett-6161a814_jumpship-truthteller-activity-6934409781495431168-7l1f?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web">LinkedIn</a> in 2022, Caroline Dennett, a senior safety consultant working at a major oil company, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/23/shell-consultant-quits-environment-caroline-dennett">announced she was terminating her contract</a> because of what she called the company’s “double-talk” on climate. </p>
<p>When Grace Augustine and her colleague Birth Soppe saw the video, which went viral, they decided to start looking for more people who had left their jobs because of concerns over climate change. </p>
<p>Augustine, an associate professor in business and society at the University of Bath in the UK, and Soppe, an associate professor of organisation studies, at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, have so far conducted interviews with 39 people from around the world in their ongoing research. Most, though not all, of their interviewees are young people who work in white collar jobs in the oil and gas sector. </p>
<p>One man they spoke to explained the feelings that led him to leave his job.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On a Friday afternoon travelling home, I would feel physically uncomfortable. And I was wondering: why am I feeling physically uncomfortable? I had a good week, I’ve done good work. And then you realise that, you may have done good work, but the goal that you’re working towards is evil in a way; does not align with your moral compass.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many referred to having a sense of cognitive dissonance – the idea that your behaviour doesn’t match your belief system. And they couldn’t live it with any longer. Augustine explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They were increasingly feeling a sense of urgency around the climate crisis … something that they’d thought might be happening ten, 15, 20 years down the line, such as heat records being broken or climate related weather events. They felt an increasing sense that it couldn’t wait any longer for them to leave this industry.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Listen to Grace Augustine talk about her ongoing research on <a href="https://pod.link/1550643487">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast, which also features extracts from her interviews and an introduction from Sam Phelps, commissioning editor for international affairs at The Conversation in the UK. </p>
<p><em>A transcript of this episode will be available shortly.</em></p>
<p><em>Thanks to Grace Augustine for getting permission for The Conversation to use clips from her interviews, and to her interview subjects who agreed to let us use their voices and statements in this podcast.</em> </p>
<p><em>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Katie Flood, with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Stephen Khan is our global executive editor, Alice Mason runs our social media and Soraya Nandy does our transcripts.</em></p>
<p><em>Newsclips in this episode were from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJsdgTPJpU">PBS News Hour</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>You can find us on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a> or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226246/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grace Augustine receives funding from The British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p>
Grace Augustine talks about her interviews with people who’ve chosen to leave their jobs over climate change concerns on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218545
2024-03-11T10:04:45Z
2024-03-11T10:04:45Z
East Africa must prepare for more extreme rainfall during the short rainy season – new study
<p>East Africa has recently had an <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150712/worst-drought-on-record-parches-horn-of-africa">unprecedented series of failed rains</a>. But some rainy seasons are bringing the opposite: huge amounts of rainfall. </p>
<p>In the last few months of 2023, the rainy season, known as the “short rains”, was much wetter than normal. It brought severe flooding to Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania. In Somalia, <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1144202">more than</a> 2 million people were affected, with over 100 killed and 750,000 displaced from their homes. Tens of thousands of people in northern Kenya <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/12/15/floods-have-washed-away-entire-villages-kenyas-rains-made-twice-as-intense-by-climate-chan">lost</a> livestock, farmland and homes. </p>
<p>The very wet short rainy seasons are linked to a climate event known as a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (known as the “IOD”). And climate model projections <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-00943-1">show an increasing trend</a> of extreme Indian Ocean dipoles. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105258">new research paper</a>, we set out to investigate what effect more frequent extreme Indian Ocean Dipole events would have on rainfall in east Africa. We did this using a large number of climate simulations and models.</p>
<p>Our results show that they increase the likelihood of very wet days – therefore making very wet seasons. </p>
<p>This could lead to extreme weather events, even more extreme than the floods of 1997, which led to <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/w7832e/w7832e00.htm">10 million people requiring emergency assistance</a>, or those of 2019, when <a href="https://fews.net/east-africa/special-report/january-2020">hundreds of thousands were displaced</a>.</p>
<p>We recommend that decision-makers plan for this kind of extreme rainfall, and the resulting devastating floods.</p>
<h2>How the Indian Ocean Dipole works</h2>
<p>Indian Ocean Dipole events tend to occur in the second half of the year, and can last for months. They have two phases: positive and negative. </p>
<p>Positive events occur when the temperature of the sea surface in the western Indian Ocean is warmer than normal and the temperature in the eastern Indian Ocean is cooler than normal. Put simply, this temperature difference <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/43854">happens when</a> winds move warmer water away from the ocean surface in the eastern region, allowing cooler water to rise. </p>
<p>In the warmer western Indian Ocean, more heated air will rise, along with water vapour. This forms clouds, bringing rain. Meanwhile, the eastern part of the Indian Ocean will be cooler and drier. This is why flooding in east Africa can happen at the same time as <a href="https://theconversation.com/indian-ocean-linked-to-bushfires-and-drought-in-australia-20893">bushfires in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>The opposite is true for negative dipole events: drier in the western Indian Ocean and wetter in the east. </p>
<p>Under climate change we’re expecting to see more frequent and more extreme positive dipole events – bigger differences between east and west. This is <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-why-climate-change-will-cause-more-strong-indian-ocean-dipole-events/">shown by climate model projections</a>. They are believed to be driven by different paces of warming across the tropical Indian Ocean – with western and northern regions projected to warm faster than eastern parts.</p>
<p>Often heavy rain seasons in east Africa are attributed to El Niño, but <a href="https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asl.1015">recent research</a> has shown that the direct impact of El Niño on east African rainfall is actually relatively modest. El Niño’s principal influence lies in its capacity to bring about positive dipole events. This occurs since El Niño events tend to cool the water in the western Pacific Ocean – around Indonesia – which also helps to cool down the water in the eastern Indian Ocean. These cooler temperatures then help kick-start a positive Indian Ocean Dipole.</p>
<h2>Examining unprecedented events</h2>
<p>Extreme positive Indian Ocean Dipole events are rare in the recent climate record. So to examine their potential impacts on rainfall extremes, we used a large set of climate simulations. The data allowed us to diagnose the sensitivity of rainfall to larger Indian Ocean Dipole events in a statistically robust way.</p>
<p>Our results show that as positive dipole events become more extreme, more wet days during the short rains season can be expected. This effect was found to be largest for the frequency of extremely wet days. Additionally, we found that as the dipole strength increases, the influence on the most extreme days becomes even larger. This means that dipole events which are even slightly “record-breaking” could lead to unprecedented levels of seasonal rainfall. </p>
<p>Ultimately, if positive Indian Ocean Dipole seasons increase in frequency, as predicted, regular seasons of flooding impacts will become a new normal.</p>
<p>One aspect not included in our analysis is the influence of a warmer atmosphere on rainfall extremes. A warmer atmosphere <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-what-climate-models-tell-us-about-future-rainfall/">holds more moisture</a>, allowing for the development of more intense rain storms. This effect could combine with the influence of extreme positive dipoles to bring unprecedented levels of rainfall to the Horn of Africa. </p>
<p>2023 was <a href="https://wmo.int/media/news/wmo-confirms-2023-smashes-global-temperature-record">a year of record-breaking temperatures driven both by El Niño and global warming</a>. We might expect that this warmer air could have intensified rain storms during the season. Indeed, evidence from <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-indian-ocean-dipole-compounding-natural-hazards-and-high-vulnerability-increased-severity-of-flooding-in-the-horn-of-africa/">a recent assessment</a> suggests that climate change-driven warming is highly likely responsible for increased rainfall totals. </p>
<h2>Responding to an unprecedented future</h2>
<p>Policymakers need to plan for this. </p>
<p>In the long term it is crucial to ensure that any new infrastructure is robust to withstand more frequent and heavier rains, and that government, development and humanitarian actors have the capacity to respond to the challenges.</p>
<p>Better use of technology, such as innovations in <a href="https://fastaweather.com/">disseminating satellite rainfall monitoring via mobile phones</a>, can communicate immediate risk. <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/ai-churns-out-lightning-fast-forecasts-good-weather-agencies">New frontiers in AI-based weather prediction</a> could improve the ability to anticipate localised rain storms, including <a href="https://www.wfp.org/publications/2023-machine-learning-early-warning-systems">initiatives focusing on eastern Africa</a> specifically. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g_06jBU-ag">Linking rainfall information with hydrological models designed for dryland environments</a> is also essential. These will help to translate weather forecasts into impact forecasts, such as identifying risks of flash flooding down normally dry channels or bank overflow of key rivers in drylands.</p>
<p>These technological improvements are crucial. But better use of the forecast information we already have can also make a big difference. For instance, initiatives like <a href="https://www.climatecentre.org/priority_areas/fbf-ibf/">“forecast-based financing”</a>, pioneered by the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, link forecast triggers to pre-approved financing and predefined action plans, helping communities protect themselves before hazards have even started.</p>
<p>For these endeavours to succeed, there must be dialogue between the science and practitioner communities. The scientific community can work with practitioners to integrate key insights into decisions, while practitioners can help to ensure research efforts target critical needs. With this, we can effectively build resilience to natural hazards and resist the increasing risks of our changing climate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218545/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erik W. Kolstad receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme through the CONFER project (grant 869730)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katerina Michaelides receives funding from EU H2020, the FCDO and the Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Singer receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David MacLeod does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Projections show that there’ll be Indian Ocean dipoles in the future – and that means more rainy days, and more extreme rainfall.
David MacLeod, Lecturer in Climate Risk, Cardiff University
Erik W. Kolstad, Research professor, Uni Research
Katerina Michaelides, Professor of Dryland Hydrology, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol
Michael Singer, Professor of Hydrology and Geomorphology, Cardiff University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224495
2024-03-05T21:19:45Z
2024-03-05T21:19:45Z
The Anthropocene is not an epoch − but the age of humans is most definitely underway
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580004/original/file-20240305-26-j0m1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C180%2C5727%2C3599&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Human influence on the climate started even before the Industrial Revolution.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/factoryscape-in-the-potteries-smoke-from-chimneys-in-the-news-photo/1036135896?adppopup=true">Print Collector/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When people talk about the “Anthropocene,” they typically picture the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-anthropocene-a-very-short-introduction-9780198792987?cc=us&lang=en&">vast impact human societies are having</a> on the planet, from <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment">rapid declines in biodiversity</a> to <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/">increases in Earth’s temperature</a> by burning fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Such massive planetary changes did not begin all at once at any single place or time.</p>
<p>That’s why <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-the-anthropocene-start-in-1950-or-much-earlier-heres-why-debate-over-our-world-changing-impact-matters-209869">it was controversial</a> when, after over a decade of study and debate, an international committee of scientists – <a href="http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/working-groups/anthropocene/">the Anthropocene Working Group</a> – proposed to mark the Anthropocene as an epoch in the <a href="https://stratigraphy.org/chart#latest-version">geologic time scale</a> starting precisely in 1952. The marker was radioactive fallout from hydrogen bomb tests.</p>
<p>On March 4, 2024, the commission responsible for recognizing time units within our most recent period of geologic time – the <a href="http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/">Subcommission on Quarternary Stratigraphy</a> – rejected that proposal, with 12 of 18 members voting no. These are the scientists most expert at reconstructing Earth’s history from the evidence in rocks. They determined that adding an Anthropocene Epoch – and terminating the Holocene Epoch – was not supported by the standards used to define epochs.</p>
<p>To be clear, this vote has no bearing on the overwhelming evidence that human societies are indeed transforming this planet.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://ges.umbc.edu/ellis/">an ecologist who studies global change</a>, I served on the <a href="http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/working-groups/anthropocene/">Anthropocene Working Group</a> from its start in 2009 until 2023. <a href="https://anthroecology.org/why-i-resigned-from-the-anthropocene-working-group/">I resigned</a> because I was convinced that this proposal defined the Anthropocene so narrowly that it would damage broader scientific and public understanding. </p>
<p>By tying the start of the human age to such a recent and devastating event – nuclear fallout – this proposal risked sowing confusion about the deep history of how humans are transforming the Earth, from climate change and biodiversity losses to pollution by plastics and tropical deforestation.</p>
<h2>The original idea of the Anthropocene</h2>
<p>In the years since the term Anthropocene was coined by Nobel Prize-winning <a href="https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/15445/2023/">atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen</a> in 2000, it has increasingly defined our times as an age of human-caused planetary transformation, from climate change to biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, megafires and much more.</p>
<p>Crutzen originally proposed that the Anthropocene began in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/415023a">latter part of the 18th century</a>, as a product of the Industrial age. He also noted that setting a more precise start date would be “<a href="https://www.mpic.de/3865097/the-anthropocene">arbitrary</a>.” </p>
<p>According to geologists, we humans have been living in the Holocene Epoch for about 11,700 years, since the end of the last ice age. </p>
<p>Human societies began influencing Earth’s biodiversity and climate through agriculture <a href="https://cligs.vt.edu/blog/climate-change--a-new-twist-on-a-very-old-story.html">thousands of years ago</a>. These changes began to accelerate about five centuries ago with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/anthropocene-began-with-species-exchange-between-old-and-new-worlds-38674">colonial collision of the old and new worlds</a>. And, as Crutzen noted, Earth’s climate really began to change with the increasing use of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/The-Industrial-Revolution">fossil fuels in the Industrial Revolution</a> that began in the late 1700s.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579988/original/file-20240305-20-6j3yag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A chart reflecting timing of the ‘Anthropocene Event’ shows how various human activities have affected the planet over mlllennia in the recent geologic time scale. Click the image to enlarge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3416">Philip Gibbard, et al., 2022</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Anthropocene as an epoch</h2>
<p>The rationale for proposing to define an Anthropocene Epoch starting around 1950 came from overwhelming evidence that many of the most consequential changes of the human age shifted upward dramatically about that time in a so-called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2053019614564785">Great Acceleration” identified by climate scientist Will Steffen</a> and others. </p>
<p>Radioisotopes like plutonium from hydrogen bomb tests conducted around this time left clear traces in soils, sediments, trees, corals and other potential geological records across the planet. The plutonium peak in the sediments of Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada – <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-the-anthropocene-start-in-1950-or-much-earlier-heres-why-debate-over-our-world-changing-impact-matters-209869">chosen as the “golden spike</a>” for determining the start of the Anthropocene Epoch – is well marked in the lake bed’s exceptionally clear sediment record. </p>
<h2>The Anthropocene Epoch is dead; long live the Anthropocene</h2>
<p>So why was the Anthropocene Epoch rejected? And what happens now?</p>
<p>The proposal to add an Anthropocene Epoch to the geological time scale was rejected for a variety of reasons, none of them related to the fact that human societies are changing this planet. In fact, the opposite is true. </p>
<p>If there is one main reason why geologists rejected this proposal, it is because its recent date and shallow depth are too narrow to encompass the deeper evidence of human-caused planetary change. As geologist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa7297">Bill Ruddiman and others wrote in Science Magazine in 2015</a>, “Does it really make sense to define the start of a human-dominated era millennia after most forests in arable regions had been cut for agriculture?”</p>
<p>Discussions of an Anthropocene Epoch aren’t over yet. But it is very unlikely that there will be an official Anthropocene Epoch declaration anytime soon.</p>
<p>The lack of a formal definition of an Anthropocene Epoch will not be a problem for science. </p>
<p>A scientific definition of the Anthropocene is already widely available in the form of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3416">the Anthropocene Event</a>, which basically defines Anthropocene <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104340">in simple geological terms</a> as “a complex, transformative, and ongoing event analogous to the Great Oxidation Event and others in the geological record.”</p>
<p>So, despite the “no” vote on the Anthropocene Epoch, the Anthropocene will continue to be as useful as it has been for more than 20 years in stimulating discussions and research into the nature of human transformation of this planet. </p>
<p><em>This article was updated to clarify that a new attempt at an official Anthropocene Epoch declaration is unlikely soon.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erle C. Ellis is a former member of the Anthropocene Working Group of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. He is a member of the American Association of Geographers.</span></em></p>
Scientists have been debating the start of the Anthropocene Epoch for 15 years. I was part of those discussions, and I agree with the vote rejecting it.
Erle C. Ellis, Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/223745
2024-02-19T13:59:08Z
2024-02-19T13:59:08Z
Jo Brand translated my science. I’m certain that comedy can connect people to climate change
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576323/original/file-20240218-16-rw2y22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mark Maslin and Jo Brand Climate Science Translated</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Climate Science Breakthrough</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A new comedy project pairing leading comedians with climate scientists presents a novel way to communicate the climate crisis.</p>
<p>“If people like me have to get involved, you know we are in deep shit,” says Jo Brand, renowned British comedian and The Great British Bake Off host. Why? Because she has joined the ranks of other notable comedians such as <a href="https://www.nishkumar.co.uk/">Nish Kumar</a>, <a href="https://www.kiripritchardmclean.co.uk/">Kiri Pritchard-McLean</a>, and <a href="https://www.jonathanpie.com/">Jonathan Pie</a> in <a href="https://www.climatesciencebreakthrough.com/">Climate Science Translated</a>, a project that translates complex climate science into accessible and funny content to spur millions of people into action.</p>
<p>Even though climate change is the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/">greatest threat</a> humanity has ever faced, research by the Climate Science Breakthrough team shows that just 2% of the public can name a climate scientist. Nearly everyone knows Jo Brand. Getting famous comedians to translate what climate scientists are saying in a funny, ironic and often blunt way makes the science much more accessible.</p>
<p>And it works. Research shows that humour can be a transformative tool in <a href="https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/JCOM_1804_2019_A07/">science communication</a> and have a positive impact on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504622.2022.2113764">people’s understanding of climate change</a>. So far, my video with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA87n9jrWU0&t=33s">Jo Brand</a> has been viewed more than 3 million times and has gained mainstream attention, with celebrities like Ellie Goulding, Gary Lineker, Rainn Wilson and Thom Yorke retweeting the videos. Each time, that brings the core message to a broader audience.</p>
<p>It also works because comedians can say things that scientists cannot – for example, they can swear. Jo asked me in our chat after recording the main film, “was it time for scientists to be allowed to swear, as things are so bad?” My answer, which is in the video clip below, is no. Because the public expect scientists to be calm, rational and to stick to facts – as soon as we “become human” we lose credibility. So, in many ways, Jo Brand is my human side screaming at everyone to do something, now!</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9aSLibYhpiU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Jo Brand asks Mark whether it’s OK for scientists to swear when discussing the urgency of the climate crisis.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The video launch also caught the eye of <a href="https://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain">Good Morning Britain</a> – Jo Brand and I were invited to appear on the show. Susanna Reed asked me why I had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZGjEHxoDiQ">agreed to make the video</a> with Jo Brand. My answer was simple: “Would I be on national breakfast TV discussing climate change without the wonderful Jo Brand?” </p>
<p>Celebrities can access a much wider audience than a scientist. Just imagine if Taylor Swift was dating a climate scientist and not an American football player. </p>
<p>Later that morning, TV presenters Susanna Reed and Richard Medley asked the UK environment minister Steve Barclay one of my questions: “Why has the government granted new oil and gas licences when we already have enough reserves to push the climate way beyond 2˚C warming?” Because the new licenses will not be operational for ten to 15 years and will make no difference to the global cost, so consumers will still have very high energy prices. </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, he avoided the question – but it was asked on breakfast TV because I was on a comedy video.</p>
<h2>Finding the funny</h2>
<p>Comic Relief is a great example of how effective comedy can be. In 2022, it passed a milestone of raising over £1.5 billion to support people worldwide by harnessing the power of comedy. It now stands out as a calendar moment in British culture. </p>
<p>In politics, comedy has been used in a largely satirical way to engage the public, proving its power. Spitting Image and The Thick Of It crystallised the essence of politics at the time in people’s minds. </p>
<p>Jo Brand’s involvement in the climate comedy project marks a significant step up in celebrities sounding the alarm about the accelerating environmental crisis. Others include Kevin McCloud, Mary Portas, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Chris Packham who featured in Channel 4’s <a href="https://www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-announces-climate-emergency-season">climate emergency season</a> last year. Even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inPNxf00iUY">William Shatner</a>, the original Captain James T. Kirk, has added his voice saying we must act now to save our planet.</p>
<p>This trend signifies the increasing urgency of the climate crisis and its recognition across various sectors of society. The blend of <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-little-humour-may-help-with-climate-change-gloom-125860">humour and science clarifies complex environmental issues</a>, making it more relatable to an everyday audience. It underscores comedy’s influence in driving change and awareness, presenting a potent strategy for addressing one of today’s most critical challenges and an alternative to the direct action activism of <a href="https://theconversation.com/just-stop-oil-attack-the-rokeby-venus-how-the-group-is-using-the-suffragettes-disruptive-tactics-to-shape-public-opinion-210018">Just Stop Oil</a> and other groups.</p>
<p>The irony, as Jo Brand would say, is that we have all the solutions at hand. Renewable energy is cheaper, safer, cleaner and more secure than fossil fuels. But globally, according to the International Monetary Fund, we subsidised fossil fuel use to the tune of <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/climate-change/energy-subsidies">US$7 trillion (£5.5 trillion)</a> in 2023 – up US$2 trillion on the previous year. As Brand said, “even the dinosaurs did not subsidise their own extinction”.</p>
<p>This is why the comedy films invite everyone to step up and act to pressure governments for urgent change, ending with a call to ban new fossil fuel investment and the rallying cry: “All hands on deck now.” </p>
<p>Even the climate summit <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-five-major-outcomes-from-the-latest-un-climate-summit-219655">COP28</a>, held in a major petrostate, the United Arab Emirates, called for a transition away from fossil fuels. But we are not moving anywhere near fast enough. And why should billions of people suffer just because a few people and countries want to make huge profits from selling us polluting fossil fuels? That is just not funny.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223745/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Maslin is the UNFCCC designated point of contact for UCL. He is co-director of the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership and a member of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. He is a member of the Sopra-Steria CSR Board, Sheep Included Ltd, Lansons and NetZeroNow advisory boards. He has received grant funding from the NERC, EPSRC, ESRC, DFG, Royal Society, DIFD, BEIS, DECC, FCO, Innovate UK, Carbon Trust, UK Space Agency, European Space Agency, Research England, Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, CIFF, Sprint2020, and British Council. He has received funding from the BBC, Lancet, Laithwaites, Seventh Generation, Channel 4, JLT Re, WWF, Hermes, CAFOD, HP and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.</span></em></p>
Climate scientist Mark Maslin pairs up with comedian Jo Brand to explain the urgency of the climate crisis. Together, they find that humour cuts through in ways that plain facts just can’t.
