The Climate Book

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, discusses how climate-related health issues arise from changes in disease transmission, heatwaves, and food and water shortages. People in developing nations and those who are disadvantaged are more vulnerable to climate-related health issues; however, no one is safe from the implications of climate change.

Several countries recognize the need for strategies to address climate-related health issues, but few low-income countries receive assistance. Ghebreyesus calls for global solidarity. He is hopeful because actions to combat climate change also benefit human health, such as walking or cycling instead of driving, creating urban green spaces, and eating plant-based foods. These benefits are not yet part of climate change planning. Health officials are informing leaders and the public of health consequences and potential solutions, but significant changes are yet to be made.

Epidemiologist Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera claims that heat is a significant health threat to human health; 1% of all deaths are heat-related—roughly the same amount as malaria deaths. One-third of heat-related deaths are attributed to climate change, and that number is expected to rise. The human body needs to maintain a steady temperature—around 37°C—and when that temperature is exceeded, biological mechanisms malfunction. When exposed to high heat, bodies sweat; high humidity coupled with high heat—called wet bulb temperatures—makes sweating less effective. Heat also increases the risk of acute medical crises, like stroke or heart attack.

Vulnerability to heat varies, and more research on how to protect humanity from high heat is needed. While many depend on air-conditioning, it may not be a viable universal solution. Inequality, urbanization, and resource depletion also need to be considered, as they exacerbate climate-related health issues. As such, a holistic approach is needed. Vicedo-Cabrera claims that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that much of the world is not ready to address widespread crises, but humanity can become more resilient, equitable, and sustainable.

Drew Shindell, a climate scientist, explains that around 10 million people die from exposure to air pollution. If emissions are reduced, pollution will decline, benefitting human health. Low-income and vulnerable individuals are more susceptible to pollution exposure; thus, more equitable practices should be adopted.

Shindell writes that people need to stop burning things—whether fossil fuels or biomass. Everyone should have access to clean, renewable energy; people should reduce beef and dairy consumption, and agricultural and waste management emissions need to be reduced. Issues and solutions overlap—e.g., during the COVID-19 shutdown, air pollution levels dropped due to the decreased use of transportation. Focusing on improving local air quality would also benefit the fight against climate change. If humanity works to drop emissions, millions of diseases and premature deaths could be prevented.

Medical and environmental scientist Felipe J. Colón-González addresses vector-borne diseases, or diseases transmitted to humans from other organisms, which account for over 700,000 deaths per year. Such diseases are more prevalent in areas with poverty and inequality, and more than 80% of people are vulnerable vector-borne diseases. Rising temperatures allow vector-borne diseases to reemerge or migrate, and higher temperatures increase pathogens’ infectiousness. Increased rainfalls can boost disease-carrying insect populations, and stored water can become breeding sites. Transmission seasons for malaria and dengue are increasing. Climate change might negatively impact some disease-carrying organisms or may result in conditions that impede vector-borne disease transmission.

Colón-González states that humans can implement plans to prevent breakouts from migrating diseases, but the COVID-19 pandemic showed how ill-prepared most nations’ public health systems are. Because of climate change, billions more people will be vulnerable to vector-borne diseases. By reducing emissions and addressing factors like travel and urbanization, humanity can potentially prevent the spread of such diseases.

Epidemiologists John Brownstein, Sarah McGough, and Mauricio Santillana, along with clinician Derek MacFadden, write that antibiotics are becoming ineffective. Bacteria adapt and become resistant to antibiotics, increasing cases of antibiotic-resistant infections and presenting a medical crisis. Studies have found a correlation between antibiotic-resistant bacteria and higher temperatures, though scientists have not identified why this correlation exists; thus, climate change may be accelerating antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The future implications of antibiotic-resistance are largely unpredictable, but some suggest that such strains of bacteria could cause millions of deaths and cost trillions in economic losses, although this does not account for the potential acceleration of bacterial evolution due to global warming.

Samuel S. Myers, a medical scientist, discusses Mary Otieno, a Kenyan farmer whose crops became less nutritious because of CO₂ air pollution. Myers and his team found that higher levels of CO₂ decrease the nutrient content in staple crops. The decreased nutrition content may result in millions of people developing zinc, protein, folate, and thiamine deficiencies, as well as anemia or neural tube defects. Declining insect populations also impact food nutrition, as most crops depend on insect pollinators; one study estimated that around 500,000 yearly deaths can be attributed to a lack of pollinators. Similarly, overfishing and warm, acidic oceans are affecting fish harvests. Myers argues that human health, along with the environment, is in danger.

