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The Social Challenge of Climate Change

Setting the stage

Climate change is transforming the world as we know it. In many places, extreme or unusual weather events are raising awareness that climate change is happening now. In some places, longer-term shifts such as increasing temperatures, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels are leading to existential questions about how climate change may affect future livability and survival. After more than three decades of efforts to address climate change, greenhouse gas emissions today are 60% higher than in 1990 (Stoddard et al. 2021). Along with increasing concerns about climate change, there is growing recognition that the sooner we act, the lower the risks of severe, widespread, and irreversible global impacts (IPCC 2014a, 2023a). But how should we respond? What can we do? Answering these questions begins with seeing climate change as more than an environmental problem. We need to look more broadly at social, economic, political, and cultural processes that are both driving climate change and influencing responses. We also need to look more deeply at how we see ourselves in the world, how we relate to each other and nature, and how our individual and collective decisions and actions are shaping the future for generations to come.

This book explores social causes, consequences, and responses to climate change. Our point of departure is that there are many different perspectives on the problem and diverse approaches to solutions. When climate change is viewed as an environmental problem, the solutions are usually technical or behavioral, such as managing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting environmentally friendly lifestyles. When climate change is viewed as a social problem, the solutions broaden to include economic, political, cultural, and institutional changes. When it is viewed as a human problem, the solutions deepen to include reflections on individual and shared beliefs, values, and worldviews. As we discuss throughout this book, climate change shows that the environment is directly influenced by human activities and that our actions can and do have impacts on larger systems. This implies that humans collectively have the potential to generate positive changes that contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future.

Taking a broader and deeper view of climate change also opens new entry points for solutions, some with the potential for transforming society in ways that address multiple global challenges, including poverty and inequality, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, health crises, and social injustices. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 recognize that all of these challenges are linked, including SDG Goal 13: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” (United Nations 2015). Highlighting the social and human dimensions of climate change, we emphasize that future impacts and risks are not predetermined but conditional. There are enormous differences between a world that is 1.5°C (2.7°F) warmer and a world that is 2°C (3.6°F) warmer or more (IPCC 2018, 2023a), and there are many openings and opportunities to create an equitable and sustainable future.

Sustainable Development Goals are 17 global goals adopted by the United Nations as part of the 2015 resolution “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”

This introductory chapter sets the stage for our investigation of the social and human dimensions of climate change. We begin by exploring the question of why climate change matters and its implications for equity and justice. We then consider climate change within the context of the Anthropocene, a new geologic epoch characterized by the influence of humans on Earth system processes. We situate climate change in geological, historical, and future time frames and connect it to long-term and ongoing processes of social, economic, and environmental change. We then explore openings and opportunities for reducing climate change risks and vulnerabilities and engaging with broader transformations. We conclude by making the case that climate change is a fundamentally transformative process; it is transforming not only Earth systems but also how we think about ourselves and our capacity to create change.

The Anthropocene is a proposed geologic epoch beginning in roughly the mid-twentieth century, which is distinguished by the pervasiveness of human influences on Earth system processes

Why does climate change matter?

Climate change is often described as an urgent challenge that poses critical risks to social, ecological, and economic systems (see Box 1.1). The growing use of phrases such as “climate crisis,” “climate disruption,” “climate emergency,” and “climate breakdown” reflects growing concerns about the threats posed by climate change. Although we use the phrase “climate change” throughout the book, we consider it to be interchangeable with any of these other phrases. Despite widespread awareness of climate change, many people struggle to articulate precisely why it matters. Some feel that climate change is too abstract to really grasp, or that it “doesn’t really affect me,” and “isn’t something that I need to worry about.” Others see climate change as just one of many pressing social concerns, including global poverty, unemployment, homelessness, pandemics, addictions, terrorism, and military conflicts. With so many competing issues, it can be easy to downplay the significance of climate change or assume that technological innovations will eventually solve the problem. Some are still convinced that climate change is merely a “hoax” and that humans cannot influence the climate system. In contrast, a growing number of people recognize the significance of climate change, yet feel overwhelmed or paralyzed by its widespread implications, convinced that it is too big an issue to address and unsure of what role they can play to address it. However, more and more people are indeed both worried about climate change and committed to taking action. In light of the numerous interpretations of climate change, let’s consider some of the many reasons why climate change matters.

Figure 1.1 IPCC reasons for concern.

Source: IPCC 2014b

Climate change matters for very practical reasons; weather and climate are foundational to the management of our everyday lives. When the weather becomes less predictable, people have to live with greater uncertainties and new risks. This can involve anything from mundane questions about whether to wear a jacket or carry an umbrella to questions about the timing and location of outdoor excursions, festivals, sports events, and even weddings. It may involve adjusting routines, such as reducing daily water usage in response to long-term drought, or it may mean adapting to higher summer temperatures by shifting outdoor work hours to avoid the hottest part of the day. For some, the everyday experience of climate change means new inconveniences, such as navigating roads that are subject to more frequent flooding. For many, climate change already presents immediate threats to livelihoods, health, and well-being via impacts on food production, water supplies, and housing security. At the same time, increasing exposure to extreme weather events, such as floods, forest fires, or heat waves, is having...