short essay on facebook should be banned

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• Should Facebook Be Banned? Pros and Cons of the Debate

Facebook has become one of the most widely used social media networks in the world, with millions of users logging in every day to stay connected with friends and family, share their thoughts and opinions, or even just pass the time. But recently, there have been many debates about whether or not the platform should be banned due to privacy concerns, mental health issues, and government regulations related to its use. In this article, we will explore the arguments for and against banning Facebook, as well as discuss the role of government in regulating social media usage.

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What is Facebook?

Facebook is a social networking site that was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 with the mission statement “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected”. The platform allows users to create profiles, post pictures, videos, links, status updates, and more; it also enables people to message each other privately or join groups that are related to their interests or hobbies. Although it started as a fun way for college students to stay connected with each other online, it has since evolved into one of the largest online communities in existence with over 2 billion active users worldwide.

Pros and Cons of Facebook

There are Serviceh pros and cons when it comes to using Facebook as a communication tool or for entertainment purposes. On one hand, it can be a great way for people to stay connected with friends who live far away; it can also help businesses reach new customers through targeted advertisements or by creating pages dedicated solely to their products or services. On the other hand, however, there are some potential drawbacks such as privacy concerns due to how much personal information users must provide when signing up for an account (e.g., name/address/phone number) as well as potential security risks associated with sharing too much information publicly (i.e., photos/videos).

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Privacy concerns on facebook.

The issue of privacy has been a major concern surrounding Facebook since its inception; however recent events such as Cambridge Analytica have highlighted just how much data can be collected from user profiles without their knowledge or consent – something which could potentially lead to identity theft or financial fraud if not properly regulated by governments around the world. As such, many people have called for stricter laws when it comes to data protection so that companies like Facebook cannot abuse user data for their gain without any repercussions from authorities or legal action taken against them by consumers who feel wronged by their practices.

Impact of Social Media Addiction on Mental Health

Another argument often made against allowing people unrestricted access to platforms like Facebook is that they can become addicted – leading them down a path towards depression or anxiety due to constantly comparing themselves with others online (known as “social comparison”). This type of behavior can lead individuals into believing they need material items they don’t need (such as cars/clothes/jewelry) which can cause financial problems further down the line if not addressed early enough – especially if they are already struggling financially due to unemployment or low wages etcetera. Therefore some believe that banning certain platforms altogether may be necessary to protect vulnerable individuals from falling prey to these types of addictions which could ultimately endanger their mental health if left unchecked for too long periods.

The Role of Government in Regulating Social Media Usage

Governments should play an active role in protecting citizens from any potential harm caused by social media usage – whether this involves introducing tougher regulations on how companies collect user data (as mentioned previously), providing better education about cyberbullying prevention strategies etcetera – but at what point does regulation become censorship? This is something that needs careful consideration before any decisions are made regarding banning certain websites altogether because while some may argue that freedom of speech should be protected no matter what; there are also valid reasons why certain content may need restricting depending on its nature e.g., hate speech etcetera.

Arguments For and Against Banning Facebook

Those who support banning platforms like Facebook believe that doing so would reduce cyberbullying incidents significantly while also helping protect vulnerable individuals from becoming addicted; however, opponents argue that this would only serve as a temporary solution since there will always be other ways for people to communicate online if given enough motivation (e-mail/messaging apps, etc). Furthermore, research has shown that restricting access may increase feelings of loneliness amongst those who rely heavily upon these types of services, making them more likely to suffer from depression & anxiety – thus making complete bans ineffective & potentially damaging overall. Ultimately though it seems clear that any decision regarding banning websites should take into account Serviceh sides before being implemented – otherwise we risk creating an environment where freedom of expression becomes limited instead of encouraged.

In conclusion, although there are valid arguments Serviceh for and against banning websites like Facebook; ultimately any decision made should take into account all aspects before being implemented – including potential implications on freedom of expression & privacy concerns – so that everyone involved can benefit from such measures rather than suffer unnecessarily due its implementation. Furthermore, governments should also play an active role in regulating social media usage so that citizens remain safe while still having access to enjoy all its benefits without fear of repercussions from authorities. Finally, we invite you to check out our social media marketing services here at Adfluencer – A German social media & influencer marketing agency based in Nürnberg – where we offer comprehensive solutions tailored specifically towards your individual needs & goals.

Is Facebook Gonna Be Banned?

Many countries have temporarily banned or restricted access to Facebook. Use of the Website is also restricted in various ways in other countries. The only countries that continue to block access to the social networking site as of July 2022 are China Iran North Korea Uganda and Russia.

Should social media be banned or not?

In conclusion, social media should not be banned as it plays a vital role in our daily life by enhancing social interactions and facilitating business practices. It shapes how we connect to access and share information among our colleagues.

What is banned on Facebook?

There are many reasons why someone ends up in Facebook jail. Nudity or provocative posts. Facebook has an automatic policy to block users who share harmful content. Hate speech and personal attacks. Facebook prohibits any user or group from posting threats against any person on any page or group.

Should Facebook Whatsapp and Twitter be banned permanently?

Despite some benefits, these social networking services often violate customer privacy freedom of speech, and manipulation of collected information and should be banned forever.

What would happen if Facebook shut down?

If Facebook ceased to exist you would lose messages photos friends work connections and many other things. Like a dead hard drive if Facebook shuts down you will be disconnected from most of your digital life.

Facebook will end live streaming capabilities for its e-commerce brands on October 1 2022 two years after the introduction of live shopping. Why Facebook’s parent company Meta is focusing its resources on short-form video.

Facebook Should Be Banned

Social Network: an online community of people with a common interest who use a Web site or other technologies to communicate with each other and share information, resources(dictionary. com). There are almost 500 million users of social networks and spent over 700 billion minutes a month using them. Is this hindering our social skills? There are many ways that people interact with each other such as e-mail, texting, a social network but the least used interaction is face to face.

A negative impact that social networks have on our relationships is that social networks might strengthen our relationship with acquaintances and people we don’t see often; social networks weaken our strong relationships and also bring about physical social isolation. The term “social network” leads you to believe that you are in fact being social when these sites are used more for a phone book or search engine.

Instead of calling your friend and asking what they have planned for the night or weekend, you can just look at their posts to find out. This contact is very impersonal and allows the least amount of interaction between two parties Social Networks allow you to overestimate the level of intimacy you have with someone. Social networks allow you to think that a person is more committed to a relationship or friendship more than they actually are. You need to be sure you are putting in a balanced time of online and offline relationships.

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According to a study by John Cacioppo (researcher at the University of Chicago), those who use social networks are more susceptible to the emotional contagion effects. An emotional contagion is the tendency to catch and feel emotions that are similar to and influenced by those of others. In his studies, it was found that loneliness alone was transmitted through social networks. Also, his study showed that 52% of those who have direct social network interactions with a lonely person they too will become lonely.

Those who have a “friend of a friend” connection with said person will be 25% more lonely. You’ve probably also seen that sometimes normal courtesy and politeness—aspects we would utilize in our face-to-face interactions are sometimes missing in the online space, that we would use in face to face interactions. Many of these social networks have a chat feature. Because of this many people don’t pick up on humor, sarcasm, and sympathy. Along with this, if you were in a face to face interaction you have the added facial expressions and body language.

Along with this chat feature people don’t have to talk directly so it is easy to hide behind the internet because you won’t have to directly address the problem. Because of social networking many people lose their ability to hold a conversation. Many people who use social networks lose the ability to spell correctly because they use shorthand such as U, tomoro, k and many others. Social Networks are very harmful, but if you balance out your online and offline relationships and don’t let social networks become your ‘hangout’, it shouldn’t be a problem.

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Outline for Climate Change Essay: Writing an Essay

Table of Contents

Changes in weather patterns and conditions are a result of climate change.

A number of factors are causing the climate to change quickly right now. It goes without saying that the temperature of the entire planet is rising. Do you consider it to be a severe issue? Yes, melting glaciers are causing sea levels to rise, as you may have heard.

Hazardous elements like pollution, coal burning, the release of industrial waste into the atmosphere, etc., have caused a significant change in the climate. Everything above will have an impact on the environment and its resources.

You need to raise public awareness of the problem of climate change in addition to taking strict environmental protection and preservation measures. What’s the best way to raise awareness about the issue?

Well, write an essay on the issue! But how are you going to write an essay on climate change without a structure or an outline? That’s what we’re going to show you today! Keep reading to find out more about the outline for climate change essay!

What’s Climate Change?

To begin with, if someone needs to write an essay about climate change, they should have an idea of what they will write about. A significant issue facing the entire world, climate change frequently forces millions of people to relocate and causes devastating natural disasters. Global warming is commonly linked to climate change. But this phenomenon has a lot more facets than just this one.

A whole region or settlement may become utterly intolerable to live in as a result of climate change. However, it might also have a detrimental impact on natural processes, which would have an unintended ripple effect throughout the entire planet.

Weather patterns as a whole are changing due to climate change. We can infer that changes to the typical climatic conditions are caused by climate change. As a result of these changes, there will be more severe storms, heat waves, floods, melting glaciers, etc. 

The livelihood of people and other living things is being impacted by the numerous climate changes that our planet is undergoing. Among the features of climate change is global warming. These elements cause the atmosphere to release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Examine the causes of climate change listed below. 

All forms of life on Earth will be affected if the current climate change situation persists in the same way. Sea levels will rise, and the Earth’s temperature will increase. The monsoon patterns will change, and there will be more frequent storms, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters.

There will be disruptions to the Earth’s biological and ecological balance. As a result of environmental pollution, people won’t be able to breathe clean air or drink clean water. The end of earthly life is imminent.

Outline for Climate Change Essay

Here’s an example of an outline for climate change essay that you can use in your own. This outline covers the introduction, the main body paragraphs, and finally, the conclusion. We will also give some examples of topics that you can cover in your climate change (or global warming) essay.

Introduction

Here, you can give why climate change came to be and how the industrial revolution caused it to accelerate. You can mention why we called this phenomenon global warming at first and why we now refer to it as climate change. Remember, in the introduction part of your climate change essay. You have to include a thesis statement. 

A thesis statement is a phrase that summarizes the subject and aim of your essay. A strong thesis statement will guide the format of your essay and help your audience comprehend the concepts you’ll be addressing in it.

Your paper’s introduction should contain your thesis statement somewhere, usually in the final phrase. Typically, a thesis will be one sentence long. But if your topic is complex, you might find that splitting the thesis statement into two sentences works better.

Main Body Paragraphs

This is the meat of your essay on climate change. There are a couple of topics that you can mention here to keep the essay going. We’ll look at a couple of interesting subjects or themes right now.

What Causes Climate Change?

• Construction of industries during the Industrial Revolution
• Human activities involving the use of fossil fuels are of concern.
• Greenhouse gas usage
• Increasing deforestation
• Gas emissions and chemical leaks
• Platonic movement
• Ozone layer degradation
• Inefficient transportation humans with car infrastructure
• Energy generation using fossil fuels in the 21st century
• Lack of government intervention in those who cause climate change
• Human activities that affect the environment in a negative turn
• The need to extract Earth’s resources
• The problem of human over consumption
• The constant need for new energy sources every year
• The decimation of plant life for human overpopulation on Earth
• Humans damaging the environment and the animal and plant life across the Earth
• The increased amount of pollutants that affect the atmosphere

What Are The Effects of Climate Change and Global Warming?

• Elevated global temperature
• Major catastrophes across different countries on Earth
• Melting Ice Caps
• Sea levels are rising.
• Polluted oceans
• The hottest years we have witnessed thanks to global warming
• Continuous cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes, etc.
• Heatwaves caused by global warming
• Substantial rains
• The process of decomposition and higher temperatures
• Seasonal growth
• Reduced Earth Fertility
• Water supplies reducing on a global scale, affecting all life in the world
• Cities around the world are underwater due to climate change and global warming.
• Extreme weather events due to increased carbon dioxide

How Can We Tackle Climate Change and Global Warming?

• Cutting back on fossil fuels
• Expanding the number of forests and trees
• Utilizing renewable energy sources
• The introduction of carbon-free technology
• Environmentally friendly transportation
• Utilizing more renewable sources that exist in nature, such as solar and geothermal power.

Concluding Remarks

We hope our guide on writing an essay on climate change and the environment had positive effects on your writing process. If you are still unsure about how to continue your climate change essay, there’s another solution you should know.

You can use an  essay outline tool  like the one we have at INK. This helps to create the structure of your climate change essay for you! This way, you can devote more time to researching instead of thinking about the structure.

Best of luck to you in writing essay of the effects of climate change on the environment. We hope our post was able to help you increase awareness on how human activity affects the Earth!

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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• Published: 04 January 2021

Climate change and health in North America: literature review protocol

• Sherilee L. Harper   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7298-8765 1 ,
• Ashlee Cunsolo 2 ,
• Amreen Babujee 1 ,
• Shaugn Coggins 1 ,
• Mauricio Domínguez Aguilar 3 &
• Carlee J. Wright 1  

Systematic Reviews volume  10 , Article number:  3 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Climate change is a defining issue and grand challenge for the health sector in North America. Synthesizing evidence on climate change impacts, climate-health adaptation, and climate-health mitigation is crucial for health practitioners and decision-makers to effectively understand, prepare for, and respond to climate change impacts on human health. This protocol paper outlines our process to systematically conduct a literature review to investigate the climate-health evidence base in North America.

A search string will be used to search CINAHL®, Web of Science™, Scopus®, Embase® via Ovid, and MEDLINE® via Ovid aggregator databases. Articles will be screened using inclusion/exclusion criteria by two independent reviewers. First, the inclusion/exclusion criteria will be applied to article titles and abstracts, and then to the full articles. Included articles will be analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods.

This protocol describes review methods that will be used to systematically and transparently create a database of articles published in academic journals that examine climate-health in North America.

Peer Review reports

The direct and indirect impacts of climate change on human health continue to be observed globally, and these wide-ranging impacts are projected to continue to increase and intensify this century [ 1 , 2 ]. The direct climate change effects on health include rising temperatures, which increase heat-related mortality and morbidity [ 3 , 4 , 5 ], and increased frequency and intensity of storms, resulting in increased injury, death, and psychological stressors [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Indirect climate change impacts on health occur via altered environmental conditions, such as climate change impacts on water quality and quantity, which increase waterborne disease [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]; shifting ecosystems, which increase the risk of foodborne disease [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], exacerbate food and nutritional security [ 17 , 18 ], and change the range and distribution of vectors that cause vectorborne disease [ 19 , 20 ]; and place-based connections and identities, leading to psycho-social stressors and potential increases in negative mental health outcomes and suicide [ 6 , 8 ]. These wide-ranging impacts are not uniformly or equitably distributed: children, the elderly, those with pre-existing health conditions, those experiencing lower socio-economic conditions, women, and those with close connections to and reliance upon the local environment (e.g. Indigenous Peoples, farmers, fishers) often experience higher burdens of climate-health impacts [ 1 , 2 , 21 ]. Indeed, climate change impacts on human health not only are dependent on exposure to climatic and environmental changes, but also depend on climate change sensitivity and adaptive capacity—both of which are underpinned by the social determinants of health [ 1 , 22 , 23 ].

The inherent complexity, great magnitude, and widespread, inequitable, and intersectional distribution of climate change impacts on health present an urgent and grand challenge for the health sector this century [ 2 , 24 , 25 ]. Climate-health research and evidence is critical for informing effective, equitable, and timely adaptation responses and strategies. For instance, research continues to inform local to international climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments [ 26 ]. However, to create evidence-based climate-health adaptation strategies, health practitioners, researchers, and policy makers must sift and sort through vast and often unmanageable amounts of information. Indeed, the global climate-health evidence base has seen exponential growth in recent years, with tens of thousands of articles published globally this century [ 22 , 25 , 27 , 28 ]. Even when resources are available to parse through the evidence base, the available research evidence may not be locally pertinent to decision-makers, may provide poor quality of evidence, may exclude factors important to decision-makers, may overlook temporal and geographical scales over which decision-makers have impact, and/or may not produce information in a timely manner [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].

Literature reviews that utilize systematic methods present a tool to efficiently and effectively integrate climate-health information and provide data to support evidence-based decision-making. Furthermore, literature reviews that use systematic methods are replicable and transparent, reduce bias, and are ultimately intended to improve reliability and accuracy of conclusions. As such, systematic approaches to identify, explore, evaluate, and synthesize literature separates insignificant, less rigorous, or redundant literature from the critical and noteworthy studies that are worthy of exploration and consideration [ 38 ]. As such, a systematic approach to synthesizing the climate-health literature provides invaluable information and adds value to the climate-health evidence base from which decision-makers can draw from. Therefore, we aim to systematically and transparently create a database of articles published in academic journals that examine climate-health in North America. As such, we outline our protocol that will be used to systematically identify and characterize literature at the climate-health nexus in North America.

This protocol was designed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Guidelines [ 39 , 40 ] and presented in accordance with the PRISMA-P checklist.

Research questions

Research on climate change and human health encompasses a diverse range of health outcomes, climate change exposures, populations, and study designs. Given the breadth and depth of information needed by health practitioners and decision-makers, a variety of research questions will be examined (Table 1 ).

Search strategy

The search strategy, including the search string development and selection of databases, was developed in consultation with a research librarian and members of the research team (SLH, AC, and MDA). The search string contains terms related to climate change [ 41 , 42 ], human health outcomes [ 1 , 25 , 43 , 44 ], and study location (Table 2 ). Given the interdisciplinary nature of the climate-health nexus and to ensure that our search is comprehensive, the search string will be used to search five academic databases:

CINAHL® will be searched to capture unique literature not found in other databases on common disease and injury conditions, as well as other health topics;

Web of Science™ will be searched to capture a wide range of multi-disciplinary literature;

Scopus® will be searched to capture literature related to medicine, technology, science, and social sciences;

Embase® via Ovid will be searched to capture a vast range of biomedical sciences journals; and

MEDLINE® via Ovid will be searched to capture literature on biomedical and health sciences.

No language restrictions will be placed on the search. Date restrictions will be applied to capture literature published on or after 01 January 2013, in order to capture literature published after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (which assessed literature accepted for publication prior to 31 August 2013). An initial test search was conducted on June 10, 2019, and updated on February 14, 2020; however, the search will be updated to include literature published within the most recent full calendar year prior to publication.

To explore the sensitivity of our search and capture any missed articles, (1) a snowball search will be conducted on the reference lists of all the literature that meet the inclusion criteria and (2) a hand search of three relevant disciplinary journals will be conducted:

Environmental Health Perspectives , an open access peer-reviewed journal that is a leading disciplinary journal within environmental health sciences;

The Lancet , a peer-reviewed journal that is the leading disciplinary journal within public health sciences; and

Climatic Change , a peer-reviewed journal covering cross-disciplinary literature that is a leading disciplinary journal for climate change research.

Citations will be downloaded from the databases and uploaded into Mendeley™ reference management software to facilitate reference management, article retrieval, and removal of duplicate citations. Then, de-duplicated citations will be uploaded into DistillerSR® to facilitate screening.

Article selection

Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

To be included, articles must evaluate or examine the intersection of climate change and human health in North America (Fig. 1 ). Health is defined to include physical, mental, emotional, and social health and wellness [ 1 , 25 , 43 , 44 ] (Fig. 1 ). This broad definition will be used to examine the nuanced and complex direct and indirect impacts of climate change on human health. To examine the depth and breadth of climate change impacts on health, climate change contexts are defined to include seasonality, weather parameters, extreme weather events, climate, climate change, climate variability, and climate hazards [ 41 , 42 ] (Fig. 1 ). However, articles that discuss climate in terms of indoor work environments, non-climate hazards due to geologic events (e.g. earthquakes), and non-anthropogenic climate change (e.g. due to volcanic eruptions) will be excluded. This broad definition of climate change contexts will be used in order to examine the wide range and complexity of climate change impacts on human health. To be included, articles need to explicitly link health outcomes to climate change in the goal statement, methods section, and/or results section of the article. Therefore, articles that discuss both human health and climate change—but do not link the two together—will be excluded. The climate-health research has to take place in North America to be included. North America is defined to include Canada, the USA, and Mexico in order to be consistent with the IPCC geographical classifications; that is, in the Fifth Assessment Report, the IPCC began confining North America to include Canada, Mexico, and the USA [ 45 ] (Fig. 1 ). Articles published in any language will be eligible for inclusion. Articles need to be published online on or after 01 January 2013 to be included. No restrictions will be placed on population type (i.e. all human studies will be eligible for inclusion).

Inclusion and exclusion criteria to review climate change and health literature in North America

Level 1 screening

The title and abstract of each citation will be examined for relevance. A stacked questionnaire will be used to screen the titles and abstracts; that is, when a criterion is not met, the subsequent criteria will not be assessed. When all inclusion criteria are met and/or it is unclear whether or not an inclusion criterion is met (e.g. “unsure”), the article will proceed to Level 2 screening. If the article meets any exclusion criteria, it will not proceed to Level 2 screening. Level 1 screening will be completed by two independent reviewers, who will meet to resolve any conflicts via discussion. The level of agreement between reviewers will be evaluated by dividing the total number of conflicts by the total number of articles screened for Level 1.

Level 2 screening

The full text of all potentially relevant articles will be screened for relevance. A stacked questionnaire will also be used to screen the full texts. In Level 2 screening, only articles that meet all the inclusion criteria will be included in the review (i.e. “unsure” will not be an option). Level 2 screening will be completed by two independent reviewers, who will meet to resolve any conflicts via discussion. The level of agreement between reviewers will be evaluated by dividing the total number of conflicts by the total number of articles screened for Level 2 (Fig. 2 ).

Flow chart of screening questions for the literature review on climate change and health in North America

Data extraction and analysis

A data extraction form will be created in DistillerSR® ( Appendix 2 ) and will be tested by three data extractors on a sample of articles to allow for calibration on the extraction process (i.e. 5% of articles if greater than 50 articles, 10% of articles if less than or equal to 50 articles). After completing the calibration process, the form will be adapted based on feedback from the extractors to improve usability and accuracy. The data extractors will then use the data extraction form to complete data extraction. Reviewers will meet regularly to discuss and resolve any further issues in data extraction, in order to ensure the data extraction process remains consistent across reviewers.

Data will be extracted from original research papers (i.e. articles containing data collection and analysis) and review articles that reported a systematic methodology. This data extraction will focus on study characteristics, including the country that the data were collected in, focus of the study (i.e. climate change impact, adaptation, and/or mitigation), weather variables, climatic hazards, health outcomes, social characteristics, and future projections. The categories within each study characteristic will not be mutually exclusive, allowing more than one response/category to be selected under each study characteristic. For the country of study, Canada, the USA, and/or Mexico will be selected if the article describes data collection in each country respectively. Non-North American regions will be selected if the article not only collects data external to North America, but also includes data collection within Canada, the USA, and/or Mexico. For the study focus, data will be extracted on whether the article focuses on climate change impacts, adaptation, and/or mitigation within the goals, methods, and/or results sections of the article. Temperature, precipitation, and/or UV radiation will be selected for weather variables if the article utilizes these data in the goal, methods, and/or results sections. Data will be extracted on the following climatic hazards if the article addresses them in the goal, methods, and/or results sections: heat events (e.g. extreme heat, heat waves), cold events (e.g. extreme cold, winter storms), air quality (e.g. pollution, parts per million (PPM) data, greenhouse gas emissions), droughts, flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, wildlife changes (including changes in disease vectors such as ticks or mosquitos), vegetation changes (including changes in pollen), freshwater (including drinking water), ocean conditions (including sea level rise and ocean acidity/salinity/temperature changes), ice extent/stability/duration (including sea ice and freshwater ice), coastal erosion, permafrost changes, and/or environmental hazards (e.g. exposure to sewage, reduced crop productivity).

Data will be extracted on the following health outcomes if the article focuses on them within the goal, methods, and/or results sections: heat-related morbidity and/or mortality, respiratory outcomes (including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), cardiovascular outcomes (including heart attacks or stroke), urinary outcomes (e.g. urinary tract infections, renal failure), dermatologic concerns, mental health and wellness (e.g. suicide, emotional health), fetal health/birth outcomes and/or maternal health, cold exposure, allergies, nutrition (including nutrient deficiency), waterborne disease, foodborne disease, vectorborne disease, injuries (including accidents), and general morbidity and/or mortality. Data on the following social characteristics will also be extracted from the articles if they are included in the goal, methods, and/or results sections of the article: access to healthcare, sex and/or gender, age, income, livelihood (including data on employment, occupation), ethnicity, culture, Indigenous Peoples, rural/remote communities (“rural”, “remote”, or similar terminology must be explicitly mentioned), urban communities (“urban”, “city”, “metropolitan”, or similar terminology must be explicitly used), coastal communities (use of “coastal”, or similar terms must be explicitly mentioned), residence location (zipcode/postal code, neighbourhood, etc.), level of education, and housing (e.g. data on size, age, number of windows, air conditioning). Finally, data will be collected on future projections, including projections that employ qualitative and/or quantitative methods that are included in the goal, methods, and/or results sections of the article.

Descriptive statistics and regression modelling will be used to examine publication trends. Data will be visualized through the use of maps, graphs, and other visualization techniques as appropriate. To enable replicability and transparency, a PRISMA flowchart will be created to illustrate the article selection process and reasons for exclusion. Additionally, qualitative thematic analyses will be conducted. These analyses will utilize constant-comparative approaches to identify patterns across articles through the identification, development, and refinement of codes and themes. Article excerpts will be grouped under thematic categories in order to explore connections in article characteristics, methodologies, and findings.

Quality appraisal of studies included in the systematic scoping review will be performed using a framework based on the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) [ 46 ] and the Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research (CERQual) tool [ 47 ]. This will enable appraisal of evidence in reviews that contain qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies, as well as appraisal of methodological limitations in included qualitative studies. These tools may be adapted to include additional questions as required in order to fit the scope and objectives of the review. A minimum of two reviewers will independently appraise the included articles and discuss judgements as needed. The findings will be made available as supplementary material for the review.

Climate-health literature reviews using systematic methods will be increasingly critical in the health sector, given the depth and breadth of the growing body of climate change and health literature, as well as the urgent need for evidence to inform climate-health adaptation and mitigation strategies. To support and encourage the systematic and transparent identification and synthesis of climate-health information, this protocol describes our approach to systematically and transparently create a database of articles published in academic journals that examine climate-health in North America.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool

Parts per million

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analyses

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analyses, Protocol Extension

• United States of America

Ultraviolet

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Maria Tan at the University of Alberta Library for the advice, expertise and guidance provided in developing the search strategy for this protocol. Special thanks to those who assisted with methodology refinement, including Etienne de Jongh, Katharine Neale, and Tianna Rusnak.

Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (to SLH and AC). The funding body had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.

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SLH, AC, and MDA contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, writing, and editing of the manuscript. AB contributed to the methodology, writing, and editing of the manuscript. SC contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript. CJW contributed to visualization, writing, and editing of the manuscript. The authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Additional file 1..

Search strategy for CINAHL®, Web of Science™, Scopus®, Embase® via Ovid, and MEDLINE® via Ovid.