Mark Maslin, Professor of Natural Sciences, UCL
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/221668
2024-01-24T13:14:20Z
2024-01-24T13:14:20Z
Climate disaster movies resonate in ways that news never will
<p>Like many eco-conscious film buffs, I’ve seen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/17/why-dont-look-up-should-win-the-best-picture-oscar">Don’t Look Up</a> many times, and shown it to my friends and family whenever anyone suggests a movie night. Now I’m looking forward to discussing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/20/the-end-we-start-from-review-jodie-comer-mahalia-belo-megan-hunter#:%7E:text=When%20her%20waters%20break,The%20End%20We%20Start%20From.">The End We Start From</a>, the new 2024 release starring Killing Eve star <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jodie-Comer">Jodie Comer</a>. The Liverpudlian actress plays a new mother trying to find refuge with her baby as London is submerged by flood waters. </p>
<p>As someone concerned about climate catastrophe, I rarely pass up the opportunity to educate my loved ones in an entertaining or thought-provoking way. It’s a refreshing break from the usual doom-mongering that conversations can often descend into. </p>
<p>The power of cinema in communicating the climate crisis is undeniable. This is becoming increasingly apparent in <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-teaching/departments-and-schools/geography/oral-history-of-the-environmental-movement-project/">my own research</a> on the history of the environmental movement in the UK. Certainly during the last two decades, I’ve noticed a more concerted effort within cinema and television to directly address the issues of climate catastrophe. </p>
<p>Given the complexities behind the science of climate change, good communication plays a critical role in affecting public attitudes and behaviours in relation to environmental justice. Yet it’s only relatively recently that the role of cinema, and narrative visual fiction more broadly, has been taken seriously as having a role in that communication. </p>
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<h2>Creating emotional connection</h2>
<p>There are many benefits to using fictional narrative as a tool to connect an audience with environmental issues.</p>
<p>First, this appeals to our emotions in a way that a scientific presentation, academic paper or broadcast interview rarely can. Ultimately, films have a unique way of engaging our emotions, which is a vital step in <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003119234-26/cinema-ecology-environment-pat-brereton">driving changes in people’s behaviour</a>. </p>
<p>Films can leverage this by presenting climate messages within fantastical narratives that seasoned movie watchers will be familiar with. In the case of Don’t Look Up, it’s meteor strikes. For <a href="https://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/breakthrough-brits/mahalia-belo-director">Mahalia Belo’s</a> The End We Start From, it’s extreme flooding. </p>
<p>But even without such strong visual representation, films that centre around personal journeys towards realisation can be equally as powerful. In Paul Schrader’s brilliant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/12/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawke-paul-schrader-amanda-seyfried">First Reformed</a>, climate activism is the predominant focus. </p>
<p>Second, films and television dramas can bring the immensity of climate catastrophe down to earth by incorporating everyday events. The interpersonal dynamics in the BBC television series <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/apr/07/years-and-years-is-riveting-dystopian-tv-and-the-worst-show-to-watch-right-now">Years and Years</a>, a six-part drama that follows three generations of a Manchester family between 2019 and 2034, helps viewers relate to the characters’ experiences. This is a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Climate_Change_and_Post_Political_Commun/kpxADwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1">proven tactic</a> that embeds climate issues into public debate, as it conjures a personal connection and makes the climate message more accessible and effective.</p>
<p>The End We Start From follows the everyday experience of having a newborn child, but set in the midst of an extreme flood in London. This creates a visceral emotional connection between the themes of the film and the viewers’ own experiences. The emotional journeys of the characters mirror the audience’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1075547008329201?casa_token=UJTpxEAvArQAAAAA:I7Rg6As8Nfh-WaCXMsHMnP4VYkDoCtnQWvFq5wYABGxZojhL74XBArEUcERdanNsIgSBc5EA9dI">fears and hopes</a>. This creates a strong empathetic link that can help people change the way they behave far more than facts and data can.</p>
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<p>Third, the stark imagery of environmental devastation, aided by increasingly spectacular special effects and CGI leaves a lasting visual imprint. This enhances public awareness and concern. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,1225934,00.html#:%7E:text=There%20are%20some%20great%20special,get%20to%20those%20spectacular%20scenes.%E2%80%8B">The Day After Tomorrow</a>, released in 2004, can be considered the first climate blockbuster.</p>
<p>While it had a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexa-Weik-Von-Mossner-2/publication/270161666_Facing_The_Day_After_Tomorrow_Filmed_Disaster_Emotional_Engagement_and_Climate_Risk_Perception/links/54a1c2db0cf256bf8baf78d5/Facing-The-Day-After-Tomorrow-Filmed-Disaster-Emotional-Engagement-and-Climate-Risk-Perception.pdf">relatively small</a> immediate impact on changing people’s opinions on climate change, it laid the ground for more cinematic explorations of climate change-related visuals, and the real world impact of extreme weather events, rising sea levels and rapid temperature changes.</p>
<h2>Welcome to the age of ‘cli-fi’</h2>
<p>More than just the effects though, it has <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Research_Handbook_on_Communicating_Clima/AC0NEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cultural+storytelling+through+cinema+climate&pg=PA330&printsec=frontcover">been argued</a> that the skill of storytelling can impress climate science on viewers’ minds far more effectively.</p>
<p>Often labelled “cli-fi”, the melding of science fiction stories with dystopian climate futures uses a post-climate breakdown as the scene for the film’s imagined narrative. In so doing, films such as Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/may/25/snowpiercer-review-steampunk-law-order-is-a-trashy-treat">Snowpiercer</a> or George Miller’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/17/mad-max-fury-road-review-mark-kermode">Mad Max: Fury Road</a> convey the gravity of the very real issues of the social, cultural and political effects of climate catastrophe.</p>
<p>Of course, the growing genre of climate change cinema is not always <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718517301549?casa_token=GBqWs_47IysAAAAA:IZp0baGmmUrvjHsrMdjtg2fM7lcWhFBZDhBWUiaqWkdMGoSbolSBHEyindhH3Fr91fMehhgc">scientifically accurate</a>. But if cinema is to be used more forcefully as a tool to raise the public awareness of climate catastrophe, then accuracy is not entirely necessary: it is the emotional connection and compelling storytelling that are most crucial. </p>
<p>Films like The End We Start From and Don’t Look Up are not just entertainment, they are essential tools in educating and mobilising public opinion. As we face the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-how-bad-is-climate-change-already-and-what-do-we-need-to-do-next-to-tackle-it-218309">escalating challenges</a> of climate catastrophe, embracing diverse and emotionally engaging storytelling in mainstream media becomes imperative. It’s through these narratives that we can foster a more informed, concerned and proactive global community.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221668/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oli Mould does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
This powerful new eco drama suggests “cli-fi” could play a crucial role in climate communication.
Oli Mould, Professor in Human Geography, Royal Holloway University of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218314
2023-12-22T19:00:18Z
2023-12-22T19:00:18Z
Skip ‘Die Hard’ this Christmas and watch these 5 films to better understand the climate crisis
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566748/original/file-20231219-19-k72k4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C81%2C1433%2C892&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ethan Hawke plays a minister in 'First Reformed,' (2017) a film that prompts viewers to rethink what they assume they already know, from politics to religion to the climate crisis.
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<p>The holiday season is, for many, a time for cherished rituals and down time, including watching movies like <em>It’s a Wonderful Life</em>, <em>Elf</em> or <em>Die Hard</em>.</p>
<p>But this season is also a time for reflection on our lives and the world around us beset by conflict — and the worsening climate crisis. </p>
<p>Here are five film recommendations to help combine ritual and reflection. These films are analyzed in a forthcoming <a href="https://www.filmstudies.ca/2022/02/cjfs-special-issue-cfp-climate-change-and-cinema">special issue</a> of the <a href="https://www.utpjournals.press/loi/cjfs"><em>Canadian Journal of Film Studies</em></a> on “Climate Change and Cinema” that I co-edited with my colleague <a href="https://www.stu.ca/english/andre-loiselle/">André Loiselle</a>, a professor of film studies at St. Thomas University.</p>
<p><strong>1. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6053438/"><em>First Reformed</em></a> (2017)</strong></p>
<p>This film, chronicling the spiritual troubles of Rev. Ernst Toller, played by Ethan Hawke, supports understanding and communion with others in responding to the climate crisis. </p>
<p>So explains <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/communication-arts/people-profiles/anders-bergstrom">Anders Bergstrom</a>, a University of Waterloo film and media scholar, in his article “Well Somebody Has to Do Something! <em>First Reformed</em> and Conceptualizing the Climate Crisis.” </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://offscreen.com/view/revisiting-paul-schraders-transcendental-style-in-film">transcendental film style</a> used by writer and director Paul Schrader, unadorned dialogue, slow pacing and plain images are used, not to convey realism, but to present a heightened, unified and spiritual picture of existence. This style prompts viewers to rethink what they assume they already know, from politics to religion to the climate crisis.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for ‘First Reformed.’</span></figcaption>
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<p><em>First Reformed</em> sees Toller, in a small congregation in upstate New York, grappling with mounting self-pity brought on partly by a tormented past. Early in the film, he counsels a young — and possibly violent — environmental activist in despair. </p>
<p>Toller explains: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Courage is the solution to despair. Reason provides no answers. I can’t know what the future will bring. We have to choose despite uncertainty. Wisdom is holding two contradictory truths in our mind, simultaneously, hope and despair. A life without despair is a life without hope. Holding these two ideas in our head is life itself.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Later, Toller confronts a church philanthropist whose wealth derives from his company, a major polluter. Toller asks him: “Will God forgive us for what we’re doing to His creation?” </p>
<p>But the corporate philanthropist dismisses this. He turns the conversation back to the fact that the environmentalist whom Toller counselled killed himself. “You need to look at yourself before counselling others,” he warns the minister.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-stay-hopeful-in-a-world-seemingly-beyond-saving-210415">How to stay hopeful in a world seemingly beyond saving</a>
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<p>Bergstrom explains how, for the rest of the film, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/movies/first-reformed-review-paul-schrader-ethan-hawke.html">the directness</a> of its slow and spare style compels us to imagine for ourselves, not only how Toller will respond, but also our own responses. </p>
<p>As the film builds toward its shocking denouement, the minister rejects despair and puts his faith in gathering up what he has and perhaps starting again. His choice recalls the teaching of St. Augustine: “<a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/5129/columns/draw-near">Love, and do as you will</a>.” No spoilers here: you’ll have to watch to see what happens. </p>
<p><strong>2. <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8399690/">Anthropocene: The Human Epoch</a></em> (2018)</strong></p>
<p>There is a scene in <em>First Reformed</em> where the camera slowly pans up and over funeral mourners to an endless sea of rubber tires. It then cuts to factory smokestacks, piles of plastic bottles, burning landscapes and barges polluting lifeless waterways. </p>
<p>This scene is remarkably similar to the Canadian documentary film <em>Anthropocene: The Human Epoch</em>, featuring the work of renowned landscape photographer <a href="https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/">Edward Burtynsky</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Anthropocene: The Human Epoch’ trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In <em>Anthropocene</em>, we see static forms, slow-tracking shots, little-to-no dialogue and repeated compositions. <a href="https://brocku.ca/social-sciences/cpcf/people-in-the-department/christie-milliken/">Christie Milliken</a>, a film studies professor at Brock University, writes in “Documenting the Anthropocene: Scale, Magnitude and Obfuscation in the Burtynsky Trilogy” that the film’s images “have had a haunting, mobilizing and protracted impact on me as a viewer, as a critic, and as a scholar.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-canadian-lake-holds-the-key-to-the-beginning-of-the-anthropocene-a-new-geological-epoch-209576">A Canadian lake holds the key to the beginning of the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch</a>
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<p><em>Anthropocene’s</em> creators sought to make climate-change research accessible by weaving together iconic examples. They travelled to six continents to document humans’ impact on the planet.</p>
<p><em>Anthropocene</em> challenges viewers to confront the uncomfortable fact that as a species on this earth, “we’ve been <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terraform">terraforming</a> since the dawn of civilization … but this doesn’t make us all equally implicated.” </p>
<p><strong>3. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4449576/"><em>Demain</em> (<em>Tomorrow</em>)</a> (2015)</strong></p>
<p><em>Demain</em> (<em>Tomorrow</em>) is a French documentary that begins with a group of the filmmakers’ friends in a lively discussion. “We weren’t green freaks or activists,” one explains, “but most of us had kids, and none of us could just stand by after hearing this terrifying news.”</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for ‘Demain’ with English subtitles.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The group decides to make a film about solutions to the climate crisis. The filmmakers embody the behaviour they seek to inspire in viewers, explains <a href="https://scholarworks.brandeis.edu/esploro/profile/sabine_von_mering/overview?institution=01BRAND_INST">Sabine von Mering</a>, a professor of German and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Brandeis University, in “Promise Motivation: Films with Good News About Climate Change.” These behaviours include educating oneself about climate science, talking about it, joining with others and getting active. </p>
<p>Von Mering argues the film succeeds by providing a glimpse into climate solutions from several angles, including agriculture, energy, the economy, education and democracy. </p>
<p>She calls this “promise motivation,” contrasted with “risk motivation.” Of the film’s 116 minutes, 96 minutes (83 per cent) are devoted to climate solutions.</p>
<p><strong>4. <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093488/">The Man Who Planted Trees</a></em> (1987)</strong></p>
<p><em>The Man Who Planted Trees</em> is a Canadian, Academy Award-winning 30-minute animated film about a fictional shepherd’s single-handed quest to re-forest a barren valley. </p>
<p>This film illustrates the causes and misery of climate change, but also how humans can change the climate for the better, explains <a href="https://as.vanderbilt.edu/french-italian/faculty/graduate-faculty/susan-kevra-2/">Susan Kevra</a>, a lecturer in French and American studies at Vanderbilt University, in her article “The Man Who Changed the Climate: Frederic Back’s Film Adaption of The Man Who Planted Trees.” </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘The Man Who Planted Trees.’</span></figcaption>
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<p>Kevra cautions us not to scoff at the achievement of this deceptively simple film and its single-minded fictional shepherd. She shares the words of <a href="https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai">Wangarĩ Muta Maathai</a>, the Kenyan founder of the Green Belt movement and winner of the <a href="https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai/the-nobel-peace-prize">2004 Nobel Peace Prize</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Tree planting became a natural choice to address some of the initial needs identified by women. Also, tree planting is simple, attainable and guarantees quick, successful results within a reasonable amount of time … So, together, we have planted over 30 million trees to provide fuel, food, shelter and income to support their children’s education and household needs. The activity also creates employment and improves soils and watersheds.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>5. <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5709536/">Angry Inuk</a></em> (2016)</strong></p>
<p>Inuk filmmaker <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3410237/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Alethea Arnaquq-Baril</a> examines the central role of seal hunting in the lives of the Inuit, the importance of the revenue earned from sale of seal skins — and the negative impacts international campaigns against the seal hunt have had on their lives.</p>
<p>In “Angry Inuk, Listening to Science, and the Perpetuation of Climate Crisis in Film,” Carleton University film studies professor <a href="https://carleton.ca/filmstudies/people/kester-dyer/">Kester Dyer</a> explains the film’s argument for the right to trade seal products for consumption beyond local subsistence. This “simultaneously exposes viewers to the ecological logic of Indigenous value systems” and the need for non-Indigenous people to accept these.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Angry Inuk’ trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The film, Dyer explains, initiates a dialogue with animal-protection groups through depicting how the Inuit have learned to understand the “language of anti-sealers and southern lawmakers,” and have “started to co-opt some of their visual strategies” in their own counter-protests, including through creative use of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/28/inuit-seal-sealfies-selfie-degeneres-oscars">social media</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRPEz57_l_M">YouTube</a>. </p>
<p>Arnaquq-Baril summarizes her film as “a call for westerners to listen a little harder, and a call for Inuit to speak a little louder.”</p>
<p>When it comes to the climate crisis, many of us, especially non-Indigenous audiences in the Global North, need to listen and look a little harder. These five films are a good place to start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218314/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason MacLean is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation (CELL).</span></em></p>
‘Somebody has to do something’: Top feature film and documentary picks from scholars examining climate change and cinema offer courage to hold contradictory truths and pursue climate solutions.