Thunberg reiterates that the Global North is responsible for most emissions and notes that 3 billion people use less energy than the amount needed to power an American refrigerator. The Global North, she claims, is colonizing the atmosphere. Increased awareness and advances toward clean energy should be celebrated, but the hope of future solutions is preventing immediate action. Thunberg questions what is meant by “hope” in relation to climate change, suggesting many hope that the Global North will not have to change its lifestyles. Nations manipulate their emission reporting, making it seem as if they are making meaningful progress toward reducing emissions when they are not.

Thunberg writes that, at the time, more than 5 million people have died from COVID-19, but 10 million deaths are caused by air pollution. She suggests society values some people less and people in wealthy nations care less about climate change because they are less affected. Hope comes from the truth—from science and from the people fighting for change.

Climate scientist Saleemul Huq writes that climate change was declared official on August 9, 2021, when a group of cautious IPCC scientists presented information indicating that humans have changed the climate and the temperature has increased by 1.1°C. While the focus is on preventing 1.5°C, humanity should be dealing with the 1.1°C increase. Huq argues that wealthy nations use “loss and damages” to avoid the terms “liability and compensation” because they do not want to be held accountable for their emissions. Nationalism is deeply engrained in state policy, as revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic, where many countries focused only on protecting themselves.

Huq calls for global justice and writes that his home of Bangladesh is in danger of rising sea levels. He shares lessons learned from Bangladesh’s management of the rising water: Social cohesion is critical as technology and money cannot prevent destruction or death, and young individuals are also a powerful force. Everyone is a polluter, and everyone can make changes to pollute less, whether they make lifestyle changes or work to spread awareness. Huq encourages people to get together and incite change.

Activist Jaqueline Patterson reflects on her time in Jamaica, where she volunteered with toddlers who lost their hearing due to rubella. She witnessed multiple signs of injustice, including water contamination, a lack of vaccines, and squatter settlements. She identifies capitalism as the underlying cause of inequality. Patterson notes that history has been sanitized to portray colonizers as adventurers rather than as murderers and thieves. Colonists stole and enslaved Africans, whom they used to build capitalist infrastructure. Modern society still uses exploitative and racist practices, such as “sacrifice zones,” or areas neighboring dangerous environments, which are occupied predominantly by people of color.

The United States constitutes 4% of the global population but produces a quarter of the world’s emissions. Their industrial activity has caused suffering in the Global South, and when individuals from the South are driven away from their homes, they are met with border patrol: “[T]hey are greeted by horseback riders using their reins as whips and officials putting their children in cages” (164). Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color are driving systemic change; everyone needs to work together to create sustainable and equitable economies.

Abrahm Lustgarten, an investigative journalist, introduces Carlos Guevara from El Salvador, whose crops started to fail in 2014. In 2016, Guevara was warned that the bank would seize his property if he had another poor yield, violent gangs tried to “rent” his children, and his wife began making and selling pupusas. Millions of lives in Central America have been disrupted by persistent droughts. Like others in search of food and safety, Guevara left to find work in the US.

By 2070, 19% of the planet may become uninhabitable, which would displace 3 billion people. Such a mass migrations would likely result in conflict. How world leaders act now will determine future conditions; if climate change, anti-immigration, and reduced economic aid continue, more people will suffer and be displaced.

Guevara was caught and returned to El Salvador. He found many others had left, but the World Food Programme (WFP) had arrived to offer aid. The WPF helped Guevara by supplying a greenhouse, which allowed him to grow produce. However, the solution is temporary, as the climate will continue to change.

Climatologist Michael Taylor writes that rising seas threaten small islands. Even if emissions drop, many islands will still succumb to rising waters. Beaches on small islands are eroding, leading to reduced space and declining incomes from tourism and fishing. Rising seas and extreme storms also inhibit or destroy infrastructure developments. On many islands, metropolitan areas are located along the coast, making them vulnerable to destruction. The impacts are diverse: Habitats are being lost, fresh water is being contaminated with saltwater, cultural sites are flooding, and public spaces are constricting. Small islanders have contributed little to global emissions but are facing heavy consequences.