Data extraction form

• *Categories were not mutually exclusive; that is, more than one category could be selected

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Harper, S.L., Cunsolo, A., Babujee, A. et al. Climate change and health in North America: literature review protocol. Syst Rev 10 , 3 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01543-y

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• Volume 11, Issue 6
• Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews
• Article Text
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• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4548-2229 Rhea J Rocque 1 ,
• Caroline Beaudoin 2 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4716-6505 Ruth Ndjaboue 2 , 3 ,
• Laura Cameron 1 ,
• Louann Poirier-Bergeron 2 ,
• Rose-Alice Poulin-Rheault 2 ,
• Catherine Fallon 2 , 4 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4114-8971 Andrea C Tricco 5 , 6 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4192-0682 Holly O Witteman 2 , 3
• 1 Prairie Climate Centre , The University of Winnipeg , Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada
• 2 Faculty of Medicine , Université Laval , Quebec , QC , Canada
• 3 VITAM Research Centre for Sustainable Health , Quebec , QC , Canada
• 4 CHUQ Research Centre , Quebec , QC , Canada
• 5 Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute , Toronto , Ontario , Canada
• 6 Dalla Lana School of Public Health , University of Toronto , Toronto , Ontario , Canada
• Correspondence to Dr Rhea J Rocque; rhea.rocque{at}gmail.com

Objectives We aimed to develop a systematic synthesis of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change, by synthesising studies’ characteristics, climate impacts, health outcomes and key findings.

Design We conducted an overview of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change. We registered our review in PROSPERO (CRD42019145972). No ethical approval was required since we used secondary data. Additional data are not available.

Data sources On 22 June 2019, we searched Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science.

Eligibility criteria We included systematic reviews that explored at least one health impact of climate change.

Data extraction and synthesis We organised systematic reviews according to their key characteristics, including geographical regions, year of publication and authors’ affiliations. We mapped the climate effects and health outcomes being studied and synthesised major findings. We used a modified version of A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) to assess the quality of studies.

Results We included 94 systematic reviews. Most were published after 2015 and approximately one-fifth contained meta-analyses. Reviews synthesised evidence about five categories of climate impacts; the two most common were meteorological and extreme weather events. Reviews covered 10 health outcome categories; the 3 most common were (1) infectious diseases, (2) mortality and (3) respiratory, cardiovascular or neurological outcomes. Most reviews suggested a deleterious impact of climate change on multiple adverse health outcomes, although the majority also called for more research.

Conclusions Most systematic reviews suggest that climate change is associated with worse human health. This study provides a comprehensive higher order summary of research on health impacts of climate change. Study limitations include possible missed relevant reviews, no meta-meta-analyses, and no assessment of overlap. Future research could explore the potential explanations between these associations to propose adaptation and mitigation strategies and could include broader sociopsychological health impacts of climate change.

• public health
• social medicine

Data availability statement

Data sharing not applicable as no datasets generated and/or analysed for this study. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. Additional data are not available.

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ .

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046333

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Strengths and limitations of this study

A strength of this study is that it provides the first broad overview of previous systematic reviews exploring the health impacts of climate change. By targeting systematic reviews, we achieve a higher order summary of findings than what would have been possible by consulting individual original studies.

By synthesising findings across all included studies and according to the combination of climate impact and health outcome, we offer a clear, detailed and unique summary of the current state of evidence and knowledge gaps about how climate change may influence human health.

A limitation of this study is that we were unable to access some full texts and therefore some studies were excluded, even though we deemed them potentially relevant after title and abstract inspection.

Another limitation is that we could not conduct meta-meta-analyses of findings across reviews, due to the heterogeneity of the included systematic reviews and the relatively small proportion of studies reporting meta-analytic findings.

Finally, the date of the systematic search is a limitation, as we conducted the search in June 2019.

The environmental consequences of climate change such as sea-level rise, increasing temperatures, more extreme weather events, increased droughts, flooding and wildfires are impacting human health and lives. 1 2 Previous studies and reviews have documented the multiple health impacts of climate change, including an increase in infectious diseases, respiratory disorders, heat-related morbidity and mortality, undernutrition due to food insecurity, and adverse health outcomes ensuing from increased sociopolitical tension and conflicts. 2–5 Indeed, the most recent Lancet Countdown report, 2 which investigates 43 indicators of the relationship between climate change and human health, arrived at their most worrisome findings since the beginning of their on-going annual work. This report underlines that the health impacts of climate change continue to worsen and are being felt on every continent, although they are having a disproportionate and unequal impact on populations. 2 Authors caution that these health impacts will continue to worsen unless we see an immediate international response to limiting climate change.

To guide future research and action to mitigate and adapt to the health impacts of climate change and its environmental consequences, we need a complete and thorough overview of the research already conducted regarding the health impacts of climate change. Although the number of original studies researching the health impacts of climate change has greatly increased in the recent decade, 2 these do not allow for an in-depth overview of the current literature on the topic. Systematic reviews, on the other hand, allow a higher order overview of the literature. Although previous systematic reviews have been conducted on the health impacts of climate change, these tend to focus on specific climate effects (eg, impact of wildfires on health), 6 7 health impacts (eg, occupational health outcomes), 8 9 countries, 10–12 or are no longer up to date, 13 14 thus limiting our global understanding of what is currently known about the multiple health impacts of climate change across the world.

In this study, we aimed to develop such a complete overview by synthesising systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change. This higher order overview of the literature will allow us to better prepare for the worsening health impacts of climate change, by identifying and describing the diversity and range of health impacts studied, as well as by identifying gaps in previous research. Our research objectives were to synthesise studies’ characteristics such as geographical regions, years of publication, and authors’ affiliations, to map the climate impacts, health outcomes, and combinations of these that have been studied, and to synthesise key findings.

We applied the Cochrane method for overviews of reviews. 15 This method is designed to systematically map the themes of studies on a topic and synthesise findings to achieve a broader overview of the available literature on the topic.

Our research questions were the following: (1) What is known about the relationship between climate change and health, as shown in previous systematic reviews? (2) What are the characteristics of these studies? We registered our plan (CRD42019145972 16 ) in PROSPERO, an international prospective register of systematic reviews and followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 17 to report our findings, as a reporting guideline for overviews is still in development. 18

Search strategy and selection criteria

To identify relevant studies, we used a systematic search strategy. There were two inclusion criteria. We included studies in this review if they (1) were systematic reviews of original research and (2) reported at least one health impact as it related (directly or indirectly) to climate change.

We defined a systematic review, based on Cochrane’s definition, as a review of the literature in which one ‘attempts to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question [by] us[ing] explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view aimed at minimizing bias, to produce more reliable findings to inform decision making’. 19 We included systematic reviews of original research, with or without meta-analyses. We excluded narrative reviews, non-systematic literature reviews and systematic reviews of materials that were not original research (eg, systematic reviews of guidelines.)

We based our definition of health impacts on the WHO’s definition of health as, ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. 20 Therefore, health impacts included, among others, morbidity, mortality, new conditions, worsening/improving conditions, injuries and psychological well-being. Included studies could refer to climate change or global warming directly or indirectly, for instance, by synthesising the direct or indirect health effects of temperature rises or of natural conditions/disasters made more likely by climate change (eg, floods, wildfires, temperature variability, droughts.) Although climate change and global warming are not equivalent terms, in an effort to avoid missing relevant literature, we included studies using either term. We included systematic reviews whose main focus was not the health impacts of climate change, providing they reported at least one result regarding health effects related to climate change (or consequences of climate change.) We excluded studies if they did not report at least one health effect of climate change. For instance, we excluded studies which reported on existing measures of health impacts of climate change (and not the health impact itself) and studies which reported on certain health impacts without a mention of climate change, global warming or environmental consequences made more likely by climate change.

On 22 June 2019, we retrieved systematic reviews regarding the health effects of climate change by searching from inception the electronic databases Medline, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science using a structured search (see online supplemental appendix 1 for final search strategy developed by a librarian.) We did not apply language restrictions. After removing duplicates, we imported references into Covidence. 21

Supplemental material

Screening process and data extraction.

To select studies, two trained analysts first screened independently titles and abstracts to eliminate articles that did not meet our inclusion criteria. Next, the two analysts independently screened the full text of each article. A senior analyst resolved any conflict or disagreement.

Next, we decided on key information that needed to be extracted from studies. We extracted the first author’s name, year of publication, number of studies included, time frame (in years) of the studies included in the article, first author’s institution’s country affiliation, whether the systematic review included a meta-analysis, geographical focus, population focus, the climate impact(s) and the health outcome(s) as well as the main findings and limitations of each systematic review.

Two or more trained analysts (RR, CB, RN, LC, LPB, RAPR) independently extracted data, using Covidence and spreadsheet software (Google Sheets). An additional trained analyst from the group or senior research team member resolved disagreements between individual judgments.

Coding and data mapping

To summarise findings from previous reviews, we first mapped articles according to climate impacts and health outcomes. To develop the categories of climate impacts and health outcomes, two researchers (RR and LC) consulted the titles and abstracts of each article. We started by identifying categories directly based on our data and finalised our categories by consulting previous conceptual frameworks of climate impacts and health outcomes. 1 22 23 The same two researchers independently coded each article according to their climate impact and health outcome. We then compared coding and resolved disagreements through discussion.

Next, using spreadsheet software, we created a matrix to map articles according to their combination of climate impacts and health outcomes. Each health outcome occupied one row, whereas climate impacts each occupied one column. We placed each article in the matrix according to the combination(s) of their climate impact(s) and health outcome(s). For instance, if we coded an article as ‘extreme weather’ for climate and ‘mental health’ for health impact, we noted the reference of this article in the cell at the intersection of these two codes. We calculated frequencies for each cell to identify frequent combinations and gaps in literature. Because one study could investigate more than one climate impact and health outcome, the frequency counts for each category could exceed the number of studies included in this review.

Finally, we re-read the Results and Discussion sections of each article to summarise findings of the studies. We first wrote an individual summary for each study, then we collated the summaries of all studies exploring the same combination of categories to develop an overall summary of findings for each combination of categories.

Quality assessment

We used a modified version of AMSTAR-2 to assess the quality of the included systematic reviews ( online supplemental appendix 2 ). The purpose of this assessment was to evaluate the quality of the included studies as a whole to get a sense of the overall quality of evidence in this field. Therefore, individual quality scores were not compiled for each article, but scores were aggregated according to items. Since AMSTAR-2 was developed for syntheses of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials, working with a team member with expertise in knowledge synthesis (AT), we adapted it to suit a research context that is not amenable to randomised controlled trials. For instance, we changed assessing and accounting for risk of bias in studies’ included randomised controlled trials to assessing and accounting for limitations in studies’ included articles. Complete modifications are presented in online supplemental appendix 2 .

Patient and public involvement

Patients and members of the public were not involved in this study.

Articles identified

As shown in the PRISMA diagram in figure 1 , from an initial set of 2619 references, we retained 94 for inclusion. More precisely, following screening of titles and abstracts, 146 studies remained for full-text inspection. During full-text inspection, we excluded 52 studies, as they did not report a direct health effect of climate change (n=17), did not relate to climate change (n=15), were not systematic reviews (n=10), or we could not retrieve the full text (n=10).

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The flow chart for included articles in this review.

Study descriptions

A detailed table of all articles and their characteristics can be found in online supplemental appendix 3 . Publication years ranged from 2007 to 2019 (year of data extraction), with the great majority of included articles (n=69; 73%) published since 2015 ( figure 2 ). A median of 30 studies had been included in the systematic reviews (mean=60; SD=49; range 7–722). Approximately one-fifth of the systematic reviews included meta-analyses of their included studies (n=18; 19%). The majority of included systematic reviews’ first authors had affiliations in high-income countries, with the largest representations by continent in Europe (n=30) and Australia (n=24) ( figure 3 ). Countries of origin by continents include (from highest to lowest frequency, then by alphabetical order): Europe (30); UK (9), Germany (6), Italy (4), Sweden (4), Denmark (2), France (2), Georgia (1), Greece (1) and Finland (1); Australia (24); Asia (21); China (11), Iran (4), India (1), Jordan (1), Korea (1), Nepal (1), Philippines (1), Taiwan (1); North America (16); USA (15), Canada (1); Africa (2); Ethiopia (1), Ghana (1), and South America (1); Brazil (1).

Number of included systematic reviews by year of publication.

Number of publications according to geographical affiliation of the first author.

Regarding the geographical focus of systematic reviews, most of the included studies (n=68; 72%) had a global focus or no specified geographical limitations and therefore included studies published anywhere in the world. The remaining systematic reviews either targeted certain countries (n=12) (1 for each Australia, Germany, Iran, India, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand and 2 reviews focused on China and the USA), continents (n=5) (3 focused on Europe and 2 on Asia), or regions according to geographical location (n=6) (1 focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 on Eastern Mediterranean countries, 1 on Tropical countries, and 3 focused on the Arctic), or according to the country’s level of income (n=3) (2 on low to middle income countries, 1 on high income countries).

Regarding specific populations of interest, most of the systematic reviews did not define a specific population of interest (n=69; 73%). For the studies that specified a population of interest (n=25; 26.6%), the most frequent populations were children (n=7) and workers (n=6), followed by vulnerable or susceptible populations more generally (n=4), the elderly (n=3), pregnant people (n=2), people with disabilities or chronic illnesses (n=2) and rural populations (n=1).

We assessed studies for quality according to our revised AMSTAR-2. Complete scores for each article and each item are available in online supplemental appendix 4 . Out of 94 systematic reviews, the most commonly fully satisfied criterion was #1 (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome (PICO) components) with 81/94 (86%) of included systematic reviews fully satisfying this criterion. The next most commonly satisfied criteria were #16 (potential sources of conflict of interest reported) (78/94=83% fully), #13 (account for limitations in individual studies) (70/94=75% fully and 2/94=2% partially), #7 (explain both inclusion and exclusion criteria) (64/94=68% fully and 19/94=20% partially), #8 (description of included studies in adequate detail) (36/94=38% fully and 41/94=44% partially), and #4 (use of a comprehensive literature search strategy) (0/94=0% fully and 80/94=85% partially). For criteria #11, #12, and #15, which only applied to reviews including meta-analyses, 17/18 (94%) fully satisfied criterion #11 (use of an appropriate methods for statistical combination of results), 12/18 (67%) fully satisfied criterion #12 (assessment of the potential impact of Risk of Bias (RoB) in individual studies) (1/18=6% partially), and 11/18 (61%) fully satisfied criterion #15 (an adequate investigation of publication bias, small study bias).

Climate impacts and health outcomes

Regarding climate impacts, we identified 5 mutually exclusive categories, with 13 publications targeting more than one category of climate impacts: (1) meteorological (n=71 papers) (eg, temperature, heat waves, humidity, precipitation, sunlight, wind, air pressure), (2) extreme weather (n=24) (eg, water-related, floods, cyclones, hurricanes, drought), (3) air quality (n=7) (eg, air pollution and wildfire smoke exposure), (4) general (n=5), and (5) other (n=3). Although heat waves could be considered an extreme weather event, papers investigating heat waves’ impact on health were classified in the meteorological impact category, since some of these studies treated them with high temperature. ‘General’ climate impacts included articles that did not specify climate change impacts but stated general climate change as their focus. ‘Other’ climate impacts included studies investigating other effects indirectly related to climate change (eg, impact of environmental contaminants) or general environmental risk factors (eg, environmental hazards, sanitation and access to clean water.)

We identified 10 categories to describe the health outcomes studied by the systematic reviews, and 29 publications targeted more than one category of health outcomes: (1) infectious diseases (n=41 papers) (vector borne, food borne and water borne), (2) mortality (n=32), (3) respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological (n=23), (4) healthcare systems (n=16), 5) mental health (n=13), (6) pregnancy and birth (n=11), 7) nutritional (n=9), (8) skin diseases and allergies (n=8), (9) occupational health and injuries (n=6) and (10) other health outcomes (n=17) (eg, sleep, arthritis, disability-adjusted life years, non-occupational injuries, etc)

Figure 4 depicts the combinations of climate impact and health outcome for each study, with online supplemental appendix 5 offering further details. The five most common combinations are studies investigating the (1) meteorological impacts on infectious diseases (n=35), (2) mortality (n=24) and (3) respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological outcomes (n=17), (4) extreme weather events’ impacts on infectious diseases (n=14), and (5) meteorological impacts on health systems (n=11).

Summary of the combination of climate impact and health outcome (frequencies). The total frequency for one category of health outcome could exceed the number of publications included in this health outcome, since one publication could explore the health impact according to more than one climate factor (eg, one publication could explore both the impact of extreme weather events and temperature on mental health).

For studies investigating meteorological impacts on health, the three most common health outcomes studied were impacts on (1) infectious diseases (n=35), (2) mortality (n=24) and (3) respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological outcomes (n=17). Extreme weather event studies most commonly reported health outcomes related to (1) infectious diseases (n=14), (2) mental health outcomes (n=9) and (3) nutritional outcomes (n=6) and other health outcomes (eg, injuries, sleep) (n=6). Studies focused on the impact of air quality were less frequent and explored mostly health outcomes linked to (1) respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological outcomes (n=6), (2) mortality (n=5) and (3) pregnancy and birth outcomes (n=3).

Summary of findings

Most reviews suggest a deleterious impact of climate change on multiple adverse health outcomes, with some associations being explored and/or supported with consistent findings more often than others. Some reviews also report conflicting findings or an absence of association between the climate impact and health outcome studied (see table 1 for a detailed summary of findings according to health outcomes).

• View inline

Summary of findings from systematic reviews according to health outcome and climate impact

Notable findings of health outcomes according to climate impact include the following. For meteorological factors (n=71), temperature and humidity are the variables most often studied and report the most consistent associations with infectious diseases and respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological outcomes. Temperature is also consistently associated with mortality and healthcare service use. Some associations are less frequently studied, but remain consistent, including the association between some meteorological factors (eg, temperature and heat) and some adverse mental health outcomes (eg, hospital admissions for mental health reasons, suicide, exacerbation of previous mental health conditions), and the association between heat and adverse occupational outcomes and some adverse birth outcomes. Temperature is also associated with adverse nutritional outcomes (likely via crop production and food insecurity) and temperature and humidity are associated with some skin diseases and allergies. Some health outcomes are less frequently studied, but studies suggest an association between temperature and diabetes, impaired sleep, cataracts, heat stress, heat exhaustion and renal diseases.

Extreme weather events (n=24) are consistently associated with mortality, some mental health outcomes (eg, distress, anxiety, depression) and adverse nutritional outcomes (likely via crop production and food insecurity). Some associations are explored less frequently, but these studies suggest an association between drought and respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes (likely via air quality), between extreme weather events and an increased use of healthcare services and some adverse birth outcomes (likely due to indirect causes, such as experiencing stress). Some health outcomes are less frequently studied, but studies suggest an association between extreme weather events and injuries, impaired sleep, oesophageal cancer and exacerbation of chronic illnesses. There are limited and conflicting findings for the association between extreme weather events and infectious diseases, as well as for certain mental health outcomes (eg, suicide and substance abuse). At times, different types of extreme weather events (eg, drought vs flood) led to conflicting findings for some health outcomes (eg, mental health outcomes, infectious diseases), but for other health outcomes, the association was consistent independently of the extreme weather event studied (eg, mortality, healthcare service use and nutritional outcomes).

The impact of air quality on health (n=7) was less frequently studied, but the few studies exploring this association report consistent findings regarding an association with respiratory-specific mortality, adverse respiratory outcomes and an increase in healthcare service use. There is limited evidence regarding the association between air quality and cardiovascular outcomes, limited and inconsistent evidence between wildfire smoke exposure and adverse birth outcomes, and no association is found between exposure to wildfire smoke and increase in use of health services for mental health reasons. Only one review explored the impact of wildfire smoke exposure on ophthalmic outcomes, and it suggests that it may be associated with eye irritation and cataracts.

Reviews which stated climate change as their general focus and did not specify the climate impact(s) under study were less frequent (n=5), but they suggest an association between climate change and pollen allergies in Europe, increased use of healthcare services, obesity, skin diseases and allergies and an association with disability-adjusted life years. Reviews investigating the impact of other climate-related factors (n=3) show inconsistent findings concerning the association between environmental pollutant and adverse birth outcomes, and two reviews suggest an association between environmental risk factors and pollutants and childhood stunting and occupational diseases.

Most reviews concluded by calling for more research, noting the limitations observed among the studies included in their reviews, as well as limitations in their reviews themselves. These limitations included, among others, some systematic reviews having a small number of publications, 24 25 language restrictions such as including only papers in English, 26 27 arriving at conflicting evidence, 28 difficulty concluding a strong association due to the heterogeneity in methods and measurements or the limited equipment and access to quality data in certain contexts, 24 29–31 and most studies included were conducted in high-income countries. 32 33

Previous authors also discussed the important challenge related to exploring the relationship between climate change and health. Not only is it difficult to explore the potential causal relationship between climate change and health, mostly due to methodological challenges, but there are also a wide variety of complex causal factors that may interact to determine health outcomes. Therefore, the possible causal mechanisms underlying these associations were at times still unknown or uncertain and the impacts of some climate factors were different according to geographical location and specificities of the context. Nonetheless, some reviews offered potential explanations for the climate-health association, with the climate factor at times, having a direct impact on health (eg, flooding causing injuries, heat causing dehydration) and in other cases, having an indirect impact (eg, flooding causing stress which in turn may cause adverse birth outcomes, heat causing difficulty concentrating leading to occupational injuries.)

Principal results

In this overview of systematic reviews, we aimed to develop a synthesis of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change by mapping the characteristics and findings of studies exploring the relationship between climate change and health. We identified four key findings.

First, meteorological impacts, mostly related to temperature and humidity, were the most common impacts studied by included publications, which aligns with findings from a previous scoping review on the health impacts of climate change in the Philippines. 10 Indeed, meteorological factors’ impact on all health outcomes identified in this review are explored, although some health outcomes are more rarely explored (eg, mental health and nutritional outcomes). Although this may not be surprising given that a key implication of climate change is the long-term meteorological impact of temperature rise, this finding suggests we also need to undertake research focused on other climate impacts on health, including potential direct and indirect effects of temperature rise, such as the impact of droughts and wildfire smoke. This will allow us to better prepare for the health crises that arise from these ever-increasing climate-related impacts. For instance, the impacts of extreme weather events and air quality on certain health outcomes are not explored (eg, skin diseases and allergies, occupational health) or only rarely explored (eg, pregnancy outcomes).

Second, systematic reviews primarily focus on physical health outcomes, such as infectious diseases, mortality, and respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological outcomes, which also aligns with the country-specific previous scoping review. 10 Regarding mortality, we support Campbell and colleagues’ 34 suggestion that we should expand our focus to include other types of health outcomes. This will provide better support for mitigation policies and allow us to adapt to the full range of threats of climate change.

Moreover, it is unclear whether the distribution of frequencies of health outcomes reflects the actual burden of health impacts of climate change. The most commonly studied health outcomes do not necessarily reflect the definition of health presented by the WHO as, ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. 20 This suggests that future studies should investigate in greater depth the impacts of climate change on mental and broader social well-being. Indeed, some reviews suggested that climate change impacts psychological and social well-being, via broader consequences, such as political instability, health system capacity, migration, and crime, 3 4 35 36 thus illustrating how our personal health is determined not only by biological and environmental factors but also by social and health systems. The importance of expanding our scope of health in this field is also recognised in the most recent Lancet report, which states that future reports will include a new mental health indicator. 2

Interestingly, the reviews that explored the mental health impacts of climate change were focused mostly on the direct and immediate impacts of experiencing extreme weather events. However, psychologists are also warning about the long-term indirect mental health impacts of climate change, which are becoming more prevalent for children and adults alike (eg, eco-anxiety, climate depression). 37 38 Even people who do not experience direct climate impacts, such as extreme weather events, report experiencing distressing emotions when thinking of the destruction of our environment or when worrying about one’s uncertain future and the lack of actions being taken. To foster emotional resilience in the face of climate change, these mental health impacts of climate change need to be further explored. Humanity’s ability to adapt to and mitigate climate change ultimately depends on our emotional capacity to face this threat.

Third, there is a notable geographical difference in the country affiliations of first authors, with three quarters of systematic reviews having been led by first authors affiliated to institutions in Europe, Australia, or North America, which aligns with the findings of the most recent Lancet report. 2 While perhaps unsurprising given the inequalities in research funding and institutions concentrated in Western countries, this is of critical importance given the significant health impacts that are currently faced (and will remain) in other parts of the world. Research funding organisations should seek to provide more resources to authors in low-income to middle-income countries to ensure their expertise and perspectives are better represented in the literature.

Fourth, overall, most reviews suggest an association between climate change and the deterioration of health in various ways, illustrating the interdependence of our health and well-being with the well-being of our environment. This interdependence may be direct (eg, heat’s impact on dehydration and exhaustion) or indirect (eg, via behaviour change due to heat.) The most frequently explored and consistently supported associations include an association between temperature and humidity with infectious diseases, mortality and adverse respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological outcomes. Other less frequently studied but consistent associations include associations between climate impacts and increased use of healthcare services, some adverse mental health outcomes, adverse nutritional outcomes and adverse occupational health outcomes. These associations support key findings of the most recent Lancet report, in which authors report, among others, increasing heat exposure being associated with increasing morbidities and mortality, climate change leading to food insecurity and undernutrition, and to an increase in infectious disease transmission. 2

That said, a number of reviews included in this study reported limited, conflicting and/or an absence of evidence regarding the association between the climate impact and health outcome. For instance, there was conflicting or limited evidence concerning the association between extreme weather events and infectious diseases, cardiorespiratory outcomes and some mental health outcomes and the association between air quality and cardiovascular-specific mortality and adverse birth outcomes. These conflicting and limited findings highlight the need for further research. These associations are complex and there exist important methodological challenges inherent to exploring the causal relationship between climate change and health outcomes. This relationship may at times be indirect and likely determined by multiple interacting factors.

The climate-health link has been the target of more research in recent years and it is also receiving increasing attention from the public and in both public health and climate communication literature. 2 39–41 However, the health framing of climate change information is still underused in climate communications, and researchers suggest we should be doing more to make the link between human health and climate change more explicit to increase engagement with the climate crisis. 2 41–43 The health framing of climate communication also has implications for healthcare professionals 44 and policy-makers, as these actors could play a key part in climate communication, adaptation and mitigation. 41 42 45 These key stakeholders’ perspectives on the climate-health link, as well as their perceived role in climate adaptation and mitigation could be explored, 46 since research suggests that health professionals are important voices in climate communications 44 and especially since, ultimately, these adverse health outcomes will engender pressure on and cost to our health systems and health workers.

Strengths and limitations

To the best of our knowledge, the current study provides the first broad overview of previous systematic reviews exploring the health impacts of climate change. Our review has three main strengths. First, by targeting systematic reviews, we achieve a higher order summary of findings than what would have been possible by consulting individual original studies. Second, by synthesising findings across all included studies and according to the combination of climate impact and health outcome, we offer a clear, detailed and unique summary of the current state of evidence and knowledge gaps about how climate change may influence human health. This summary may be of use to researchers, policy-makers and communities. Third, we included studies published in all languages about any climate impact and any health outcome. In doing so, we provide a comprehensive and robust overview.

Our work has four main limitations. First, we were unable to access some full texts and therefore some studies were excluded, even though we deemed them potentially relevant after title and abstract inspection. Other potentially relevant systematic reviews may be missing due to unseen flaws in our systematic search. Second, due to the heterogeneity of the included systematic reviews and the relatively small proportion of studies reporting meta-analytic findings, we could not conduct meta-meta-analyses of findings across reviews. Future research is needed to quantify the climate and health links described in this review, as well as to investigate the causal relationship and other interacting factors. Third, due to limited resources, we did not assess overlap between the included reviews concerning the studies they included. Frequencies and findings should be interpreted with potential overlap in mind. Fourth, we conducted the systematic search of the literature in June 2019, and it is therefore likely that some recent systematic reviews are not included in this study.