Jason MacLean, Adjunct professor, Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218989
2023-12-19T20:12:54Z
2023-12-19T20:12:54Z
Carbon pricing alone is not enough — other measures are needed to meet Paris Agreement targets
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<p>As the world grapples with the dramatic effects of record temperatures in recent months, the United Nations has issued a dire warning about the potential for average global temperature increases to hit a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/20/world-facing-hellish-3c-of-climate-heating-un-warns-before-cop28">“hellish” 3 C by the end of the century</a>.</p>
<p>Carbon pricing policies have been a central part of the conversation about avoiding the worst effects of climate change. <a href="https://unfccc.int/about-us/regional-collaboration-centres/the-ciaca/about-carbon-pricing">Carbon pricing</a> is a market-based solution that incentivizes organizations and individuals to emit less greenhouse gases and invest in climate solutions.</p>
<p>Addressing an audience at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/%20nl/ip_23_6092">European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the case</a> for carbon pricing: “If you pollute, you have to pay a price for that. If you want to avoid paying that price, you innovate and invest in clean technologies.” </p>
<p>However, it’s vital to understand both the potential and limitations of these policies. <a href="https://smith.queensu.ca/centres/isf/pdfs/carbon-pricing.pdf">Our recent research</a> shows that global carbon pricing policies must advance much more rapidly, and be combined with other mitigation measures, to avoid harmful warming scenarios. As von der Leyen said in her remarks, “we must go further and faster.”</p>
<h2>Carbon pricing needs to rise</h2>
<p>Carbon pricing can be a powerful tool to combat climate change and reduce emissions, but not on its own. Our research shows that carbon pricing in isolation will not allow us to meet the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement target 1.5 C or 2 C warming scenarios</a>.</p>
<p>If carbon pricing is implemented more aggressively and broadly, it could significantly contribute to meeting these targets. The current global average carbon price, which we estimate in our report at being a meagre US$2.79 per tonne of emissions, needs to increase rapidly. </p>
<p>Our study modelled the effects of a rising global price on carbon, in isolation from other policies, on reducing greenhouse gas emissions across a range of scenarios. </p>
<p>We found that while carbon pricing on its own could limit global warming to 2.4 C, the global price would have to rise dramatically and rapidly to accomplish this. The price would have to start at $223.31 per tonne in 2023 and increase to $435.55 per tonne by 2045.</p>
<p>While such an abrupt global policy change is unlikely, the price would not need to be so high if it was accompanied by other measures, including regulations that provide clarity and stability regarding green investments, clean technology subsidies and financing mechanisms (such as those facilitating transition investing by companies). </p>
<p>For example, if we look at the carbon price needed to stay within 3 C scenario, it’s around US$85 per tonne — not much higher than our <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carbon-pricing-tax-climate-change-1.6798272">current Canadian carbon price of $65 per tonne</a>. With the right other policies working in concert with that carbon price, and potentially funded by greenhouse gas emitters, we could still hit much lower than 3 C by the end of the century.</p>
<h2>The case for carbon pricing</h2>
<p>Our research also looked at the benefits of avoiding higher warming scenarios. The resulting savings from avoiding climate-related damage and economic loss from droughts, wildfires, floods, storms and rising sea levels would be enormous. </p>
<p>Our research estimates that cumulative damages under a 3 C warming scenario of US$480 trillion would be US$213 trillion higher than under a 2 C scenario, and US$326 trillion more than under a 1.5 C scenario. This confirms the importance of hitting the Paris Agreement targets. </p>
<p>Even if lower warming targets are missed, there is a strong case for carbon pricing. For example, keeping global warming to 3 C by 2100 in contrast to the zero-carbon price scenario of 4.2 degrees warming, could prevent cumulative damages of US$284.73 trillion — almost three times the <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-the-105-trillion-world-economy-in-one-chart/">current global GDP of US$105 trillion</a>.</p>
<p>We are talking about worlds of damage here — and that is just the economic price tag, of course. It doesn’t account for the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01132-6">devastating human cost of climate disasters</a> that we’re already seeing in homes destroyed, livelihoods ruined and lives lost. The message is not to give up, but to intensify efforts and co-ordinate globally.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Carbon pricing can be a powerful tool to combat climate change and reduce emissions, but it needs to be accompanied by improved regulations, clean technology subsidies and financing mechanisms.
Sean Cleary, BMO Professor of Finance, Queen's University, Ontario
Neal Willcott, PhD Candidate - Finance, Queen's University, Ontario
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219399
2023-12-07T11:32:49Z
2023-12-07T11:32:49Z
Helping the Pacific financially is a great start – but Australia must act on the root cause of the climate crisis
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564147/original/file-20231207-27-ums72m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C49%2C3216%2C2144&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fiji was flooded by a severe cyclone in 2016.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/indigenous-fijian-girl-walking-on-flooded-561184597">ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government has announced an extra <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/media-releases/joint-media-release-supporting-pacific-family-cop28-respond-climate-change">A$150 million for climate finance</a> – including $100 million for the Pacific to help protect its people, housing and infrastructure from the escalating impacts of global warming. </p>
<p>It comes as Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen lands in Dubai for international negotiations at the <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/">28th United Nations climate summit</a>. At the end of the hottest year on record, these talks focus on accelerating climate action in line with the Paris Agreement. </p>
<p>While new funding is undoubtedly important and can go a long way to supporting community-led resilience-building efforts in the region, Australia will be under growing pressure to do more.</p>
<p>A growing number of countries, including the European Union and Pacific island nations, want to see global agreement at COP28 for a managed phase-out of fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Many observers are sceptical that COP28 can deliver consensus on shifting away from coal, oil and gas, because host nation the United Arab Emirates is a major oil exporter. This is a problem Australia also faces – having volunteered to host UN climate talks in 2026, in partnership with Pacific island countries. Today, Australia exports almost <a href="https://productiongap.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PGR2023_web_rev.pdf">three times as much fossil fuels</a> as the UAE. Dozens of new coal and gas projects are lining up for approval. </p>
<p>Today’s announcement must not be a substitute for addressing the root causes of the climate crisis. Australia must stop approving new coal, oil and gas projects. And we must back agreement at COP28 for the phase-out of fossil fuels.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-decades-putting-the-brakes-on-global-action-does-australia-deserve-to-host-un-climate-talks-with-pacific-nations-194055">After decades putting the brakes on global action, does Australia deserve to host UN climate talks with Pacific nations?</a>
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<h2>What’s in today’s announcement?</h2>
<p>Australia will kickstart the Pacific’s first resilience financing facility with $100 million, and rejoin the Green Climate Fund with a $50 million contribution. As the government says in today’s joint statement: </p>
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<p>Climate change is the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of climate vulnerable countries and regions, including the peoples of the Pacific.</p>
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<p>Sea-level rise, stronger cyclones, marine heatwaves and increasingly acidic oceans pose existential threats to many Pacific islands. Low-lying atoll nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu are especially vulnerable. </p>
<p>Australia certainly has a responsibility to help Pacific communities adapt. Supporting the Pacific-led, owned and managed Pacific Resilience Facility is an important step. </p>
<p>The facility was proposed by island leaders as a regional fund that would help island communities build resilience to climate impacts, and would be driven by Pacific priorities. </p>
<p>It was established partly in response to concerns that other large multilateral funds are difficult for Pacific island countries to access, and are not geared to support community-scale projects. These locally driven solutions and community projects deserve our support. </p>
<p>The Australian government says it will support locally led, small-scale projects: </p>
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<p>This includes grants for climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, nature-based solutions and projects which respond to loss and damage.</p>
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<p>Note the words “loss and damage” – the sole mention of those words in today’s announcement. Bowen has so far been <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/interview-sabra-lane-abc-am-4">hesitant to make any commitment</a> to the new global Loss and Damage Fund, to be administered by the World Bank. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-chris-bowens-struggle-to-promote-consensus-on-climate-action-at-cop28-219008">Politics with Michelle Grattan: Chris Bowen's struggle to promote consensus on climate action at COP28</a>
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<h2>Rejoining the Green Climate Fund</h2>
<p>The world’s largest global climate fund, the Green Climate Fund, was set up in 2015 as part of the Paris Agreement. It has approved projects across 128 countries.</p>
<p>Australian diplomat Howard Bamsey was <a href="https://www.greenclimate.fund/news/gcf-board-selects-howard-bamsey-as-executive-director-of-the-secretari-1">previously Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund</a> and Australia was able to direct the multilateral fund to support initiatives in our region. </p>
<p>But the Morrison government withdrew Australia from the fund in 2018. We should never have left. It was a rash decision, <a href="https://archive.is/0GIN8">announced by the then Prime Minister Scott Morrison live on air</a> while talking to radio host Alan Jones.</p>
<p>Rejoining the Green Climate Fund makes good sense for Australian diplomacy and relations with countries in our region. By rejoining the fund, Australia can effectively advocate for funding to meet Pacific needs.</p>
<h2>Australia should contribute to the new Loss and Damage Fund</h2>
<p>Providing finance to help Pacific communities deal with growing climate impacts is a positive step, but Australia also needs to contribute to the newly established fund to address loss and damage that is now unavoidable.</p>
<p>The establishment of the global Loss and Damage Fund at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-climate-summit-just-approved-a-loss-and-damage-fund-what%20-does-this-mean-218999">beginning of COP28 last week</a> was a major breakthrough, and a real win for Pacific island countries. </p>
<p>Vanuatu first proposed a global fund in the early 1990s. The idea was polluters would pay for the damage they were causing. </p>
<p>This is different to climate finance for adaptation. It is meant to deal with things you really can’t adapt to, such as loss of lives after a major cyclone, or damage to crucial infrastructure after coastal inundation. </p>
<p>Finalising such a fund means wealthy nations and major emitters must now allocate funds to address these forms of loss and damage in the Pacific. </p>
<p>With other nations – including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, the UAE and Germany – already making announcements to contribute to this new Loss and Damage Fund, Australia must also do its part. </p>
<p>Australia should be supporting our Pacific neighbours by actively contributing to this global fund and recognising our responsibilities as a major fossil fuel producer.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-climate-summit-just-approved-a-loss-and-damage-fund-what-does-this-mean-218999">COP28 climate summit just approved a 'loss and damage' fund. What does this mean?</a>
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<h2>Committing to fossil fuel phase out key to winning Pacific support</h2>
<p>The only way to actually stop harming communities in the Pacific is to stop adding fuel to the fire. That means stopping the approval of new coal, oil and gas projects and committing to a managed phase-out of fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Australia has put up its hand to host COP31 with Pacific island countries in 2026.
To be a successful host of the UN climate talks, Australia will need to actively support the Pacific’s fight for survival. We can’t just keep throwing money at the problem. We need to be part of the solution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219399/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wesley Morgan is a senior researcher with the Climate Council</span></em></p>
As Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen lands in Dubai for COP28, Australia has announced an extra A$150 in climate finance with a focus on the Pacific region.
Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214756
2023-12-01T17:52:49Z
2023-12-01T17:52:49Z
Electric arc furnaces: the technology poised to make British steelmaking more sustainable
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556676/original/file-20231030-19-zblfpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5615%2C3741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Steel production in an electric arc furnace.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/steel-production-electric-furnace-780620236">Norenko Andrey/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a move to embrace sustainable steelmaking, British Steel has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/06/british-steel-scunthorpe-furnaces-jobs">unveiled</a> a £1.25 billion plan to replace two blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/electric-arc-furnace-process">electric arc furnaces</a>. This follows the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/welsh-steels-future-secured-as-uk-government-and-tata-steel-announce-port-talbot-green-transition-proposal">commitment</a> in September to <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-thousands-job-losses-27716778">invest</a> up to £500 million towards an electric arc furnace at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant in south Wales.</p>
<p>This method of steelmaking can use up to 100% scrap steel as its raw material, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions. It is the future of steelmaking. </p>
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<p>Steel is an incredible material and for good reason. It’s the world’s most commonly used metal because it’s strong, durable and recyclable, making it the perfect material for everything from skyscrapers to electric vehicles and solar panels. More than <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/annual-production-steel-data/?ind=P1_crude_steel_total_pub/WORLD_ALL/GBR">1.8 billion tonnes</a> of crude steel were produced globally last year. That number is only expected to grow as the world transitions to a more sustainable future.</p>
<p>The UK uses around 12 million tonnes of steel each year. And in 2022, it produced just under 6 million tonnes, contributing to around <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2023-0016/CDP-2023-0016.pdf">2.4%</a> of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<h2>Electric arc furnaces</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.eurofer.eu/about-steel/learn-about-steel/what-is-steel-and-how-is-steel-made">two main</a> steel production methods. Currently, Port Talbot and Scunthorpe use the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method. The purpose of the blast furnace is to separate iron ore extracted from the ground into its component parts: iron and oxygen. </p>
<p>A form of carbon, normally coal, combines with the oxygen in the iron ore. The outputs of this process are iron and carbon dioxide. The basic oxygen furnace is then used to convert the iron into steel. </p>
<p>As a global average, this method of steelmaking emits around <a href="https://worldsteel.org/wp-content/uploads/Sustainability-Indicators-2022-report.pdf">2.32 tonnes</a> of CO₂ per tonne of steel produced. </p>
<p>An electric arc furnace works by generating a high-temperature arc between graphite electrodes, using electricity as the energy source. This arc is then used to melt metal inside a chamber. </p>
<p>Using this method, up to 100% scrap steel can be used as the raw material, while the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method can only use a maximum of <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/raw-materials/">30% scrap</a>. A switch to the electric arc furnace method could reduce emissions to 0.67 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel produced when using 100% scrap steel.</p>
<p>In the future, it is also possible the electricity needed for electric arc furnace processes could come from 100% renewable sources, whereas a form of carbon will always be needed to reduce iron ore when using the blast furnace method.</p>
<h2>Recycled steel</h2>
<p>Steel is the most recycled material in the <a href="https://worldsteel.org/about-steel/steel-industry-facts/steel-core-green-economy/">world</a>, and so scrap steel is quickly becoming a crucial raw material. In 2021, the global steel industry recycled around 680 million tonnes of scrap steel. This equates to <a href="https://worldsteel.org/about-steel/steel-facts?fact=53">savings</a> of almost 1 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions, compared to using virgin steel production. </p>
<p>In 2021, more than <a href="https://www.bir.org/images/BIR-pdf/Ferrous_report_2017-2021_lr.pdf">8.2 million tonnes</a> of steel scrap was exported from the UK. If collected and sorted more carefully, using this material domestically could provide both environmental and economic value, by helping to meet growing national demand for steel.</p>
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<img alt="A large steelworks lit up at night." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6015%2C3357&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot, south Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/port-talbot-wales-uk-industrial-landscape-1264187401">Christopher Willans/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We know that steel produced with an electric arc furnace can have different properties to blast furnace produced material. A large factor in this is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03019233.2020.1805276">quality of scrap steel</a> used in the electric arc furnace – if the scrap steel quality is low, then so will the quality of the output.</p>
<p>With that in mind, there is a need for research, innovation and skills development to ensure this transition to lower-carbon steelmaking methods is successful. </p>
<p>Finding and sorting the right types of scrap material, confirming material properties and increasing supply chain understanding of electric arc furnace steelmaking are all necessary for a wide range of steel products to continue to be made in the UK.</p>
<h2>Sustainable steelmaking</h2>
<p>There is a race across Europe to secure investment for sustainable steelmaking technologies. <a href="https://www.hybritdevelopment.se/en/">Hybrit</a> is a fossil-free steel project in Sweden between several major steel producers and is already underway. </p>
<p>This follows plans to invest almost <a href="https://energypost.eu/hybrit-project-sweden-goes-for-zero-carbon-steel/">€40 billion</a> (almost £35 billion) in low-emission steelmaking technologies over the next 20 years. Also in Sweden, the company H2 Green Steel has secured <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/swedens-h2-green-steel-gains-support-345-bln-debt-funding-fossil-fuel-free-plant-2022-10-24/">€3.5 billion</a> (£3 billion) to build a hydrogen-powered steel plant.</p>
<p>In July 2023, the German government announced €2 billion (£1.7 billion) of <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/eu-commission-oks-e2-billion-state-aid-for-ailing-german-steel-sector/">support</a> for Thyssenkrupp, the steel multinational. And that was on top of the €3 billion (£2.6 billion) it had previously announced to support the country’s industrial green transition. A</p>
<p>ArcelorMittal, the second largest steel producer in the world, has also announced green investment in their plants in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3404">Belgium</a> and <a href="https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/climate-action/decarbonisation-investment-plans/spain-a-1-billion-investment-to-halve-our-carbon-emissions-and-create-the-world-s-first-full-scale-zero-carbon-emissions-steel-plant">Spain</a>, totalling more than €1.2 billion (£1.5 billion).</p>
<p>While the UK government has <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-uk-should-lead-on-a-green-industrial-strategy-not-roll-back/">no published</a> industrial strategy, other organisations have produced roadmaps for decarbonised steelmaking in the UK. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.energy-transitions.org/new-report-breakthrough-steel-investment/">report</a> by the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of energy leaders committed to net-zero emissions, outlined plans for investing in low-emission steelmaking in early 2023. With the right level of government and private sector investment, the UK could become a world leader in green steelmaking – but only it acts now.</p>
<p>As global temperatures continue to rise and the climate emergency deepens, the need for a decarbonised steel industry is greater than ever. Lower carbon methods of steel production are the future of the industry both in the UK and around the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Becky Waldram receives funding from EPSRC, as part of the SUSTAIN Hub (Strategic University Steel Technology and Innovation Network). She is member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining. </span></em></p>
Electric arc furnaces can use up to 100% scrap steel as its raw material, resulting in a significant reduction in emissions.
Becky Waldram, Materials Scientist and SUSTAIN Impact & Engagement Manager, Swansea University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218999
2023-12-01T02:24:05Z
2023-12-01T02:24:05Z
COP28 climate summit just approved a ‘loss and damage’ fund. What does this mean?