Hindou Oumarous Ibrahim, an Indigenous activist from Chad, notes the many words for rain in her culture. Her community near Lake Chad lives in harmony with the environment and neighbors, but Lake Chad is drying up and local temperatures have risen by over 1.5°C and may rise by 2°C by 2030. The Sahel has alternating bouts of drought and floods, destroying the peoples’ culture, land, and homes. Conflicts are erupting over declining resources, but Ibrahim feels hopeful because her people are using traditional knowledge to implement solutions. She observes that Indigenous peoples supply knowledge of how to live in harmony with nature. Her community, which is carbon neutral, is proof that sustainable living is possible. All their decisions are made with consideration for the generational impacts. Ibrahim argues the world should follow the examples set by her culture.

Journalist and author Elin Anna Labba describes a reindeer calf dying in the snow. People in Sápmi, an Indigenous country within Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia, has erected buildings to care for reindeer populations that are struggling to survive in the warming environment. However, the deer are becoming sick in confinement: “We took the animals’ freedom so that they would not die in the forest, but we are not able to protect them” (173). The community elders fear the world is changing and that the weather conditions will not improve. Despite the environmental degradation, Sweden is still extracting resources. Labba summarizes a cultural story about hopeful children of the sun and argues everyone needs to fight and to believe change is possible.

Sônia Guajajara, an Indigenous activist from Brazil, writes that humanity needs to preserve ecosystems, something she was taught to do from a young age. Her people and the environment have suffered under colonialism for centuries. In 2021, Guajajara helped launch Reflorestarmentes, which fosters community-based projects that spread Indigenous women’s knowledge and help protect the environment. Indigenous peoples, who have contributed least to climate change, are working the hardest to preserve environments. Most of the preservation works falls to Indigenous women, who, Guajajara says, will continue sharing their knowledge to help create a sustainable world.

Thunberg acknowledges that climate change statistics, like the estimated 1.2 billion who will be displaced by 2050, are overwhelming. The impacts of climate change are connected to poverty, disease, violence, and oppression, and shutting down borders will not help. Thunberg encourages a democratic approach and notes the importance of correcting underlying social issues, like inequality. She encourages people to participate peacefully in democratic movements, arguing that change will happen if people work together.

Economist and scientist Solomon Hsiang recognizes the profound inequality in the world, and inequality will be altered by the progressing climate change, although researchers cannot predict exactly what will happen. Data analysis suggests inequality will intensify and that the poor will suffer from climate change more than the rich. This is partly because the poor have less resource access and many of them live in hot areas where rising temperatures will be more harmful; meanwhile, colder areas, where wealthier individuals live, may benefit from rising temperatures, exacerbating inequality.

Taikan Oki, a hydrologist, posits that people need time to adapt to environmental changes and that vulnerable communities are at a disadvantage. While climate change accelerates the water cycle, leading to more precipitation, it also creates extreme conditions fostering droughts and floods, which may harm fresh water sources. While industrial nations may have plentiful resources, researchers argue that such nations will not be able to provide for the millions to billions who are forced to migrate. Oki says that humanity is recognizing the realities of climate change; people are coming together to limit climate change, but, in some areas, freshwater insecurity will persist.

Environmental scientist Marshall Burke argues that humans are violent and that climate change might exacerbate human violence, as higher temperatures are correlated with higher rates of violence. Studies show that rising temperatures cause higher rates of violence and conflict. Humanity has the power to limit the rising temperatures and to generate plans for avoiding future conflict.

Journalist and author Eugene Linden examines potential socioeconomic costs of climate change and argues that, if humanity doesn’t change, it could collapse. Had these costs been realized in the 1990s, leaders might have prioritized actions to prevent climate change. Predicting precise costs is impossible due to the complex interacting factors, including tipping points and feedback loops. Indirect impacts, like surges in pest populations, also affect cost calculations. However, some people have projected the potential costs. Moody Analytics found that 2°C of warming might cost $69 trillion, and the Swiss Re proposed that 2.6°C of warming would cost three times more than the COVID-19 pandemic. Some suggest that climate change has already cost trillions of dollars, largely due to expenses relating to extreme weather events and wildfires. The environmental changes may lead to higher insurance rates, creating economic strain and housing crises as people lose insurance and struggle to buy and sell uninsured houses. The global economy is vulnerable to disruptions, and climate change is a major disruption. Climate change should be limited at all costs because the potential costs of climate change are unimaginable and incalculable.