Conclusions

Overall, most systematic reviews of the health impacts of climate change suggest an association between climate change and the deterioration of health in multiple ways, generally in the direction that climate change is associated with adverse human health outcomes. This is worrisome since these outcomes are predicted to rise in the near future, due to the rise in temperature and increase in climate-change-related events such as extreme weather events and worsened air quality. Most studies included in this review focused on meteorological impacts of climate change on adverse physical health outcomes. Future studies could fill knowledge gaps by exploring other climate-related impacts and broader psychosocial health outcomes. Moreover, studies on health impacts of climate change have mostly been conducted by first authors affiliated with institutions in high-income countries. This inequity needs to be addressed, considering that the impacts of climate change are and will continue to predominantly impact lower income countries. Finally, although most reviews also recommend more research to better understand and quantify these associations, to adapt to and mitigate climate change’s impacts on health, it will also be important to unpack the ‘what, how, and where’ of these effects. Health effects of climate change are unlikely to be distributed equally or randomly through populations. It will be important to mitigate the changing climate’s potential to exacerbate health inequities.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication.

Not required.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Selma Chipenda Dansokho, as research associate, and Thierry Provencher, as research assistant, to this project, and of Frederic Bergeron, for assistance with search strategy, screening and selection of articles for the systematic review.

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Supplementary materials

Supplementary data.

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• Data supplement 1
• Data supplement 2
• Data supplement 3
• Data supplement 4
• Data supplement 5

Twitter @RutNdjab, @ATricco, @hwitteman

Contributors RN, CF, ACT, HOW contributed to the design of the study. CB, RN, LPB, RAPR and HOW contributed to the systematic search of the literature and selection of studies. RR, HOW, LC conducted data analysis and interpretation. RR and HOW drafted the first version of the article with early revision by CB, LC and RN. All authors critically revised the article and approved the final version for submission for publication. RR and HOW had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.

Funding This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) FDN-148426. The CIHR had no role in determining the study design, the plans for data collection or analysis, the decision to publish, nor the preparation of this manuscript. ACT is funded by a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Synthesis. HOW is funded by a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Human-Centred Digital Health.

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

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The trends of major issues connecting climate change and the sustainable development goals.

• Published: 12 March 2024
• Volume 5 , article number  31 , ( 2024 )

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• Yi-Lin Hsieh 1 &
• Shin-Cheng Yeh 1  

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This study aims to explore the research trends and patterns of major issues connecting climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by employing a bibliometric analysis. The study has found that there is an increasing number of research and policies in various countries committed to finding and implementing strategies to solve climate change issues. The countries with the most research in this field are China, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, with Environmental Sciences & Ecology being the most published domain. The study has identified 19 clusters intersecting with climate change and SDGs, with the top five clusters in terms of proportion related to agricultural and food systems, water and soil resources, energy, economy, ecosystem, and sustainable management. This study also presents the trend changes of research topics intersecting climate change and SDGs every 2–3 years. Especially in the recent two years, with the convening of COP26 and COP27 and the advocacy of Net Zero and CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) of the EU, important topics include renewable energy, protection of ecosystem services, life cycle assessment, food security, agriculture in Africa, sustainable management, synergies of various policies, remote sensing technology, and desertification among others. This shows an increasingly diversified range of important topics being discussed in relation to climate change and sustainable development goals.

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1 Introduction

1.1 background.

Climate change has emerged as a pressing global issue that poses significant challenges to human societies and the environment [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Climate change is primarily due to human activities, particularly the extensive combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These human activities generate a substantial amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, leading to global warming.

Global warming, a persistent increase in Earth’s average temperature, is the most significant manifestation of climate change. This change in climate has led to numerous severe effects, including an increase in extreme weather events [ 2 ] (such as storms, floods, and droughts), the melting of glaciers and ice caps, a rise in sea levels, and changes to ecosystems [ 4 ] and agriculture [ 5 , 6 ]. If left these impacts unchecked, these impacts could have disastrous consequences for human societies and the natural environment.

In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The goal was "to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system," and it required countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with their responsibilities, abilities, and specific circumstances. The first substantive agreement of the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol [ 7 ], was signed in 1997, requiring industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to below 5% of 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. In 2009, the UN hosted a climate change conference in Copenhagen in an attempt to reach a new global agreement; however, the meeting ended without a clear agreement and was considered a failure [ 8 ]. The Paris Agreement [ 9 ] was signed at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2015, with the goal of keeping global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve this, countries agreed to submit nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to reduce emissions and to review these goals every five years. These agreements and meetings highlight the challenges of combating climate change, including in science, policy, economics, and justice. A key issue is how to ensure economic development and poverty reduction while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These challenges and issues are intimately related to sustainable human development.

The Brundtland Report, “Our Common Future [ 10 ],” was released by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. The report first introduced the concept of “sustainable development,” defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The Rio Declaration [ 11 ] and Agenda 21 [ 12 ] were both signed at the Earth Summit in 1992. The Rio Declaration included 27 principles on sustainable development, while Agenda 21 was a global action plan aimed at achieving a balance between the environment and development. In 2000, the United Nations established eight development goals to be achieved by 2015, known as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which included reducing extreme poverty and hunger, improving levels of education, health, and gender equality, and ensuring environmental sustainability. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, which outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a blueprint for achieving a more sustainable future for all [ 13 ].

Among them, SDG13 (Climate Action) is directly related to climate change, with the aim to "take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts". SDG13 encourages all countries to respond to climate change, strengthen their resilience and adaptability to its impacts, and integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and plans. The goal also emphasizes enhancing education, raising people's awareness of the threats posed by climate change, and increasing institutional capacities to handle climate change. It also refers to global participation and cooperation in addressing these issues. This includes development assistance to help developing countries enhance their capacities to deal with climate change.

The goal of sustainable development is to achieve balance in social, economic, and environmental dimensions, a principle also known as the “triple bottom line [ 14 ].” Under this framework, it is not only necessary to ensure economic growth and social justice but also to ensure the health and sustainability of the Earth's ecosystems and resources. Therefore, addressing climate change is an integral part of achieving sustainable development. On the other hand, accomplishing one or more sustainable development goals is also a way to address climate change issues.

1.2 Research frontier

Addressing the issue of climate change faces many challenges and obstacles, including political challenges, economic factors, technological challenges, social and cultural barriers, and issues of inequality. Firstly, policy makers need to strike a balance between short-term economic benefits and long-term environmental sustainability. Political disagreements and national interests can also hinder the achievement and implementation of global climate agreements [ 15 , 16 ]. Secondly, transitioning to a low-carbon economy requires a significant amount of funding and investment. Many economically backward countries may lack resources to implement necessary changes [ 17 ]. Thirdly, although renewable energy technologies have made significant progress, these technologies still can't completely replace fossil fuels in many cases [ 18 ]. Fourthly, human lifestyles and consumption patterns need to undergo major changes, which may face resistance in many societies and cultures [ 19 ]. Lastly, the impacts of climate change are not equal globally. Some of the poorest and most vulnerable countries and communities are often the most affected, yet they lack the resources and capacity to cope with these changes [ 20 ].

There are numerous studies related to climate change, and these studies encompass a wide range of issues. Issues related to climate change and sustainable development goals [ 21 ], for example, the water-energy-food (nexus), has been extensively studied in relation to climate change in the past [ 22 ]. In this issue, systematic analyses, comparisons, interpretations, and governance recommendations have been proposed, along with in-depth exploration of sustainable development goals and appropriate management models [ 23 , 24 , 25 ].

The connection between climate change and the SDGs is evident, as the impacts of climate change have the potential to undermine the progress made towards achieving these goals [ 166 , 167 ]. For instance, climate change has direct implications for SDGs [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ] related to poverty reduction(SDG1: NO Poverty), food security(SDG2: No Hunger) [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ],energy(SDG7: Affordable and clean energy) [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], clean water and sanitation(SDG6: Clean water and sanitation), and sustainable cities [ 44 , 45 , 46 ] and communities(SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities). People must take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, including enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacity of nations to climate-related disasters, and integrating climate change measures into national policies and planning(SDG13: Climate action). Therefore, understanding the trends and patterns of research on the interlinkages between climate change and the SDGs is crucial for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to identify gaps and prioritize efforts in addressing these challenges [ 47 , 48 , 49 ].

However, many topics still require systematic research to formulate sustainable management strategies. For instance, key decisions from the COP26 held in 2021 included the formulation of long-term low-carbon development strategies, strengthening actions to reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gases (such as methane), and enhancing the intensity of nationally determined contributions (NDC) targets for 2030 [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. Comprehensive assessments are needed on how countries can gradually reduce coal burning and phase out fossil fuel subsidies, as well as establish rules for the international carbon market [ 54 ].

In order to follow these resolutions, the majority of countries around the world are currently formulating net-zero emission management strategies. Net-zero emissions mean that the greenhouse gas emissions produced by an organization, city, region, or country are balanced by the amount they offset, thereby contributing zero to global warming [ 55 ].

When systematically formulating net-zero management strategies, there are several important topics that need to be considered, such as energy transition (requiring investment and policy promotion to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy) [ 56 , 57 ], green infrastructure (constructing low-carbon, green infrastructure, such as green buildings and public transportation systems) [ 58 ], green finance (encouraging and guiding financial institutions to invest in low-carbon technologies and industries, and incorporating climate risks into their risk management frameworks) [ 59 ], carbon pricing (establishing and implementing carbon pricing systems, such as carbon taxes or carbon trading markets, to reflect their true environmental costs), and international cooperation (climate change is a global issue that requires cooperation among countries to share resources and technology).

It involves multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These strategies need to take into account trade-offs or synergistic effects, including the balance between economy and environment (energy transition may lead to job loss in certain industries, but it may also create new job opportunities. Appropriate policies are needed to mitigate the impact of this transition) [ 60 , 61 , 62 ], fairness (wealthier countries have more resources to reduce emissions, while poorer countries may rely more on fossil fuels. To resolve this inequality, international aid or other mechanisms may be needed) [ 63 , 64 ], cross-sector collaboration (many solutions will require cooperative work between different sectors or industries, such as energy, transportation, construction, finance, etc.) [ 65 , 66 ], technological innovation and application (from improving energy efficiency to developing clean energy, and designing and implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, technological innovation plays a key role in achieving net-zero. Of course, this also requires resource input and a suitable policy environment to incentivize and support) [ 67 , 68 , 69 ], behavioral and cultural change (to successfully achieve net-zero, it may be necessary to change public behavior and values, from dietary habits to travel methods, and attitudes towards energy use. This may involve education, policy guidance, and public participation) [ 70 , 71 ], and ecological restoration and protection (forests, oceans, and other natural ecosystems are important carbon sinks of the planet. Protecting and restoring these ecosystems can provide important offset strategies, while also helping to protect biodiversity and enhance ecological resilience) [ 72 ].

Strategies to address climate change include mitigation and adaptation. The aforementioned net zero is a mitigation strategy, while the formulation of adaptation strategies to manage and respond to climate change also requires systematic consideration. This includes disaster prevention and post-disaster recovery, water resource management, adjustments to farming and livestock practices, urban planning and design, protection and restoration of ecosystems, and policy and legislation among other topics. Additionally, research suggests that enhancing the ability to manage extreme weather events can reduce economic, social, and human losses, and ultimately decrease borrowing from lending institutions. The vulnerability to extreme weather events, disaster management, and adaptation must become part of the long-term sustainable development planning for developing countries [ 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ].

In this process, there indeed exist many challenges, echoing the previously mentioned obstacles faced in tackling the issue of climate change. These include technical, policy-related, economic, social, and cultural aspects. Therefore, people must take a systemic and holistic approach, implementing solutions to climate change from the framework of sustainable development.

Currently, there are over ten thousand academic papers discussing the relevance of climate change or one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are numerous ways to summarize, integrate, or categorize these research perspectives. Common methods include convening expert meetings [ 77 , 168 ] or using literature mining software [ 73 , 74 , 78 , 169 , 170 ] such as VOSviewer, Microsoft Excel, and Biblioshiny, to conduct structured reviews of the interrelationships between Climate Change (CC) and SDGs.

The discussions at the expert meeting revealed the synergies and trade-offs between climate change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the impact of climate change (CC) on the achievement of the SDGs [ 77 ]. Using literature software, the bibliometrix package, and R library, it was found that precipitation, drought, and evapotranspiration are the main climate terms most focused on under the topic of climate change [ 79 ]. Moreover, an analysis using Microsoft Excel on published journal articles found that gender equality, climate action, and global health are the key words most focused on in studies related to the Sustainable Development Goals. Some researchers also presented the evolution of themes over the years, and the co-occurrence maps of key words in the context of climate change and sustainable development practice, and found that there have been many research studies in these areas, but there is still a need for more in-depth study [ 80 ].

However, as highlighted in the background, after the 2015 Paris Agreement and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals were proposed, researchers worldwide are called upon to perform comprehensive and systematic analyses, categorizations, and discussions of the results presented by these literature analysis tools. These efforts aim to aid researchers and policymakers in addressing climate change and its related problems, as well as formulating suitable strategies for these issues, all from a perspective of sustainable development. These areas continue to require further in-depth research, and bibliometric analysis can serve as one effective method in this regard.

1.3 Research questions

The research question of this study is to examine the trends of major issues connecting climate change and the SDGs, as reflected in the literature [ 81 , 82 ]. In particular, the study aims to identify the most prominent Clusters and sub-Clusters related to this intersection and to understand the evolution of research in this area over time. This examination will help uncover potential gaps in knowledge, as well as highlight areas in need of further investigation or policy intervention.

Additionally, when systematically analyzing the issues and sub-issues of climate change within the framework of sustainable development, we still do not have a clear understanding of how many important issues related to climate change have emerged since the United Nations announced the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, as well as the proportion of these issues in the research or which fields is leading in these areas [ 75 , 77 , 83 ]. The policy-making and research processes have not had sufficient literature to help understand the varying degrees of correlation between these issues to aid policy-makers or researchers in making appropriate strategies. Moreover, one indicator of the current situation in various countries is the development status of how researchers or research institutions in these countries view climate change within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, but there is limited academic research on the issues connecting climate change and the sustainable development goals [ 84 ].

This study poses four questions:

Q1: What are the main research topics at the intersection of climate change and sustainable development goals?

Q2: How have the research trends at the intersection of climate change and sustainable development goals developed?

Q3: What are the main research countries at the intersection of climate change and sustainable development goals?

Q4: What are the main research fields at the intersection of climate change and sustainable development goals?

1.4 Methodological approach

This study employs a bibliometric analysis to systematically review and analyze the body of literature on the connection between climate change and the SDGs. Bibliometric analysis is a quantitative method that employs statistical techniques to analyze and classify large volumes of academic publications. This method has the advantage of providing a comprehensive and objective overview of the research landscape [ 85 ], as compared to traditional literature reviews and other classification methods, which may be subject to biases and limited in scope [ 80 , 86 , 87 ].

1.5 Significance of the study

The findings of this study will provide valuable insights into the trends and patterns of research on the interlinkages between climate change and the SDGs, helping to inform future research agendas and policy interventions. By identifying the most prominent Clusters and potential knowledge gaps in this area, this study can contribute to a better understanding of how climate change and the SDGs are interconnected, thereby supporting the development of more effective strategies to address these pressing global challenges.

1.6 Potential applications

The results of this study can be applied in various ways. For instance, the findings can be used by researchers to identify research gaps and opportunities, guiding the direction of future studies. Policymakers and practitioners can also use the insights gained from this study to prioritize efforts and allocate resources more effectively in addressing the challenges posed by climate change and achieving the SDGs. Furthermore, the study can contribute to the development of interdisciplinary research, as understanding the complex interconnections between climate change and the SDGs requires the integration of knowledge from multiple fields and disciplines.

In conclusion, this study aims to explore the research trends and patterns of major issues connecting climate change and the SDGs using a bibliometric analysis. The findings will provide valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

2 Methodology

2.1 literature mining tools.

This study analyzes and categorizes literature using the two tools. The first one is called Content Analysis Toolkit for Academic Research (CATAR), the other one is called VOSviewer.

2.1.1 The benefits of using CATAR for literature analysis

CATAR is designed to help researchers analyze scholarly literature with academic value. CATAR is particularly effective in multidimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical agglomerative clustering (HAC) [ 88 ], which can be used as one of the presentation directions for research outcomes. MDS is a technique that presents n documents on a map according to their similarity [ 89 ], where documents with high similarity cluster in close proximity to each other, while those with low similarity are located further apart. HAC is a type of document clustering [ 90 ] that does not require users to specify the number of categories and can iteratively group the most similar documents or categories into larger groups, gradually organizing all documents from the bottom up. In particular, the complete linkage method can group files that are highly similar to each other into the same group. Therefore, if two files cite common bibliography, they will generate a coupling relationship, and the more bibliography they share, the higher the correlation will be, and the more likely they will be classified into the same category.

The topic map of this study was generated by CATAR using multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique to calculate the relative relationships between categories in a two-dimensional space and draw the topic map accordingly. In the map, circles represent a group of documents classified into the same cluster, with the size of the circle indicating the number of documents in the group, and the distance between circles representing the strength of the relationship between the groups. The closer the circles, the higher the relevance between the topics. The color of the circle represents the classification result in the next higher level, and if the circle is composed of dashed lines, it indicates that it cannot be clustered in the next level [ 91 ].

2.1.2 The benefits of using VOSviewer for literature analysis

The second tool used in this study is VOSviewer, which is a visualization tool characterized by its technical robustness and relatively simple usage. It allows for a detailed examination of bibliometric maps. In the network visualization maps produced by VOSviewer, each label is represented by a colored node, with node size determined by the frequency of use of the item. The higher the usage frequency of an item, the larger its label. In addition, the thickness of the nodes and connecting lines indicates the co-occurrence frequency of the labels. Nodes with the same color have stronger connections [ 74 , 84 , 85 , 92 ].

As keyword co-occurrence network analysis is one of the most effective methods, a large number of studies have used VOSviewer for topics such as climate change or sustainable energy [ 91 , 93 , 94 ], helping researchers quantify trends in research Clusters and future research directions. This study use keyword co-occurrence network analysis in Vosviewer.

2.2 Explanation of data background

2.2.1 the selection of the database.

The data source for this study is the Web of Science (WoS) academic database by Thomson Routers. Analysis of citation data in WoS has shown greater consistency and accuracy than other databases such as Scopus and Google Scholar, [ 95 ] thus this study only analyzed journals included in WoS.

2.2.2 Boolean operators

The background setting for downloading data from WoS was as follows: TS = (climate change) AND AB = ("sustainable development goal" OR "sustainable development goals" OR SDG OR SDGs). These documents are focused on the Cluster of climate change, and the mention of SDGs in the abstract refers to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs aim to address major global issues, including poverty, hunger, inequality, and climate change. Therefore, if a document related to climate change also involves SDGs, it may explore how to link climate change with sustainable development goals to achieve a more sustainable future. Such research may investigate the impact of climate change on sustainable development goals or how to address issues related to climate change by achieving sustainable development goals.

2.2.3 The status of literature download

In order to understand the research trends up to December 31, 2022, a total of 2533 articles were downloaded for analysis. On the other hand, when downloading data from the WOS database, it was found that the closer it was to 2022, the more literature discussed CC and SDGs. In order to understand the research trends every 2–3 years and appropriately distribute the number of articles for analysis, research from 2015 to 2017, 2018 to 2022, and 2021 to 2022 was also downloaded. A total of 177 articles were from the first three years, 955 articles were from the middle three years, and 1401 articles were from the last two years.

3 Results and discussion

The research results are presented using the analysis results of two tools, CATAR and VOSviewer. The two research tools are distinguished by date. The data analyzed by the CATAR tool dates from 2015 to 2022, and this tool carries out a comprehensive analysis of the literature. The data analyzed by the VOSviewer tool is divided into three parts: 2015–2017 (the first three years), 2018–2020 (the middle three years), and 2021–2022 (the most recent two years), to understand the development trends of the research field. In addition, CATAR also specifically presents the main research fields and research countries of the literature as academic references.

3.1 Results and dicussion of bibliographic coupling analysis by using CATAR (2015–2022)

Using CATAR for bibliographic coupling analysis and multiple hierarchical agglomerative clustering, 19 clusters (A-1 to A-19) were obtained at the fourth level, with 1220 documents participating in clustering. The characteristic vocabulary of each cluster is shown in Table  1 (with a default threshold of 0.01), and the degree of association is shown in Fig.  1 , (with a threshold set to 0.02). Furthermore, the top five clusters in terms of proportion are related to agricultural and food systems, water and soil resources, energy, economy, ecosystem, and sustainable management, with a proportion of 53% of the documents in this level. The first cluster has the highest proportion of 34%.

Maps of the clusters (2015–2022)

In Fig.  1 , clusters 10, 11, 15, and 17 are in green, clusters 4 and 14 are in blue, and clusters 12, and 16 are in yellow. These colors indicate that they can continue to form clusters in the next level and suggest that these topics are worth exploring as they are related to each other. Dashed circles represent clusters that cannot be agglomerated in the next level.

Referring to Table  1 for the keywords condensed in each cluster, appropriate names for the clusters are assigned. The results are shown in Table  2 .

Through the research results of Fig.  1 , since the circles represent the knowledge content contained in the cluster, considering factors such as circle color, circle size, and the intersection and union of circles, a systematic discussion is conducted below.

3.1.1 The relationship about A-10, A-11, A15 and A17 (color green)

In the green circle, A-10, A-11, A-15, and A-17 are four significant topics. The critical issues intersecting these four topics, this study discovered, include "Adaptation and mitigation strategies", "Integration of knowledge and collaboration", and "Urban and community context".

The four Clusters collectively highlight the importance of both adaptation and mitigation strategies in response to climate change. Cluster 10 emphasizes the need to understand and address the health impacts of climate change as an adaptation measure [ 88 , 89 , 96 ]. Cluster 11 focuses on building resilience in coastal areas, which is another form of adaptation [ 97 ]. Cluster 15 covers various aspects of climate change adaptation strategies, including public health, particularly sanitation issues, large urban environments, and the application of green and blue infrastructure. It emphasizes the importance of considering these issues from both local and global perspectives [ 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 ]. Cluster 17 centers on mitigation strategies such as achieving carbon neutrality through renewable energy sources [ 95 , 97 , 103 , 104 , 105 ].

Clusters 11 and 17 highlight the importance of integrating knowledge from various sources and fostering collaboration between different stakeholders. Cluster 11 emphasizes the role of knowledge integration in sustainability governance, while Cluster 17 involves surveys and research on carbon balance and renewable energy, which require collaboration among experts from various fields.

Cluster 10, 11 and 17 explore the impacts of climate change and sustainable development within urban or community settings. Cluster 10 investigates the relationship between climate change and health in the context of planetary health. Cluster 15 addresses the role of green and blue infrastructure in promoting sustainable development within mega-urban areas. Cluster 17 focuses on achieving carbon neutrality in cities or countries, which has direct implications for urban and community sustainability.

3.1.2 The relationship between “ocean conservation and coral reef biodiversity” (A-12) and “corporate cultural sustainability” (A-16) (color yellow)

The relationship between "Ocean Conservation and Coral Reef Biodiversity" and "Corporate Cultural Sustainability" is closely connected to climate change and ongoing sustainable development [ 106 , 107 , 108 ]. Many companies recognize the importance of environmental sustainability, particularly in the context of climate change and sustainable development. They incorporate this into their business strategies, which includes supporting ocean conservation and preserving coral reef biodiversity through environmentally-friendly practices, philanthropy, or partnerships with non-profit organizations. Examples of this include adopting sustainable practices and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting innovation in products, services, and technologies that contribute to ocean conservation and coral reef biodiversity protection, and collaborating with various stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and local communities, to address the challenges of climate change and support ocean conservation and coral reef biodiversity preservation [ 109 , 110 , 111 ].

3.1.3 The relationship between “ecosystems and land degradation” (A-4) and “urban infrastructure and governance” (A-14) (color blue)

First, Climate change poses threats to ecosystems and land, including extreme weather events and unstable rainfall patterns. Ecosystems play a crucial role in land conservation, water resource management, and biodiversity protection. Disrupting ecosystems increases the risk of land degradation, adversely affecting agriculture and ecological environments. Protecting and restoring ecosystems are key to achieving sustainable development goals [ 171 , 172 ].

Second, rapid urbanization necessitates large-scale infrastructure development. The expansion and management of urban infrastructure are directly linked to land use. Poor urban planning and management can lead to improper land use, overdevelopment, and environmental deterioration. Effective urban governance should emphasize the sustainability of land use, including land planning and environmental regulation. Sustainable urban infrastructure and governance help reduce the risk of land degradation while achieving sustainable development goals [ 173 , 174 , 175 , 176 ].

Therefore, the relationship between ecosystems and land degradation and urban infrastructure and governance should be viewed comprehensively. The expansion and management of urban infrastructure should fully consider ecosystem protection and land degradation prevention. For instance, urban planning may include the preservation of green spaces and natural conservation areas to promote ecosystem health. Moreover, urban governance should emphasize the involvement of multiple stakeholders to ensure that land use and infrastructure development align with the principles of sustainable development. This necessitates interdisciplinary research and policy formulation to ensure effective management of land resources during the urbanization process while safeguarding ecosystems to address climate change and achieve sustainable development goals.

3.2 Ranking of countries by the number of published papers, citation count, and publication year

The overview analysis through CATAR is used to present the top eight countries in terms of the number of published papers. Considering that each piece of literature might be co-authored by multiple individuals, the analysis results are presented using Fractional Count (FC). FC means that all the co-authors are counted as a single author. For instance, a paper co-authored by two individuals is counted as one, and the contribution of each author to the paper count is 0.5 and 0.5, respectively.

The results of the FC statistics are shown in Figs.  2 and 3 . We can observe that within the defined scope, the number of papers has significantly increased since 2015. The top eight countries in terms of the number of published papers, from most to least, are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, India, Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa. If we only look at 2022, the top eight countries from most to least are China, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Germany, and Canada.

Statistical analysis of the top eight countries in terms of the number of papers published, and their publication years, using Fractional Count

Statistical analysis of the top eight countries in terms of the number of papers published in 2022, using Fractional Count

3.2.1 The number of articles interpreting climate change issues from the perspective of sustainable development goals

By observing the results presented in Fig.  2 , two pieces of information can be identified. The first piece of information is that, whether the data time is from 2015 to 2022 or only looking at 2022, China, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia are all in the top five. The reasons for this include several factors:

The first factor is economic influence. These countries are significant pillars of the global economy, and their policies and investment decisions have massive impacts on the global economy. For instance, China is the world's largest manufacturer and largest emitter of carbon dioxide, while the United States, as the world's largest economy, holds significant sway in driving global climate action.

The second factor is population size. India and China are the two most populous countries globally, and their decisions will have monumental impacts on global climate change. In countries with large populations, the need for sustainable development is particularly pressing [ 112 , 113 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 121 ].

The third factor is influence in science and technology. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia hold leadership positions in the field of science and technology, including research and development in climate science and environmental technologies. Their innovations and solutions can have significant impacts on the global climate change issue [ 115 , 116 , 117 ].

The fourth factor is policy and international leadership. These countries play critical roles in global policy and international affairs [ 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 ]. For instance, the United Kingdom was the host of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and the United States also plays a leading role in driving the global climate agenda.

3.2.2 The increase and decrease of the number of papers published by each country

The second piece of information is that regardless of the country, the number of publications generally shows a growing trend from 2015 to 2021. The sharp increase in relevant literature published by China and India in 2022 indicates that addressing the challenges brought about by climate change and achieving sustainable development goals are issues of concern to these countries [ 126 , 127 , 128 ].