<p>Day one of the COP28 climate summit saw the first big breakthrough: <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/news/2023/11/COP28-Presidency-unites-the-world-on-Loss-and-Damage">agreement on a “loss and damage” fund</a> to compensate poor states for the effects of climate change.</p>
<p>Met with a standing ovation in Dubai, the agreement means wealthy states and major polluters will put millions of dollars towards a fund that will in turn distribute funds to poor states harmed by climate change. The fund will be administered by the World Bank. Initial commitments amount to US$430 million.</p>
<p>It will come as a huge relief to the United Arab Emirates, the summit’s host. The country was under pressure even before talks began about its fossil fuel expansion plans and the fact the president of the climate talks is <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-inside-the-united-arab-emirates-the-oil-giant-hosting-2023-climate-change-summit-217859">chief executive of a national oil company</a>. This undoubtedly featured in the UAE’s decision to commit US$100 million to the fund.</p>
<p>Other countries to make <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/30/agreement-on-loss-and-damage-deal-expected-on-first-day-of-cop28-talks">initial commitments to the fund</a> include the United Kingdom ($75 million), United States ($24.5 million), Japan ($10 million) and Germany (also US$100 million). Pressure will now build on other wealthy countries, including Australia, to outline their own commitments to the fund.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-disasters-and-heat-intensify-can-the-world-meet-the-urgency-of-the-moment-at-the-cop28-climate-talks-217063">As disasters and heat intensify, can the world meet the urgency of the moment at the COP28 climate talks?</a>
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<h2>What’s the history of the fund?</h2>
<p>The Loss and Damage Fund was <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/03/opinions/cop27-climate-loss-and-damage-vanuatu-sutter/index.html">first suggested by Vanuatu</a> in 1991.</p>
<p>At the heart of the push for this fund is a recognition that those countries likely to be most affected by climate change are the least responsible for the problem itself. The fund would ensure those who created the problem of climate change – developed states and major emitters – would compensate those experiencing its most devastating effects.</p>
<p>With global warming now locked in and effects already being felt, from natural disasters to rising sea levels, the fund also recognises the world has failed to prevent climate change from happening.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop27-one-big-breakthrough-but-ultimately-an-inadequate-response-to-the-climate-crisis-194056">commitment to establish such a fund</a> was one of the most important outcomes of last year’s climate talks in Egypt. Since then, a series of meetings had taken place to try to secure international agreement about how the fund would work, who would commit to it, and who would be eligible to receive funds.</p>
<p>These meetings have been characterised by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/03/un-climate-crisis-talks-resume-loss-damage-funding-poorest-countries">significant disagreement</a> over each of these points.</p>
<p>In that sense, the COP28 announcement is a welcome and significant breakthrough.</p>
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<h2>Questions remain</h2>
<p>There’s still a lot that needs clarifying about this fund. Some of the big outstanding questions include the fund’s size, its relationship to other funds, how it will be administered over the long term, and what its funding priorities will be.</p>
<p>In response to the announcement, leading <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/1st-day-climate-conference-sets-fund-countries-hit-105269216">African think-tank representative Mohamad Adhow noted</a> there were “no hard deadlines, no targets, and countries are not obligated to pay into it, despite the whole point being for rich, high-polluting nations to support vulnerable communities who have suffered from climate impacts”.</p>
<p>There is also concern about the World Bank’s role in overseeing the fund in the first instance. Developing countries expressed opposition to this idea in the lead up to COP28, questioning the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/29/why-loss-and-damage-funds-are-key-to-climate-justice-for-developing-countries-at-cop28">World Bank’s environmental credentials and the transparency</a> of its operations.</p>
<p>While initial funding may seem generous, most analysts would also agree this fund is a long way from covering the full range of effects. Some estimates suggest the costs of climate-related harms <a href="https://assets-global.website-files.com/605869242b205050a0579e87/655b50e163c953059360564d_L%26DC_L%26D_Package_for_COP28_20112023_1227.pdf">are already at $400 billion</a> annually for developing states: roughly 1,000 times the amount initially pledged.</p>
<p>Finally, we should not assume pledges will actually translate to countries putting their hands in their pocket. The Green Climate Fund announced in 2009 – designed to help developing states with their transition away from fossil fuels and to help with adaptation initiatives – included a commitment for developed states to provide <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-climate-finance-flows-are-falling-short-of-100bn-pledge/">$100 billion per year by 2020</a>. They fell well short of this goal.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-how-will-australia-navigate-domestic-climate-wins-and-fossil-fuel-exports-at-the-negotiating-table-218697">COP28: How will Australia navigate domestic climate wins and fossil fuel exports at the negotiating table?</a>
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<h2>The legacy</h2>
<p>Agreement on this fund is a good thing in recognising the inequality at the heart of the causes and effects of climate change, and may ultimately be one of the key outcomes of these talks.</p>
<p>Early agreement also means it cannot be used as a bargaining chip over other crucial parts of these negotiations. Now the talks can now focus on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-disasters-and-heat-intensify-can-the-world-meet-the-urgency-of-the-moment-at-the-cop28-climate-talks-217063">assessment of progress</a> towards meeting commitments to the Paris Agreement, which aims to hold warming to 1.5°C to limit further dangerous levels of climate change.</p>
<p>Whether the UAE organisers and the rest of the world take up this challenge effectively will determine the effectiveness of these talks, and quite possibly the fate of the planet.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-begins-4-issues-that-will-determine-if-the-un-climate-summit-is-a-success-from-methane-to-money-218869">COP28 begins: 4 issues that will determine if the UN climate summit is a success, from methane to money</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218999/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt McDonald has received funding from the Australian Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council in the UK.</span></em></p>
Through the Loss and Damage Fund, developed states and major emitters will compensate developing countries experiencing the most devastating effects of climate change. The fund is now operational.
Matt McDonald, Associate Professor of International Relations, The University of Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/217063
2023-11-28T19:13:45Z
2023-11-28T19:13:45Z
As disasters and heat intensify, can the world meet the urgency of the moment at the COP28 climate talks?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561994/original/file-20231127-23-mddbin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=49%2C65%2C5406%2C2952&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Eight years ago, the world agreed to an ambitious target in the Paris Agreement: hold warming to 1.5°C to limit further dangerous levels of climate change. </p>
<p>Since then, greenhouse gas emissions have kept increasing – and climate disasters have become front page news, from mega-bushfires to unprecedented floods. </p>
<p>In 2023, the world is at 1.2°C of warming over pre-industrial levels. Heatwaves of increasing intensity and duration are <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-heat-in-north-america-europe-and-china-in-july-2023-made-much-more-likely-by-climate-change">arriving around the world</a>. We now have <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf">less than 10 years</a> before we reach 1.5°C of warming. </p>
<p>This week, the <a href="https://www.cop28.com/">COP28 climate talks</a> will begin against a backdrop of evermore strident warnings from climate scientists and world leaders. United Nations chief António Guterres has warned climate action is “dwarfed by the scale of the challenge” and that we have “<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1141082">opened the gates of hell</a>”. In his <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20231004-laudate-deum.html">latest climate letter</a>, Pope Francis quotes bishops from Africa who dub the climate crisis a “tragic and striking example of structural sin”.</p>
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<img alt="Global monthly land and ocean anomalies from 1850, relative to the 1901-2000 average" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562273/original/file-20231128-17-3u0pgj.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562273/original/file-20231128-17-3u0pgj.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562273/original/file-20231128-17-3u0pgj.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562273/original/file-20231128-17-3u0pgj.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562273/original/file-20231128-17-3u0pgj.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562273/original/file-20231128-17-3u0pgj.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562273/original/file-20231128-17-3u0pgj.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Global monthly land and ocean anomalies from 1850, relative to the 1901-2000 average.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/global-temperature-anomalies/anomalies">NOAA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>In the United Arab Emirates, the 198 nations in the <a href="https://unfccc.int/about-us/about-the-secretariat">UN’s climate framework</a> will gather for COP28. Can we expect to see real progress – or half-measures? </p>
<p>Watch for these three key issues facing negotiators. </p>
<h2>1. Taking stock of progress on climate action</h2>
<p>This year, a critical issue will be the <a href="https://unfccc.int/documents/631600">global stocktake</a>, the key mechanism designed to ratchet up climate ambition under the 2015 Paris Agreement. This is the first time each nation’s emission cut targets and benefits from climate adaptation or economic diversification plans have been assessed. </p>
<p>The stocktake reveals what track we are on. Do the combined emission cut promises from all countries mean we can limit warming to 1.5°C? If not, what is the “emissions gap” – and how much more ambitious do nation’s emission reductions need to be?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/uns-global-stocktake-on-climate-offers-a-sobering-emissions-reckoning-but-there-are-also-signs-of-progress-217093">UN's 'global stocktake' on climate offers a sobering emissions reckoning − but there are also signs of progress</a>
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<p>There’s been progress, but not nearly enough. If all national emissions pledges became a reality, global warming would peak between 2.1-2.8°C. </p>
<p>That leaves an emissions gap of around 22.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the period to 2030. </p>
<p>It is very good that the worst-case scenarios – unchecked warming and 4+ degrees of global heating by 2100 are <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-worst-climate-scenarios-may-no-longer-be-the-most-likely/">now looking unlikely</a>. But a 2°C world would bring unacceptable harm and irreversible damage. </p>
<p>We’ll need much more ambitious targets and support to cut global greenhouse gas emissions 43% by 2030 and 60% by 2035 compared with 2019 levels if we are to reach net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050 globally. A major measure of COP28’s success will be whether the major emitting nations agree on more ambitious emission reduction actions.</p>
<h2>2. Who pays for climate loss and damage?</h2>
<p>For decades, nations have wrestled over the fraught question of who should pay for loss and damage resulting from climate change. </p>
<p>Now we’re close to finalising arrangements for the new <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/cop27-reaches-breakthrough-agreement-on-new-loss-and-damage-fund-for-vulnerable-countries">Loss and Damage Fund</a>. This will be the second major issue for negotiators at COP28. </p>
<p>So far, governments have drawn up a blueprint for the new fund. Expect to see debate over who will manage the fund – the World Bank? A UN agency? – and whether emerging economies such as China will provide funds. To date, there’s no target for how much money the fund will hold and disburse. The blueprint must be formally adopted at COP28 before it can begin operating. </p>
<p>Why a new fund? Other climate finance commitments are aimed at cutting emissions or helping societies adapt to climate impacts. This fund <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/what-you-need-know-about-cop27-loss-and-damage-fund">deals specifically</a> with the loss and damage from the unavoidable impacts of climate change, like rising sea levels, prolonged heatwaves, desertification, the acidification of the sea, extreme weather and crop failures.</p>
<p>Think of the damage from the <a href="https://theconversation.com/pakistan-floods-what-role-did-climate-change-play-189833">unprecedented floods</a> in Pakistan or Libya, for instance. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="libya flood, image of destroyed city with floodwater from air" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562068/original/file-20231128-21-rkxo1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Libya’s devastating floods in September killed thousands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>3. Where’s the climate finance?</h2>
<p>A major issue in climate negotiations is how countries can transform their economies so they are “climate ready”, with lower emissions and boosted resilience. For developing countries, this requires massive levels of investment and new technologies to let them “leapfrog” fossil fuel dependency.</p>
<p>This is likely to be a critical sticking point. To date, climate finance has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/developing-countries-propose-100bn-climate-damage-fund-2023-09-06/">flowed too slowly</a>. Under the Paris Agreement, rich countries promised to provide funds of A$150 billion a year every year. This has been slow in coming, though it is <a href="https://www.oecd.org/climate-change/finance-usd-100-billion-goal">nudging closer</a>, with $130 billion flowing in 2021.</p>
<p>Unless we see significant progress on climate finance – including making the Loss and Damage Fund a reality and meeting the existing commitments – we’re unlikely to see progress on other key issues such as ratcheting up emission cuts under the stocktake mechanism, phasing out fossil fuels and work on preserving biodiversity. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-september-we-went-past-1-5-degrees-in-november-we-tipped-over-2-degrees-for-the-first-time-whats-going-on-218228">In September we went past 1.5 degrees. In November, we tipped over 2 degrees for the first time. What's going on?</a>
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<h2>How do you build a 198-government consensus?</h2>
<p>One reason climate negotiations advance slowly is the need for consensus. </p>
<p>All 198 governments must agree on each decision. This means any one nation or group of countries can block a proposal or force the wording to be changed in order for it to be approved. </p>
<p>The votes of less wealthy countries – including small island nations and <a href="https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list">least developed countries</a> – therefore carry as much weight as the G20 nations, who account for about 85% of global GDP. This has in the past worked to increase the level of climate action, including the focus on 1.5°C as the global warming target.</p>
<p>The COP28 President is <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/cop28-presidency">Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber</a>, who has attracted controversy due to the fact he heads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Expect to see <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/09/27/phase-out-or-phase-down-fight-over-fossil-fuels-heats-up-in-run-up-to-cop28">considerable debate over wording</a>. Will governments agree to the “phasing down of fossil fuels” or just the “phasing down of unabated fossil fuels”? </p>
<p>It might sound like quibbling but it’s not – the second option, for instance, implies the heavy use of yet-to-be-proven carbon capture and storage technologies and offsets.</p>
<p>Sultan al-Jaber has, to his credit, promoted some progressive agenda items including a focus on the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of nature to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.</p>
<p>Here, there are welcome commonalities with the major global biodiversity pact struck late last year, the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/gbf/">Global Biodiversity Framework</a>, aimed at stemming the extinction of species and degradation of ecosystems. Healthy ecosystems store carbon and help people adapt to the climate change already here.</p>
<p>As nations prepare for a fortnight of intense negotiation, the stakes are higher than they have ever been. Now the question is – can the world community seize the moment? </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-inside-the-united-arab-emirates-the-oil-giant-hosting-2023-climate-change-summit-217859">COP28: inside the United Arab Emirates, the oil giant hosting 2023 climate change summit</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217063/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Mackey has received funding from the Australian Government to support his work with the IPCC 6th Assessment Report. He is a volunteer member of the Great Eastern Ranges connectivity conservation initiative science advisory group and board.</span></em></p>
In what’s likely to be the hottest year on record, nations are gathering to try and hash out faster action on climate change. Here are the three main issues facing negotiators.
Brendan Mackey, Director, Griffith Climate Action Beacon, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212740
2023-11-03T17:32:50Z
2023-11-03T17:32:50Z
The climate crisis is making gender inequality in developing coastal communities worse
<p>Across the world, women and men experience the impacts of the climate crisis in different ways. These are shaped by societal roles and responsibilities and result in <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-crisis-could-reverse-progress-in-achieving-gender-equality-127787">widening inequalities</a> between men and women. </p>
<p>Sea-level rise, storm surges and high waves in coastal area do not discriminate, but societal structures often do. This makes climate change a highly gender-sensitive issue.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/">Research</a> has long shown that coastal areas are the most directly affected by climate change. Small islands in Asia, central and South America and Africa – what many term “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-global-south-is-on-the-rise-but-what-exactly-is-the-global-south-207959">the global south</a>” – are particularly vulnerable to land erosion and economic decline, amid livelihood losses in fisheries. </p>
<p><a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/geography/pgr/11413/andi-misbahul-pratiwi">My doctoral research</a> explores how in countries where women and girls already face disproportionate inequalities relating to ethnicity, class, age and education, the climate crisis is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-womens-environmental-action-across-the-global-south-can-create-a-better-planet-214083">making things worse</a>. In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19480881.2010.536669">coastal areas</a>, in particular, women and girls are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378006000422">ever more vulnerable</a>.</p>
<h2>Livelihoods under threat</h2>
<p>In 2017, in collaboration with the <a href="https://indonesianfeministjournal.org/">Indonesian Feminist Journal</a>, I conducted <a href="https://indonesianfeministjournal.org/index.php/IFJ/article/view/203/259">research</a> off the coast of Demak in Java, Indonesia. I found that women in coastal communities faced multiple problems, from poverty and <a href="https://wrd.unwomen.org/explore/insights/how-fisherwomen-java-rise-above-climate-change-and-increase-gender-based-violence">domestic and gender-based violence</a> to employment challenges. </p>
<p>Fisherwomen who work at sea are having to sail further out and contend with difficult conditions to find catches. One woman, Zarokah, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzSyPW2D73o">I interviewed</a> had started fishing with her husband, two years earlier, when he could no longer find a crew to work with. They wake at 3am to head out to sea. </p>
<p>She told me a basket of tiny flying fish goes for 150,000 rupiah (£7.70) and a good haul will yield several baskets. But even when they don’t catch anything, they still have to cover the cost of supplies and equipment. <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/10/24/warming-seas-bring-indonesias-fishermen-deadly-storms-empty-nets.html">This income is inadequate</a> when faced with a situation where fish are becoming scarcer and extreme weather prevents them from going out to sea.</p>
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<p><a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/196016/">I have shown</a> how women in this area and beyond have contributed significantly to the fishing sector and coastal economies. And yet, Masnu'ah, who is the founder of a local fisherwomen’s organisation, told me that women’s economic role continues to not be recognised by their male peers and society more broadly. </p>
<p>Zarokah is still labelled a “housewife” on her ID card, despite the fact that, as she put it, “If I don’t go, my husband doesn’t go either and we cannot meet our needs.”</p>
<p>If the fisherwomen do not receive recognition for their work, they are unable to access social protections including <a href="https://www.undp.org/indonesia/news/fisherwomen-fisherman%E2%80%99s-world-improving-access-women-indonesian-fisheries">life insurance</a>. As climate change increasingly threatens the profession at large, having state support and insurance is vital. </p>
<h2>Access to amenities and healthcare</h2>
<p>It’s not just women’s livelihoods in this area that are impacted by extreme weather and any other disruptions to the fishing industry. <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2023/07/25/slow-disaster-residents-in-central-javas-sinking-village-forced-to-adapt.html">Tidal flooding</a> has also made it difficult for women and girls to access healthcare facilities. </p>
<p>Women find it difficult to access clinics because the roads are closed and isolated. One activist in Demak told me about helping a woman give birth in the middle of a tidal flood – when the houses were sinking. “It was very difficult,” she said, “because the waves were high, there were no boats. The baby died two to three days after.” </p>
<p>Research from other regions in the world show a similar pattern of increasing vulnerability. In the south-western coastal region of <a href="https://theconversation.com/bangladesh-is-undertaking-the-worlds-largest-resettlement-programme-and-the-climate-is-making-it-harder-208664">Bangladesh</a>, natural hazards, including storm surges and <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-isnt-just-making-cyclones-worse-its-making-the-floods-they-cause-worse-too-new-research-182789">cyclones</a>, have long affected women significantly. Of the 140,000 people killed in the 1991 cyclone disaster, <a href="https://lib.icimod.org/record/13783/files/1337.pdf">90% were women</a>.</p>
<p>However, the impacts are broader than that. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/3744">A recent study</a> looked at women’s lives, particularly among the ethnic Munda community, in the Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat districts. It found that bad management of open-water sources (ponds and canals) has led to high water salinity. Women and girls, who are responsible for family provisions, have to walk up to 3km – and sometimes as far as 5km – to find drinking water.</p>
<p>They spend long hours carrying heavy water pots, which leads to chronic pain conditions. During droughts, this task can take over three hours daily. The women and girls also face harassment from boys and men while collecting the water.</p>
<p>A 2020 study in Ilaje, a coastal region in Nigeria, found that, there too, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619338855#abs0010">women and girls</a> often bear the responsibility of ensuring there’s enough food, fuel and clean water available at home. During times of low rainfall or drought, they have to cover similarly long distances. Young girls sometimes have to leave school in order to help their mothers with these tasks.</p>
<p>Pregnant women in Ilaje, particularly, are vulnerable to health effects like malnutrition, dehydration, anemia, and other health risks related to low food and water availability during crises.</p>
<p>Due to prevailing patriarchal norms, Ilaje women lack the authority to make independent decisions within their families and in society. They don’t have control over financial matters and assets. And they are not given opportunities to participate in public spaces, in particular within community group discussions on climate change adaptation. As a result, they are unable to voice their specific concerns and needs – at both family and community levels. </p>
<p>Oceans and coastal ecosystems cover over two thirds of the planet. They <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/">play a crucial role</a> in food and energy production as well as creating employment opportunities. About <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Ocean_Factsheet_People.pdf">600 million people</a> – around 10% of the world’s population – reside in coastal areas that are less than 10 metres above sea level. </p>
<p>The central tenet of the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development is to “leave no one behind”. Applying a <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/196019/">feminist political lens</a> to the climate crisis is crucial to understanding how multilayered the problems facing women and girls in rural and coastal regions around the world are. </p>
<p>Yet, social and feminist research on how the climate is changing has been <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2010.01889.x">scarce</a>. Without it, women and girls will indeed be left behind. </p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andi Misbahul Pratiwi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Sea-level rises and storm surges don’t discriminate, but societal structures do.