3.3 Number of publications on the relationship between CC and SDGs by field

As shown in Fig.  4 , the top eight fields and years in terms of the number of publications can be seen. We can observe that since 2015, there has been a significant increase in literature discussing the relationship between CC and SDGs. The field of Environmental Sciences & Ecology has consistently had the most publicated documents every year, followed by the field of Science & Technology—Other Topics.

Number of publications on the relationship between CC and SDGs by field

3.4 Tracking the research development trends on climate change issues from the framework of sustainable development goals every 2–3 years

The literature mining tool, Vosviewer, was used to perform co-occurrence word analysis on authors. Due to the small number of articles from 2015 to 2017, the clustering result is shown in Fig.  5 . The clustering results for 2018–2020 and 2021–2022 are shown in Figs.  6 and 7 respectively. The larger the clustered keyword, the more frequently it is mentioned by authors. Keywords of the same color indicate a higher degree of association, and are likely to discuss important topics.

Keyword relationship diagram for climate change and sustainable development goals from 2015 to 2017

Keyword relationship diagram for climate change and sustainable development goals from 2018 to 2020

Keyword relationship diagram for climate change and sustainable development goals from 2021 to 2022

3.4.1 Keywords and topics related to climate change and the implementation of sustainable development goals during 2015–2017

During 2015–2017, it is found that research keywords regarding climate change and the implementation of sustainable development goals mainly include "Ecosystem," "Climate change adaptation," "Disaster risk," "Reduction," "Public health," "Renewable energy," "Resilience," and "Water security." The topic discussed during this period is mainly "The impact of climate change on public health and its adaptation strategies." This topic covers the mutual influences of various aspects including environmental ecology, climate change, and public health, emphasizing on how to reduce disaster risks and improve public health levels through the protection and management of ecosystems to adapt to the challenges brought about by climate change. On the other hand, the development of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and the establishment of water security strategies also contribute to coping with climate change [ 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 ].

3.4.2 Keywords and topics related to climate change and the implementation of sustainable development goals during 2018–2020

During 2018–2020, the research trend in discussing climate change and the implementation of sustainable development goals partially continued from the previous period, and the number of keywords increased. On the other hand, from a broader framework, the research trend shifted towards cross-disciplinary approaches to tackle and adapt to climate change issues and explored how to achieve this goal by protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development [ 133 ]. The most widely addressed topics represented by keywords of different colors include the following top four: "Efficient use and management of food supply to water resources", "Sustainable ecosystem management and land use under climate change", "Adaptation strategies and sustainable development strategies for agriculture under climate change", and "Development of renewable energy" [ 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 ].

3.4.3 Keywords and topics related to climate change and the implementation of sustainable development goals during 2021–2022

By 2021–2022, the research trend showed that some keywords regarding climate change and the implementation of sustainable development goals continued from the previous stage, and the number of keywords also increased. During this time period, 'renewable energy' (marked in red) has become the most emphasized keyword against the backdrop of hot advocacy topics such as 'Net Zero' and 'CBAM' (carbon border adjustment mechanism). It particularly emphasizes how, in the process of pursuing economic growth, we can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and achieve sustainable development by improving energy efficiency and using renewable energy [ 140 ].This also echoes the resolutions of COP26 and COP27, which call for an increased proportion of clean energy, including renewable and low-carbon energy sources, acceleration in the research and development, deployment, and dissemination of low-carbon technologies, and emphasis on the importance of natural carbon sinks [ 133 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 ].

Other important keywords are resilience (in orange), ecosystem services; life cycle assessment (in blue), Africa; agriculture (in dark green), policy; adaptation; education (in purple), and Agenda 2030; Paris Agreement; synergy; bibliometric analysis; remote sensing; desertification (in light green).

These keywords are all related to the clusters of climate change and sustainable development, encompassing topics such as the protection of ecosystem services [ 140 , 146 , 147 , 148 ], life cycle assessment, agriculture in Africa, policy; adaptation, education [ 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 ], the global sustainable development goals (Agenda 2030), the Paris Agreement, the synergistic effects of various policies [ 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 ], bibliometric analysis, remote sensing technology [ 159 , 160 , 161 ], and desertification [ 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 ].

4 Conclusion

This study, through bibliometric analysis tools CATAR and VOSviewer, presents multiple research findings. First, both tools indicate an increasing number of links between climate change and sustainable development goals in research across countries. There is a growing body of research and policy dedicated to finding and implementing strategies to solve climate change issues. These strategies are often linked to sustainable development goals, highlighting the intersection between climate action and sustainable development.

Secondly, through CATAR, this study identified 19 clusters intersecting with climate change and SDGs (as shown in Table  2 ), among which the top five clusters in terms of proportion are related to agricultural and food systems, water and soil resources, energy, economy, ecosystem, and sustainable management, accounting for 53% of the documents. On the other hand, Fig.  1 also shows that some clusters are highly related (same color). Combined with Table  2 for further explanation, the key topics in the green block include adaptation and mitigation strategies, integration of knowledge and collaboration, and the urban and community context. The important topics in the yellow block are corporate sustainable development and biodiversity investment (especially focusing on the ocean). The important topics in the blue block include urban planning, sustainable governance, due to land degradation and the increased frequency of extreme weather events (such as droughts and floods) damaging ecosystems.

Thirdly, whether the data period is from 2015 to 2022 or just in 2022, China, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia are the countries with the most research on the link between climate change and sustainable development goals. This is due to their economic influence, population size, influence in science and technology, and policy and international leadership. Specifically, in 2022, the number of publications in China and India grew at the fastest rate, while the growth trend in the UK and the US was slightly slower. Furthermore, Environmental Sciences & Ecology is the field with the most publications.

Fourthly, by observing Figs. 5 , 6 , and 7 , we can see the continuation and transformation of key topics in literature discussing the link between climate change and sustainable development goals. In the early period (2015–2017), the focus was on 'the impact of climate change on public health and its adaptation strategies'. By the mid-term (2018–2020), topics expanded to include 'efficient use and management of food supply to water resources', 'sustainable ecosystem management and sustainable land use under climate change', 'agricultural adaptation strategies and sustainable development strategies under climate change', and 'development of renewable energy'.

In the later period (2021–2022), under the context of popular initiatives like net zero and CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), there was increased emphasis on renewable energy, as well as protection of ecosystem services, life cycle assessment, food security, agriculture in Africa, sustainable management, synergies of various policies, remote sensing technology, and desertification among others. This shows an increasingly diversified range of important topics being discussed in relation to climate change and sustainable development goals.

The interconnections among the identified Clusters highlight the complex and interrelated nature of climate change and the 17 SDGs. Understanding these interconnections can help researchers, policymakers, and practitioners develop integrated and interdisciplinary approaches to address climate change and achieve the SDGs. For example, policies promoting agroforestry and sustainable agriculture can contribute to climate change mitigation, food security, and biodiversity conservation, thereby advancing multiple SDGs simultaneously.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that the clusters that have not been part of the coalescence (as shown in the dashed circles in Fig.  1 ) do not imply that these topics are unimportant. On the contrary, these topics could potentially become the focus of emerging research in the future, serving as a reference for future researchers to conduct in-depth studies.

Data availability

The literature data used in this study were sourced from the Web of Science database.

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National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan

Yi-Lin Hsieh & Shin-Cheng Yeh

SCY wrote the main manuscript text and prepared Figs.  1 – 3 . YLH and SCY drafted the work. SCY and YLH made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Correspondence to Yi-Lin Hsieh .

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Publisher's note.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Hsieh, YL., Yeh, SC. The trends of major issues connecting climate change and the sustainable development goals. Discov Sustain 5 , 31 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00183-9

Received : 15 October 2023

Accepted : 11 January 2024

Published : 12 March 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00183-9

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Climate change and its impact on biodiversity and human welfare

K. r. shivanna.

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bengaluru, 560064 India

Climate change refers to the long-term changes in temperature and weather due to human activities. Increase in average global temperature and extreme and unpredictable weather are the most common manifestations of climate change. In recent years, it has acquired the importance of global emergency and affecting not only the wellbeing of humans but also the sustainability of other lifeforms. Enormous increase in the emission of greenhouse gases (CO 2 , methane and nitrous oxide) in recent decades largely due to burning of coal and fossil fuels, and deforestation are the main drivers of climate change. Marked increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, rise in sea level, decrease in crop productivity and loss of biodiversity are the main consequences of climate change. Obvious mitigation measures include significant reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases and increase in the forest cover of the landmass. Conference of Parties (COP 21), held in Paris in 2015 adapted, as a legally binding treaty, to limit global warming to well below 2 °C, preferably to 1.5 °C by 2100, compared to pre-industrial levels. However, under the present emission scenario, the world is heading for a 3–4 °C warming by the end of the century. This was discussed further in COP 26 held in Glasgow in November 2021; many countries pledged to reach net zero carbon emission by 2050 and to end deforestation, essential requirements to keep 1.5 °C target. However, even with implementation of these pledges, the rise is expected to be around 2.4 °C. Additional measures are urgently needed to realize the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 °C and to sustain biodiversity and human welfare.

Climate change refers to long-term changes in local, global or regional temperature and weather due to human activities. For 1000s of years, the relationship between lifeforms and the weather have been in a delicate balance conducive for the existence of all lifeforms on this Planet. After the industrial revolution (1850) this balance is gradually changing and the change has become apparent from the middle of the twentieth century. Now it has become a major threat to the wellbeing of humans and the sustainability of biodiversity. An increase in average global temperature, and extreme and unpredictable weather are the most common manifestations of climate change. It has now acquired the importance of global emergency. According to the report of the latest Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (AR6 Climate Change 2021 ), human-induced climate change as is prevalent now is unprecedented at least in the last 2000 years and is intensifying in every region across the globe. In this review the drivers of climate change, its impact on human wellbeing and biodiversity, and mitigation measures being taken at global level are briefly discussed.

Drivers of climate change

Emission of green-house gases.

Steady increase in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activities has been the primary driver for climate change. The principal greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (76%), methane (16%), and to a limited extent nitrous oxide (2%). Until recent decades, the temperature of the atmosphere was maintained within a reasonable range as some of the sunlight that hits the earth was reflected back into the space while the rest becomes heat that keeps the earth and the atmosphere warm enough for the sustenance of life forms. Accumulation of greenhouse gases combine with water vapour to form a transparent layer in the atmosphere that traps infrared radiation (net heat energy) emitted from the Earth’s surface and reradiates it back to Earth’s surface, thus contributing to the increasing temperature (greenhouse effect). Methane is 25 times and nitrous oxide 300 times more potent than CO 2 in trapping heat. Until 2019, the US, UK, European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan and Russia were the major CO 2 producers and were responsible for 61% of world’s emissions. Now, China produces the maximum amount of CO 2 (27%) followed by USA (11%) and India (6.6%); on per capita basis, however, India stands ninth.

The emission of GHGs is largely due to the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) for automobiles and industries which result in carbon emissions during their extraction as well as consumption. The amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere before the industrial revolution used to be around 280 ppm and now it has increased to 412 ppm (as of 2019). Increase in the atmospheric temperature also leads to an increase in the temperature of the ocean. The oceans play an important role in the global carbon cycle and remove about 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities. Further, some CO 2 dissolves in the ocean water releasing carbonic acid which increases the acidity of the sea water. Rising ocean temperatures and acidification not only reduce their capacity to act as carbon sinks but also affect ocean ecosystems and the populations that relay on them.

Increasing demand for meat and milk has led to a significant increase in the population of livestock and conversion of enormous amount of the land to pasture and farm land to raise livestock. Ruminant animals (largely cows, buffaloes and sheep) produce large amounts of methane when they digest food (through enteric fermentation by microbes), adding to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Sejiyan et al. 2016 ). To produce 1 kg of meat it requires 7 kg of grain and between 5000 and 20,000 L of water whereas to produce 1 kg of wheat it requires between 500 and 4000 L of water (Pimentel and Pimentel 2003 ). Anaerobic fermentation of livestock manure also produces methane. According to Patrick Brown, our animal farming industry needs to be changed; using readily available plant ingredients, the nutritional value of any type of meat can be matched with about one twentieth of the cost (See Leeming 2021 ).

The main natural source of nitrous oxide released to the atmosphere (60%) comes from the activity of microbes on nitrogen-based organic material from uncultivated soil and waste water. The remaining nitrous oxide comes from human activities, particularly agriculture. Application of nitrogenous fertilizers to crop plants is a routine practice to increase the yield; many of the farmers tend to apply more than the required amount. However, it results in nitrous oxide emissions from the soil through nitrification and denitrification processes by microbes. Both synthetic and organic fertilizers increase the amount of nitrogen available in the soil to microbial action leading to the release of nitrous oxide. Organic fertilizers, however, release nitrogen more slowly than synthetic ones so that most of it gets absorbed by the plants as they become available. Synthetic fertilizers release nitrogen rapidly which cannot be used by plants right away, thus making the excess nitrogen available to microbes to convert to nitrous oxide. Presently CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere is higher than at any time in at least 2 million years, and methane and nitrous oxide are higher than at any time in the last 800,000 years (AR6 Climate Change 2021 ).

Permafrost (permanently frozen soil), widespread in Arctic regions of Siberia, Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Tibetan plateau contains large quantities of organic carbon in the top soil leftover from dead plants that could not be decomposed or rot away due to the cold. Global warming-induced thawing of permafrost facilitates decomposition of this material by microbes thus releasing additional amount of carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere.

Deforestation

Limited deforestation in early part of human civilization was the result of subsistence farming; farmers used to cut down trees to grow crops for consumption of their families and local population. In preindustrial period also, there was a balance between the amount of CO 2 emitted through various processes and the amount absorbed by the plants. Forests are the main sinks of atmospheric CO 2 . After the industrial revolution, the trend began to change; increasing proportion of deforestation is being driven by the demands of urbanization, industrial activities and large-scale agriculture. A new satellite map has indicated that field crops have been extended to one million additional km 2 of land over the last two decades and about half of this newly extended land has replaced forests and other ecosystems (Potapov et al. 2021 ).

In recent decades the demands on forest to grow plantation crops such as oil palm, coffee, tea and rubber, and for cattle ranching and mining have increased enormously thus reducing the forest cover. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), over 43 million hectares of forest was lost between 2004 and 2017 out of 377 million hectares monitored around the world (Pacheco et al. 2021 ). Amazon Rain Forest is the largest tropical rain forest of the world and covers over 5 million km 2 . It is undergoing extensive degradation and has reached its highest point in recent years. According to National Geographic, about 17% of Amazon rain forest has been destroyed over the past 50 years and is increasing in recent years; during the last 1 year it has lost over 10,000 km 2 . In most of the countries the forest cover is less than 33%, considered necessary. For example, India’s forest and tree cover is only about 24.56% of the geographical area (Indian State Forest Report 2019 ).

Impacts of climate change

Increase in atmospheric temperature has serious consequences on biodiversity and ecosystems, and human wellbeing. The most important evidences of climate change is the long term data available on the CO 2 levels, global temperature and weather patterns. The impacts of climate change in the coming decades are based on published models on the basis of the analysis of the available data. Comparison of the performance of climate models published between 1970 and 2007 in projecting global mean surface temperature and associated changes with actual observations have shown that the models were consistent in predicting global warming in the years after publication (Hausfather et al. 2019 ). This correlation between predicted models and actual data indicates that the models are indeed reliable in accurately predicting the global warming and its impacts on weather pattern in the coming decades and their consequences on biodiversity and human welfare.

Weather pattern and natural disasters

One of the obvious changes observed in recent years is the extreme and unpredictable weather, and an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. Brazil’s south central region saw one of the worst droughts in 2021with the result many major reservoirs reached < 20% capacity, seriously affecting farming and energy generation (Getirana et al. 2021 ). In earlier decades, it was possible to predict with reasonable certainty annual weather pattern including the beginning and ending of monsoon rains; farmers could plan sowing periods of their crops in synchrony with the prevailing weather. Now the weather pattern is changing almost every year and the farmers are suffering huge losses. Similarly the extent of annual rainfall and the locations associated with heavy and scanty rainfall are no more predictable with certainty. Many areas which were associated with scanty rainfall have started getting much heavier rains and the extent of rainfall is getting reduced in areas traditionally associated with heavy rainfall. Similarly the period and the extent of snowfall in temperate regions have also become highly variable.

Increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters such as floods and droughts, cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons, and wildfires have become very obvious. Top five countries affected by climate change in 2021 include Japan, Philippines, Germany, Madagascar and India. Apart from causing death of a large number of humans and other animals, economic losses suffered by both urban and rural populations have been enormous. Deadly floods and landslides during 2020 forced about 12 million people leave their homes in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. According to World Meteorological Organization’s comprehensive report published in August 2021 (WMO-No.1267), climate change related disasters have increased by a factor of five over the last 50 years; however, the number of deaths and economic losses were reduced to 2 million and US$ 3.64 trillion respectively, due to improved warning and disaster management. More than 91% of these deaths happened in developing countries. Largest human losses were brought about by droughts, storms, floods and extreme temperatures. The report highlights that the number of weather, climate and water-extremes will become more frequent and severe as a result of climate change.

Global warming enhances the drying of organic matter in forests, thus increasing the risks of wildfires. Wildfires have become very common in recent years, particularly is some countries such as Western United States, Southern Europe and Australia, and are becoming more frequent and widespread. They have become frequent in India also and a large number of them have been recorded in several states. According to European Space Agency, fire affected an estimated four million km 2 of Earth’s land each year. Wildfires also release large amounts of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and fine particulate matter into the atmosphere causing air pollution and consequent health problems. In 2021, wildfires around the world, emitted 1.76 billion tonnes of carbon (European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service). In Australia, more than a billion native animals reported to have been killed during 2020 fires, and some species and ecosystems may never recover (OXFAM International 2021 ).

• Sea level rise

Global warming is causing mean sea level to rise in two ways. On one hand, the melting of the glaciers, the polar ice cap and the Atlantic ice shelf are adding water to the ocean and on the other hand the volume of the ocean is expanding as the water warms. Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels and biomass releases tiny particles of carbon (< 2.5 µm), referred to as black carbon. While suspended in the air (before they settle down on earth’s surface) black carbon particles absorb sun’s heat 1000s of times more effectively than CO 2 thus contributing to global warming. When black particles get deposited over snow, glaciers or ice caps, they enhance their melting further adding to the rise in sea level. Global mean sea level has risen faster since 1900 than over any preceding century in at least the last 3000 years. Between 2006 and 2016, the rate of sea-level rise was 2.5 times faster than it was for almost the whole of the twentieth century (OXFAM International 2021 ). Precise data gathered from satellite radar measurements reveal an accelerating rise of 7.5 cm from 1993 to 2017, an average of 31 mm per decade (WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group 2018 ).

Snow accounts for almost all current precipitation in the Arctic region. However, it continues to warm four times faster than the rest of the world as the melting ice uncovers darker land or ocean beneath, which absorbs more sunlight causing more heating. The latest projections indicate more rapid warming and sea ice loss in the Arctic region by the end of the century than predicted in previous projections (McCrystall et al. 2021 ). It also indicates that the transition from snow to rain-dominated Arctic in the summer and autumn is likely to occur decades earlier than estimated. In fact this transition has already begun; rain fell at Greenland’s highest summit (3216 m) on 14 August 2021 for several hours for the first time on record and air temperature remained above freezing for about 9 h (National Snow and Ice Sheet Centre Today, August 18, 2021).

In the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (13 December 2021) researchers warned that rapid melting and deterioration of one of western Antarctica’s biggest glaciers, roughly the size of Florida, Thwaites (often called as Doomsday Glacier), could lead to ice shelf’s complete collapse in just a few years. It holds enough water to raise sea level over 65 cm. Thwaites glacier is holding the entire West Antarctic ice sheet and is being undermined from underneath by warm water linked to the climate change. Melting of Thwaites could eventually lead to the loss of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which locks up 3.3 m of global sea level rise. Such doomsday may be coming sooner than expected (see Voosen 2021 ). If this happens, its consequences on human tragedy and biodiversity loss are beyond imagination.

The Himalayan mountain range is considered to hold the world’s third largest amount of glacier ice after Arctic and Antarctic regions. It is considered as Asian water tower (Immerzeel et al. 2020 ); the meltwater from the Himalayan glaciers provide the source of fresh water to nearly 2 billion people living along the mountain valleys and lowlands around the Himalayas. These glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates. Recently King et al. ( 2021 ) studied 79 glaciers close to Mt. Everest by analysing mass-change measurements from satellite archives and reported that the rate of ice loss from glaciers consistently increased since the early 1960s. This loss is likely to increase in the coming years due to further warming. In another study, a tenfold acceleration in ice loss was observed across the Himalayas than the average rate in recent decades over the past centuries (Lee et al. 2021 ). Melting of glaciers also results in drying up of perennial rivers in summer leading to the water scarcity for billions of humans and animals, and food and energy production downstream. See level rise and melting of glaciers feeding the rivers could lead to migration of huge population, creating additional problems. Even when the increase in global temperature rise is limited to 1.5 °C (discussed later), it generates a global sea-level rise between 1.7 and 3.2 feet by 2100. If it increases to 2 °C, the result could be more catastrophic leading to the submergence of a large number of islands, and flooding and submergence of vast coastal areas, saltwater intrusion into surface waters and groundwater, and increased soil erosion. A number of islands of Maldives for example, would get submerged as 80% of its land area is located less than one meter above the sea level. The biodiversity in such islands and coastal areas becomes extinct. China, Vietnam, Fiji, Japan, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh are considered to be the most at risk. Sundarbans National Park (UNESCO world heritage Site), the world’s largest Mangrove Forest spread over 140,000 hectares across India and Bangladesh, is the habitat for Royal Bengal Tiger and several other animal species. The area has already lost 12% of its shoreline in the last four decades by rising see level; it is likely to be completely submerged. Jakarta in Indonesia is the fastest sinking city in the world; the city has already sunk 2.5 m in the last 10 years and by 2050, most of it would be submerged. In Europe also, about three quarters of all cities will be affected by rising sea levels, especially in the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Greece and Italy. The entire city of Venice may get submerged (Anonymous 2018 ). In USA, New York City and Miami would be particularly vulnerable.

Crop productivity and human health

Many studies have indicated that climate change is driving increasing losses in crop productivity (Zhu et al. 2021 ). The models on global yield loss for wheat, maize and rice indicate an increase in yield losses by 10 to 25% per degree Celsius warming (Deutsch et al. 2018 ). Bras et al. ( 2021 ) reported that heatwave and drought roughly tripled crop losses over the last 50 years, from − 2.2% (1964–1990) to − 7.3% (1991–2015). Overall, the loss in crop production from climate-driven abiotic stresses may exceed US$ 170 billion year –1  and represents a major threat to global food security (Razaaq et al. 2021 ). Analysis of annual field trials of common wheat in California from 1985 to 2019 (35 years), during which the global atmospheric CO 2  concentration increased by 19%, revealed that the yield declined by 13% (Bloom and Plant 2021 ). Apart from crop yield, climate change is reported to result in the decline of nutritional value of food grains (Jagermeyr et al. 2021 ). For example, rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration reduces the amounts of proteins, minerals and vitamins in rice (Zhu et al. 2018 ). This may be true in other cereal crops also. As rice supplies 25% of all global calories, this would greatly affect the food and nutritional security of predominantly rice growing countries. Climate change would also increase the prevalence of insect pests adding to the yield loss of crops. The prevailing floods and droughts also affect food production significantly. Global warming also affects crop productivity through its impact on pollinators. Insect pollinators contribute to crop production in 75% of the leading food crops (Rader et al. 2013 ). Climate change contributes significantly to the decline in density and diversity of pollinators (Shivanna 2020 ; Shivanna et al. 2020 ). Under high as well as low temperatures, bees spend less time in foraging (Heinrich 1979 ) adding additional constraints to pollination efficiency of crop species.

The IPCC Third Assessment Report (Climate change 2001: The scientific basis – IPCC) concluded that the poorest countries would be hardest hit with reductions in crop yields in most tropical and sub-tropical regions due to increased temperature, decreased water availability and new or changed insect pest incidence. Rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification affect marine ecosystems. Loss of fish habitats is modifying the distribution and productivity of both marine and freshwater species thus affecting the sustainability of fisheries and populations dependent on them (Salvatteci 2022 ).

Air pollution is considered as the major environmental risk of climate change due to its impact on public health causing increasing morbidity and mortality (Manisalidis 2020 ). Particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulphur dioxide are the major air pollutants. They cause respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchiolitis and lung cancer. Recent studies have indicated that exposure to air pollution is linked to methylation of immunoregulatory genes, altered immune cell profiles and increased blood pressure in children (Prunicki et al. 2021 ). In another study wildfire smoke has been reported to be more harmful to humans than automobiles emissions (Aquilera et al. 2021 ). Stubble burning (intentional incineration of stubbles by farmers after crop harvest) has been a common practice in some parts of South Asia particularly in India; it releases large amount of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and methane and causes serious damage to the environment and health (Abdurrahman et al. 2020 ). It also affects soil fertility by destroying the nutrients and microbes of the soil. Attempts are being made to use alternative methods to prevent this practice.

A number of diseases such as zika fever, dengue and chikungunya are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and are now largely restricted to the monsoon season. Global warming facilitates their spread in time and space thus exposing new populations and regions for extended period to these diseases. Lyme disease caused by a bacterium is transmitted through the bite of the infected blacklegged ticks. It is one of the most common disease in the US. The cases of Lyme disease have tripled in the past two decades. Recent studies have suggested that variable winter conditions due to climate change could increase tick’s activity thus increasing the infections (see Pennisi 2022 ).

Biodiversity

Biodiversity and associated ecoservices are the basic requirements for human livelihood and for maintenance of ecological balance in Nature. Documentation of biodiversity, and its accelerating loss and urgent need for its conservation have become the main concern for humanity since several decades (Wilson and Peter 1988 ; Wilson 2016 ; Heywood 2017 ; IPBES 2019 ; Genes and Dirzo 2021 ; Shivanna and Sanjappa 2021 ). It is difficult to analyse the loss of biodiversity exclusively due to climate change as other human-induced environmental changes such as habitat loss and degradation, overexploitation of bioresources and introduction of alien species also interact with climate change and affect biodiversity and ecosystems. In recent decades there has been a massive loss of biodiversity leading to initiation of the sixth mass extinction crisis due to human-induced environmental changes. These details are not discussed here; they are dealt in detail in many other reviews (Leech and Crick 2007 ; Sodhi and Ehrlich 2010 ; Lenzen et al. 2012 ; Dirzo and Raven 2003 ; Raven 2020 ; Ceballos et al. 2015 ; Beckman et al. 2020 ; Shivanna 2020 ; Negrutiu et al. 2020 ; Soroye et al. 2020 ; Wagner 2020 ,  2021 ; Anonymous 2021 ; Zattara and Aizen 2021 ).

Terrestrial species

There are several effects on biodiversity caused largely by climate change. Maxwell et al. ( 2019 ) reviewed 519 studies on ecological responses to extreme climate events (cyclones, droughts, floods, cold waves and heat waves) between 1941 and 2015 covering amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles and plants. Negative ecological responses have been reported for 57% of all documented groups including 31 cases of local extirpations and 25% of population decline.

Increase in temperature impacts two aspects of growth and development in plants and animals. One of them is a shift in distributional range of species and the other is the shift in phenological events. Plant and animal species have adapted to their native habitat over 1000s of years. As the temperature gets warmer in their native habitat, species tend to move to higher altitudes and towards the poles in search of suitable temperature and other environmental conditions. There are a number of reports on climate change-induced shifts in the distributional range of both plant and animal species (Grabherr et al. 1994 ; Cleland et al. 2007 ; Parmesan and Yohe 2003 ; Beckage et al. 2008 ; Pimm 2009 ; Miller-Rushing et al. 2010 ; Lovejoy and Hannah 2005 ; Lobell et al. 2011 ). Many species may not be able to keep pace with the changing weather conditions and thus lag behind leading to their eventual extinction. Long-term observations extending for over 100 years have shown that many species of bumblebees in North-America and Europe are not keeping up with the changing climate and are disappearing from the southern portions of their range (Kerr et al. 2015 ). Most of the flowering plants depend on animals for seed dispersal (Beckman et al. 2020 ). Defaunation induced by climate change and other environmental disturbances has reduced long-distance seed dispersal. Prediction of dispersal function for fleshly-fruited species has already reduced the capacity of plants to track climate change by 60%, thus severely affecting their range shifts (Fricke et al. 2022 ).

Climate change induced shifts in species would threaten their sustenance even in protected areas as they hold a large number of species with small distributional range (Velasquez-Tibata et al. 2013 ). Pautasso ( 2012 ) has highlighted the sensitivity of European birds to the impacts of climate change in their phenology (breeding time), migration patterns, species distribution and abundance. Metasequoia glyptostroboides is one of the critically endangered species with extremely small populations distributed in South-Central China. Zhao et al. ( 2020 ) analysed detailed meteorological and phenological data from 1960 to 2016 and confirmed that climate warming has altered the phenology and compressed the climatically suitable habitat of this species. Their studies revealed that the temperature during the last 57 years has increased significantly with the expansion of the length of growing season of this species. Climatically suitable area of the species has contracted at the rate of 370.8 km 2 per decade and the lower and upper elevation limits shrunk by 27 m over the last 57 years.

The other impact of climate change on plant and animal species has been in their phenological shift. Phenology is the timing of recurring seasonal events; it is a sort of Nature’s calendar for plants and animals. In flowering plants, various reproductive events such as the timing of flowering, fruiting, their intensity, and longevity are important phenological events, and in animals some of the phenological events include building of nests in birds, migration of animal species, timing of egg laying and development of the larva, pupa and adult in insects. Phenological events of both plants and animals are generally fixed in specific time of the year as they are based on environmental cues such as temperature, light, precipitation and snow melt. Phenological timings of species are the results of adaptations over 100 s of years to the prevailing environment. Wherever there is a mutualism between plants and animals, there is a synchrony between the two partners. For example in flowering plants, flowering is associated with the availability of pollinators and fruiting is associated with the availability of seed dispersers and optimal conditions for seed germination and seedling establishment. In animals also, phenological events are adapted to suit normal growth and reproduction. In temperate regions, melting of ice initiates leafing in plants; this is followed by the flowering in the spring. Similarly, warming of the climate before the spring induces hatching of the hibernating insects which feed on newly developed foliage. Insects emerge and ready to pollinate the flowers by the time the plants bloom.

The dates of celebration of the cherry blossom festival, an important cultural event in Japan that coincides with the peak of flowering period of this species and for which > 1000 years of historical records are available, has shown advances in the dates of the festival in recent decades (Primack et al. 2009 ). The records between 1971 and 2000 showed that the trees flowered an average of 7 days earlier than all the earlier years (Allen et al. 2013 ). These advances were correlated with increasing temperature over the years. Spring temperatures in the Red River valley, North Dakota, USA have extended the period of the growing season of plants significantly over the years. Flowering times, for which data are available from1910 to1961, have been shown to be sensitive to at least one variable related to temperature or precipitation for 75% of the 178 species investigated (Dunnell and Traverse 2011 ). The first flowering time has been significantly shifted earlier or later over the last 4 years of their study in 5–15% of the observed species relative to the previous century. Rhododendron arboretum , one of the central Himalayan tree species, flowers from early February to mid-March. Generalized additive model using real-time field observations (2009–2011) and herbarium records (1893–2003) indicated 88–97 days of early flowering in this species over the last 100 years (Gaira et al. 2014 ). This early flowering was correlated with an increase in the temperature.

One of the consequences of a shift in the distributional range of species and phenological timings is the possible uncoupling of synchronization between the time of flowering of plant species and availability of its pollinators (see Gerard et al. 2020 ). When a plant species migrates, its pollinator may not be able to migrate; similarly when a pollinator migrates, the plant species on which it depends for sustenance may not migrate. Memmott et al. ( 2007 ) explored potential disruption of pollination services due to climate change using a network of 1420 pollinators and 429 plant species by simulating consequences of phenological shifts that can be expected with doubling of atmospheric CO 2 . They reported phenological shifts which reduced available floral resources to 17–50% of all pollinator species. A long-term study since the mid-1970s in the Mediterranean Basin has indicated that unlike the synchrony present in the earlier decades between the flowering of plant species and their pollinators, insect phenoevents during the last decade showed a steeper advance than those of plants (Gordo and Sanz 2005 ). Similar asynchrony has been reported between the flowering of Lathyrus and one of its pollinators, Hoplitis fulgida (Forrest and Thomson 2011 ). Asynchrony between flowering and appearance of pollinator has also been reported in a few other cases (Kudo and Ida 2013 ; Kudo 2014 ). Such asynchrony could affect the sustenance of plant and/or pollinator species in the new environment.

Marine species

Amongst the marine species, corals are the most affected groups due to the rise in temperature and acidity of oceans. Corals live in a symbiotic relationship with algae which provide colour and photosynthates to the corals. Corals are extremely sensitive to heat and acidity; even an increase of 2–3°F of ocean water above normal results in expulsion of the symbiotic algae from their tissues leading to their bleaching (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2017 ). When this bleached condition continues for several weeks, corals die. Nearly one-third of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system that sustains huge Australian tourism industry, has died as a result of global warming (Hughes et al. 2018 ). According to the experts the reef will be unrecognizable in another 50 years if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate.

According to UNESCO, coral reefs in all 29 reef-containing World Heritage sites would cease to exist as functioning ecosystems by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions continue to be emitted at the present rate (Elena et al. 2020 ). Recent assessment of the risk of ecosystem collapse to coral reefs of the Western Indian Ocean, covering about 5% of the global total, range from critically endangered to vulnerable (Obura et al. 2021 ). Coral reefs provide suitable habitat for thousands of other species, including sharks, turtles and whales. If corals die, the whole ecosystem will get disrupted.

Melting of ice in Arctic region due to global warming is threatening the survival of native animals such as polar bear, Arctic fox and Arctic wolf. Rising of sea level also leads to the extinction of a large number of endangered and endemic plant and animal species in submerged coastal areas and islands. Over 180,000 islands around the globe contain 20% of the world’s biodiversity. Bellard et al. ( 2013 ) assessed consequences of sea level rise of 1–6 m for 10 insular biodiversity hotspots and their endemic species at the risk of potential extinction. Their study revealed that 6 to19% of the 4447 islands would be entirely submerged depending on the rise of sea level; three of them, the Caribbean islands, the Philippines and Sundaland, displayed the most significant hotspots representing a potential threat for 300 endemic species. According to the Centre for Biological Diversity ( 2013 ) 233 federally protected threatened and endangered species in 23 coastal states are threatened if rising sea is unchecked. Recently more than 100 Aquatic Science Societies representing over 80,000 scientists from seven continents sounded climate alarm (Bonar 2021 ). They have highlighted the effects of climate change on marine and aquatic ecosystems and have called on the world leaders and public to undertake mitigation measures to protect and sustain aquatic systems and theirs services.

Mitigation measures

The principal mitigation measures against climate change are obvious; they include significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission, prevention of deforestation and increase in the forest cover. To reduce greenhouse gas emission, use of coal and fossil fuels needs to be reduced markedly. As climate change is a global challenge, local solutions confined to one or a few countries do not work; we need global efforts. Many attempts are being made to achieve these objectives at the global level since many decades. Mitigation measures are largely at the level of diplomatic negotiations involving states and international organizations, Governments and some nongovernmental organizations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988. Its mandate was to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, and also to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. In 1992 more than 1700 World scientists, including the majority of living Nobel laureates gave the first Warning to Humanity about climate change and associated problems. They expressed concern about potential damage to the Planet Earth by human-induced environmental changes such as climate change, continued human population growth, forest loss, biodiversity loss and ozone depletion. Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Convention on Climate Change was established in 1992 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to discuss global response to climate change. Its first meeting (COP 1) was held in Berlin in March 1995 and is being held every year since then. The Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, released in November 2014, projected an increase in the mean global temperature of 3.7 to 4.8 °C by 2100, relative to preindustrial levels (1850), in the absence of new policies to mitigate climate change; it highlighted that such an increase would have serious consequences. This prediction compelled the participating countries at the COP 21 held in Paris in December 2015 to negotiate effective ways and means of reducing carbon emissions. In this meeting the goal to limit global warming to well below 2 °C, preferably to 1.5 °C, compared to preindustrial levels was adapted by 196 participating countries as a legally binding treaty on climate change. It also mandated review of progress every 5 years and the development of a fund containing $100 billion by 2020, which would be replenished annually, to help developing countries to adopt non-greenhouse-gas-producing technologies.

In 2017, after 25 years after the first warning, 15,354 world scientists from 184 countries gave ‘second warning to humanity’ (Ripple et al. 2017 ). They emphasized that with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in solving these environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse. Analysis of Warren et al. ( 2018 ) on a global scale on the effects of climate change on the distribution of insects, vertebrates and plants indicated that even with 2 °C temperature increase, approximately 18% of insects, 16% of plants and 8% of vertebrates species are projected to loose > 50% geographic range; this falls to 6% for insects, 8% for plants and 4% for vertebrates when temperature increase is reduced to 1.5 °C.

UN Report on climate change (prepared by > 90 authors from 40 countries after examining 6000 scientific publications) released in October 2018 in South Korea also gave serious warning to the world. Some of the salient features of this report were:

• Overshooting 1.5 °C will be disastrous. It will have devastating effects on ecosystems, communities and economies. By 2040 there could be global food shortages, the inundation of coastal cities and a refugee crisis unlike the world has ever seen.
• Even 1.5 °C warming would rise sea levels by 26–77 cm by 2100; 2 °C would add another 10 cm which would affect another 10 million people living in coastal regions.
• Coral reefs are projected to decline 70–90% even at 1.5 °C. At 2 °C, 99% of the reefs would be ravaged.
• Storms, floods, droughts and forest fires would increase in intensity and frequency.
• The world has already warmed by about 1 °C since preindustrial times. We are currently heading for about 3–4 °C of warming by 2100.
• Unless rapid and deep reductions in CO 2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades, achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement will be beyond reach.
• To keep 1.5 °C target, coal’s share of global electricity generation must be cut from the present 37% to no more than 2% by 2050. Renewable power must be greatly expanded. Net CO 2  emissions must come down by 45% (from 2010 levels) by 2030 and reach net zero (emissions of greenhouse gases no more than the amount removed from the atmosphere) around 2050.

This report awakened the world Governments about the seriousness of the climate change. The COP 26 meeting which was to be held in 2020 had to be postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic. The first part of the sixth report of IPCC was released in August 2021 (AR6 Climate Change 2021 ), just before the postponed COP 26 meeting was to be held; it highlighted that the threshold warming of 1.5 °C (the target of keeping the warming by the end of the century) would reach in the next 20 years itself and if the present trends continue, it would reach 2.7 °C by the end of the century.

Under this predicted climate emergency (see Ripple et al. 2020 ), COP 26 meeting was held in Glasgow, Scotland between October 31 and November 12, 2021. Nearly 200 countries participated in this meeting. The main aim of the COP 26 was finalization of the rules and procedures for implementation of the Paris agreement to keep the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. A number of countries including USA and European Union pledged to reach net zero carbon emission by 2050. China pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2060 and India by 2070. India also committed to reduce the use of fossil fuels by 40% by 2030. More than 100 countries committed to reduce worldwide methane emissions by 30% (of 2020 levels) by 2030 and to end deforestation by 2030. The average atmospheric concentration of methane reached a record 1900 ppb in September 2021; it was 1638 ppb in 1983 (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), highlighting the importance of acting on pledges made at the COP 26.

One of the limitations of COP meetings has been nonadherence of the commitment made by developed countries at Paris meeting to transfer US $100 billion annually to developing and poor countries to support climate mitigation and loss of damage, through 2025; only Germany, Norway and Sweden are paying their share. Several experts feel that the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact was weaker than expected. According to the assessment of Climate Action Tracker, a non-profit independent global analysis platform, emission reduction commitments by countries still lead to 2.4 °C warming by 2100. However, a positive outcome of the meeting was that it has kept alive the hopes of achieving the 1.5 °C goal by opening the options for further discussion in the coming COP meetings. Apart from implementation of mitigation pledges made by countries, it is also important to pay attention to climate adaptation since the negative effects of climate change will continue for decades or longer (AR6 Climate Change 2021 ). Investment in early warning is an important means of climate adaptation, which is lacking in many parts of Africa and Latin America.

Climate change has now become the fastest growing global threat to human welfare. The world has realized the responsibility of the present generation as it is considered to be the last generation capable of taking effective measures to reverse its impact. If it fails, human civilization is likely to be doomed beyond recovery. As emphasized by many organizations, the climate crisis is inherently unfair; poorer countries will suffer its consequences more than others. India is one amongst the nine countries identified to be seriously affected by climate change. According to a WHO analysis ( 2016 ) India could face more than 25% of all global climate-related deaths by 2050 due to decreasing food availability. China is expected to face the highest number of per capita food insecurity deaths. Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom with 60% forest cover, is the most net negative carbon emission country; its GHG emission is less than the amount removed from the atmosphere. Other countries should aim to emulate Bhutan as early as possible.

A number of other options have been suggested to trap atmospheric carbon dioxide (Climate change mitigation—Wikipedia). Carbon storage through sequestration of organic carbon by deep-rooted grasses has been one such approach (Fisher et al. 1994 ). Several studies from Africa have indicated that introduction of Brachiaria grasses in semi-arid tropics can help to increase not only carbon stock in the soil but also yield greater economic returns (Gichangi et al. 2017 ). Recently a new seed bank, ‘Future Seeds’ was dedicated at Palmira, Columbia to store world’s largest collection of beans, cassava, and tropical forage grasses for the use of breeders to create better performing and climate-resistant crops (Stokstad 2022 ). Brachiaria humidicola is one of the tropical forage grass stored in this seed bank for its potential benefit in carbon sequestration. Lavania and Lavania ( 2009 ) have suggested vetiver ( Vetiveria zizanioides ), a C 4 perennial grass, with massive fibrous root system that can grow up to 3 m into the soil in 1 year, as a potential species for this purpose. Vetiver is estimated to produce 20–30 tonnes of root dry matter per hectare annually and holds the potential of adding 1 kg atmospheric CO 2 annually to the soil carbon pool per m 2 surface area. Carbon dioxide capture and storage is another such potential approach. At present it is too expensive and this approach may have to wait until improvement of the technology, reduction in the cost and feasibility of transfer of the technology to developing countries (IPCC Special Report on carbon dioxide capture and storage 2005 ).

There has been some discussion on the role of climate change on speciation (Levin 2019 ; Gao et al. 2020 ). Some evolutionary biologists have observed that the rate of speciation has accelerated in the recent past due to climate change and would continue to increase in the coming decades (Thomas 2015 ; Levin 2019 ; Gao et al. 2020 ). They propose that auto- and allo-polyploidy are going to be the primary modes of speciation in the next 500 years (Levin 2019 , see also Gao 2019 , Villa et al. 2022 ). However, extinction of species imposed by climate change may excel positive impact on plant speciation via polyploidy (Gao et al. 2020 ). The question is will climate change induce higher level of polyploidy and other genetic changes in crop species also that would promote evolution of new genotypes to sustain productivity and quality of food grains? If so, it would ameliorate, to some extent, food and nutritional insecurity of humans especially in the developing world.

Effective implementation of the pledges made by different countries in COP 26 and actions to be taken in the coming COP meetings are going to be crucial and determine humanity’s success or failure in tackling climate change emergency. COP 26 climate pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions, end of deforestation and shift to sustainable transport is certainly more ambitious then earlier COPs. There are also many other positive signals for reducing fossil fuels. Scientists have started using more precise monitoring equipment to collect more reliable environmental data, and more options are being developed by researchers on renewable and alternate energy sources, and to capture carbon from industries or from the air (Chandler D, MIT News 24 Oct 2019, Swain F, BBC Future Planet, 12 March 2021). Scotland has become coal-free and Costa Rica has achieved 99% renewable energy. India has reduced the use of fossil fuel by 40% of it installed capacity, 8 years ahead of its commitment at the COP 26.

Further, people are becoming more conscious to reduce carbon emission by following climate-friendly technologies. Human sufferings associated with an increase in natural disasters throughout the world have focussed public attention on climate change as never before. They also realise the benefits of improved air quality by reducing consumption of coal and fossil fuels on health and ecosystems. The demand for electric vehicles is steadily growing. Reforestation is being carried out in a large scale in many countries. Recent studies across a range of tree plantations and native forests in 53 countries have revealed that carbon storage, soil erosion control, water conservation and biodiversity benefits are delivered better from native forests compared to monoculture tree plantations, although the latter yielded more wood (Hua et al. 2022 ). This has to be kept in mind in reforestation programmes. Hopefully the world will be able to realize the goal of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 °C by the end of the century and humanity would learn to live in harmony with Nature.

Declarations

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Critical Writing: Waking Up to Climate Change: Researching the White Paper

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Research the White Paper

Researching the White Paper:

The process of researching and composing a white paper shares some similarities with the kind of research and writing one does for a high school or college research paper. What’s important for writers of white papers to grasp, however, is how much this genre differs from a research paper.  First, the author of a white paper already recognizes that there is a problem to be solved, a decision to be made, and the job of the author is to provide readers with substantive information to help them make some kind of decision--which may include a decision to do more research because major gaps remain. 

Thus, a white paper author would not “brainstorm” a topic. Instead, the white paper author would get busy figuring out how the problem is defined by those who are experiencing it as a problem. Typically that research begins in popular culture--social media, surveys, interviews, newspapers. Once the author has a handle on how the problem is being defined and experienced, its history and its impact, what people in the trenches believe might be the best or worst ways of addressing it, the author then will turn to academic scholarship as well as “grey” literature (more about that later).  Unlike a school research paper, the author does not set out to argue for or against a particular position, and then devote the majority of effort to finding sources to support the selected position.  Instead, the author sets out in good faith to do as much fact-finding as possible, and thus research is likely to present multiple, conflicting, and overlapping perspectives. When people research out of a genuine desire to understand and solve a problem, they listen to every source that may offer helpful information. They will thus have to do much more analysis, synthesis, and sorting of that information, which will often not fall neatly into a “pro” or “con” camp:  Solution A may, for example, solve one part of the problem but exacerbate another part of the problem. Solution C may sound like what everyone wants, but what if it’s built on a set of data that have been criticized by another reliable source?  And so it goes. 

For example, if you are trying to write a white paper on the opioid crisis, you may focus on the value of  providing free, sterilized needles--which do indeed reduce disease, and also provide an opportunity for the health care provider distributing them to offer addiction treatment to the user. However, the free needles are sometimes discarded on the ground, posing a danger to others; or they may be shared; or they may encourage more drug usage. All of those things can be true at once; a reader will want to know about all of these considerations in order to make an informed decision. That is the challenging job of the white paper author.     
 The research you do for your white paper will require that you identify a specific problem, seek popular culture sources to help define the problem, its history, its significance and impact for people affected by it.  You will then delve into academic and grey literature to learn about the way scholars and others with professional expertise answer these same questions. In this way, you will create creating a layered, complex portrait that provides readers with a substantive exploration useful for deliberating and decision-making. You will also likely need to find or create images, including tables, figures, illustrations or photographs, and you will document all of your sources. 

Courtney Warren

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Scientists outline a bold solution to climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice

An international team of scientists led by Oregon State University researchers has used a novel 500-year dataset to frame a "restorative" pathway through which humanity can avoid the worst ecological and social outcomes of climate change.

In addition to charting a possible new course for society, the researchers say their "paradigm shifting" plan can support climate modeling and discussion by providing a set of actions that strongly emphasize social and economic justice as well as environmental sustainability.

Oregon State's William Ripple, former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf and collaborators argue their scenario should be included in climate models along with the five "shared socioeconomic pathways," or SSPs, that are used by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"We understand that our proposed scenario may be a major challenge to implement given current trends in emissions, a lack of political will and widespread social denial, but its merits can't even be honestly debated if it's not included in the suite of options," said Ripple, distinguished professor of ecology in the OSU College of Forestry. "We're arguing for radical incrementalism: achieving massive change through small, short-term steps. And we're offering a much-needed contrast to many other climate scenarios, which may be more aligned with the status quo, which isn't working."

Ripple and co-authors from the United States, the Netherlands and Australia present their restorative pathway in a paper published today in Environmental Research Letters . They say the pathway is inspired by a unique compilation of Earth system variables that vividly illustrate how humanity's resource demands have exploded since 1850, indicating ecological overshoot.

"The supporting data underscore the urgent need for action," said Wolf, now a scientist with Corvallis-based Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates. "The growth in human population, gross domestic product and energy consumption, primarily reliant on fossil fuels, has led to an extraordinary surge in greenhouse gas emissions, dramatically altering land use and triggering a massive biodiversity decline."

The authors note that current climate change modeling relies on multiple assumptions and factors related to policy options and societal developments. An international team of climate scientists, economists and energy systems modelers developed the SSPs, which are used to derive greenhouse gas emissions scenarios under different sets of policies that assume continued and significant GDP growth through 2100.

"The SSPs describe plausible developments that in the future would lead to different challenges for climate change mitigation and adaptation," Wolf said. "They're based on five narratives that describe alternative socioeconomic developments, some more sustainable than others. Our scenario focuses on reducing the consumption of primary resources to a level that keeps environmental pressures within planetary boundaries, with per capita GDP stabilizing over time."

Wolf, Ripple and collaborators took a long-term look back at a range of variables: fossil fuel emissions, human population, GDP, land use, greenhouse gas concentrations, global temperature, vertebrate wildlife species abundance, income inequality and meat production.

Collectively, the data paint a comprehensive picture of the profound changes Earth has undergone, say the authors, who include Jillian Gregg of Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates, Detlef P. van Vuuren with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and Manfred Lenzen of the University of Sydney.

"The income share variable extends back to 1820 and shows how the top 10% have consistently received at least 50% of all income, illustrating global economic inequality over the long term," Ripple said. "The restorative pathway would represent a more equitable and resilient world with a focus on nature preservation as a natural climate solution; societal well-being and quality of life; equality and high levels of education for girls and women, resulting in low fertility rates and higher standards of living; and a rapid transition toward renewable energy."

Unlike some of the current shared socioeconomic pathways, the restorative pathway does not rely on the development of carbon capture technologies, nor does it assume continued economic growth as the SSPs do.

"By prioritizing large-scale societal change, our proposed pathway could limit warming much more effectively than pathways that support rising resource consumption by wealthy nations," Ripple said. "We aim to bend the curves on a wide range of planetary vital signs with a holistic vision for addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and socioeconomic injustice. Our work presents a case for how humanity can embark on the journey of saving the world from these environmental and social crises."

In October 2023, Ripple, Wolf and 10 other U.S. and global scientists published research in BioScience that showed the Earth's vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have yet seen, to the point that life on the planet is imperiled.

Ripple is also the co-author of another BioScience paper, published today, that examines climate change and the related biodiversity crisis from a cosmic perspective using "long-term planetary thinking," he said.

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Story Source:

Materials provided by Oregon State University . Original written by Steve Lundeberg. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal References :

• William J Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Detlef P van Vuuren, Jillian W Gregg, Manfred Lenzen. An environmental and socially just climate mitigation pathway for a planet in peril . Environmental Research Letters , 2024; 19 (2): 021001 DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ad059e
• Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez, William J Ripple, Aurelio F Malo. Scientists’ warning to humanity for long-term planetary thinking on biodiversity and humankind preservation, a cosmic perspective . BioSciences , 2024 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biad108

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Multiple Authors

Last year brought no shortage of news. Frontpages around the world were dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine , the death of Queen Elizabeth II and a UK prime minister outlasted by a lettuce .

But in yet another hectic year for news coverage, climate change still made headlines – not least because of the thousands of peer-reviewed journal papers about climate and energy that are published every year. 

These studies were picked up around the world by online news outlets and shared on social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Tracking all these “mentions” was Altmetric , an organisation that scores academic papers according to the media attention they receive.

Using Altmetric data for 2022, Carbon Brief has compiled its now-traditional list of the 25 most talked-about climate or energy-related papers that were published the previous year.

From megafloods to megadroughts and insects to polar bears, last year saw a broad range of headline-grabbing research – as well as a new record-high Altmetric score for a paper in a Carbon Brief annual review.

The infographic above shows which papers made it into the top 10, while the chart at the end of the article shows which journals feature most frequently in the top 25.

Pandemic prominence

As in 2020 and 2021 , the most talked-about scientific research of the past year has been about Covid-19. 

All but five of the 50 highest scoring papers of 2022 relate to the coronavirus. Those five include two papers on monkeypox (since renamed “mpox”), one on the global burden of drug-resistant bacteria , one that identifies the Epstein-Barr virus as “the leading cause of multiple sclerosis”, and one finding that, in 2020, firearms became the main cause of deaths in children in the US.

Continuing the theme, the most talked-about climate and energy paper of 2022 also relates to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Just outside the overall top 50, in 56th place, is “ Climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risk ”. Published in Nature, the study warns that mammals forced to move to cooler climes amid rising global temperatures are “already” spreading their viruses further – with “undoubtable” impacts for human health.

The research uses modelling to map how climate change could shift the geographic ranges of 3,100 mammal species and the viruses they carry by 2070. It finds that climate change is increasingly driving new encounters between mammal species, raising the risk of novel disease spread. The world’s “biodiversity hotspots” and densely populated parts of Asia and Africa are most likely to be affected.

Speaking to Carbon Brief when the paper was published in April, co-lead author Dr Colin Carlson , a global change biologist at Georgetown University in Washington DC, explained:

“Species are going to show up in new combinations because of climate change and, when they do, that’s an opportunity for them to share viruses with each other.” 

The relevance of the work was “reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic”, the paper says, “which began only weeks after the completion of this study”. The authors note that Covid-19 “probably originated in south-east Asian horseshoe bats and may have spread to humans through an as-yet-unknown bridge host”. They add:

“Although we caution against over-interpreting our results as explanatory of the current pandemic, our findings suggest that climate change could easily become the dominant anthropogenic force in viral cross-species transmission, which will undoubtedly have a downstream effect on human health and pandemic risk.”

The paper clocks in with an Altmetric score of 7,803 – the highest score for any climate paper featured in Carbon Brief’s annual reviews and only the second time the top-scoring paper has surpassed 7,000. 

(For Carbon Brief’s previous Altmetric articles, see the links for 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 .)

The study was covered in 716 news stories by 558 outlets around the world, including the Guardian , New York Times , Agence France-Presse , Al Jazeera and New Delhi Times . It was also picked up in 44 blog posts.

The research was the most talked about on Twitter of any of the top 25 climate papers included here. The paper’s URL was included in more than 10,000 tweets from more than 9,000 accounts, which collectively have almost 39 million followers.

Considering the paper’s timing, it is “not surprising” that connecting climate change with pandemics “gathered a bit of attention”, Carlson tells Carbon Brief. 