Andi Misbahul Pratiwi, PhD Candidate, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214759
2023-10-27T13:12:53Z
2023-10-27T13:12:53Z
Why young workers are leaving fossil fuel jobs – and what to do if you feel like ‘climate quitting’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556292/original/file-20231027-21-tz9saf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C8%2C5542%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businessman-carrying-brown-cardboard-box-resignation-1982059736">C_Production/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Are you frustrated with your employer’s lack of commitment to sustainability? Maybe “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-05/how-to-quit-your-job-to-fight-climate-change">climate quitting</a>” is for you. Climate quitting means leaving your job due to concerns about your employer’s impact on the climate or because you want to work directly on addressing climate issues.</p>
<p>If you’re contemplating leaving your job over climate concerns, you’re not alone. <a href="https://www.paulpolman.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MC_Paul-Polman_Net-Positive-Employee-Barometer_Final_web.pdf">Half of Gen Z employees</a> (people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s) in the UK have already resigned from a job due to a conflict in values. And <a href="https://www.paulpolman.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MC_Paul-Polman_Net-Positive-Employee-Barometer_Final_web.pdf">48% of people aged 18–41</a> say they are willing to take a pay cut to work for a company that aligns with their sustainability values.</p>
<p>Oil and gas companies in particular are <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-oils-talent-crisis-high-salaries-are-no-longer-enough-194545be">finding it difficult to attract new talent</a>, in part because they have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/24/do-not-work-for-climate-wreckers-un-head-tells-graduates-antonio-guterres">losing credibility</a> amid the growing climate crisis. This trend of climate quitting only adds to the industry’s talent challenges.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</p>
<p>You may be interested in:</p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-challenge-toxic-behaviour-and-help-someone-being-bullied-or-harassed-at-work-214524">How to challenge toxic behaviour and help someone being bullied or harassed at work</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-you-can-future-proof-your-career-in-the-era-of-ai-207580">How you can future-proof your career in the era of AI</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/three-mindfulness-and-meditation-techniques-that-could-help-you-manage-work-stress-208328">Three mindfulness and meditation techniques that could help you manage work stress</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Our research has involved interviewing dozens of people – including many who are still in the early stages of their careers – who have left the oil and gas industry because of their environmental concerns. The industry is often blamed for its contribution to the climate crisis, making it an ideal case to study climate quitting – despite its own efforts to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332221002335">downplay its role</a> in global warming.</p>
<p>Leaving your job is never an easy decision, and the climate quitters we spoke to revealed that they had actually enjoyed many aspects of their jobs. They were paid well, found their work intellectually rewarding and had opportunities for career development and travel. So, what is motivating people to quit their jobs over climate concerns?</p>
<h2>The urgency of the climate crisis</h2>
<p>Based on the results of a <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/worriesaboutclimatechangegreatbritain/septembertooctober2022#:%7E:text=Those%20most%20likely%20to%20report,with%20no%20qualifications%20(62%25)">survey from 2022</a>, people aged 16–29 are the age group most prone to feeling “very worried” about climate change. Interviews from our ongoing research confirmed this trend.</p>
<p>Most of the people we interviewed talked about the accelerating pace and urgency of tackling the climate crisis. Many mentioned the <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021">International Energy Agency’s 2021 Report</a>, which proclaimed that new oil and gas exploration must stop immediately if we are to meet our climate targets. </p>
<p>But our interviewees report that their employers’ actions and priorities did not align with this sense of urgency to transition. Some reported that their employers were ignoring these warnings – even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/14/shell-drops-target-to-cut-oil-production-as-ceo-guns-for-higher-profits">rolling back their prior climate commitments</a>.</p>
<p>One of our interviewees said: “I really did not want it on my conscience that I was making the world worse, that I was using the talents and skills that I acquired for many years of study to make the world worse and bring us on the brink of a climate disaster.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four workers standing on an offshore oil rig." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556294/original/file-20231027-21-e0dgze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556294/original/file-20231027-21-e0dgze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556294/original/file-20231027-21-e0dgze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556294/original/file-20231027-21-e0dgze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556294/original/file-20231027-21-e0dgze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556294/original/file-20231027-21-e0dgze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556294/original/file-20231027-21-e0dgze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Oil and gas firms’ actions often do not align with the urgent need to transition to cleaner energy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/anchor-handling-activity-during-rig-move-1734559574">m.afiqsyahmi/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Organisational hypocrisy</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0170840617736938">study we carried out in 2021</a> found that many companies in the energy sector go for clean rhetoric instead of green action and dilute their responsibility to take climate action. Our interviewees witnessed hypocrisy too, or a difference between what their corporate employers publicly announced regarding the clean energy transition and what they prioritised internally.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629622003036">research</a> has found that oil and gas employees are often able to live with this dissonance. But the people we interviewed reported a growing sense of discomfort and value conflict at work, which ultimately got them thinking about leaving.</p>
<p>This comes as no great shock. A <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-012-1489-x">study from 2012</a> found that when employees in the oil and gas industry perceived their employers to be only pursuing environmental actions or claims in order to present a climate-friendly public image, they lose trust and identification with their employers.</p>
<h2>Failure to create change from within</h2>
<p>Our prior research finds that people often join organisations <a href="https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/from-movements-to-managers-crossing-organizational-boundaries-in-">with the specific goal</a> of trying to get their employers to better address climate change and sustainability, by <a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/orsc.2020.1423">taking on new roles</a> such as sustainability managers. However, many of the interviewees from our unpublished research ultimately decided to quit following their failed attempts to affect change from within. Some had joined sustainability task forces at work, while others tried to move into roles that were focused on the clean energy transition. But, by and large, they did not feel that they were having the impact that they desired.</p>
<p>This is probably because most oil and gas companies dedicate only a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263596">small fraction</a> of their investments and operations towards fossil fuel alternatives. This means there are few internal opportunities for climate-conscious employees.</p>
<h2>Taking on a climate job</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629622003036">Research</a> finds that it’s often easier for oil and gas employees with climate concerns to overcome their sense of value conflict and dissonance by changing their own minds rather than changing their jobs. But with new opportunities in the renewable energy sector, there is increasingly a place for energy experts to go. </p>
<p>The career trajectories of our interviewees conform with grave predictions for talent in the fossil fuel industry. A <a href="https://www.getireport.com/">survey of 10,000 energy professionals</a> in 2022 found that 82% of respondents would consider switching out of oil and gas within the next three years. Half of these people said they hoped to move into renewables. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two workers at a solar farm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556295/original/file-20231027-15-314zz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556295/original/file-20231027-15-314zz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556295/original/file-20231027-15-314zz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556295/original/file-20231027-15-314zz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556295/original/file-20231027-15-314zz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556295/original/file-20231027-15-314zz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556295/original/file-20231027-15-314zz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people are leaving their jobs to work directly on the climate crisis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/solar-power-station-736731844">Mark Agnor/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you’re considering this type of move, there is a growing community of organisations with the mission to mobilise for climate quitting – including <a href="https://workonclimate.org/">Work on Climate</a>, <a href="https://terra.do/">Terra.do</a> and <a href="https://www.mcjcollective.com/">My Climate Journey</a>. They provide mentoring, support networks, job boards and training to help people move into climate jobs.</p>
<p>It may be time for oil and gas firms to finally reconsider their business decisions in the wake of employees’ concerns about the climate crisis and in pursuing value alignment in their work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214759/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grace Augustine receives funding from The British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Birthe Soppe receives funding from the Norwegian Research Council through the research centre INTRANSIT. </span></em></p>
The oil and gas industry is struggling to retain talent – here’s why.
Grace Augustine, Associate Professor in Business & Society, University of Bath
Birthe Soppe, Associate Professor of Organisation Studies, University of Innsbruck
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214478
2023-10-27T03:47:33Z
2023-10-27T03:47:33Z
What to wear for a climate crisis
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556247/original/file-20231026-19-q6j5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5184%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sydney-nsw-australia-september-15-2019-1527258689">Rose Marinelli/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When people move to the country from the city, they need to change their wardrobes, my <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/area.12540">research on tree-changers</a> in Australia found. The new context of their lives means the clothes they wore for the city no longer work for their new lives. This is also true in the climate crisis. </p>
<p>Our context has changed. When we decide what clothes to buy, we now need to bring into play a wider range of values than the appearance of a garment, its newness and novelty and whether we like it or not. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/">states</a>, if we are to have any hope of avoiding a world that is too hot and unpredictable to live in, we need to do everything we possibly can, right now, to cut greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. </p>
<p>The fashion industry contributes <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.973102/full">up to 10% of global emissions</a> – more than international aviation and shipping combined. It also contributes to biodiversity loss, pollution, landfill issues, unsafe work practices and more.</p>
<p>Australia’s carbon footprint from the consumption and use of fashion is the <a href="https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/">world’s biggest</a>, a dubious distinction in a materialistic world. </p>
<p>So this is an area where the choices we make can have big impacts. While individual action will not solve all of the above problems, it will help as we move towards the structural and systemic change needed to live sustainably. </p>
<p>If we are concerned about these issues, responding thoughtfully means we will live our lives according to our values. And that’s an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6326475/">important factor</a> in living well, flourishing and being happy.</p>
<iframe title="Carbon footprints from fashion consumption in G20 nations" aria-label="Stacked Bars" id="datawrapper-chart-teOOs" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/teOOs/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="589" data-external="1"></iframe>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-home-new-clothes-the-old-ones-no-longer-fit-once-you-move-to-the-country-112137">New home, new clothes: the old ones no longer fit once you move to the country</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Lessons from wartime</h2>
<p>It’s not the first time people have adapted their clothing in response to the demands of a crisis. </p>
<p>During the second world war, <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-clothes-rationing-affected-fashion-in-the-second-world-war">clothing styles changed</a> in the United Kingdom and Australia. To conserve precious resources, shorter skirts, minimal detailing and a focus on utility became the norm. </p>
<p>People adapted their personal aesthetics and appearance because the situation was grave and they wanted to “do their bit” to help with the war effort. This was a collective necessity in dire times. </p>
<p>This wartime response reflected the priorities and values of society as a whole as well as most people in that society. In other words, buying less (rationing meant this was not just a choice), mending and making do with what was already there was part of a value system that contributed to the Allied victory. </p>
<p>In novels and other writing from the era, it is clear that at times it was not easy and it could be frustrating. There was, however, a public consensus that it was necessary. This shared commitment to the war effort became a value that made personal sacrifices worthwhile and satisfying.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four women walk down the street during the second world war" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550798/original/file-20230928-15-w7n4hp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550798/original/file-20230928-15-w7n4hp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550798/original/file-20230928-15-w7n4hp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550798/original/file-20230928-15-w7n4hp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550798/original/file-20230928-15-w7n4hp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550798/original/file-20230928-15-w7n4hp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550798/original/file-20230928-15-w7n4hp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A change to shorter skirts and minimal detailing conserved precious resources during the second world war.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-clothes-rationing-affected-fashion-in-the-second-world-war">© Imperial War Museum IWM (D 2937)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/following-a-t-shirt-from-cotton-field-to-landfill-shows-the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion-127363">Following a t-shirt from cotton field to landfill shows the true cost of fast fashion</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what can we do today?</h2>
<p>In our current context, the <a href="https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/">most helpful thing we can do</a> is to buy fewer new clothes and wear them for longer. </p>
<p>Australians buy a lot of clothes, about <a href="https://www.cleanup.org.au/fastfashion">56 items per year</a> on average. That makes Australians the <a href="https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/">second highest textiles consumers in the world</a> after <a href="https://www.cleanup.org.au/fastfashion">the USA</a> , and is <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-international-stateless/2017/09/76e05528-fashion-at-the-crossroads.pdf">60% more than we bought even 15 years ago</a>. The <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/textiles-in-europes-circular-economy">price of clothes has dropped significantly</a> over the past couple of decades, and the <a href="https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/">number of clothes</a> people have in their closets has grown. </p>
<p>If we begin to shift away from our slavish devotion to newness and novelty – following the dictates of fashion – to a mindset of value-led sufficiency, we can appreciate more fully the feel of lived-in, mended or altered clothes. There is a feeling of comfort in pulling on an old garment that is soft with age and repeated washing. There is <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Loved_Clothes_Last/StfnDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=joy+of+creative+mending&pg=PT7&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=joy%20of%20creative%20mending&f=false">joy in extending a garment’s life</a> through creative mending, especially when that aligns with our values. </p>
<p>The Berlin-based <a href="https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/">Hot or Cool Institute</a> suggests a wardrobe of 74 garments (including shoes but excluding undergarments) is typically sufficient for people who live in a two-season climate (in the tropics) and 85 pieces for those who live in a four-season climate, as most Australians do. If we buy ten to 12 new items a year, we can replace our entire wardrobe in about seven years. </p>
<p>Buying second-hand instead of new is even better because it doesn’t add to current production emissions. If we buy second-hand, it still doesn’t mean we should buy more than we need.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/secondhand-clothing-sales-are-booming-and-may-help-solve-the-sustainability-crisis-in-the-fashion-industry-148403">Secondhand clothing sales are booming – and may help solve the sustainability crisis in the fashion industry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Choosing clothes to fit our values</h2>
<p>To live authentic lives that are fulfilling and satisfying in deep and meaningful ways, we need to be true to our selves. In the case of clothing, we should evaluate our choices in relation to the values we hold. And if we do care about living sustainably, that means changing those choices we feel are no longer suited to the climate crisis. </p>
<p>Clothes need to reflect a person’s situation as well as their identity to <a href="https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q4x53/the-phenomenological-and-discursive-practice-of-place-in-lifestyle-migration-a-case-study-of-stanthorpe-queensland">“work” well</a>. This may mean that what we wear changes as we make different buying decisions, just as people did in the second world war and as tree-changers do. We may start to look different, but that change signifies our values in action. </p>
<p>Best of all, clothing choices that align with keeping global warming to less than 1.5 degrees will have a long-term impact as significant as winning the war.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214478/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Wallis received funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program for this research. </span></em></p>
Australia has the world’s biggest carbon footprint from fashion. This is one area where changing our personal clothing choices can make a big difference, just as it did in the second world war.
Rachael Wallis, Research Assistant, Youth Community Futures, University of Southern Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214132
2023-10-11T20:44:08Z
2023-10-11T20:44:08Z
How oil companies put the responsibility for climate change on consumers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549664/original/file-20230914-4201-zir9fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aerial view of an oil sands operation in Alberta.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The political response to the climate crisis remains largely inadequate in the face of heat waves, hurricanes, floods and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/quebec-climate-change-wildfires-research-1.6943502">forest fires</a> that are accelerating and <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/">intensifying</a>. </p>
<p>The political inertia can be explained, among other things, by the stranglehold of fossil fuel interests on political decision-makers, and the strong influence polluting industries have on the spheres of power in North America. </p>
<p>These industries use two types of discourse to secure their interests. First, they discredit and marginalize ecological issues. Just think, for example, of the actions taken by oil and gas companies against climate policies, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/20/gas-industry-waging-war-against-climate-action">in Seattle, Wash.</a>, where they hired lobbyists to torpedo pro-environmental policies adopted by the city, and simultaneously paid Instagram influencers to promote gas. </p>
<p>Secondly, industry acts to convince people that their polluting activities are compatible with managing the climate and environmental crises. These rebranding strategies are part of a wider objective of “greenwashing” extractive activities. Over the past three decades, the five biggest U.S. oil companies have spent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/08/oil-companies-climate-crisis-pr-spending#:%7E:text=Over%20roughly%20the%20last%20three,money%20groups%20and%20campaign%20donations.">more than US$3 billion</a> on marketing and donations to boost their communications with the general public and political decision-makers. </p>
<h2>Making citizens responsible for curbing the climate crisis</h2>
<p>One particularly significant rhetorical strategy the oil industry has adopted is to place responsibility for climate change mitigation and adaptation on the individual.</p>
<p>By putting the burden of reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions — and consequently the fight against climate change — on individuals, oil companies and their political allies are taking the onus off themselves to make changes to their fossil fuel production, consumption and exploitation practices.</p>
<p>As a doctoral student in political science and a specialist in climate change adaptation, I have examined the interests, ideas and institutions that shape and restrict our adaptation practices. For the past three years, I have been analyzing environmental discourses in Louisiana to explain why climate policies are moving so slowly.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="View of an oil refinery, with mountains in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An oil refinery in Burnaby, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The carbon footprint as a symbol of industry marketing</h2>
<p>The most obvious expression of this strategy of placing responsibility on the individual is the creation of the carbon footprint. Born of a <a href="https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sham">communications strategy by the giant British Petroleum</a> in the early 2000s called “Beyond Petroleum,” the carbon footprint measures the impact of individual consumption on greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>Through <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/18/the-forgotten-oil-ads-that-told-us-climate-change-was-nothing">numerous advertisements</a> promoting the importance of individual action in the climate crisis, BP has succeeded in shifting responsibility for the climate problem onto the consumer. This, in turn, removes the industry’s responsibility for finding solutions and reducing carbon emissions. </p>
<p>BP’s “Beyond Petroleum” campaign was also designed to encourage individuals to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle while maintaining their consumption levels. This strategy contributes to what researchers Karl Smerecnik and Valerie Renegar of San Diego State University and Southwestern University call <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524031003760879">capitalistic agency</a>. </p>
<p>By endorsing the environmentalist image and removing themselves as the source of the problem, oil giants limit people’s ability to think about other forms of environmental action beyond consumption, and thus, economic growth. It confines the individual and his or her responsibility towards climate change within the logic of the market, reducing the possibilities for systemic transformation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="gas station, with parked cars" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A gas station of the multinational British Petroleum (BP), in Cordoba, Greece.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332221002335">ExxonMobil and Total also engage in the same strategies</a>. They emphasize greenhouse gas emissions as a problem of demand, not supply, creating an imaginary concept around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook">the individual as a consumer</a> and the sole stakeholder responsible for mitigating climate change. </p>
<p>This communication strategy legitimizes the continued production of fossil fuels and serves to protect the industry from restrictive environmental regulations by pointing the finger at growing demand.</p>
<h2>Louisiana’s “green” and community-based oil industry</h2>
<p>My doctoral research on the political discourses and practices of adaptation in Louisiana shows that fossil fuel industries rely on this rhetorical and marketing logic. “Greenwashing” enables them to turn their role on its head and present themselves as genuine environmental saviours by investing in coastal restoration and promoting an eco-responsible, community-based industry.</p>
<p>Lobbyists for major oil companies like ExxonMobil and advocacy groups like the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, as well as their political partners in the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives, insist on the “green” nature of fossil fuels. </p>
<p>This rhetoric conveys the idea that preserving extractive activities is a benefit for the United States and for the fight against climate change. According to this line of reasoning, American oil and gas have a better carbon footprint than oil and gas produced internationally. They, therefore, help reduce global emissions in the face of growing consumer demand. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/17/ohio-natural-gas-green-energy/">“green” fossil fuel narrative</a> is also gaining momentum in the legislative spheres of other states, ensuring the stranglehold of these industries on local economies. </p>
<p>Referring to the ecological activities of oil companies in Louisiana as a true “Cajun environmental movement,” lobbyists solicit local identities and citizen support in an effort to preserve their operating activities. This other form of individualization targets climate policies, particularly those of the Biden administration, as a direct attack on the interests and well-being of local populations. </p>
<p>A veritable “oil culture” has thus emerged through community investment (for example, Shell’s long-standing funding of the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, or of local hurricane recovery operations). It also highlights the entanglement of Cajun identities with the historical development of the local oil industry. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hip-hop singer Big Freedia performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2023, April 28, 2023. Shell has been funding the festival for years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Using individual responsibility to reinforce political inertia</h2>
<p>In Louisiana in particular, individualization can be seen in the popular support for extractive activities and the rejection of restrictive regulations or environmental movements. Positioned as true environmental and community protectors, oil and gas industries maintain their influence in legislative spheres through political lobbying and the support of public opinion. In this way, they manage to stave off any reconsideration of their operating practices.</p>
<p>Large-scale individualization, whether through BP’s campaigns or <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/france-to-plant-1bn-trees-by-2030/">French President Emmanuel Macron’s</a> appeal to schoolchildren to plant trees, reverses responsibility for the fight against climate change. It encourages the political inertia that continues to protect the interests of polluting industries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214132/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah M. Munoz has received funding from the Montreal Centre for International Studies, the Centre for the Study of Democraric Citizenship, the Collectif de recherche Action Politique et Démocratie and Mitacs.</span></em></p>
By making individuals responsible for reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the oil industry is deflecting responsibility for making profound changes in their production practices.
Sarah M. Munoz, Doctoral researcher in political science / Doctorante en science politique, Université de Montréal
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212217
2023-10-10T11:25:59Z
2023-10-10T11:25:59Z
Building on the greenbelt is central to solving the housing crisis – just look at how the edges of cities have changed
<p>Amid <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/08/labour-keir-starmer-new-homes-target-green-belt">new targets</a> of 1.5m new <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67058848">homes</a> over five years, the Labour party has pledged to review the planning rules which dictate where housing in England can be built. The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/08/labour-keir-starmer-new-homes-target-green-belt">“a common-sense approach”</a> to deciding quite what land is worth protecting and what can sensibly be used to create more housing was crucial. </p>
<p>This may put Labour at odds with many Conservative politicians in the UK, who have long defended the greenbelt, the protected land that encircles the country’s largest cities, including London, Newcastle and Manchester. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’s latest long-term plans for housing <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/long-term-plan-for-housing-secretary-of-states-speech">prioritise</a> urban development of brownfield sites (abandoned or underutilised industrial land) over so-called greenbelt “erosion.”</p>
<p>The notion of “concreting over the countryside,” as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rishi-sunak-housing-plan-uk-michael-gove-b2380605.html">has put it</a>, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/19/is-it-time-to-rethink-the-green-belt">politically loaded</a>. Yet, elements of the Conservative party itself are beginning to see that this oversimplifies the issue. As former housing minister Brandon Lewis <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66998512">has said</a> at a fringe event at the Tory conference, the concept “needs to be reviewed and changed”.</p>
<p>It no longer makes sense to prioritise the city centre over its peripheries because quite what is in the city, and what is outside it, is no longer clear. Multiple factors have seen the city extend into a continuous periphery. These include uneven urbanisation and geo-engineered landscapes, changing working patterns and locations and the perceived conflation of nature with culture. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://counterintuitivetypologies.com/Peripheries-Peripherocene">research looks at</a> how to rethink the urban-nature divide. We have found that design that focuses on <a href="https://punctumbooks.com/titles/analogical-city/">urban peripheries</a> in socially diverse and sustainable ways <a href="https://www.park-books.com/en/product/thinking-design/115">can benefit residents</a>, combat climate change and tackle the housing crisis. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graphic showing suburban town planning." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Anthropocene has blurred the city’s boundaries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Wojewoda | Cameron McEwan</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The politics of ‘urban sprawl’</h2>
<p>In his long-term housing policy, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove has made the connection between urban planning, aesthetic standards and climate change. He argues against what he and <a href="https://lirias.kuleuven.be/1684573?limo=0">many before</a> him have termed “urban sprawl”. Instead, making the city centre more dense, he says, will “enhance economic efficiency, free up leisure time and also help with climate change”. </p>
<p>In city planning terms, <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_698#:%7E:text=Definition,a%20defined%20unit%20of%20area.">“density”</a> refers to the degree of human activity and occupation in a defined unit of urban space. It is, of course, an important measure. Our research shows, however, that what matters most is not the numbers of people and businesses in a city, but the quality of the space in which they operate. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Map of England's greenbelts" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">England’s greenbelts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26130819">Hellerick|Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Housing is an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/25/the-guardian-view-on-housebuilding-michael-goves-urban-visions-cant-erase-his-partys-record">inherently political issue</a>. <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/what_we_do/our_strategy_2022-2025">Shelter</a>, the housing charity, states that 17.5 million people are trapped by the housing emergency. According to the <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/the-housebuilding-crisis/">Centre for Cities</a> thinktank, Britain has a backlog of 4.3 million homes missing from the national housing stock. This analysis shows that it would take at least 50 years to fill this deficit, if the government’s current target to build 300,000 homes a year in England is met. And it won’t be: homes are being built at approximately half this rate.</p>
<p>However, in 2013, the economist Paul Cheshire <a href="https://theconversation.com/greenbelt-myth-is-the-driving-force-behind-housing-crisis-17802">wrote</a> that what he termed “the greenbelt myth” was, in fact, driving the housing crisis. “Contrary to popular perception,” he said, “less than 10% of England is developed. And of what is developed much less than half is ‘covered by concrete’.” </p>
<p>Instead, Cheshire proposed that there be selective building on what he termed “the least attractive and lowest amenity parts of greenbelts.” Not only are these areas close to cities where people want to live, but building on brownfield land in the greenbelt or repurposing derelict buildings might begin to alleviate the housing crisis, including problems of affordability, for generations to come.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graphic illustration of an interior." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Building reuse has great potential.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthias Guger|Mihael Vecchiet|Andreas Lechner, Studio Counterintuitive Typologies, TU Graz</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How urban peripheries can work for people and the environment</h2>
<p>To combat climate change and tackle the housing crisis, cities need to be allowed to expand with coherent planning – that includes good public transport, well-designed public spaces and high-quality housing. </p>
<p>In Italy, the post-war district of <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/867165/ad-classics-gallaratese-quarter-milan-aldo-rossi-carlo-aymonino">Gallaratese</a>, which lies 7km north-west of the centre of Milan, features medium-scale apartment blocks, good social amenities and high-quality, well-connected public transport. People living there have access to small parks and public gardens, places to sit and shop. </p>
<p>This affords the public realm a certain dignity that is often lacking in in Britain. People benefit from better infrastructure for commuting into the city centres – not just traffic lanes for cars, but metro, tram and train connections, with coherently designed outdoor public space. </p>
<p>In Austria, <a href="https://www.aspern-seestadt.at/en/about_us/organisation">Seestadt Aspern</a>, a newly developed extension of Vienna, has been characterised as a “city within a city.” It is compact, yet full of public spaces. The project is conceived with job creation, housing and metro-line extension as priorities. </p>
<p>Our research suggests introducing, to <a href="https://counterintuitivetypologies.com/Studios">periphery design</a>, the kind of buildings more associated with inner-city design. To date, housing in suburban planning in England has largely revolved around the detached single-family home. This ultra-low density building type uses lots of land and is firmly reliant on fossil-fuel heavy private transport. </p>
<p>Focusing instead on what we have called the urban villa might be an alternative. The urban villa aims for a synthesis between the city apartment and the single-family home. Think, a number of apartments in a freestanding house, no more than five storeys, surrounded by a garden. </p>
<p>Suburban planning that centred on this type of housing – which combines urban density with a connection to green space and the public realm – could create a denser, more attractive and, crucially, more sustainable alternative to the way city outskirts are currently planned.</p>
<p>The housing crisis is <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/climate/climate-publications/built-environment/the-green-belt-sustainability-and-england's-housing-crisis.aspx">inextricable</a> from the climate crisis. The environment is <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/3554/JBA-9s9-00-FULL.pdf">most demonstrably in crisis</a> in urban peripheries. It is where the collapse of a coherent urban order takes place, where big bits of transport infrastructure meet fields and suburbs. It’s often where marginalised communities are pushed. </p>
<p>Ultimately, Cheshire was right. The dual housing and climate crises are exasperated by the failure to resolve the greenbelt argument. </p>
<p>What is built around urban cores is crucial to a truly sustainable and equitable solution – for both people and the environment. But, doing so in a way that is beneficial to both residents and the environment requires a shift in government policy and public imagination. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614001522">more and more people</a> cluster around cities in search of work, or a better balance between home and work life, those areas that are now peripheral will become central. Quite under what conditions they live and work there is a matter that demands urgent attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The way we develop urban peripheries is central to tackling both the housing crisis and the climate emergency.
Cameron McEwan, Associate Professor in Architecture, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Andreas Lechner, Associate Professor, Graz University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211107
2023-10-05T03:16:20Z
2023-10-05T03:16:20Z
Suicide rates increased after extreme drought in the Murray-Darling Basin – we have to do better as climate change intensifies
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">impact on mental health of weather extremes</a> such as drought is a growing concern due to climate change.</p>
<p>Rural communities feel the impact of drought much more than urban residents. Our <a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/full/10.1142/S2010007823500240">new research</a> looks at the link between drought and suicide rates in one of Australia’s biggest farming areas, the Murray-Darling Basin. </p>
<p>Drawing on monthly data from 2006 to 2016, our findings were alarming. We found, for instance, that one more month of extreme drought in the previous 12 months was strongly associated with a 32% increase in monthly suicide rates. </p>
<p>Climate change is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/">predicted</a> to bring more heat and <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/publications/publication/PIcsiro:EP201750">longer, more extreme droughts</a>. More effective approaches will be needed to prevent suicides in affected regions. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drought-increases-rural-suicide-and-climate-change-will-make-drought-worse-185392">Drought increases rural suicide, and climate change will make drought worse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Drought hits rural areas hardest</h2>
<p>Droughts induce <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1801528115">post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression</a>. Hotter temperatures can also <a href="https://www.bcm.edu/news/excessive-heat-and-its-impact-on-mental-health#:%7E:text=Heat%20alters%20those%20behaviors%20because,levels%20of%20stress%20and%20fatigue.">reduce levels of the brain chemical serotonin</a>. This has negative effects on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-019-05252-5">central nervous system and moods</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, suicide is a <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release#key-statistics">leading cause of death</a> – especially for people aged 18-44. And the suicide rate in remote areas is <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/MentalHealthServices/Report">almost double that of major cities</a>. This is because drought can:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24721393">reduce agricultural production</a><br></li>
<li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8489.12218">increase financial hardship</a></li>
<li><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/10398560701701288">degrade the environment</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">reduce employment</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0222-x">Research overseas</a> found suicide rates rise with higher average temperatures. In Australia, a study found some evidence linking <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1112965109">drought and suicide</a> in New South Wales. However, a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1440-1584.2011.01244.x?saml_referrer">Victorian study</a> found no significant association.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bushfires-drought-covid-why-rural-australians-mental-health-is-taking-a-battering-148724">Bushfires, drought, COVID: why rural Australians' mental health is taking a battering</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What happened in the basin?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/full/10.1142/S2010007823500240">Our study</a> looked at the Murray-Darling Basin. The region went through one of the worst droughts on record, the Millennium Drought, over the past couple of decades. </p>
<p>We analysed local area monthly data from 2006-16. We wanted to see whether worsening drought and heat were linked to higher monthly suicide rates, by examining differing types of droughts (moderate to extreme). </p>
<p>The map below shows the average suicide rate for 2006-2016 in local areas across the basin. Male suicide rates were over three times female rates.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average suicide rate per 100,000 by local area in the Murray Darling Basin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/full/10.1142/S2010007823500240">Source: Xu et al (2023) using data from National Cause of Death Unit Record File from Australian Coordinating Registry (2006-2016) and ABS Population Census, 2006, 2011, 2016</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We sought to control for as many local area characteristics as possible. Our modelling included unemployment, income, education, proportion of farmers, proportion of Indigenous people, health professionals, green space and various climate and drought variables. We modelled suicide rates for different age and gender sub-groups. </p>
<p>Key findings include:</p>
<ul>
<li>one more month of extreme drought in the previous 12 months was strongly associated with the total suicide rate increasing by 32%</li>
<li>one more month of moderate drought in the previous 12 months was very weakly associated with a 2% increase in the suicide rate</li>
<li>a 1°C increase in average monthly maximum temperature in the previous 12 months was associated with up to an 8% increase in the suicide rate </li>
<li>in males and younger age groups, suicide rates are more strongly associated with extreme drought and higher temperatures</li>
<li>a higher proportion of farmers in a local area was associated with an increased suicide rate </li>
<li>a higher proportion of First Nations people in a local area was also associated with higher suicide rates</li>
<li>more green space was significantly associated with moderating impacts of both extreme drought and temperature on suicide rates</li>
<li>an increase in average annual household income moderated the relationship between higher temperature and suicide.</li>
</ul>
<p>Our results suggest the association between moderate drought and suicide rates is significant but the effect was small. As the drought becomes extreme, suicide rates increase significantly. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-findings-show-a-direct-causal-relationship-between-unemployment-and-suicide-209486">New findings show a direct causal relationship between unemployment and suicide</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can we do better to prevent suicides?</h2>
<p>Given drought’s impact on farm production and finances, mental health will clearly get worse in rural areas if the impacts of climate change are not better managed. </p>
<p>Mental health interventions to prevent suicide in <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7855">rural areas</a> are different from what’s needed in urban areas. Areas in the basin with higher percentages of farmers and First Nations people were hot spots. These areas may need special intervention. </p>
<p>Many have emphasised the need for a <a href="https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/The-National-Suicide-Prevention-Trials-Insights-and-Impact_Jan-2021-V3.pdf">systems approach to suicide prevention</a>. Actions need to be multifaceted and co-ordinated as well as possible. One intervention or approach is not enough. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hairdressers-in-rural-australia-end-up-being-counsellors-too-70275">Hairdressers in rural Australia end up being counsellors too</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Interventions in the bush range from telehealth and medical services to <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-mental-health-program">primary health networks services</a>, <a href="https://mensshed.org/">men’s sheds</a> and drought counselling. </p>
<p>The relationship between <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2018/209/4/drought-related-stress-among-farmers-findings-australian-rural-mental-health">drought and financial hardship</a> seems to be key in farming areas. This points to the need for other forms of income on the farm, including from native vegetation and carbon credits. Work can also be done to promote drought preparedness, increase appropriate regional economic, social development and environmental policies and – where necessary – help people leave farming. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Ann Wheeler has received funding from the Australian Research Council; GRDC; Wine Australia; MDBA; CRC Food Waste; CSIRO; Goyder Institute; SA Department of Environment and Water; ACCC; NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security; NSW Health; Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and Water; Meat and Livestock Australia; ACIAR; RIRDC; UNECE; NCCARF; National Water Commission; and the Government of Netherlands.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Zuo receives funding from the Australian Research Council, GRDC, ACCC, NSW Health, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, ACIAR, NCCARF, and the National Water Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ying Xu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Suicide rates jumped in the Murray Darling Basin following extreme drought and hotter temperatures, a new study shows. The findings highlight the need for action to manage climate change impacts.
Sarah Ann Wheeler, Professor in Water Economics, University of Adelaide
Alec Zuo, Associate Professor, School of Economics and Public Policy, University of Adelaide
Ying Xu, Research Fellow, School of Economics and Public Policy, University of Adelaide
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/213066
2023-09-14T20:05:32Z
2023-09-14T20:05:32Z
Tim Flannery’s message to all: rise up and become a climate leader – be the change we need so desperately
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548177/original/file-20230913-48731-y1vy63.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C2858%2C1586&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Totem Films</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As humanity hurtles towards a climate catastrophe, the debate has shifted – from the science to solutions. We know we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. But progress has been painfully slow. </p>
<p>It’s clear the world is lacking climate leadership. So what makes a great climate leader and why are we not seeing more of them?</p>
<p>For two years now I’ve been on a journey, a quest if you like, to find good climate leaders. This is the subject of my new documentary, <a href="https://climatechangersmovie.com">Climate Changers</a> with director Johan Gabrielsson.</p>
<h2>Missed opportunities and wasted time</h2>
<p>Saul Griffith is an engineer who wants to “electrify everything”. The co-founder of non-profit group <a href="https://www.rewiringaustralia.org/">Rewiring Australia</a> decried the “dearth of political leadership” when he told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We haven’t had any head of state, of any major nation, positively and proactively engage on climate as an emergency, as an opportunity […] we haven’t had a Churchill or Roosevelt or John F Kennedy ‘let’s go to the moon’ that says: ‘here’s a threat, here’s an opportunity, here’s a vision for how we collectively get there’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If we’d been on the right emissions reduction trajectory a decade ago, we’d have more time to deal with the problem. But we’ve <a href="https://theconversation.com/failure-is-not-an-option-after-a-lost-decade-on-climate-action-the-2020s-offer-one-last-chance-158913">wasted ten years</a>. </p>
<p>Over that period, probably 20% of all of the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/climate-change/state-of-the-climate/greenhouse-gases">carbon pollution</a> we’ve ever put into the atmosphere has been emitted. </p>
<p>A lot of money was made creating those emissions, and that has only benefited a few. But of course the consequences of the emissions will stay with humanity for many, many, many generations.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/layNwW_fRNA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Introducing Climate Changers.</span></figcaption>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/group-therapy-helps-scientists-cope-with-challenging-climate-emotions-208933">Group therapy helps scientists cope with challenging 'climate emotions'</a>
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</em>
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<h2>A different style of leadership</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, modern Western politics doesn’t select for great leaders. But there are a few scattered about.</p>
<p>One such example is <a href="https://100climateconversations.com/matt-kean/">Matt Kean</a> in New South Wales. In 2020, as state energy minister and treasurer during the Liberal Berejiklian government, he managed to get the Nationals, the Liberals, Labor and the Greens all supporting the same bill, on addressing climate change through clean energy. In my opinion, that is true leadership. </p>
<p>As Kean told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What you’ve got to do if you’re going to try and solve the challenge is find those areas of common ground. […] it was about finding the big things that everyone could agree on and designing policy that brought everyone together. And I think that was the key to our success.</p>
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<p>Climate leadership requires humility. It requires listening to your political antagonists as well as your allies. </p>
<p>That sort of leadership is rare in our political system. And yet you see it in Indigenous communities and in the Pacific nations where I’ve done a lot of work over the years, that sort of leadership is much more common. Because people understand they need to be consultative. And transparent.</p>
<p>West Papuan activist and human rights lawyer, Frederika Korain, and Solomon Island Kwaio community leader and conservationist, Chief Esau Kekeubata, are shining examples. They show individual bravery and diligence, but they’re also humble and listening.</p>
<p>On the subject of leadership, they share similar sentiments with Australia’s Dharawal and Yuin custodian and community leader Paul Knight.</p>
<p>It’s about bringing other people along with you. It’s not some strong-arm thing, like you often see at our federal level, in our politics. It’s about listening, developing a consensus. It takes time, a lot of effort, and you’ll probably never get full consensus, but we’ll get most of the way there, convincing people. </p>
<p>I’ve seen Chief Esau work. He says very little in the most important meetings, but when someone says something he thinks is on the right track, he’ll say, “Oh, that’s really interesting. Can you can you tell us a bit more”. He directs the conversation. </p>
<p>So in a species like ours, that’s what true leadership consists of. Intelligence, persistence, bravery bordering on heroism sometimes, because climate change is the enemy of everyone.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/study-finds-2-billion-people-will-struggle-to-survive-in-a-warming-world-and-these-parts-of-australia-are-most-vulnerable-205927">Study finds 2 billion people will struggle to survive in a warming world – and these parts of Australia are most vulnerable</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s holding us back?</h2>
<p>There’s a very strong relationship in Australia between political power and fossil fuels. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-walk-the-talk-on-climate-labor-must-come-clean-about-the-future-for-coal-and-gas-183641">links are interwoven</a>, with people moving <a href="https://theconversation.com/revealed-the-extent-of-job-swapping-between-public-servants-and-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-88695">from the fossil fuel industry to politics and back</a>. </p>
<p>And we still allow people to become <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/19/life-earth-wealth-megarich-spending-power-environmental-damage">extremely rich</a> at the expense of all of us. I think that’s what’s holding us back. </p>
<p>I expect those who are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/08/17/greenhouse-emissions-income-inequality/">very wealthy</a>, who have made their money in fossil fuels, imagine they’ll be able to retire to some gated community and live their life in luxury. </p>
<p>But we all depend on a strong global economy and trade, which is <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/impact-climate-change-global-gdp/">under threat</a> as the climate breaks down. </p>
<p>The idea that you can somehow isolate yourself from the environment and the rest of society is one of the great failings of human imagination that has brought us so close to catastrophe.</p>
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<h2>Rise up</h2>
<p>I do see individual people rising to the occasion. And the story is usually somewhat similar: people realise they could lose something very precious. We heard it time and time again in the making of this documentary. </p>
<p>For community campaigner Jo Dodds the trigger was the Black Summer bushfires, the near-loss of her house and the loss of her neighbours’ houses. For former US Vice President Al Gore it was having his son in critical care for 30 days, having to put aside his politics and think about what his life was really about. Those sort of moments do bring out great climate leaders. Even Kean talked about bringing his newborn son home from hospital, shrouded in bushfire smoke. </p>
<p>The level of public awareness is far greater now than when I came to this issue in the early 2000s. </p>
<p>The most important thing I can do now is inspire and enable others to be climate leaders. Because we need a diversity of voices out there. We need women. We need younger people. We need people from the Pacific Islands, and First Nations people.</p>
<p>This documentary is about trying to inspire and encourage emerging leaders to give us the diversity of voices we need to make a difference. It’s never too late – we can always prevent something worse from happening. </p>
<p><em><a href="https://climatechangersmovie.com">Climate Changers</a> launches nationally with a livestreamed Q&A on September 17 and will <a href="https://climatechangersmovie.com/screenings/">screen in cinemas</a> and at community events.</em></p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-urgently-need-100bn-for-renewable-energy-but-call-it-statecraft-not-industry-policy-213351">We urgently need $100bn for renewable energy. But call it statecraft, not 'industry policy'</a>
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</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Flannery is Ambassador for RegenAqua, which uses seaweed and river grass to clean up wastewater before it flows out to sea and on to the Great Barrier Reef. He consults for the not-for-profit environmental charity, Odonata.