However, he says, “there’s still a weird pattern where climate gets left out of the conversation [around pandemics] a lot compared to biodiversity loss or wildlife trade”. He adds:

“I think I’ve started to see that change finally, and if we played a part in that, that’s wonderful. Most of my work focuses on the health impacts of climate change, and I think time and time again, we underestimate how bad they’ll be…Climate change is an existential threat to human and animal health, and I hope our study and the conversation around it helped push that envelope a bit.”

The second highest-scoring climate paper of 2022 – clocking in at 70th in the overall 2022 rankings – is, “ Exceeding 1.5C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points ”. Published in the journal Science, the study has an Altmetric score of 6,573.

The study’s lead author, Dr David McKay , told Carbon Brief in September that tipping points have been a keen area of interest in the climate community since 2008, when the study, “ Tipping elements in the Earth’s climate system ”, first “broke the ice” on the subject.

His work provides the first comprehensive assessment of climate-related tipping points since the 2008 paper. It identifies 16 climate tipping elements – shown below – and finds a “significant likelihood” that multiple tipping points will be crossed if global temperatures exceed 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

The study was mentioned in 667 news stories from 397 outlets – including the Guardian , New Scientist and BBC News . It received the highest number of mentions in blog posts and Wikipedia pages of the top 25 climate papers – at 55 and 34, respectively. The study also featured in more than 6,000 tweets.

The study was strategically published just days before researchers, economists and civil society representatives gathered in McKay’s home town of Exeter for a conference on the topic of climate tipping points. Carbon Brief attended the conference, and summarised the key talking points, ideas and proposals that emerged.

Arctic warming

In third place with an Altmetric score of 6,201 is the Communications Earth and Environment study, “ The Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the globe since 1979 ”.

It is well known that Arctic temperatures are rising much faster than the global average. Previous estimates suggest that the region is warming twice or even three times as quickly as the rest of the world. However, this new study finds that the Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the global average over the past four decades.

Dr Mika Rantanen – a researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute and lead author on the study – tells Carbon Brief that “Arctic warming and its consequences have become one of the biggest manifestations of climate change”. As such, he says he and his co-authors expected the paper to attract media attention.

True to his expectations, the article was picked up in 765 news stories from 525 outlets, including the Independent , New York Times , Scientific American and Washington Post . “I think that choosing an attractive title was one reason why the paper was picked up so widely,” Rantanen tells Carbon Brief.

In fourth place, with an Altmetric score of 6,147, is the Nature Climate Change paper, “ Greenland ice sheet climate disequilibrium and committed sea level rise ”. 

The study finds that the “imbalance” of the Greenland ice sheet caused by global warming means it is already committed to contributing “at least” 274mm to global sea levels in future, “regardless of 21st-century climate pathways”.

The research also warned that if Greenland melt was consistently as large as the high-melt year of 2012, this would commit 782mm to sea levels, which serves as “an ominous prognosis for Greenland’s trajectory through a 21st century of warming”.

The study was picked up by 867 news stories from 658 outlets. These include, for example, a Guardian headline warning that major sea level rise from Greenland was now “inevitable”, and an Associated Press article leading on the idea of “zombie ice”:

“That’s doomed ice that, while still attached to thicker areas of ice, is no longer getting replenished by parent glaciers now receiving less snow. Without replenishment, the doomed ice is melting from climate change and will inevitably raise seas.”

Study co-author Dr William Colgan , a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland , told the outlet:

“It’s dead ice. It’s just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet…This ice has been consigned to the ocean, regardless of what climate (emissions) scenario we take now.”

The paper was also picked up by 37 blog posts and 1,671 tweets.

Completing the top five is another pandemic-related paper, “ Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change ”, also published in Nature Climate Change.

It finds that nearly 60% of pathogen-caused diseases that affect humans have been “at some point aggravated” by climate-related “hazards”, such as warming and drought. 

Specifically, the researchers identify how 375 infectious diseases around the world have been affected by a range of climatic hazards. They find that while 16% of infectious diseases have “at times” been reduced by climate hazards, there are more than 1,000 “unique pathways” by which pathogenic diseases were exacerbated by climate change. 

The authors warn that these pathways are “too numerous for comprehensive societal adaptations” and say that this work highlights the “urgent need to work at the source of the problem: reducing [greenhouse gas] emissions”.

With an overall Altmetric tally of 6,079, the paper would have scored high enough to secure top spot last year . It was covered by 803 news stories from 582 outlets, 31 posts from 28 blogs, and 2,571 tweets from 2,277 users.

Just missing out on a spot in the top five is a “perspective” paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “ Climate endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios ”. This less-than-cheery article on “catastrophic” outcomes of climate change was referenced in 556 news stories from 428 outlets. The BBC News coverage of the study says:

“Catastrophic climate change outcomes, including human extinction, are not being taken seriously enough by scientists, a new study says. The authors say that the consequences of more extreme warming – still on the cards if no action is taken – are ‘dangerously underexplored’. They argue that the world needs to start preparing for the possibility of what they term the ‘climate endgame’.”

With an Altmetric score of 4,807, spot number seven goes to the Advances in Atmospheric Sciences paper, “ Another record: Ocean warming continues through 2021 despite La Niña conditions ”.

The annual Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report clocks in at number eight. The paper – under the heading “health at the mercy of fossil fuels” – was mentioned in 521 news stories from 386 outlets. In a striking summary, the report says:

“Worldwide, people are seeing their health increasingly affected by climate change amidst the compounding impacts of Covid-19 and the cost of living and energy crises; governments and companies continue to prioritise fossil fuels over a healthy future despite climate commitments; and rapid, holistic action is the only route to ensuring a just and healthy future.”

At number nine is the “brief communication” Nature Climate Change paper, “ Rapid intensification of the emerging south-western North American megadrought in 2020-2021 ”. The study finds that the American west’s megadrought is the driest in at least 1,200 years.

The research was picked up in 1,187 new stories – more than any of the other 25 papers included here – including American publications the New York Times , the Washington Post , NBC News and NPR . The paper also topped the tables for blog post mentions, with 76.

Rounding off the top 10 climate articles of 2022 is the Nature Climate Change study, “ Pronounced loss of Amazon rainforest resilience since the early 2000s ”, with an Altmetric score of 4,195. This article was mentioned in 563 news stories from 434 outlets, including Carbon Brief , BBC News , the Independent , the New York Times and New Scientist . 

The study finds that three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest has lost “resilience” since 2003 – making it more vulnerable to extreme events such as droughts. The work shows we are “approaching a tipping point”, the lead author of the study told journalists at a press conference.

Elsewhere in the top 25

The rest of the top 25 contains a varied mix of papers, including how agriculture and climate change are “ reshaping ” insect biodiversity worldwide (12th) and the discovery of a “ genetically distinct and functionally isolated ” population of polar bears from south-eastern Greenland (19th).

Just missing out on the top 10 is, “ Global carbon budget 2022 ”, in 11th place. Published in the journal Earth System Science Data, the paper details the annually estimated “global carbon budget” as produced by the Global Carbon Project .

The paper’s lead author Prof Pierre Friedlingstein , chair of mathematical modelling of climate systems at the University of Exeter , co-wrote a Carbon Brief article to unpack their findings.

The latest data shows that global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement increased by 1.0% in 2022, hitting a new record high of 36.6bn tonnes of CO2. This rise was “primarily driven by a strong increase in oil emissions as global travel continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic”, the article says, adding that “coal and gas emissions grew more slowly, though both had record emissions in 2022”.

There are several energy-related papers in the top 25. This includes a paper in 15th place from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , which finds that “corn-based ethanol in the US has failed to meet the policy’s own greenhouse gas emissions targets and negatively affected water quality, the area of land used for conservation, and other ecosystem processes”. Another is a Joule paper in 20th, which finds that “compared to continuing with a fossil fuel-based system, a rapid green energy transition is likely to result in trillions of net savings”.

The topic of public health features again in the top 25. For example, in 14th place is a Communications Earth & Environment study warning that, under 2C of warming, the exposure to dangerous heat stress “will likely increase by 50-100% across much of the tropics and increase by a factor of 3-10 in many regions throughout the mid-latitudes”.

Expert analysis direct to your inbox.

Get a round-up of all the important articles and papers selected by Carbon Brief by email. Find out more about our newsletters here .

Research into extreme weather also appears in the top 25. This includes a Nature Communications study in 18th place on the 2020 North Atlantic hurricane season – the most active on record – which finds that “human-induced climate change increased the extreme three-hourly storm rainfall rates and extreme three-day accumulated rainfall amounts…for observed storms that are at least tropical storm strength”. A Science Advances paper in 23rd place warns that climate change has already doubled the likelihood of an event capable of producing a catastrophic “megaflood” in California.

Finally, rounding out the top 25 is a Nature Geoscience study showing that the Thwaites glacier in west Antarctica has seen “sustained pulses of rapid retreat” in the past two centuries and similar pulses “are likely to occur in the near future”.

All the final scores for the top 25 climate papers of 2022 can be found in this spreadsheet .

Top journals

Across the top 25 papers in Carbon Brief’s leaderboard this year, Nature Climate Change features most frequently with four papers. Nature Climate Change also took first place in 2021 (jointly with Nature) and 2016 (jointly with Science).  

In joint-second place is Nature and Science with three papers each. Nature is perennially high-placed in this analysis, taking first – or joint first – spot in Carbon Brief’s top 25 in 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 and 2015 .

For the rest of the top 25, there are four journals that appear twice and seven that appear once.

Diversity of the top 25

The top 25 climate papers of 2022 cover a huge range of topics and scope. 

The “Lancet Countdown on health and climate change” and “Global Carbon Budget” reports are epic annual publications, which review vast swathes of literature and have around 100 authors each. Meanwhile, three of the climate papers in the list have only two authors, and focus on specific new frontiers of climate research.

In total, the top 25 climate papers of 2022 have more than 400 authors. However, despite the variety in the climate research the papers present, analysis of their authors reveals a distinct lack of diversity.

Carbon Brief recorded the gender and country of affiliation for each of these authors. (The  methodology used was developed by Carbon Brief for analysis presented in a special 2021 series on climate justice .) The analysis reveals that the authors of the climate papers most featured in the media in 2022 are predominantly men from the global north.

The chart below shows the institutional affiliations of all authors in this analysis, broken down by continent – Europe, North America , Oceania, Asia, South America and Africa.

The analysis shows that nine out of every 10 authors are affiliated with institutions from the global north – defined as North America, Europe and Oceania. Meanwhile, there are only two authors from South America, based in Peru, and a single author from Africa, based in South Africa.

Further data analysis shows that there are also inequalities within continents. The map below shows the percentage of authors from each country in the analysis, where dark blue indicates a higher percentage. Countries that are not represented by any authors in the analysis are shown in white.

The top-ranking countries on this map are the US and the UK, which together account for more than half of all authors in this analysis (32% and 19%, respectively). Almost half of all researchers from the global south are from China – which accounts for around 6% of all researchers in the analysis.

None of the authors of the top 25 climate papers of 2022 is from south Asia, central America or the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, only 27% of authors from the top 25 climate papers of 2022 are women. Similarly, only six of the 25 papers have a female lead author.

The plot below shows the number of male (purple) and female (orange) authors in this analysis from each continent.

The full spreadsheet showing the results of this data analysis can be found here. For more on the biases in climate publishing, see Carbon Brief’s article on the lack of diversity in climate-science research .

Factcheck: 18 misleading myths about heat pumps

Guest post: Climate adaptation becomes less effective as the world warms

DeBriefed 15 March 2024: Global methane surge; Europe faces ‘urgent’ climate risks; Surprising origin of Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’

DeBriefed 8 March 2024: Climate cost of a Trump victory calculated; ‘Weird’ winter heat; China’s pivotal ‘two sessions’ meeting; Young female activist interview

Update: This article was updated on 09/01/2023 to add in the diversity analysis.

• Analysis: The climate papers most featured in the media in 2022

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March 19, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

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Climate change graphics are important—make them simple, say experts

by University of Southern California

When the "hockey stick" graph, which illustrated a steep increase in global temperatures, was published in 1998, it reshaped the world's understanding of climate change. A quarter-century later, with climate change now wreaking havoc around the world, graphics depicting global warming are more important than ever to inform policymaking.

However, a recent USC-led study reveals that some graphics developed for reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are too complex, even for the intended audiences of policymakers and practitioners.

Researchers recommend limiting each graphic, which the IPCC refers to as "figures," and its title to one key message. The study produced a detailed checklist to improve the design of graphics that target policymakers and practitioners.

"Because climate experts want to be accurate and complete, they tend to cram too much information into their graphics," said Wändi Bruine de Bruin, the study's lead author and Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Price School of Public Policy. "A graphic is worth a thousand words, but only if it clearly communicates one key message."

The study was published in Climatic Change in a paper titled "Improving figures for climate change communications: Insights from interviews with international policymakers and practitioners."

This is the second study in which USC researchers collaborated with the UN Foundation to improve the effectiveness of climate change communication. The first study , which looked at language comprehension, was published on Aug. 21, 2021, in a special edition of the journal Climatic Change titled "Climate Change Communication and the IPCC."

"This research sheds new light on how policymakers and practitioners engage with, interpret, and utilize IPCC report graphics," said Pete Ogden, Vice President of Climate and Environment at the United Nations Foundation (UNF). "This will be a valuable tool not only for the IPCC as it embarks on its new report cycle, but for anyone engaged in the vital work of making climate science clear and accessible."

Global collaboration produces results

In collaboration with the UNF, USC Dornsife Public Exchange convened a team of USC behavioral scientists to interview 20 policymakers and practitioners from the IPCC's and UNF's global network.

Participants viewed three figures drafted for the Second Order Draft Summary for Policymakers from Working Group III of the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report. Interviews typically reach saturation—revealing no new topics—after talking to 15–20 participants. This study achieved saturation by the 15th interview.

The study's participants came from developed economies with robust climate science research capabilities, like the United States and Germany, and developing economies, like Chad. Participants representing various sectors were asked to rate how easy or hard it was to understand the three graphs.

One participant remarked, "My first impression is: too much information." Another questioned, "So as a policymaker, what is the message?"

Graphics first, explanation later

The researchers noted that the graphics appeared to be designed primarily for scientists without considering a broader audience. This can cause graphics to be too technical and complex. Readers often engage with graphics first and might share them out of context. Indeed, more than half of the participants said they tended to review graphics before reading the main text of a report.

Simplicity shouldn't compromise accuracy

The three graphics assessed were "GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions trends and projections," "Feasibility challenges" and "Breakdown of average investment needs until 2030." "GHG emissions trends and projections" was the only graph revised for inclusion in the IPCC's report. The other graphs were not.

Specifically, the graphic illustrating GHG emissions—emissions causing climate change—drew mixed responses because of its dense presentation of data. One participant suggested dividing it into two or three graphs for better clarity.

In response, the IPCC revised the graph's format and title to reflect the key message.

Similarly, even participants familiar with IPCC's graphs found a graph depicting the need for climate investment confusing. An occasional user of the IPCC graphs said, "You've got to read the fine print, and you shouldn't have to read the fine print. I mean, these graphs should stand on their own."

A challenge for IPCC authors lies in simplifying graphs without sacrificing accuracy or details, however.

Clarity is key

Participants also struggled with graphs that had unclear titles—as was the case with the GHG emissions graph—ambiguous labels, indistinct color schemes, complex scientific jargon and captions that read like technical footnotes. They wanted clarification about specific technical terms and acronyms.

The checklist

To improve climate change communication, the team developed a checklist for designing more effective graphs for IPCC reports and other communications. The checklist recommends following graph design best practices and including audience feedback to improve climate change communication.

"We are excited that our study provides a user-friendly checklist for the IPCC to create graphs that are more accessible," said Monica Dean, Climate and Sustainability Practice Director at USC Dornsife Public Exchange.

Provided by University of Southern California

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Research articles

Global trend of methane abatement inventions and widening mismatch with methane emissions

Innovations in methane-targeted abatement technologies (MTAT) are needed to curb climate change in the short term. This Analysis reveals the trend, distributions and diffusion of MTAT-related patents for the past few decades, highlighting the mismatch between emissions sources and technical capacity.

• Jingjing Jiang

Historical impacts of grazing on carbon stocks and climate mitigation opportunities

Grazing has been shown to have diverse effects on soil carbon, with local variation. This study assesses carbon changes related to grazing globally and finds that, although grazing has reduced soil carbon stocks, managing intensity could increase carbon uptake in both soils and vegetation.

• César Terrer

The emerging human influence on the seasonal cycle of sea surface temperature

It is important to detect human influence on the climate, but natural variability can hide signals of change. Here the authors show the anthropogenic signal has emerged for sea surface temperature seasonality, primarily driven by greenhouse gas increases, and with geographical differences in change.

• Jia-Rui Shi
• Benjamin D. Santer
• Susan E. Wijffels

Groundwater recharge is sensitive to changing long-term aridity

How groundwater recharge changes with global warming is not well constrained. Here, the authors use an empirical relationship to show that groundwater recharge is more sensitive to aridity changes than expected, implying a strong response of water resources to climate change.

• Wouter R. Berghuijs
• Raoul A. Collenteur
• Scott T. Allen

Aligning renewable energy expansion with climate-driven range shifts

The authors conduct a systematic literature review on renewable energy expansion and biodiversity. Comparing renewable energy siting maps with the ranges of two threatened species under future climates, they highlight the potential conflict and need for consideration of climate-change-driven range shifts.

• Uzma Ashraf
• Toni Lyn Morelli
• Rebecca R. Hernandez

Deforestation poses deleterious effects to tree-climbing species under climate change

The authors develop a biophysical model to understand the impacts of tree loss and climate change on the activity patterns and population trends of a diurnal ectotherm (lizard). They show that deforestation can reverse the positive effects of climate change and even accelerate population declines.

• Omer B. Zlotnick
• Keith N. Musselman

Climate threats to coastal infrastructure and sustainable development outcomes

Increasing exposure to climate hazards under climate change will disproportionately impact poor communities. This study shows that disruptions to infrastructure service threaten progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in coastal Bangladesh, but impacts can be mediated through adaptation.

• Daniel Adshead
• Amelie Paszkowski
• Jim W. Hall

Flexible foraging behaviour increases predator vulnerability to climate change

The authors use stomach contents from six fish species sampled for 12 years to show that warming shifts foraging behaviour to favour consumption of less energetically rewarding prey. Using food web models, they show that this flexible foraging could lead to reduced community biodiversity.

• Benoit Gauzens
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• Ulrich Brose

Offshoring emissions through used vehicle exports

International trade of used vehicles lacks regulation on emissions standards. This study shows that vehicles exported from Great Britain generate substantially higher carbon and pollution emissions than scrapped or on-road vehicles.

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• Kayla Schulte
• Douglas R. Leasure

Municipal finance shapes urban climate action and justice

City fiscal and budgetary decisions play an essential role in the success of urban climate action. Using US cities as a case study, this Article reveals the interrelationship between urban climate finance, action and justice, as well as promising pathways to transform municipal finance practices.

• Claudia V. Diezmartínez
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Over-reliance on water infrastructure can hinder climate resilience in pastoral drylands

Building additional water infrastructure such as wells is a key strategy to mitigate the impacts of severe droughts, particularly in drylands. This study shows, however, that this infrastructure can lead to loss of resilience under climate change due to erosion of traditional practices.

• Luigi Piemontese
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• Elena Bresci

Boreal–Arctic wetland methane emissions modulated by warming and vegetation activity

Whether methane emissions from the Boreal–Arctic region are increasing under climate change is unclear, but critical for determining climate feedbacks. This study uses observations and machine learning to show an increase in wetland methane emissions over the past two decades, with inter-annual variation.

• Kunxiaojia Yuan

Globally representative evidence on the actual and perceived support for climate action

Global support and cooperation are necessary for successful climate action. Large-scale representative survey results show that most of the population around the world is willing to support climate action, while a perception gap exists regarding other citizens’ intention to act.

• Peter Andre
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Methane oxidation minimizes emissions and offsets to carbon burial in mangroves

Carbon sequestration in mangroves has been proposed as a mitigation strategy for climate change, yet the benefits of carbon burial may be offset by methane emissions. This study shows that methane offsets are small in saline and tropical mangroves, leading to greater net carbon sequestration.

• Luiz C. Cotovicz Jr
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300 years of sclerosponge thermometry shows global warming has exceeded 1.5 °C

Understanding temperature change since the pre-industrial period is essential for climate action. This study uses an ocean proxy to better quantify when anthropogenic warming began and estimates that global temperatures have already increased by 1.7 °C.

• Malcolm T. McCulloch
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A representative survey experiment of motivated climate change denial

The desire to justify carbon-emitting behaviours could influence people’s climate change beliefs due to motivated cognition. Based on a pre-registered survey experiment in the United States, the study, however, finds no evidence supporting the claim in explaining climate denial and environmentally harmful behaviour.

• Lasse S. Stoetzer
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Production vulnerability to wheat blast disease under climate change

The authors estimate the global vulnerability of wheat crops to wheat blast under current and future climates. They show that warmer, more humid climates can increase wheat blast infection, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, subsequently reducing global wheat production.

• Diego N. L. Pequeno
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Emergent climate change patterns originating from deep ocean warming in climate mitigation scenarios

How the climate system reacts to stabilized or decreasing CO 2 concentrations is not yet well understood. Here, the authors show that deep ocean warming and its slower heat release lead to unique patterns of ocean surface warming and precipitation.

• Jong-Seong Kug
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Intensification of Pacific tropical instability waves over the recent three decades

Tropical instability waves (TIWs) are an important component of the equatorial Pacific climate. Here the authors show that TIW activity has intensified in the central equatorial Pacific at ∼12 ± 6% per decade over the recent three decades.

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Warming causes contrasting spider behavioural responses by changing their prey size spectra

The authors show shifts in predatory spider web mesh size under experimental warming in an alpine meadow. Web mesh size decreased for a large spider species, but increased for a small species, with changes linked to altered prey size spectra following soil moisture and plant community shifts.

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How Do We Know Climate Change Is Real?

There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.

• While Earth’s climate has changed throughout its history , the current warming is happening at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years.
• According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ), "Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact." 1
• Scientific information taken from natural sources (such as ice cores, rocks, and tree rings) and from modern equipment (like satellites and instruments) all show the signs of a changing climate.
• From global temperature rise to melting ice sheets, the evidence of a warming planet abounds.

The rate of change since the mid-20th century is unprecedented over millennia.

Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 800,000 years, there have been eight cycles of ice ages and warmer periods, with the end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.

The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia. 1 It is undeniable that human activities have produced the atmospheric gases that have trapped more of the Sun’s energy in the Earth system. This extra energy has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.

Related Reading

Do scientists agree on climate change?

Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.

Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate.

Scientists demonstrated the heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases in the mid-19th century. 2 Many of the science instruments NASA uses to study our climate focus on how these gases affect the movement of infrared radiation through the atmosphere. From the measured impacts of increases in these gases, there is no question that increased greenhouse gas levels warm Earth in response.

"Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal." — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers show that Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can also be found in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks. This ancient, or paleoclimate, evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly 10 times faster than the average rate of warming after an ice age. Carbon dioxide from human activities is increasing about 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age. 3

The Evidence for Rapid Climate Change Is Compelling:

Global temperature is rising.

The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities. 4 Most of the warming occurred in the past 40 years, with the seven most recent years being the warmest. The years 2016 and 2020 are tied for the warmest year on record. 5

The Ocean Is Getting Warmer

The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters (about 328 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius) since 1969. 6 Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean.

The Ice Sheets Are Shrinking

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year. 7

Glaciers Are Retreating

Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa. 8

Snow Cover Is Decreasing

Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and the snow is melting earlier. 9

Sea Level Is Rising

Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and accelerating slightly every year. 10

Arctic Sea Ice Is Declining

Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. 11

Extreme Events Are Increasing in Frequency

The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events. 12

Ocean Acidification Is Increasing

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30%. 13 , 14 This increase is due to humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the ocean. The ocean has absorbed between 20% and 30% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in recent decades (7.2 to 10.8 billion metric tons per year). 1 5 , 16

1. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, WGI, Technical Summary . B.D. Santer et.al., “A search for human influences on the thermal structure of the atmosphere.” Nature 382 (04 July 1996): 39-46. https://doi.org/10.1038/382039a0. Gabriele C. Hegerl et al., “Detecting Greenhouse-Gas-Induced Climate Change with an Optimal Fingerprint Method.” Journal of Climate 9 (October 1996): 2281-2306. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1996)009<2281:DGGICC>2.0.CO;2. V. Ramaswamy, et al., “Anthropogenic and Natural Influences in the Evolution of Lower Stratospheric Cooling.” Science 311 (24 February 2006): 1138-1141. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1122587. B.D. Santer et al., “Contributions of Anthropogenic and Natural Forcing to Recent Tropopause Height Changes.” Science 301 (25 July 2003): 479-483. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1084123. T. Westerhold et al., "An astronomically dated record of Earth’s climate and its predictability over the last 66 million years." Science 369 (11 Sept. 2020): 1383-1387. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1094123

2. In 1824, Joseph Fourier calculated that an Earth-sized planet, at our distance from the Sun, ought to be much colder. He suggested something in the atmosphere must be acting like an insulating blanket. In 1856, Eunice Foote discovered that blanket, showing that carbon dioxide and water vapor in Earth's atmosphere trap escaping infrared (heat) radiation. In the 1860s, physicist John Tyndall recognized Earth's natural greenhouse effect and suggested that slight changes in the atmospheric composition could bring about climatic variations. In 1896, a seminal paper by Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius first predicted that changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could substantially alter the surface temperature through the greenhouse effect. In 1938, Guy Callendar connected carbon dioxide increases in Earth’s atmosphere to global warming. In 1941, Milutin Milankovic linked ice ages to Earth’s orbital characteristics. Gilbert Plass formulated the Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climate Change in 1956.

3. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, WG1, Chapter 2 Vostok ice core data; NOAA Mauna Loa CO2 record O. Gaffney, W. Steffen, "The Anthropocene Equation." The Anthropocene Review 4, issue 1 (April 2017): 53-61. https://doi.org/abs/10.1177/2053019616688022.

4. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/monitoring https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/ http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp

5. https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20170118/

6. S. Levitus, J. Antonov, T. Boyer, O Baranova, H. Garcia, R. Locarnini, A. Mishonov, J. Reagan, D. Seidov, E. Yarosh, M. Zweng, " NCEI ocean heat content, temperature anomalies, salinity anomalies, thermosteric sea level anomalies, halosteric sea level anomalies, and total steric sea level anomalies from 1955 to present calculated from in situ oceanographic subsurface profile data (NCEI Accession 0164586), Version 4.4. (2017) NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/3M_HEAT_CONTENT/index3.html K. von Schuckmann, L. Cheng, L,. D. Palmer, J. Hansen, C. Tassone, V. Aich, S. Adusumilli, H. Beltrami, H., T. Boyer, F. Cuesta-Valero, D. Desbruyeres, C. Domingues, A. Garcia-Garcia, P. Gentine, J. Gilson, M. Gorfer, L. Haimberger, M. Ishii, M., G. Johnson, R. Killick, B. King, G. Kirchengast, N. Kolodziejczyk, J. Lyman, B. Marzeion, M. Mayer, M. Monier, D. Monselesan, S. Purkey, D. Roemmich, A. Schweiger, S. Seneviratne, A. Shepherd, D. Slater, A. Steiner, F. Straneo, M.L. Timmermans, S. Wijffels. "Heat stored in the Earth system: where does the energy go?" Earth System Science Data 12, Issue 3 (07 September 2020): 2013-2041. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2013-2020.

7. I. Velicogna, Yara Mohajerani, A. Geruo, F. Landerer, J. Mouginot, B. Noel, E. Rignot, T. Sutterly, M. van den Broeke, M. Wessem, D. Wiese, "Continuity of Ice Sheet Mass Loss in Greenland and Antarctica From the GRACE and GRACE Follow-On Missions." Geophysical Research Letters 47, Issue 8 (28 April 2020): e2020GL087291. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087291.