He is Chief Councillor and Founding Member of the Climate Council, Governor at WWF-Australia and Member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.</span></em></p>
What makes a great climate leader and why are we not seeing more of them? I’ve been searching for good examples of climate leaders. This is the subject of our new documentary, Climate Changers.
Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212888
2023-09-11T15:42:18Z
2023-09-11T15:42:18Z
Why your perception of climate change threats might depend on where you live – new research
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546887/original/file-20230907-18-wk7k8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3199%2C2217&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People's perceptions of the threat of climate change vary according to where they live.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/road-closed-sign-flooded-street-york-120960130">JaneHYork/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our planet has just seen its <a href="https://theconversation.com/july-was-earths-hottest-month-on-record-4-factors-driving-2023s-extreme-heat-and-climate-disasters-209975">hottest month</a> on record, with many places on fire or flooded. Few events can be directly attributed to climate change, but the likelihood of extreme weather <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2752-5295/ac6e7d?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=217900917&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--vIRNcML-N5eyhXNbUkFRofJMkOnQu1XYSZ1h_C1qgDnUdoOBCxFrsBkay1X6WZvEJ7egPLQ-Vog5y9mcE8Jm4WSnZZw&utm_content=217900917&utm_source=hs_email">keeps increasing</a> – and people are noticing. </p>
<p>However, not everyone notices or feels this threat to the same extent. Our <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290354">new research</a> shows there is a contrast in how people in different locations perceive this threat, largely along urban and rural lines. </p>
<p>Cities are affected in different ways than rural areas. For instance, there are far fewer <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705815026387">natural surfaces</a> in urban areas, which creates problems with rainwater drainage, increased temperatures and decreased evaporation. </p>
<p>Cities have been said to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3358">spearhead climate action</a>, and climate activism such as the environmental movement inspired by Greta Thunberg, <a href="https://theconversation.com/fridays-for-future-how-the-young-climate-movement-has-grown-since-greta-thunbergs-lone-protest-144781">Fridays for Future</a>, evolved primarily <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/italian-political-science-review-rivista-italiana-di-scienza-politica/article/rich-kids-of-europe-social-basis-and-strategic-choices-in-the-climate-activism-of-fridays-for-future/9341161E2CF317C93DBD5E5A0E67D627">in cities</a>. </p>
<p>On the other hand, people living in rural areas often <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-0467.2010.00353.x?casa_token=JymUEVw9sqcAAAAA:vNFeYoE2OCR8hD0XvehHqwvKb1KVsaVaXMEJFNN26ndBsOwPOb8OEhcCZHY1IRxpzqVeulsRrur2Idtm">identify strongly</a> with the place in which they live. They are close to nature and can feel passionately about it, especially if <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494414000954">their livelihood</a> depends on that environment. </p>
<p>In our study, we wanted to find out how British people who live in cities experience the threat of climate change, compared with people who live rurally. We expected rural people to feel greater place attachment, but wondered if that also makes them perceive climate change as a greater threat. This is a connection that had not been previously explored. </p>
<p>Based on a representative sample of 1,071 survey respondents from across the UK,
we found that people in rural areas showed higher degrees of place attachment than people living in cities, as we expected. However, we were surprised to see that the perceived threat of climate change in the most rural locations was lower. </p>
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<img alt="An aerial scene of green fields and trees with a running through the middle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547174/original/file-20230908-29-9hz65x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547174/original/file-20230908-29-9hz65x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547174/original/file-20230908-29-9hz65x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547174/original/file-20230908-29-9hz65x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547174/original/file-20230908-29-9hz65x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547174/original/file-20230908-29-9hz65x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547174/original/file-20230908-29-9hz65x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People living in rural areas often identify strongly with where they live.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-rural-farmland-730291111">Richard Whitcombe/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We had not expected that outcome, so we started to dig a little deeper for possible reasons. As it turned out, there are three compelling explanations.</p>
<h2>1. Awareness</h2>
<p>People in rural areas may not be as aware of climate change as people in cities. This is certainly true for people in other countries like <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2728">China</a>, so it could be true for our participants, too. </p>
<p>However, looking more closely, the effect is mostly down to education rather than whether people live in rural areas or not. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2012.702982?casa_token=t8LECc5bjwIAAAAA%3ABAGPw2sON-xdKShF2sfsZ5PWhBJsN0mIU08y-a2LPG6W31A8tSyvEx5k84lsV2-0euEwkXf4nImAdw">Research shows</a> that general levels of climate awareness in the UK are quite high. But this does not necessarily correspond to readiness for action or behavioural change. </p>
<p>It is well documented, though, that rural inhabitants tend to have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ruso.12256?casa_token=fZGRm6oYGhAAAAAA:1DA0Mi0zUTxdXU_XBNZQa85x1OhhBioX-t37xtX0NY9a1kjYjJRhPbmCNnl7VqAvmuowsLN9cnZAEBAG">more conservative views</a>, which could affect the way climate change is interpreted. Conservative views <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09644016.2015.1090371?casa_token=MhVk4e-W4lsAAAAA:Fcqccoc2PD3cqFRB82Idd4i6d8lLLheQQYfupLzOm96qke8Pp4uxeRfQjm05FbLZf5pHEK0kJUgSfw">are often</a> associated with less concern about the climate. </p>
<h2>2. Experience</h2>
<p>People in rural areas may not experience climate change in the same way as people in cities. This is because rural areas have higher levels of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00920-w">green space</a> than <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/alex/benv/2007/00000033/00000001/art00003">urban areas</a>. For example, you will feel the heat less when you are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721023093?casa_token=-Phv3ImaApcAAAAA:U6u2e48CnZy9iKG5LC8wrXeDSozeQpi8g8FRQFQkHf4HoSVLSOX1S59iUUK4OTVV2zD9702jPBM">surrounded by trees</a>.</p>
<p>In the past, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378011000173?casa_token=Yd49iGZlcLQAAAAA:QIG9V0eJVT3FGk4j1UYY5YN4kfqd7Tk6S1HmO5fa4xPlI0DR2QuZMJ5_Ng-MBsAwt225iwQmf0k">research has shown</a> that rural inhabitants were quite sceptical about climate change. This may also be related to their different perceptions about the threat. </p>
<h2>3. Resilience</h2>
<p>And rural people may be more resilient to change. This is something that has been previously observed <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227620301356">in Ghana</a>, where the impact of climate change on farmers’ livelihoods is paired with low climate vulnerability and high resilience to climate change. </p>
<p>Rural people may be aware of climate change and they may experience it like everyone else, but they may have better ways of coping with it than city dwellers because of their closer relationship with nature. This may have taught them to be more <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10745-018-0026-7">flexible</a> in how they deal with change. After all, nature changes a lot and that could make them less worried about the major changes happening around them. </p>
<p>So, although we were surprised that the higher degree of place attachment in people living rurally did not necessarily lead to a higher perception of climate change threat, we can see there are good reasons for that. </p>
<p>Climate change is certainly worrying for most of us and sometimes linked with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618520300773?casa_token=vvO95F2IWFwAAAAA:EMVSaEy10Yg3AzZc2kC0TADqgVGch3MCHRiiC0Nix5mKFI6bk-OGsgtwpaEVYfFkDuIG7hP3IX8">heightened anxiety</a>. We will inevitably react emotionally to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.10.003">extreme weather that affects us</a>. What matters is what we do in our everyday lives, how much we recognise that things are changing and whether we are willing to take action. </p>
<p>This could mean making a change <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-yes-your-individual-action-does-make-a-difference-115169">in our own lives</a>, getting involved <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-action-shouldnt-mean-choosing-between-personal-and-political-responsibility-130656">in politics</a>, or <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/14645">taking action locally</a> to become more resilient when extreme weather, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/floods-are-going-to-get-worse-we-need-to-start-preparing-for-them-now-172902">flooding</a>, heat or violent storms, happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212888/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thora Tenbrink acknowledges Bangor University's seed funding for the reported research. She also receives funding through the UKRI-funded RECLAIM Network Plus grant (EP/W034034/1), and through the ESRC-funded Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership (Phase 1), ES/Y000226/1. </span></em></p>
People living in rural areas perceive the threat of climate change to be lower than people in cities.
Thora Tenbrink, Professor of Linguistics, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211381
2023-08-29T10:53:45Z
2023-08-29T10:53:45Z
Don’t look there: how politicians divert our attention from climate protesters’ claims
<p>The right to protest is a distinctive feature of democratic, liberal societies. Yet the way in which many leading British politicians are currently talking about Just Stop Oil might make you think otherwise. Far from engaging with the issues at stake in these protests, politicians appear to be encouraging the wider public to ignore them or even oppose them. </p>
<p>Having seen their initial protests largely ignored, Just Stop Oil members have been making more disruptive (but non-violent) protests lately. They’ve been present at high-profile sports events like Wimbledon and the World Snooker Championships. </p>
<p>Policing minister Chris Philp dismissed the temporary delays caused to such events as “<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/06/wimbledon-spectators-reasonably-intervene-just-stop-oil/">completely unacceptable</a>”. He argued that “the vast majority of the public are appalled by this very, very small, very selfish minority” and called on those not protesting to intervene.</p>
<p>With the UK government announcing new licences for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, it’s clear that collective action that allows people to demonstrate their disagreement in peaceful ways is needed. In apparent contradiction to warnings about the climate crisis, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s commitment to the green agenda is wavering.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour party, has cancelled a plan to fund the transition from fossil fuels to green industries from the first day of government, should he win power. His response to criticism on this change was to turn on protesters. </p>
<p>He <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/just-stop-oil-north-sea-drilling-demands-contemptible-says-sir-keir-starmer-m3htrc052">said</a>: “The likes of Just Stop Oil want us to simply turn off the taps in the North Sea, creating the same chaos for working people that they do on our roads. It’s contemptible.”</p>
<h2>Diverting the conversation</h2>
<p>Referring to people defending the environment as a “minority” that acts against other citizens polarises society and marginalises protesters’ claims. It depicts people’s demands as somehow niche rather than amounting to a highly pressing threat to the majority.</p>
<p>One of the features of language is that when we talk, we only focus on one or, at most, a few aspects of a particular object or event. A lot will inevitably remain unsaid. </p>
<p>Still, when what remains unsaid is one of the most obvious elements of any given topic, what is missing becomes as informative as what was said. In this case, the focus on tactics instead of the substance of the protest betrays an unwillingness to engage with the climate crisis.</p>
<p>The government has put forward the home secretary Suella Braverman rather than the environment secretary to respond to the Just Stop Oil protests (itself a signal that they are seen as a public order issue more than anything else). </p>
<p>Braverman has referred to people protesting for environmental reasons as causing “<a href="https://dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12183767/SUELLA-BRAVERMAN-protesters-selfish-public-sick-them.html">havoc and misery</a>”. Environment secretary Thérèse Coffey, meanwhile, doesn’t appear to have made any public statements regarding the matter.</p>
<p>To say that people are protesting and not mentioning the reason for the protest leaves the story incomplete. That’s something that rarely happens when UK politicians talk about protests in other countries. </p>
<p>Last year, Sunak referred to women protesting in Iran as displaying “<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/11/28/rishi-sunak-praises-iranian-women-and-footballers-in-foreign-policy-speech/">the most humbling and breathtaking courage</a>” in sending “<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/12/20/rishi-sunak-increasingly-concerned-irans-behaviour-lists-foreign/">a very clear message that the Iranian people aren’t satisfied with the path that the government has taken</a>”. Here the focus of the conversation is placed on protesters’ claims. </p>
<p>But when talking about protests held in the UK, the debate looms over the disruption caused, as if the core message were secondary or even dispensable. It is only when the core message is ignored that politicians can refer to those acting in defence of human and nonhuman lives as “selfish”.</p>
<p>In the absence of meaningful political engagement, conversations about Just Stop Oil protests in the UK have strayed mainly into tactics and disruption at expense of their core message. However, politicians in democratic nations have a responsibility towards the electorate to engage properly with what citizens demand, not just with the way they make their claims heard. </p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211381/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Garcia-Jaramillo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
By focusing on the disruption caused by Just Stop Oil, politicians avoid having to talk about the substance of their argument.
Daniel Garcia-Jaramillo, PhD researcher, Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology, Sheffield Hallam University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/209587
2023-08-28T10:07:35Z
2023-08-28T10:07:35Z
Climate change threatens the rights of children. The UN just outlined the obligations states have to protect them
<p>Climate change is not just an environmental crisis, it’s a <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/climate-change-and-human-rights">human rights</a> crisis. And the humans to be most affected by climate catastrophe are the youngest ones: children.</p>
<p>We have seen children directly impacted in the Northern Hemisphere’s unprecedented heatwaves this year. In Greece, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/extreme-weather-grips-the-globe-as-heatwaves-and-wildfires-rage">1,200 children were evacuated</a> when a wildfire threatened their holiday camps. </p>
<p>In the United States, children were swept away by floodwaters in Kentucky after torrential rain, while an extreme heatwave <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/24/weather-tracker-extreme-heat-death-valley-california-heatwave-southern-europe">swamped the West Coast</a>. In Australia, this summer is expected to be <a href="https://www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/publications/newsletter/article/seasonal-bushfire-outlook-spring-2023">hot, dry and dangerous</a> but that’s nothing compared to what is to come.</p>
<p>So what are the responsibilities of governments to reduce the harm climate change will wreak on the lives of children?</p>
<p>A statement from the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-comment-no-26-childrens-rights-and">United Nations (UN)</a> released today seeks to clarify this. It clearly stipulates why and how the rights of children are compromised by climate change – including the very basic right to life. It also details the steps necessary to mitigate this catastrophe. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-contributes-to-violence-against-children-heres-how-210027">Climate change contributes to violence against children – here's how</a>
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<h2>A practical guide to help children</h2>
<p>The statement comes from a UN body of 18 experts that monitors how national governments are implementing the <a href="https://www.unicef.org.au/united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child">UN Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>. This is an international agreement on a broad range of human rights as they relate to children, including their health, education, development, best interests and living standards.</p>
<p>From time to time, UN human rights committees publish a new interpretation of the treaty they oversee. These are known as “general comments”.</p>
<p>General comments are significant because they provide authoritative guidance to the governments of the 196 countries that have ratified the convention, with Australia being one of them. They also provide a globally agreed standard against which governments and businesses can be assessed. </p>
<p>This new comment follows nearly two years of consultation with more than 7,000 children from 103 countries, as well as governments and relevant experts. </p>
<p>It’s not merely an aspirational statement. Rather, it’s a practical “how-to” guide to action. This document will help children, young people and their advocates hold governments and others accountable for their decisions.</p>
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<h2>So what does the document say?</h2>
<p>The general comment says governments have obligations to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights. It states the “adverse effects of climate change” on the enjoyment of children’s rights “give rise to obligations of states to take actions to protect against those effects”. It adds the committee overseeing the convention aims to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>i) Emphasise the urgent need to address the adverse effects of environmental harm and climate change on children; </p>
<p>ii) Promote a holistic understanding of children’s rights as they apply to environmental protection; </p>
<p>iii) Clarify the obligations of States parties to the Convention and provide authoritative guidance on legislative, administrative and other appropriate measures to be undertaken with respect to environmental issues, with a special focus on climate change. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The general comment also identifies children as agents in their own lives. By extension, this means children have a right to participate in the drafting of environmental policies or laws that will affect them.</p>
<p>Here are the committee’s points that are most relevant to Australia.</p>
<h2>1. Best interests of the child</h2>
<p>A key principle of the treaty is the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration when making decisions on their behalf. These decisions include laws, regulations, budgets and international agreements. The general comment expands on this, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in the adoption and implementation of environmental decisions affecting children.</p>
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<p>It says this process should take into account “the specific circumstances that make children uniquely vulnerable in the environmental context”.</p>
<p>This “best interests” approach stands in stark contrast to that taken by the full bench of the Federal Court in Australia. In 2022, the court <a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/business-law/caring-children-isnt-part-ministers-job-description-rules-federal-court">accepted</a> the federal government’s argument that it has no duty of care for children, and that the best interests principle is not something it ought to consider when making decisions about the environment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-will-cost-a-young-australian-up-to-245-000-over-their-lifetime-court-case-reveals-161175">Climate change will cost a young Australian up to $245,000 over their lifetime, court case reveals</a>
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<h2>2. Protecting Indigenous children</h2>
<p>Indigenous children and their communities are particularly vulnerable to climate change.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35742752/#full-view-affiliation-1">a recent study</a> found Indigenous communities in New South Wales were disproportionately exposed to a range of climate extremes such as heat, drought and flooding. They also experienced higher rates of climate-sensitive health conditions and socioeconomic disadvantages. </p>
<p>The comment says states are obliged to ensure the right to life, survival and development of Indigenous children. They are also expected to “engage with Indigenous children and their families in responding to climate change by integrating, as appropriate, Indigenous cultures and knowledge in mitigation and adaptation measures”. </p>
<p>In Australia, it means the state, territory and federal governments have the duty to listen to Indigenous communities – especially to their younger members – and to take their perspective into account when crafting any policy or law that might have an impact on their livelihood and culture. </p>
<h2>3. Actions of the business sector</h2>
<p>The general comment says governments should require businesses to conduct “due diligence” to assess how their current and future actions might affect the climate and the rights of children.</p>
<p>Where the impacts of a business cross national boundaries, governments are expected to ensure businesses operate at “environmental standards aimed at protecting children’s rights from climate-related harm”. </p>
<p>The comment also expects governments to encourage investment in and use of zero-carbon technologies, particularly when the assets are publicly owned or funded. Governments should also protect the rights of children when implementing tax regimes and procuring goods and services from the private sector.</p>
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<h2>Facing up to the challenge</h2>
<p>The general comment makes it clear states should no longer ignore the impacts of the climate crisis on children and future generations because they have legal duties to rectify it. </p>
<p>The UN committee articulates the responsibilities of states and details how children’s rights should be protected by all levels of government. Despite the fact the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted decades before environmental rights became a topic of discussion, the new general comment is a good reference for everyone from on-the-ground, grassroots local advocacy groups to international non-government organisations and UN organisations like UNICEF. </p>
<p>In this bold new statement, the committee has pushed the interpretation of the convention almost to the maximum, and like other international treaties, the real test will be in its implementation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-having-a-baby-as-the-planet-collapses-first-ask-yourself-5-big-ethical-questions-196388">Thinking of having a baby as the planet collapses? First, ask yourself 5 big ethical questions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209587/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Noam Peleg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has released a statement on the responsibilities of governments to reduce harm from climate change. Here’s what’s in it for Australia.
Noam Peleg, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law and Justice; Associate, the Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/208933
2023-08-14T19:59:56Z
2023-08-14T19:59:56Z
Group therapy helps scientists cope with challenging ‘climate emotions’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542535/original/file-20230814-17-ohf9m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=87%2C7%2C5238%2C3537&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rawpixel.com, Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-climate-records-breaking-all-at-once-209214">climate records</a> tumble and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-sleepwalking-a-bushfire-scientist-explains-what-the-hawaii-tragedy-means-for-our-flammable-continent-211364">wildfires rage</a>, people all over the planet are feeling the toll. </p>
<p>Negative emotional responses such as anger, fear, sadness and despair recorded in <a href="https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/climate-anxiety-in-children-and-young-people-and-their-beliefs-ab">children and young people</a> are also felt by <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00318-1/fulltext">climate scientists</a>. But positive emotions such as hope are also part of the picture. </p>
<p>Anxiety is a natural response to these conflicting emotions. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/feel-alone-in-your-eco-anxiety-dont-its-remarkably-common-to-feel-dread-about-environmental-decline-170789">consequences</a> range from trouble sleeping, to difficulty working and socialising. Climate anxiety can also exacerbate or trigger other mental health problems. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12971">our new research</a>, we explored using group therapy to create a safe space for scientists to share their feelings. Such safe spaces are vital for people to understand and process their emotions and ultimately find the strength and resilience to continue their important work. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R42wwzY0VYc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How do you deal with climate anxiety? (ABC TV - BTN High)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Anxiety can trigger action</h2>
<p>Climate anxiety has not been classified as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-climate-anxiety-a-clinical-diagnosis-should-it-be-202232">mental health disorder</a>. Some researchers <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00072-9/fulltext">warn against</a> calling it a disease, because this implies it’s caused by some type of dysfunction within the individual, requiring therapeutic intervention, perhaps even medication.</p>
<p>Rather, they argue climate anxiety can be a catalyst for action. It is also a reasonable response to what is a significant existential risk.</p>
<p>We know <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-022-02735-6">collective</a> and <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abc4ae">individual climate action</a> can alleviate negative climate emotions. </p>
<p>We also know negative emotions such as <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0188781">guilt</a> are less motivating than positive emotions. The <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1075547008329201">limitations</a> of fear as a motivator are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0511-z">well documented</a>.</p>
<h2>A fly on the wall</h2>
<p>Over two days, seven environmental scientists participated in intensive group therapy facilitated by a qualified psychologist. They shared their feelings about climate change, discussed academic pressures, and how their individual identities intersected with their professional roles and research. </p>
<p>We analysed transcripts from these sessions and found:</p>
<ul>
<li>1. Deep awareness of the climate crisis puts scientists at greater risk of mental health problems. As one participant said, </li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s very easy to fall into this vortex, right? Of thinking about climate change as a problem and not just climate change, but […] global environmental change, ecological loss.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>2. The nature of academia means climate emotions overlap with “intersectionality” (the interconnected nature of race, class, gender and so on) to worsen their experience. According to one scientist,</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>I always tell students you have to do experiments in pairs, documented, because as a person of colour, I would be doubted, you know, if we made that great discovery.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>3. Scientists do not talk about the emotional toll of their working knowledge. As one said:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>How do you talk to your colleagues [about climate change] We don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about how [climate change] is making us feel. And I didn’t know if that was just me, but I was also like, why don’t we talk about it?</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>4. Safe spaces such as group therapy can have an immediate valuable cathartic effect. One participant observed:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m privileged to be sitting here with an amazing group of people. I think what came out of this conversation, [from] the way things have been framed and reframed and picked apart and put back together again, is incredibly useful.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-anxiety-is-real-why-talking-about-it-matters-172813">Climate anxiety is real. Why talking about it matters</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>More work to be done</h2>
<p>Our findings support the value of group therapy as a cathartic outlet for climate emotions among environmental scientists. But further research is needed before this intervention is offered routinely within research institutions, among existing colleagues and peers. </p>
<p>In this case the scientists were strangers from across the United States, brought together by a Swedish documentary film crew. That may have made them more inclined to open up and share their emotions. </p>
<p>We also need to know how long this cathartic effect lasts, and what long-term support might be necessary to foster lasting benefits.</p>
<p>Different generations and groups experience a wide range of different climate emotions. Equally, a wide range of solutions must be made available to help people, particularly environmental scientists, deal with the negative emotions affecting their daily lives. </p>
<p>Group therapy is not a silver bullet, but it does show promise. The tool allows people to share their emotions, realise they are not alone, and gain a sense of community and catharsis from spending dedicated time with others who find themselves in similar situations.</p>
<p>As the climate crisis continues to worsen, more people will be exposed to harm. Even more will be exposed to reports and news coverage discussing our increasingly uncertain future. As a result, climate anxiety is likely to become more prolific, perhaps most so in climate scientists. This presents a real and urgent need to explore how we manage and process climate anxiety.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-022-02735-6">collective and individual action</a> offer ways to reduce climate anxiety indirectly, we also need more platforms for knowledge sharing, more safe spaces and more research into managing the mental health impacts that we are all clearly already feeling.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-phrases-like-global-boiling-help-or-hinder-climate-action-210960">Do phrases like 'global boiling' help or hinder climate action?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208933/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Scientists need safe spaces to understand and process “climate emotions”. Group therapy helps people find the strength and resilience to continue their important work, without harming their health.
Joe Duggan, PhD Candidate, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australian National University
Neal Robert Haddaway, Senior Research Fellow, Africa Centre for Evidence and Stockholm Environment Institute, University of Johannesburg
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/210327
2023-08-03T20:38:44Z
2023-08-03T20:38:44Z
Reducing eco-anxiety is a critical step in achieving any climate action
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541057/original/file-20230803-29-2ipmxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A young boy in Lebanon struggles to stay cool during a heat wave. Climate anxiety is real for millions around the globe and presents serious consequences for us all, especially younger generations. Working to reduce climate anxiety is an essential part of any climate plan.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/reducing-eco-anxiety-is-a-critical-step-in-achieving-any-climate-action" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>We all have times when we feel anxious about our future; perhaps this is more acute for many people this summer, as we experience <a href="https://theconversation.com/extreme-weather-events-are-exactly-the-time-to-talk-about-climate-change-heres-why-210412">unprecedented wildfires and heat waves due to the warming climate</a>. General anxiety intensifies climate or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101866">“eco”-anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>This can spur some people to climate action, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043085">while for others it can lead to a state of paralysis and inactivity</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112101">Our recent Canadian study</a> looked at how values and action around climate change vary with an individual’s personality traits. We found that the higher a person’s general anxiety trait and the more they valued nature, the more likely they would engage in climate action. </p>
<p>Last year the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> delivered a “final warning”; we must take action on climate change while there is still time. </p>
<p>Around the world, countries have declared climate emergencies to help motivate individuals and governments to act. Personal lifestyle changes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001734">such as switching to a vehicle that is not reliant on fossil fuels</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.foodres.2020.109341">reducing red meat consumption</a> can have a large impact on greenhouse gas emissions if enacted on a global scale. But not enough people are making these changes, and this could be in part <a href="https://www.anxietycanada.com/disorders/generalized-anxiety-disorder-in-adults/">because of the level of anxiety they are experiencing</a>.</p>
<h2>Understanding climate anxiety</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868314523838">General anxiety is the tendency to worry about future events</a>. An increase in anxiety can keep you alert and primed to perform your best, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.920180503">but once it exceeds a threshold, performance begins to deteriorate</a>. </p>
<p>This can be a good thing, motivating us to prepare for an event, like studying before an exam or getting supplies before a storm hits. </p>
<p>But when worry becomes excessive or difficult to control, it can <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad">affect mental health and lead to generalized anxiety disorder</a>, causing feelings of fatigue, restlessness and irritability, and reducing our ability to prepare.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102263">Climate anxiety is when people worry about future environmental changes from climate change</a>. It is not recognized as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2021.18">pathological condition; in fact some have argued that it is a sane and overdue response to the climate crisis</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-anxiety-is-real-why-talking-about-it-matters-172813">Climate anxiety is real. Why talking about it matters</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For some people, climate anxiety is triggered by living through a climatic event, such as when a farmer loses crops to drought, or even just the thought of such an event. Moreover, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000329">people who have a strong connection to nature</a> tend to have higher levels of climate anxiety, as they are more aware of the environmental changes happening around them.</p>
<p>Climate anxiety can be a <a href="https://osf.io/yn6tc/">motivating force for people to take action to reduce emissions</a>, especially in wealthy countries. That being said, these actions tend to be around changing to a more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.101991">sustainable diet and engaging in climate activism rather than on conserving resources or support for general climate policy</a>. </p>
<p>Those <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101887">in poorer countries in the Global South also experience climate anxiety</a>, but economic and political barriers can limit climate actions at the individual level. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Greta Thunberg carried by police away from a climate protest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541059/original/file-20230803-23-w7isdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541059/original/file-20230803-23-w7isdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541059/original/file-20230803-23-w7isdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541059/original/file-20230803-23-w7isdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541059/original/file-20230803-23-w7isdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541059/original/file-20230803-23-w7isdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541059/original/file-20230803-23-w7isdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Activists like Greta Thunberg have become voices for the climate anxiety felt by many, but not all may feel their anxiety is truly represented on the global stage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Greta Thunberg, a well known climate activist, used climate anxiety to <a href="https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2019/12/02/address-at-davos-our-house-is-on-fire-jan-25-2019/">motivate world leaders at the 2019 World Economic Forum</a> saying, “I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.” </p>
<p>The fact that Thunberg — born and living in Sweden — is the popular face of climate activism is also somewhat representative of the weaker voice and agency experienced by many in the Global South. </p>
<h2>Overdoing it</h2>
<p>Too much climate anxiety can cause paralysis, preventing climate action. In this state, people can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03402-2">struggle to go to work or even socialize</a>. They can experience <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-me-in-we/201801/coming-terms-ecoanxiety">panic attacks, insomnia, obsessive thinking and appetite changes</a>. While individuals of all ages experience climate anxiety, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100047">more young people are reporting it</a>, likely because of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2121381">profound impact climate change will have on their future and because they feel powerless</a> to do anything about it.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-years-to-1-5-c-how-climate-anxiety-is-affecting-young-people-around-the-world-podcast-171566">Ten years to 1.5°C: how climate anxiety is affecting young people around the world – podcast</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There must be a balance between sufficient anxiety to promote positive and urgent change in people’s behaviour, and not so much as to create paralysis. </p>
<p>Several interventions have been shown to be effective at lowering climate anxiety, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph18189636">talking with a counsellor, going for a walk in nature and getting involved in climate action groups</a>.</p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>With more people experiencing climate anxiety, mental health practitioners need to be better educated around identifying symptoms and treatment options. Yet in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fhealthcare10071245">Canada there is resistance to including climate change in the curriculum and professional training of social workers</a>, who do most of the counselling. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-climate-anxiety-a-clinical-diagnosis-should-it-be-202232">Is 'climate anxiety' a clinical diagnosis? Should it be?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>News media, social media and government publications are primary sources of information about climate change. Communicators in these areas can help <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547018776019">reduce excessive anxiety from their climate messaging by using positive gain-framed messages</a>. For example, saying “if we all reduce our weekly meat consumption by just 20 per cent, we can reduce our carbon footprint by 30 per cent!” Instead of the loss-framed “if we do not all immediately reduce our meat consumption by 20 per cent, the planet will be unable to support human life by 2050”. Both statements may be valid, but the former is more effective at spurring action. </p>
<p>Solution-orientated messaging is another effective technique to reduce anxiety. Governments can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03402-2">focus more on clearly articulating national action plans</a> aimed at managing and reducing impacts, rather than continually reminding people of climate induced disasters that appear beyond their control.</p>
<p>The urgency of the climate crisis requires structural changes at all levels of society, <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-yes-your-individual-action-does-make-a-difference-115169">but also meaningful action at the individual level; there is much we can and must do</a>. Our level of anxiety and how well we are supported will help determine how successful our response to this challenge will be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210327/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Climate anxiety is real and must be considered as a core component of any climate mitigation or adaptation and resilience strategy.
Kerrie Pickering, Research Associate, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock University
Gary Pickering, Professor, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Brock University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/210698
2023-08-02T00:30:41Z
2023-08-02T00:30:41Z
Call of the huia: how NZ’s bird of the century contest helps us express ‘ecological grief’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540600/original/file-20230801-25-25npif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C3%2C2548%2C1697&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A recreation of the extinct huia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Auckland Museum</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humans typically reserve their practices of mourning for loved ones. But extending these rituals of grief and loss to non-human animals (and our shared habitats) can also help us appreciate being part of the natural world, not separate from it.</p>
<p>So the recent decision to <a href="https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/bird-year-becomes-bird-century-celebrate-100-years-forest-bird">include extinct species</a> in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year – now Bird of the Century – competition offers an opportunity to grieve in another way. In turn, this may help foster an ethic of care for the environment and greater appreciation of what may yet be saved. </p>
<p>The competition began 18 years ago as a modest campaign by environmental group Forest & Bird to draw attention to native birds, many of which are endangered. It has since grown into a national phenomenon.</p>
<p>Various bird species have their own “campaign managers”, celebrities and politicians publicly endorse their favourite feathered creature, and tens of thousands of votes are cast every year.</p>
<p>The hotly contested election has not been without controversy, either. In 2019, for example, the discovery of hundreds of votes being registered from Russia led to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/403085/bird-of-the-year-russian-interest-in-contest-piques-suspicions-online">claims of election meddling</a>. In 2021, it made headlines for allowing a native bat to enter – to the dismay of many, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59115346">the bat won</a>.</p>
<p>Last year, the organisers were even threatened with a lawsuit over their refusal to include the extinct huia – a bird last seen in the wild in 1907. A concerned environmentalist <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/where-to-find-the-rock-wren-piwauwau-bird-of-the-year-2022/EJT73F5DRQTT7CDAXXXMLTYFVU/">wrote to Forest & Bird</a> to say: “We need to be urgently reminded of what we have already lost, if we are to minimise further loss.” </p>
<p>This year’s competition – which <a href="https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/">opens for voting</a> on October 30 and also marks Forest & Bird’s centenary – answers that call.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1685092593842159617"}"></div></p>
<h2>Ecological grief</h2>
<p>There are five contenders that have died out: the huia, mātuhituhi (bush wren), tutukiwi (South Island snipe), piopio (turnagras) and whēkau (laughing owl). Explaining their rationale, the competition organisers say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Eighty-two percent of our living native bird species are threatened or at risk of extinction. We cannot let any more end up with the tragic fate of the laughing owl or the huia.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540135/original/file-20230731-248378-n5ruyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">North and South Island piopio.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">J. G. Keulemans</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Those five birds represent only a small proportion of the total birdlife lost since first human settlement in Aotearoa around 750 years ago. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03014223.2001.9518262">Fossil record research</a> has concluded that, of the 174 endemic bird species present then, 72 have become extinct.</p>
<p>Adding extinct birds to the Bird of the Year ballot – even if only five – echoes other, similar efforts around the world by people finding new ways to express grief over the loss of nature. </p>
<p>As the global climate crisis rapidly transforms the environment, there have been commemorative <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/10/glacier-grief-how-funerals-and-rituals-can-help-us-mourn-the-loss-of-nature-aoe">practices and rituals</a> more often associated with human loss: funerals and memorial plaques for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/nov/19/extinction-remembrance-day-theatre-ritual-thylacine-grief">extinct animal species</a> and vanished glaciers, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/17/maya-lins-ghost-forest-in-the-shadow-of-shake-shack">monuments to lost landscapes</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-maars-why-its-worth-protecting-a-spectacular-fossil-site-nz-almost-lost-to-commercial-mining-interests-209123">Life in maars: why it's worth protecting a spectacular fossil site NZ almost lost to commercial mining interests</a>
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<p>Because ecological grief differs from human-centred grief in important ways, it can have an upside. For one, it not only addresses an absence in the present, but it can also encourage pre-emptive action to stop losses yet to come. </p>
<p>Furthermore, ecological grief is often accompanied by feelings of guilt over the harm humans have done to the environment, which can create a strong sense of responsibility for nature, as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/share/NXQJPGY74WAZ6RQDJSB7?target=10.1177/17506980221114077">survey research has shown</a>.</p>
<h2>Entanglement with nature</h2>
<p>Beyond helping prevent further loss of birdlife, commemorating extinct species through the Bird of the Year competition encourages an understanding of the connections that bind all lifeforms together. </p>
<p>Of course, such ideas only seem new from a Western perspective. Despite the violent disruptions of colonisation, Māori and other Indigenous peoples around the world have continued to hold worldviews where biological beings are interlinked in a complex web of life. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dead-as-the-moa-oral-traditions-show-that-early-maori-recognised-extinction-101738">Dead as the moa: oral traditions show that early Māori recognised extinction</a>
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<p>Expressions of ecological grieving, such as <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10745-018-0004-0">whakataukī</a> (proverbs) mourning the loss of the moa, play an important role in maintaining these worldviews.</p>
<p>The decision to include extinct species in the Bird of the Year competition will likely cause controversy. But saving the planet means moving away from our usual perspectives and ways of thinking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olli Hellmann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
By including five extinct species in its Bird of the Year competition, Forest & Bird provides a way to mourn what we’ve lost – and also strive to save what remains.
Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.