8. National Snow and Ice Data Center World Glacier Monitoring Service

9. National Snow and Ice Data Center D.A. Robinson, D. K. Hall, and T. L. Mote, "MEaSUREs Northern Hemisphere Terrestrial Snow Cover Extent Daily 25km EASE-Grid 2.0, Version 1 (2017). Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: https://doi.org/10.5067/MEASURES/CRYOSPHERE/nsidc-0530.001 . http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/snow_extent.html Rutgers University Global Snow Lab. Data History

10. R.S. Nerem, B.D. Beckley, J. T. Fasullo, B.D. Hamlington, D. Masters, and G.T. Mitchum, "Climate-change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era." PNAS 15, no. 9 (12 Feb. 2018): 2022-2025. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717312115.

11. https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/sea_ice.html Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS, Zhang and Rothrock, 2003) http://psc.apl.washington.edu/research/projects/arctic-sea-ice-volume-anomaly/ http://psc.apl.uw.edu/research/projects/projections-of-an-ice-diminished-arctic-ocean/

12. USGCRP, 2017: Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I [Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, 470 pp, https://doi.org/10.7930/j0j964j6 .

13. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F

14. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Ocean+Acidification

15. C.L. Sabine, et al., “The Oceanic Sink for Anthropogenic CO2.” Science 305 (16 July 2004): 367-371. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1097403.

16. Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate , Technical Summary, Chapter TS.5, Changing Ocean, Marine Ecosystems, and Dependent Communities, Section 5.2.2.3. https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/technical-summary/

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

Chapter: conclusion, c onclusion.

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

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

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

F OR FURTHER READING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Climate change has become a widespread topic in recent years. This a problem that resulted from the emission of greenhouse gases that affect our environment. ... This paper discusses and compares the factors that contribute to climate change by humans and nature, some effects of climate change, and some solutions that have been developed to ...

This paper will discuss urban sustainability in the context of. climate change and address the following research objectives: (1) to examine how. climate change is affecting urban areas; (2) to assess how cities can enhance urban. sustainability by addressing climate change; (3) to discuss resources available for city.

Outline for Climate Change Essay. Here's an example of an outline for climate change essay that you can use in your own. This outline covers the introduction, the main body paragraphs, and finally, the conclusion. We will also give some examples of topics that you can cover in your climate change (or global warming) essay.

The rapid anthropogenic climate change that is being experienced in the early twenty-first century is intimately entwined with the health and functioning of the biosphere. ... In our introduction we outline the themes, introduce the papers in the thematic issue, and conclude with a synthesis of the main findings of the Forum. ... Research Trend ...

Climate change (CC) ... Secondly, to explore issues in this area, propose an outline of research for future work. The third aim of the study is to synthesize the previous literature on climate change, various sectors, and their mitigation measurement. ... Paper presented at the Healthcare [PMC free article]

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interest as centrally important as climate change damages (see particularly Ioannidis 2016). Given the already large and growing body of literature surrounding the impacts of climate change, we selected two different approaches to a survey of the academic literature on impacts. We first undertook a classical systematic research synthesis, or

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Research for climate adaptation. Adaptation to climate change must be ramped up urgently. We propose three avenues to transform ambition to action: improve tracking of actions and progress ...

In particular, the search for solutions to climate change forces us to examine the way different disciplines interact in this process, most prominently through interdisciplinary research approaches (Castree et al. 2014 ). In response to pressure for concrete, urgent, and actionable information, however, researchers often shear away detail, and ...

A few decades later, a paper by Guy Callendar in 1938 linked the increase in carbon dioxide concentration over the previous 50 years to rising temperatures. Entitled, "The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature," the paper marked an important step forward in climate change research, says Andrew Solow, director of the Woods Hole Marine Policy centre and ...

activities in a dedicated climate change module or as part of related topics. We suggest that you use our 'Introduction to Climate Change' presentation in a lesson or assembly before running these activities with your students. Teacher briefings on Considerations When Teaching Climate Change and Climate Justice can be found in the appendix. 3

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Impacts of climate change. Increase in atmospheric temperature has serious consequences on biodiversity and ecosystems, and human wellbeing. The most important evidences of climate change is the long term data available on the CO 2 levels, global temperature and weather patterns. The impacts of climate change in the coming decades are based on ...

Unlike a school research paper, the author does not set out to argue for or against a particular position, and then devote the majority of effort to finding sources to support the selected position. Instead, the author sets out in good faith to do as much fact-finding as possible, and thus research is likely to present multiple, conflicting ...

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Essay on Facebook should be banned

Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms in the world, with over 2 billion monthly active users. However, as the use of Facebook has become more prevalent, there have been growing concerns about its negative impact on society. Some argue that Facebook should be banned in order to protect users from the negative effects of social media.

One of the main arguments in favor of banning Facebook is that it can have a negative impact on mental health. Studies have shown that the use of social media can be linked to issues such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness. This is particularly true for individuals who spend a lot of time on social media and who compare their lives to the lives of others on the platform. By banning Facebook, it would help to reduce the amount of time people spend on social media, which would help to improve their mental health.

Another argument in favor of banning Facebook is that it can be a source of misinformation. Facebook has been criticized for its role in spreading fake news and misinformation. This can be particularly dangerous when it comes to issues such as politics and public health, as it can lead to the spread of false information and can have a negative impact on public opinion. By banning Facebook, it would help to reduce the spread of misinformation and fake news.

A ban on Facebook would also benefit privacy. Facebook has been criticized for its handling of user data and for its lack of transparency when it comes to data collection and sharing. Many users are unaware of the extent to which their personal information is being collected, shared, and used by the platform and third-party companies. A ban on Facebook would help to protect users’ personal information and privacy.

Despite the arguments in favor of banning Facebook, there are also some arguments against it. One of the main arguments against banning Facebook is that it would be difficult to enforce. With the widespread use of social media, it would be difficult to completely eliminate the use of Facebook.

Another argument against banning Facebook is that it would negatively impact businesses that use the platform to advertise and connect with customers. Facebook is an important marketing tool for many businesses, and a ban on the platform would have a significant impact on these businesses.

While Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms in the world, there are growing concerns about its negative impact on society. Some argue that Facebook should be banned in order to protect users from the negative effects of social media, such as mental health issues, misinformation, and privacy concerns. However, there are also arguments against a ban, such as the difficulty of enforcement and the impact on businesses that use the platform. Instead of an outright ban, governments and Facebook could implement policies to mitigate the negative effects of the platform such as strict regulations on data collection and sharing, and monitoring and removal of misinformation, also providing users with more control over their data and privacy settings. Additionally, education campaigns on the responsible use of social media and its potential negative effects could be carried out to help users make informed decisions about their use of the platform. Ultimately, the goal should be to strike a balance between the benefits of social media and the protection of users from its negative effects.

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How Should We Limit Facebook’s Power?

Here are two proposals for regulating the platform.

By Lauren Jackson

The big idea: Both parties want to regulate Facebook. But how?

The Daily is powered, every day, by a big idea. Below, we go deeper on one from our show this week.

It’s been a week for Facebook. First, the world got a taste of life without its services when billions of people experienced an unchosen ( and for some, welcome ) social media blackout. Then, the notoriously secretive company was again scrutinized on Capitol Hill. But this week’s Senate hearing, with its rare show of bipartisanship, was different from ones in the past: It was powered by a whistle-blower — and one who had receipts.

As you heard on Wednesday’s show, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, presented internal documents to lawmakers demonstrating the company knew its platforms had negative health effects on children. In the process, she urged senators to make the regulatory changes needed to address misinformation promoted by the company’s algorithms and to create accountability for Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive. Although these weren’t new proposals, what was new was the senators’ education on the topic and their unified commitment to taking action. But the critical question now is: What can they do?

Facebook has intimate access to the lives of nearly half of the world’s population — and there is no neat solution to mitigating its unprecedented corporate, social and political power. The company has shown itself to be resistant to self-regulation; free speech protections complicate proposals to reform the law that currently governs the internet ; and there is increasing consensus that antitrust action — or breaking up Facebook — would most likely just fracture the problem into smaller pieces, making the issues harder to tackle. (“We don’t need to break them up; we need to break them open,” said Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission during the Obama administration.)

Some experts say novel solutions are needed. Here are two suggested by those we called:

Creating a new federal agency dedicated to Big Tech oversight

Senators are considering how to create independent oversight of major platform companies, but Tom Wheeler isn’t confident that existing government agencies are up to the task. “I ran an independent regulatory agency,” he said, and the regulatory process “is sclerotic and rigid.” Now, he added, “we’re moving at exponential speed in a world that was built for linear transformation.”

Tom is calling for “a new agency of digital experts that has the agility to deal with the ever-evolving digital market.” His idea is optimistic: The agency would bring tech industry leaders into dialogue with federal representatives (“ideally digital natives”) to determine an agreed-upon set of behavioral standards, later codified and enforced by the agency through monitoring, monetary penalties and disgorgement. Unlike existing agencies, Tom argues, a new agency created from scratch would allow the implementation of modern management practices and policies capable of keeping pace with a fast-moving industry.

Renée DiResta, research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, also believes a new agency could help address the “myriad harms” posed by Facebook, ideally inviting additional transparency into internal company policies and product design changes for the company’s algorithms that would “address the worst negative externalities of virality,” she said.

“This is not a moment for halfway measures,” Tom said, adding that senators focusing simply on new legislation was insufficient. “It is very dangerous to define tomorrow in legislative language. Because then you’ve defined tomorrow in terms of what you know today.”

Stricter privacy legislation to limit Facebook’s power

Siva Vaidhyanathan, director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia, isn’t convinced that creating a new federal agency would solve the Facebook problem. “People keep going back to the 20th century to try to figure out how to address this phenomenon we’ve never seen in human history,” he said, adding that it was a “regulatory infrastructure that assumes good faith” on behalf of platform companies.

Siva takes a more international perspective on the problem, arguing that Facebook is not “going to change its behavior because of something that happens in the United States.” More than 3.5 billion people around the world use Facebook’s platforms, and in some countries like India, by itself home to over 300 million users, the company is synonymous with the internet. “When Mark Zuckerberg wakes up in the morning, I guarantee you he thinks about India before he thinks about the United States,” Siva said.

The company also applies different policies and algorithms in different legal jurisdictions, and the United Kingdom and the European Union are each exploring additional platform regulation. So instead of focusing on regulations that would affect only the United States, Siva argues, lawmakers would be more effective in going after the company’s primary source of profit: personal data.

“We could pass strong legislation in the United States and encourage other countries to follow the same route that would severely limit what companies, not just Facebook and Google, but all companies, do in terms of surveillance and the use of our data,” he said. While making some exceptions, such as for public health data, Siva said that forcing companies to delete the personal data of their users within a set window of time would limit ad targeting and algorithmic amplification, making both “less precise and less effective.”

Siva believes this would have downstream effects for safeguarding against authoritarianism, too. “These big tech companies are on the precipice of becoming the operating system of our lives, and they’re very connected to other centers of power,” he said, citing the connectivity between the social media company WeChat and Chinese governmental surveillance.

“You can imagine similar things happening with Facebook partnerships in Turkey, the Philippines, India and Brazil,” he said. “And who knows where else?”

You can read more about this topic in our interview with Shoshana Zuboff, a surveillance expert. And you can listen to our playlist of episodes about Big Tech here .

From The Daily team: Interviewing the interviewer, part three

While Michael Barbaro is out on parental leave, we have been lucky to have a series of guests host the show. You met Astead Herndon and Sabrina Tavernise in previous newsletters. This week, we wanted to introduce you to Kevin Roose, our technology columnist.

How did you get into journalism?

I’ve had the reverse version of the typical 20th-century journalism career path, where you start off at a newspaper, eventually graduate to a magazine and finally work your way up to writing a book. Through a series of freakishly lucky events, I wrote a book when I was 19, before I’d published anything as a professional writer, and it ended up getting some national attention. That got me some magazine writing gigs, and eventually, my dream job at The Times.

I don’t have any cool pre-journalism stories to share from my days as a bartender or a long-haul trucker, because I’ve never done anything else. This is my only marketable skill!

Many of our listeners know you from your work on our show Rabbit Hole . How has it been transitioning from working on a topic you know so much about to hosting a general news show?

So fun! Making Rabbit Hole involved going very deep into a single topic and then figuring out how to tell that story in a fresh and compelling way. Whereas hosting The Daily is much more of a grab bag — one week, you’re talking with Liz Day about Britney Spears; the next, you’re talking with Emma Goldberg about ivermectin.

What has been the most surprising aspect of working in audio?

In text, you can reconstruct scenes after the fact. But with audio, you really need to have tape, which means that you’re always, always recording. There’s a kind of hoarding element to it that, in some ways, has more in common with TV production than writing.

Which medium do you prefer (and why)?

Both text and audio have their merits. But (editors, don’t read this) I think audio has some advantages in our current media environment.

I think that social media, and Twitter especially, has made text writers much more defensive. We’re always trying to anticipate how someone might attack our arguments, give us the least generous interpretation possible or interpret what we’re saying in bad faith. Text is a very easy medium to chop up and recontextualize — just take a screenshot and tweet it! — in a way that makes it feel sometimes like throwing bait to sharks.

Audio, by contrast, is kind of an unwieldy medium. You can clip 10 seconds out of a podcast and use it to dunk on someone on Twitter, but it’s not easy, and it requires more effort than most trolls are willing to put in. It’s also a more voluntary medium. People listen to podcasts because they like them, in general, so you end up with an audience that actually wants to be there and isn’t just seeing your work as it randomly crosses their feeds, which makes a big difference.

What has been the hardest/weirdest aspect of guest hosting?

I described it to a friend the other day as being a substitute teacher. It’s a fun gig, but you’re always kind of aware that the students are counting the days until Mr. Barbaro comes back. The Daily is such a beloved show, and Michael is such a beloved host, that I’m just doing my best to not screw up his lesson plans too badly.

On The Daily this week

Monday: What’s behind the ivermectin frenzy , and why has it become the Covid medication of choice for those reluctant to get a vaccine?

Tuesday: Why the latest term of the Supreme Court is the most important one in decades .

Wednesday: Could the testimony of Frances Haugen be a turning point for Facebook ?

Thursday: What stage of the pandemic are we in ? What can the U.S. expect from the coronavirus this fall?

Friday: The C.I.A. has lost dozens of informants over the past several years. How did that happen ?

That’s it for the Daily newsletter. See you next week.

Have thoughts about the show? Tell us what you think at [email protected] .

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Love podcasts? Join The New York Times Podcast Club on Facebook .

Lauren Jackson is a journalist based in London. More about Lauren Jackson

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Facebook should be banned, english essay, paragraph, speech for class 9, 10, 12 in 300 words., facebook should be banned.

Facebook is a social media platform that has become an integral part of many people’s daily lives, allowing them to connect with friends, share content, and participate in online communities. However, there are also valid concerns about the negative impacts of Facebook on society, and some people argue that it should be banned.

One reason why Facebook should be banned is that it can have negative effects on mental health. Studies have shown that the use of social media can contribute to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression, particularly if it is used excessively or if it leads to comparison with others. By banning Facebook, governments could potentially reduce the negative impacts on mental health.

Another reason why Facebook should be banned is that it can be a breeding ground for misinformation and propaganda. The platform has been criticized for its role in the spread of fake news and for its failure to adequately address the issue. This can have serious consequences for public discourse and for the functioning of democratic societies.

In addition, Facebook has also faced criticism for its handling of user data and privacy, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the data of millions of users was accessed and used without their consent. A ban on Facebook could help to protect the privacy of individuals and reduce the risk of data breaches.

There are also economic and social costs associated with Facebook, including the impact on traditional media and the potential for the platform to contribute to the concentration of power and influence in the hands of a few companies.

There are valid concerns about the negative impacts of Facebook on society, and it is important for governments and individuals to consider these issues when deciding whether or not to use the platform. However, it is worth noting that there are also many benefits to Facebook and other social media platforms, including the ability to connect with others and access information and resources.

In conclusion, while there are valid concerns about the negative impacts of Facebook on society, it is important to consider both the benefits and the drawbacks of the platform when deciding whether or not it should be banned.

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Facebook is a harmful presence in our lives. It’s not too late to pull the plug on it

Undaunted by scandals, the social media giant plans to tighten its grip on our everyday activities. We don’t have to just submit

F acebook is in perpetual crisis mode. For years now, the company has confronted waves of critical scrutiny on issues caused or exacerbated by the platform. Recent revelations have lengthened the charge sheet.

That list includes the mass data collection and privacy invasion by Cambridge Analytica ; the accusations of Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election; unrestrained hate speech, inciting, among other things, genocide in Myanmar ; the viral spread of disinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines, with Joe Biden proclaiming about Facebook and other social media platforms: “They’re killing people”. Add to that Facebook Marketplace: with a billion users buying and selling goods, ProPublica found a growing pool of scammers and fraudsters exploiting the site, with Facebook failing “to safeguard users”.

The latest wave of investigative reporting focused on the company, meanwhile, comes from the Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files series. After pouring over a cache of the company’s internal documents, the WSJ reported that “Facebook’s researchers have identified the platform’s ill effects”. For instance, the company downplayed findings that using Instagram can have significant impacts on the mental health of teenage girls. Meanwhile, it has been implementing strategies to attract more preteen users to Instagram. The platform’s algorithm is designed to foster more user engagement in any way possible, including by sowing discord and rewarding outrage . This issue was raised by Facebook’s integrity team, which also proposed changes to the algorithm that would suppress, rather than accelerate, such animus between users. These solutions were struck down by Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, because he prioritised growing engagement above other objectives.

What’s more, the WSJ reported, Facebook employees “ raised alarms ” about drug cartels and human traffickers in developing countries using the platform, but the company’s response has been anaemic. Perhaps because executives are, yet again, hesitant to impede growth in these rapidly expanding markets.

This is consistent with claims by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who said at the weekend, in an interview with 60 Minutes , “Facebook, over and over again, has shown it chooses profit over safety.” It also emerged that Haugen has filed at least eight complaints with the US financial watchdog over Facebook’s approach to safety. Haugen testified before the US Senate on Tuesday, backing up her revelations. “I’m here today because I believe Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,” she said. “The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.” We shouldn’t be surprised that making money hand over fist is any company’s primary motivation. But here we have further evidence that Facebook is a uniquely socially toxic platform.

Despite the executive team’s awareness of these serious problems, despite congressional hearings and scripted pledges to do better, despite Zuckerberg’s grandiose mission statements that change with the tides of public pressure, Facebook continues to shrug off the great responsibility that comes with the great power and wealth it has accumulated.

Each surging wave builds on the last, hitting Facebook even harder, enveloping it in scandal after scandal. In response, the company has decided to go on the offensive – rather than truly address any of its problems.

In August, Zuckerberg signed off on an initiative called Project Amplify , which aims to use Facebook’s news feed “to show people positive stories about the social network”, according to the New York Times . By pushing pro-Facebook stories, including some “written by the company”, it hopes to influence how users perceive the platform. Facebook is no longer happy to just let others use the news feed to propagate misinformation and exert influence – it wants to wield this tool for its own interests, too.

With Project Amplify under way, Facebook is mounting a serious defence against the WSJ Facebook Files. In an article posted on Facebook Newsroom by Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice-president of global affairs, , accusations of “deliberate mischaracterisations” by the WSJ reporters are lobbed in without supplying any specific details or corrections. Similarly, in an internal memo sent by Clegg to pre-empt Haugen’s interview, Clegg rejected any responsibility for Facebook being “the primary cause of polarisation”, blamed the prevalence of extreme views on individual bad actors like “a rogue uncle” and provided talking points for employees who might “get questions from friends and families about these things”.

It’s all spin, with no substance. A trained politician deflecting accusations while planting seeds of doubt in the public’s mind without acknowledging or addressing the problems at hand.

In another response to the WSJ, Facebook’s head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, made a strange analogy between social media and cars: “We know that more people die than would otherwise because of car accidents, but by and large, cars create way more value in the world than they destroy,” Mosseri said. “And I think social media is similar.” Mosseri can no longer deny that platforms like his are forces for destruction. His tactic is to convince us that a simple cost-benefit analysis comes out in his favour. He happens to elide the fact that cars cause more than crashes; they are also responsible for systemic social and environmental consequences at every level. Of course, this is exactly the kind of self-interested myopia we should expect from a tech executive under fire.

Beyond pushing back against critical reporting, however, an initiative like Project Amplify should be understood as Facebook attempting to pave the way for its deeper penetration into every facet of our reality. After all, when asked last year by Congress why Facebook is not a monopoly, Zuckerberg said it’s because he views all possible modes of “ people connecting with other people ” as a form of competition for his business. And if we know anything about Facebook, they are very good at capturing market share and crushing competitors – no matter what it takes.

Facebook needs users to form an intimate relationship with the platform. In quick succession this summer, it announced two new products that represent the company’s next planned phase of existence – both its own and ours.

First is the “ metaverse ”. Named after an explicitly dystopian sci-fi idea , the metaverse is, for now, pitched as essentially a virtual reality office – accessed through VR goggles like Facebook Oculus – where you go to see colleagues, attend meetings, and give presentations without having to leave home. Zuckerberg proclaimed that over the next five years, Facebook “will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.”

Second is Ray-Ban Stories, Facebook’s attempt to succeed where Google Glass failed. Ray-Ban Stories are pitched as a frictionless way to stay constantly connected to Facebook and Instagram without that pesky smartphone getting in the way. Now you can achieve the dream of sharing every moment of your day with Facebook – and the valuable data produced from it – without ever needing to think about it.

Importantly, access to both kinds of reality – virtual and augmented – are mediated by Facebook. The executives at Facebook would like you to believe that the company is now a permanent fixture in society. That a platform primarily designed to supercharge targeted advertisements has earned the right to mediate not just our access to information or connection but our perception of reality. And Facebook’s aggressive attempts to combat any scepticism, combined with its reality-shaping ambitions, shows how desperate it is to convince us to accept the social poison it peddles and ask for more.

Days before Facebook’s latest congressional hearing – this time on the mental impacts of Instagram on teenagers – Mosseri announced his team was pausing Instagram Kids, a service aimed at people under 13 years old, and developing “parental supervision tools”. It seems yet again that they will do the bare minimum only when forced to do so. Speaking about this change of direction in her Senate hearing, Haugen was sceptical: “I would be sincerely surprised if they do not continue working on Instagram Kids, and I would be amazed if a year from now we don’t have this conversation again.”

For Facebook, all this negative attention amounts to an image problem: bad publicity that can be counteracted by good propaganda. For the rest of us, this is indicative that Facebook doesn’t just have a problem; Facebook is the problem. Ultimately, an overwhelming case is growing against Facebook’s right to even exist, let alone continue enjoying unrestricted operation and expansion.

We must not forget that Facebook is still young. It was founded in 2004, but didn’t really come into itself, becoming the behemoth we know today, until going public in 2012, buying Instagram for $1bn (£760m) that same year and then acquiring WhatsApp for $19bn two years later. True to its original informal motto – “Move fast and break things” – Facebook has wasted no time wreaking a well-documented path of destruction.

When Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp temporarily went offline this week due to a technical problem , we saw just how dependent we have already become on these services for so many everyday activities. It was a shock to suddenly be without them. The company would probably see this as evidence that our lives are too intertwined with its services for them to ever go away. But, as the company has proven time and time again, our interests and its interests are rarely aligned. We should instead recognise that allowing a rapacious company to design and own critical infrastructure with zero accountability is the worst of all possible options.

If its executives want to compare social media to cars, then at the very least this dangerous technology must be subjected to the same level of heavy regulation and independent oversight as the automotive industry. Otherwise, Facebook must be reminded that it’s not too late for the public to pull the plug on this social experiment gone wrong. Right now, almost any alternative would be better.

Jathan Sadowski is a research fellow in the emerging technologies research lab at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

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Writing a Persuasive Essay About Using Facebook

Table of contents:

• Introduction
• Body paragraphs

Whether or not to use Facebook can be a controversial topic of debate. When you’re writing a persuasive essay, either for or against Facebook use, it’s important to be aware that there are a lot of nuances to the situation, and many points of both agreement and disagreement.

In your introduction, make sure to set out your thesis clearly, but it may be too harsh if you imply, for instance, that people are morally right or wrong to use Facebook. Be decisive but not aggressive. It may help to admit to some advantages or disadvantages of using Facebook right away.

Introduction examples

Pro: Facebook is a great way of keeping friends and family of all ages in touch, of building communities based on common interests and/or location, and a good way to keep up with current events as long as you keep your wits about you.

Con: Facebook is no longer relevant for our times, because it’s now full of spam from companies you don’t care about, advertisements, and fake news, rather than being a place for friends and family to keep in touch.

As you move on into the body of your persuasive essay, touch on all the arguments against your thesis, as well as for it, that you can think of. It’s good to have a full defence ready to go, as missing out any mentions of either benefits or negatives, depending on which side you’re taking, can make your argument look weak.

Body paragraphs examples

Pro: It’s true that there are some who try to exploit Facebook to spread total falsehoods, or marketers who use Facebook primarily as a way of advertising to their customers rather than listening to them and building a community with them. However, this isn’t the majority of the content on Facebook, and you can clear the clutter from your own feed quite easily. Facebook gives you the tools to do this by hiding things you’re not interested in, or giving you the ability to unfollow groups, pages, and even acquaintances you’ve lost interest in. At heart, Facebook still retains the benefits it always had, allowing you to easily talk with, share pictures and video with, and play games with, people you know.

Con: At one point, certainly, Facebook had a lot of benefits as a social media site. However, since then, it’s become a wasteland full of maniacs, advertising, and people pretending their lives are better than yours. Facebook changed the order you see your feed in so that you see “Top Stories” rather than the most recent updates, defeating the point of having a feed in the first place. You can now see updates with a lot of activity multiple times while never seeing the update from your friend that you really needed to see, because it was lost in the mania. It’s a popularity contest taken virtual, and there’s really no point to it anymore.

Your conclusion should then be a brief, succinct summary of your main points, followed by a request for the reader to do something, even if just to consider what you’re saying with an open mind.

Conclusion examples

Pro: Facebook isn’t perfect, but it’s not exactly a howling wasteland either. It has both good and bad points. Let’s improve the bad points rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Con: When considering the pros and cons, it’s easy to just maintain the status quo rather than say: “This isn’t good enough, and I can’t take it anymore,” and move on from there. There are many other social media sites on the Internet, and most of them are a lot better than Facebook.

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Should Social Media Be Banned?

Social media is a platform where people from across the globe interact, share information, and communicate with each other; it consists of synergetic Web 2.0 applications based on the Internet. Examples of these sites include Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Snapchat (Bilgin 128). It has brought the world together and made it easier for people to socialize and conduct business practices. It comes with an array of benefits as well as impacts considered harmful. Some researchers are of the idea that social media should be banned due to its adverse effects, while others are against this idea. The paper provides arguments in favor of social media by presenting viewpoints from two peer-reviewed articles that support social media’s efficacy in contemporary society, particularly concerning its significance in education and business practices.

Social media plays a crucial role in enhancing education and has been associated with positive impacts on teaching faculty’s output. A study conducted by Tulu which aimed at ascertaining the effects of online social media use among Ambo University’s academic staff revealed its efficacy in enhancing productivity in the teaching and learning process (1100). Research findings further indicated that social media provided educators with a platform to share knowledge and connect with other teachers from different institutions countrywide and globally (1098). The survey further recommended training academicians on the proper use of social media to derive substantial benefits in their operations. Furthermore, social media offers students a medium for obtaining meaningful information and linking with study groups and other education systems, thereby enhancing learning efficiency. Social networking tools also provide academic institutions and learners with the opportunity to enhance the training methods used in class. They allow the integration of social media plugins, which foster interaction and sharing of information. Students may also benefit from online resources and tutorials disseminated through LMS and social networks.

Social media also plays a crucial role in fostering business practices through online marketing. This approach has been adopted by various companies, for instance, Apple Inc. and Nike, to increase their brand awareness. Businesses typically use platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to establish brand recognition, generate conversations regarding their specific products and services, connect with clients through social listening, and collect data from consumers to improve their operations or product quality (Bilgin 129). Bilgin also highlights the importance of this technology in enhancing brand loyalty and better consumer experiences through developing a two-way communication system: instant interaction and consumer feedback (130). Furthermore, according to Bilgin, social media presents a cost-effective platform for a firm’s advertising strategy (132). Almost all social media networking platforms allow consumers to create accounts and sign up for free. Social media presence also enhances an organization’s SEO rankings, increased traffic, marketplace awareness, and brand authority.

In summary, social media plays a vital role in our everyday lives through enhancing social interactions and promoting business practices, and, therefore, it should not be banned. It shapes how we connect to acquire and share information among peers. Social media is instrumental in enhancing educational activities and fostering teachers’ productivity by improving their knowledge base by connecting with colleagues. Furthermore, social media is quickly becoming one of the most crucial digital marketing aspects, which offers incredible benefits and promotes business capacity to reach multiple clients globally. It encourages improved brand loyalty and awareness, engagement with consumers, customer satisfaction, increased traffic, and market knowledge.

Works Cited

Bilgin, Yusuf. “The Effect of Social Media Marketing Activities on Brand Awareness, Brand Image, and Brand Loyalty.” Business and Management Studies: An International Journal , vol. 6, no. 1, 2018, pp. 128–148.

Tulu, Daniel, Tadesse. “Should Online Social Medias (OSMs) be Banned at Work? The Impact of Social Medias on Employee Productivity in Ambo University, a Case Study.” Research in International Business and Finance , vol. 42, 2017, pp. 1096–1102.

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Facebook Should Be Banned

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Should Plastic be Banned Essay

One type of pollution that is seriously harming our ecosystem is plastic pollution, to which plastic bags are a significant contributor. It poses a risk to Earthly life. The reduction of usage of plastic bags is necessary to minimize pollution. Plastic bags pollute the land, the air, and the water. This is the rationale behind the bans on them in a number of nations. Nevertheless, these are still frequently utilized and proven to be harmful to the environment in most regions of the world.

In this article, we will exoplore essays arguing in favor of banning plastic bags. Let’s see.

Table of Content

Long and Short English Essay on the Need for a Plastic Bag Ban

Short essay on why plastic bags should be banned – 200 words, essay on environmental pollution and plastic – 300 words, essay on why plastic bags are harmful for health – 400 words, essay on problems caused by plastic bags – 500 words, long essay on why plastic bags should be banned – 600 words.

You can use these various length essays on the topic of why plastic bags should be prohibited for your examinations and school projects. You can choose any essay on why plastic bags ought to be outlawed based on your needs and preferences.

Plastic bags are frequently used and easily found in stores. Because they are useful for transporting groceries, these are particularly well-liked at grocery stores. These come in a variety of sizes and are reasonably priced in addition to being lightweight. But we don’t consider the expense of utilizing these bags. These bags are depleting our lovely surroundings. Indeed! The ecology is at risk from the plastic bags we use on a daily basis.

The issue is far more serious than it first seems. According to researchers, one of the main reasons for water pollution is plastic bags. Some other reasons would be infertility of crop lands.

Many states in our nation have banned the use of plastic bags. Nevertheless, this rule hasn’t been properly implemented. These are still offered for sale. The stores give these bags to customers, who are happy to take their belongings in these convenient tote bags. It’s time for each of us to realize how serious the problem is and to give up using plastic bags.

The level of pollution in our surroundings is increasing daily. It has grown significantly since the start of the industrial revolution. In the previous few decades, pollution has multiplied due to an increase in factories and automobiles on our globe. While factory and car smoke has negatively impacted air quality and made breathing difficult, trash from homes and businesses has primarily contributed to the pollution of water and land, which has led to a number of serious illnesses.

Plastic: Major Cause of Environmental Pollution

Plastic is one of the primary drivers of contamination in the modern world, in addition to other things. Plastic is normally used in the creation of a wide range of things, like plastic sacks, kitchenware, furniture, entryways, sheeting, bundling material, ledges, and that’s just the beginning. Plastic is gotten from non-renewable energy sources like oil and petrol. Individuals like plastic items since they are more reasonable and lightweight than wood or metal items.

How much plastic waste that is challenging to discard is becoming because of the expanded utilization of plastic. The material plastic isn’t biodegradable. It deteriorates and ages over the long haul, yet it never mixes in with the dirt. Plastic adds to natural harm and is available in the climate for many years. Poisons that damage soil and water are delivered into landfills. Plastic couldn’t actually be scorched to dispose of it since consuming plastic deliveries destructive exhaust that can prompt significant medical conditions. Accordingly, discarding plastic has become progressively troublesome.

Along these lines, a few countries have prohibited plastic packs, which contribute essentially to plastic contamination. In any case, just prohibiting plastic packs won’t cut it. To decrease ecological contamination, extra plastic articles should likewise be prohibited.

It is imperative that we comprehend the extent to which plastic is devasting our ecosystem and making life more difficult for humans, animals, plants, and marine life. Reduced plastic product consumption is necessary to maintain a cleaner environment.

The ubiquitous plastic bags we use on a daily basis pose a threat to life as we know it. These have gradually crept into our lives and are now a significant contributor to both human and animal illness.

Plastic Bags: Dangerous to Human Well-Being

The health of individuals is enormously hurt by plastic packs. Plastic packs just adversely influence human wellbeing from the second they are created until they are discarded as garbage.

The wellbeing of individuals who work in the plastic pack industry is harmed by the risky synthetics made during the most common way of giving plastic sacks their ideal shape. Food bundling often utilizes plastic packs. As per scientists, a few destructive substances from the plastic get into the food items that are bundled in it. Accordingly, rather than keeping the food securely pressed, plastic sacks pollute it. Various occurrences of plastic sullying food have been recorded. Devouring such food can seriously endanger one for food contamination, stomach related issues, and different sicknesses.

Furthermore, a lot of non-biodegradable trash is delivered by plastic packs. For almost 500 years, this junk is as yet present on the planet. The nature of drinking water is brought down when this waste material gets into water bodies. Throughout recent many years, there has been a huge decrease in the nature of drinking water. The essential driver of this is the developing amount of plastic packs that are being discarded in drinking water sources like streams. Various ailments spread by water have supplanted this.

Plastic Bags: Cause Serious Illness in Animals

Plastic back trash significantly affects creatures, particularly marine life. After utilizing the plastic packs, we imprudently dispose of them. Most of the rubbish places where the exposed animals assemble looking for food are loaded up with these plastic sacks. Animals habitually consume entire plastic sacks or minimal plastic particles with their dinner. Over the long run, the limited quantity of plastic that collects in their bodies prompts medical problems. Be that as it may, assuming that they gulp down the entire plastic sack immediately, they risk being quickly choked to death.

The marine life is in a comparable situation. Plastic waste has extraordinarily expanded the contamination of oceanic bodies. The water that marine life drinks is turning out to be more regrettable subsequently. Fish, turtles, and other amphibian creatures likewise consume plastic.

Thus, plastic bags are really bad for your health. We should cease using them and replace them with more environmentally friendly options.

Since plastic sacks are lightweight and helpful to deal with, they are exceptionally famous. Moreover, we don’t have to purchase these when we go out to shop, dissimilar to fabric or paper packs. Since they are modest, the storekeepers give them out without limitation when clients purchase anything. Retailers and clients the same blessing plastic sacks for the reasons recorded previously. In any case, we likewise need to see the more extensive picture and see past the transient accommodation.

Problems Caused by Plastic Bags

Here are some of the problems caused by plastic bags:

(a) Non Biodegradable

Packs made of plastic don’t biodegrade. The biggest problem is disposing of them. They don’t crumble; all things being equal, they separate into little particles and infiltrate soil and water bodies. For many years, they wait in the dirt and water, delivering unsafe synthetic substances that hurt our exquisite planet.

(b) Deterioration of environment

Due to their adverse consequences, they are obliterating the normal world. Nowadays, one of the primary reasons of land defilement is plastic packs. The pre-owned plastic sacks are unloaded in landfills, where it will take them approximately 500 years to separate. Since these sacks are lightweight, the breeze can convey them to significant stretches. Land tainting results from their littering of the encompassing region and landfills. One of the primary drivers of water contamination is plastic sacks that end up in water bodies. Accordingly, these are hurting our biological system in each way.

(c) Dangerous to Marine Life and Animals

Plastic garbage is eaten by creatures and marine life notwithstanding food. Since plastic can’t be separated, it becomes trapped in their digestive organs. Different creatures and marine life experience grave medical problems because of a lot of plastic structure up in their digestive organs. At times, creatures accidentally gulp down the entire plastic pack. They are gagged to death when something becomes held up in their digestion tracts or throat. Especially famous for consuming the full plastic sack immediately, ocean turtles botch it for jellyfish. Studies uncover that disposed of plastic packs have been a critical supporter of untimely creature passings.

(d) The Reason Behind Human Illness

When plastic bags are made, hazardous chemicals are released into the air, endangering the health of those who work on them. Food contained in plastic bags may potentially be harmful to your health. Furthermore, waste plastic bags pollute the environment, as was already explained. One of the main factors contributing to the spread of many diseases among humans is pollution.

(e) Blockage in Sewage

Rubbish plastic sacks every now and again become trapped in channels and sewers in the wake of imploding in water or being passed up the breeze. The two individuals and creatures might be in danger from stopped up channels and sewers, especially while it’s coming down. Water develops in the channels because of plastic sack deterrents. This could create what is going on like a flood and impede individuals’ day to day routines.

We must recognize the issues that the convenient plastic bags are causing and put an end to their use. It’s time for our government to enact stringent legislation outlawing plastic bags.

One of the fundamental supporters of ecological debasement is plastic sacks. Since plastic is a non-biodegradable material, plastic packs dirty the biological system significantly for many years after they are left in the climate. It is currently exceptionally important to ban plastic packs before they thoroughly annihilate our planet.

Countries Where Plastic Bags are Prohibited

To restrict the utilization of plastic packs, various countries have either forced charges on them or through and through prohibited them. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Britain, Germany, Hawaii, South Africa, Morocco, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Taiwan, New York, Italy, Scotland, Rhode Island, and Maine are a couple of these. The utilization of plastic packs has essentially diminished because of these activities. But since these endeavors haven’t been as effective in executing them, the issue actually hasn’t been completely fixed.

In a few of these countries, there is an underground market for plastic packs, and these dangerous sacks are as yet being sold unlawfully.

Reasons to Ban Plastic Bags

The governments of several nations have implemented strict policies to restrict the use of plastic bags for a variety of reasons. Among these are a few of these:

• Plastic bag waste is severely damaging the land and water.
• Animals that live on land and in water face a threat from plastic bags.
• Plastic bag waste releases chemicals into the earth, rendering it unusable for cultivation.
• The health of people is being severely impacted by plastic bags.
• Plastic bags cause issues with drainage.

Maintain a Tab

It is challenging to suddenly stop utilizing plastic packs when we have become so used to them. We should continually be helping ourselves to remember the adverse outcomes that plastic sacks have on the climate and screen our utilization of them assuming we are to prevail in this goal. We will ultimately become acclimated to living without these packs.

L ook for Substitutes

Plastic bags have a lot of environmentally acceptable substitutes. Every time we go to the market, we can bring a reusable jute or cloth bag to carry our groceries and other belongings instead of the plastic ones.

Reuse: Before tossing away the plastic bags we now own at home, we should utilize them as often as possible.

Raise Awareness

We may likewise bring issues to light through informal, despite the fact that the public authority ought to utilize commercials and hoardings to bring issues to light of the adverse consequences of plastic packs and the requirement for a boycott. We can illuminate the young locally, maids, and vehicle wash drivers about the mischief that plastic sacks do to the climate and urge them to quit any pretense of utilizing them.

Plastic sack related issues are as often as possible ignored and underestimated. This is a consequence of people not considering the drawn out impacts of the little, lightweight sacks they use consistently. They keep on utilizing these sacks regardless of realizing that they have adverse consequences on account of how advantageous they are.

Related Articles:

• What is Plastic?
• Plastic Pollution
• Single Use Plastics – Concerns and Solutions

FAQs on Should Plastic be Banned Essay

What is a 5 sentence on plastic.

Plastic is an artificial material that doesn’t break down naturally. We haphazardly incorporate it into practically all daily products. Plastic waste builds up and contaminates the environment. Its buildup affects the land, rivers, and seas.

Why we should stop using plastic?

The remaining three quarters, which are not recycled, end up in our environment where they contaminate our oceans and disrupt our ecosystem. Marine life is particularly vulnerable since most plastic debris from less developed nations ends up in the ocean.

Why is plastic harmful?

Plastic persists in the ecosystem for a very long time, endangering species and dispersing pollutants. The use of plastic also fuels global warming. The chemicals used to make almost all plastics are derived from the burning of fossil fuels including coal, oil, and gas.

What is the slogan for no plastic?

“No plastic, no pollution.” “Protect Earth: avoid plastic.” “Say no to plastic, make Earth magic.” “Use less plastic, love Earth more.” This is the slogan for no plastic.

How plastic is affecting our life?

They offer packaging that minimizes food waste, such as the use of packaging with a modified environment to keep meat and vegetables fresher longer (Mullan, 2002). Plastics lower transportation costs and, thus, atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions because of their light weight.

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Facebook Essay

To make this Facebook essay easy to understand for any reader, the author will start with terminology.

Facebook is among the most popular social media networking sites today. It is popular due to its multiple applications and the ease of communication it offers to the user. It allows people to share pictures, events and statuses on a single platform.

Facebook has several benefits, such as forming groups, chatting with friends and finding information on multiple topics. The platform is also highly informative due to the multiple pages on a host of topics, including but not limited to health, education, science, exercise, etc. It is also perfect for keeping in touch with relatives and friends who can stay connected to a single platform.

Below, this essay about Facebook will dive deeper into the platform’s advantages and how it can help kids, students, and adults communicate.

More recently, mobile companies have enabled users to connect to Facebook through their phones. Mobile phone technology such as GPRS now allows users to access Facebook from any location. This feature has made Facebook extremely popular among today’s generation.

Staying connected has never been so simple and effective than it is on Facebook. Talking to friends and relatives or family members is now possible with a single Facebook account which is a perfect platform to chat and communicate.

A more recent addition to the online chat program is the video calling feature which has gained immense popularity. Not only can one talk to people but also see them live with the help of this video chat feature.

Individuals no longer have to yearn to keep in touch with their friends and dear ones. A single Facebook account enables users to achieve several functions all at once.

Another very important feature of Facebook is the online gaming portal which it offers to its users. There are hundreds of thousands of games on Facebook which one can play at any given time. The interesting aspect is the ability to play these games with friends.

There are multiple games like Poker, Diamond Dash, Zuma, Farm Heroes Sage and others on Facebook.

Playing these games is a unique and special experience since it allows users to interact with friends and engage in healthy competition. There are no additional costs and users can play games absolutely free of cost.

Facebook is becoming a highly successful platform not only for making new friends and finding old ones, but for accessing global and local news as well. Most of the news and media companies have launched their Facebook pages.

This feature has added the extra benefit to Facebook, making it educational and purposeful. Besides being a medium to interact and communicate, Facebook has become a marketing platform for many popular brands. Today, one can easily access all the famous global brands on Facebook.

Several small time businesses have become successful on Facebook. People, who do not have the capital to open a store, have launched their products on Facebook, gaining financial success and recognition.

One can buy practically anything on Facebook from shoes, bags, accessories, clothes, phones, laptops, electronic etc. Many of these online stores offer the facility to make online payments and deliver goods to the buyer’s home.

Thus, through Facebook, people can engage in a host of activities such as playing games, interacting with friends, chatting, video conferencing, marketing, buying, selling and numerous others. Facebook is no longer only a social networking site to stay connected with friends and family.

It has become a platform with online marketing options for the users. When used responsibly, Facebook is an excellent medium for several purposes with extremely low cost and high benefits to the users.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 29). Facebook Essay. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-media-facebook/

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[ 450 Words ] Essay on facebook should be banned in English ( Simple & Short )

Today, we are sharing Essay on facebook should be banned in English . This article can help the students who are looking for essay on facebook should be banned in Hindi . This is the simple and short essay on facebook should be banned which is very easy to understand it line by line. The level of this article is mid-level so, it will be helpful for small and big student and they can easily write on this topic. This is the Long essay on facebook should be banned that will be useful for class 5, class 6, and class 7, class 8, 9, 10 .

facebook should be banned par nibandh English mein

Role:- Facebook is the social media platform in the world today through which we can interact with our friends as well as share our views on social problems with people. We can also share any of our digital articles, photos, or videos.

But there are some conditions for using Facebook which is not suitable for the common man. Facebook does not keep safe our personal information confidential but sells our personal information to a third party. Due to this, the confidential information of people like name, age, gender, mobile number, interest, address, etc. is getting into the hands of other people.

Which is being used illegally. This information is sold to other companies. In such a situation, it is illegal to sell confidential things to any person. On this, those companies argue that if a person shares anything on Facebook, then it is not confidential, so we can sell it. That's why Facebook should be banned so that the company cannot sell any confidential information.

Relationships get spoiled because of Facebook:- In today's time, every person shares some important or other information by mistake on Facebook. Many times such information is shared which is misused by another person. Because of this, his relationship with his family gets spoiled. And sometimes the relationship gets so bad that people get separated from each other.

That's why relationships get spoiled a lot because of Facebook. That's why the government should ban Facebook and the country should have its own social media platform where the personal information of the people can be protected.

There is a negative impact on society:- You must have seen that many people share videos related to religion on Facebook, due to which religious frenzy spreads in the country and society, and many times this frenzy turns into riots. Due to this, many innocent people have to suffer.

That's why we should ban Facebook so that no one can share religion-related videos here. So that the environment of the society and the country remains healthy. Apart from this, some people share such pornographic videos on Facebook which have a negative effect on the small child. That's why it is necessary to ban Facebook. Only then can we control its negative impact on our society.

Facebook is accused of encouraging fake news:- Many times it has been seen that fake news is more viral on Facebook. And such fake news is organized, and its purpose is to spread unrest in the country and society. Such fake news is mostly patronized by political parties. Political parties spread fake news against their opposing party or fake news against any particular religion is also spread through Facebook.

There is no such filter system in Facebook's system due to which fake news or any inflammatory speech etc. spreads rapidly. That's why it is very necessary to ban Facebook or the public should appeal to the government to direct Facebook.

conclusion:- The use of Facebook is at the discretion of the people. If it is used properly, it will have a positive effect on people and society. On the contrary, if it is misused, it will have negative effects on the country and society. But to assume that everyone will use it properly, then it will be our biggest mistake. Because there are some anti-social elements everywhere, so Facebook itself has to bring a filter-like feature into its system so that fake news and other harmful content can be separated.

F.A.Q ( Frequently asked questions )

• What is Facebook?
• Who is the founder of Facebook?
• Is the owner of Facebook and WhatsApp the same?

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The article is about Long essay on facebook should be banned in English. The level of this essay on facebook should be banned is medium so any student can write on this topic. This short essay on facebook should be banned is generally useful for class 5, class 6, and class 7, 8, 9, 10.

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Facebook Should Not Banned Essay Example

• Pages: 2 (423 words)
• Published: December 22, 2016
• Type: Literature Analysis

It's a great way to connect with family and friends. Why should we ban it? Facebook. You can socialize and talk to your loved ones and friends. Games, kids love them. People need to realize, that not everyone is stupid and inappropriate on Facebook.

Paragraph 1

If we banned Facebook, how do people talk with loved ones or friends who might be far away like overseas? "Sure, we can talk on the phone with them, but Facebook is free, phones and phone calls aren't. Staying in contact with friends through Facebook is actually easier than using regular emails because it doesn't matter that you sent a one-line message or a cheesy free gift. Claire Ferris-Lay said this. People can also socialize more. Parents, teachers, and other adults are always telling us to socialize as much

as we can even scientists are saying this. If kids had Facebook, we can socialize more often, instead of just socializing at school. Facebook is a good way to do this.

Paragraph 2

All kids love games. On Facebook, there are lots of games. Games galore. Some games help people learn. They are also fun. Something to do. The good thing about them is that they are appropriate for younger children to see and play with. Games on Facebook are very popular, and there are all kinds of games.

Paragraph 3

My final reason for Facebook not being banned is this; people NEED to realize... not everyone is stupid and inappropriate on Facebook. Lots of people, like (I had a name here), have Facebook but don't even post statuses, some don't eve

have any friends on Facebook, they might just use it for games, so if that's so... how can everyone me stupid on Facebook? but the important thing to realize here is that Facebook is only an arena for bullying, like the school lunch hall or the playground.

No one is trying to ban under-13s from those places." Joanna Moorhead said this in her debate with Jenni Russell. Mike said: "Facebook is a tool. It can be used for good and for bad. Much like any other tool. For example, I could use a knife to slice up a cucumber for a salad. Or, I could use it as a weapon to hurt someone. Should knives be banned? Of course not."

So, in conclusion, Facebook should not be banned because people can socialize and talk for free, there are lots of fun games and not everyone is stupid.

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6 facts about americans and tiktok.

Increasing shares of U.S. adults are turning to the short-form video sharing platform TikTok in general and for news .

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to better understand Americans’ use and perceptions of TikTok. The data for this analysis comes from several Center surveys conducted in 2023.

More information about the surveys and their methodologies, including the sample sizes and field dates, can be found at the links in the text.

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the latest analysis in Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

This analysis draws from several Pew Research Center reports on Americans’ use of and attitudes about social media, based on surveys conducted in 2023. For more information, read:

Americans’ Social Media Use

How u.s. adults use tiktok.

• Social Media and News Fact Sheet
• Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023

At the same time, some Americans have concerns about the Chinese-owned platform’s approach to data privacy and its potential impact on national security. Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that, if passed in the Senate and signed into law, would restrict TikTok’s ability to operate in the United States.

Here are six key facts about Americans and TikTok, drawn from Pew Research Center surveys.

A third of U.S. adults – including a majority of adults under 30 – use TikTok. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults under 30 (62%) say they use TikTok, compared with 39% of those ages 30 to 49, 24% of those 50 to 64, and 10% of those 65 and older.

In a 2023 Center survey , TikTok stood out from other platforms we asked about for the rapid growth of its user base. Just two years earlier, 21% of U.S. adults used the platform.

A majority of U.S. teens use TikTok. About six-in-ten teens ages 13 to 17 (63%) say they use the platform. More than half of teens (58%) use it daily, including 17% who say they’re on it “almost constantly.”

A higher share of teen girls than teen boys say they use TikTok almost constantly (22% vs. 12%). Hispanic teens also stand out: Around a third (32%) say they’re on TikTok almost constantly, compared with 20% of Black teens and 10% of White teens.

In fall 2023, support for a U.S. TikTok ban had declined. Around four-in-ten Americans (38%) said that they would support the U.S. government banning TikTok, down from 50% in March 2023. A slightly smaller share (27%) said they would oppose a ban, while 35% were not sure. This question was asked before the House of Representatives passed the bill that could ban the app.

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were far more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to support a TikTok ban (50% vs. 29%), but support had declined across both parties since earlier in the year.

Adults under 30 were less likely to support a ban than their older counterparts. About three-in-ten adults under 30 (29%) supported a ban, compared with 36% of those ages 30 to 49, 39% of those ages 50 to 64, and 49% of those ages 65 and older.

In a separate fall 2023 survey, only 18% of U.S. teens said they supported a ban. 

A relatively small share of users produce most of TikTok’s content. About half of U.S. adult TikTok users (52%) have ever posted a video on the platform. In fact, of all the TikTok content posted by American adults, 98% of publicly accessible videos come from the most active 25% of users .

Those who have posted TikTok content are more active on the site overall. These users follow more accounts, have more followers and are more likely to have filled out an account bio.

Although younger U.S. adults are more likely to use TikTok, their posting behaviors don’t look much different from those of older age groups.

About four-in-ten U.S. TikTok users (43%) say they regularly get news there. While news consumption on other social media sites has declined or remained stagnant in recent years, the share of U.S. TikTok users who get news on the site has doubled since 2020, when 22% got news there.

Related: Social Media and News Fact Sheet

TikTok news consumers are especially likely to be:

• Young. The vast majority of U.S. adults who regularly get news on TikTok are under 50: 44% are ages 18 to 29 and 38% are 30 to 49. Just 4% of TikTok news consumers are ages 65 and older.
• Women. A majority of regular TikTok news consumers in the U.S. are women (58%), while 39% are men. These gender differences are similar to those among news consumers on Instagram and Facebook.
• Democrats. Six-in-ten regular news consumers on TikTok are Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, while a third are Republicans or GOP leaners.
• Hispanic or Black. Three-in-ten regular TikTok news users in the U.S. are Hispanic, while 19% are Black. Both shares are higher than these groups’ share of the adult population. Around four-in-ten (39%) TikTok news consumers are White, although this group makes up 59% of U.S. adults overall .

A majority of Americans (59%) see TikTok as a major or minor threat to U.S. national security, including 29% who see the app as a major threat. Our May 2023 survey also found that opinions vary across several groups:

• About four-in-ten Republicans (41%) see TikTok as a major threat to national security, compared with 19% of Democrats.
• Older adults are more likely to see TikTok as a major threat: 46% of Americans ages 65 and older say this, compared with 13% of those ages 18 to 29.
• U.S. adults who do not use TikTok are far more likely than TikTok users to believe TikTok is a major threat (36% vs. 9%).

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Fast Food — Fast Food And Why It Should Be Banned

Fast Food Should Be Banned: Analysis of Health Effects

• Categories: Fast Food Junk Food Obesity

About this sample

Words: 1465 |

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Words: 1465 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, why should fast food be banned, works cited.

• Oliver, J. (2010, February). Teach every child about food. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver?language=en
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Overweight & obesity: Adult obesity facts. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
• World Health Organization. (2021). Obesity and overweight. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
• American Heart Association. (n.d.). Fast food and your heart. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/fast-food-and-your-heart
• Stuckler, D., & Nestle, M. (2012). Big food, food systems, and global health. PLoS Medicine, 9(6), e1001242. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001242
• Ludwig, D. S., Peterson, K. E., & Gortmaker, S. L. (2001). Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: A prospective, observational analysis. The Lancet, 357(9255), 505-508. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)04041-1
• Rosenheck, R. (2008). Fast food consumption and increased caloric intake: A systematic review of a trajectory towards weight gain and obesity risk. Obesity Reviews, 9(6), 535-547. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2008.00477.x
• Nestle, M. (2013). Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (3rd ed.). University of California Press.
• Roberts, C., Troop, N., & Connors, M. (2019). Eating Behaviours and Obesity. In R. F. Bell & J. M. Lundahl (Eds.), Handbook of Obesity Treatment (pp. 55-67). Springer.
• Smith, T., Smith, B., & Kelly, P. (2018). "Just one more piece of cake." Obesogenic environments and the irresistible pull of sweet treats. In M. K. Demauro (Ed.), Sugar Consumption and Health (pp. 61-76). Nova Science Publishers.

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