The Climate Book

Science journalist Peter Brannen traces the carbon cycle. Plants, animals, and the environment take in CO₂, and then it is released into the air again. Some CO₂ is stored in the Earth in materials like limestone and oil; the tendency of the Earth to store CO₂ results in the surplus of oxygen that current lifeforms need to survive. The carbon cycle mitigates the Earth’s climate. Geological records show that all mass extinctions have taken place during major disruptions to the carbon cycle, and humans are now severely disrupting the carbon cycle. Humans still have time to stop their emissions and prevent a cataclysmic extinction event.

Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary molecular biologist, writes that as early humans spread from Africa, they changed the environments they encountered, resulting in the extinction of many species. Evidence that humans caused such extinctions has been found in Australia and on islands. The first animals were domesticated 15,000 years ago, and plant and animal agriculture emerged 10,000 years ago. By the 1900s, human activity threatened the health of the environment. Humans now must protect nature from human activity—“With this transition, humans became the evolutionary force that would decide the fate of every species, as well as the habitats in which these species live” (10).

Writer Elizabeth Kolbert discusses the rise of Homo sapiens 200,000 years ago in Africa during the Pleistocene era. Humans spread north from Africa, encountering and mating with Neanderthals before Neanderthals went extinct. As humans arrived on other continents, megafauna species, like mastodons, went extinct. Models show that if slow-reproducing megafauna animals were killed as a rate of one per year, humans could effectively terminate the species over centuries. This extinction trend continued as humans migrated to and colonized different areas; for instance, New Zealand moas (a type of large, flightless bird) went extinct when humans settled the island, and later the dodo bird was hunted to extinction by European colonizers.

Biodiversity has continued to decline as technology has advanced, and Kolbert argues that capitalism is at the heart of this destruction. The human population has grown exponentially and has drastically increased its rate of consumption. Natural environments were demolished and turned into agricultural lands. Fossil fuel use began to rise; carbon emissions rose from 45 billion tonnes in 1900 to around 1,900 gigatonnes by 2023 (a gigatonne is the equivalent of one billion metric tonnes; and one tonne is 1000kg or approximately 2,200lbs).

Some species are blocked by human civilization in their attempt to find suitable habitats, while others are unable to escape, like Bramble Cay melomys—a type of rat and the first species declared extinct as a result of climate change—or coral reefs, which are rapidly bleaching. If coral reefs collapse, it is likely millions of other species will follow. Humans are causing a sixth mass extinction, which is the first to be caused by biological forces.

Thunberg notes that the Holocene era, beginning 11,700 years ago, had a stable climate that allowed humans to develop agriculture. Agriculture allowed for rapid social development, leading to the Industrial Revolution and ever-increasing environmental degradation. Most are not aware of the extent of the human-caused damage, observes Thunberg, and some don’t care, partly due to “generational amnesia,” or the tendency for people to grow accustomed to their cultural conditions. Humans do not own the world, Thunberg asserts, but share it with all other lifeforms.

Not everyone is equally responsible for the degradation, as most in pre-industrialized nations live sustainably. Industrial leaders and the wealthy have done the most damage—“It is the sufferings of the many that have paid for the benefits of the few” (19). The crisis is cumulative and is based on the idea that some humans are more deserving of resources or luxuries. The Global North has drastically depleted the carbon budget, yet developing countries are still building infrastructure that mirrors the Global North. The consequences of industry have been known for at least 40 years, yet 50% of total emissions have been released since 1992.

Thunberg argues that the primary barrier to enacting protocols to prevent climate change is the entitlement of the Global North, which was demonstrated by the responses of some during the COVID-19 pandemic. Others argue that the science is conflicting, but scientists have long agreed that climate change is happening, though they sometimes disagree on how to convey the information and enact change to slow it.

Atmospheric scientist Michael Oppenheimer writes that Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius first predicted climate change in the late 1800s, but the idea was ignored for over 50 years. In the 1960s, Syukuru Manabe developed computer models simulating climate change, and in the 1970s, scientists reached a consensus that the temperature on Earth would rise if CO₂ levels continued to rise.

Nitrogen and oxygen are transparent and allow sunlight to warm the surface of the planet, and the Earth reflects heat into space as infrared radiation. Carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other particles trap heat in the atmosphere; they are called greenhouse gases because they function similar to greenhouse. Earth needs greenhouse gases to retain some heat, but excess greenhouse gases created by industry are raising the temperature and creating feedback loops, such as increased evaporation causing more heat-trapping clouds. Carbon dioxide is naturally filtered from the atmosphere and absorbed into the Earth, but the process takes centuries.

Scientists have known how to slow climate chance for decades, but little has been done, partly because politicians have not regarded the situation as immediately dangerous. Oppenheimer has witnessed this apathy while testifying at climate committees. He has also contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—an organization formed in 1988 by the UN and dedicated to assessing climate change. The US failed to join the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, and while the European Union met their Kyoto Protocol goals, others, like Canada and Australia, did not. The Paris Agreement was established in 2015, but many countries are advancing slowly or are increasing their emissions. Humans are now in a race to mitigate the consequences of climate change, something that will require drastic global action.

Historian Naomi Oreskes explains that humans have done little to prevent climate change because those in power have failed to acknowledge the role of capitalism and because fossil fuel industries have spread disinformation. Although scientists at ExxonMobil realized the dangers of their industry, the company disseminated the idea that the science was inconclusive, often taking advertising techniques from the tobacco industry. Fossil fuel companies politicized climate change by working with conservative organizations and lobbying against preventative climate change policies. Climate change is a result of the exploitative nature of capitalism and the Great Acceleration—the rapid expansion of industrialized civilization. It is difficult for people to accept that they have been tricked, that their privilege and lifestyle are threats to the climate, and that progress cannot continue in the same way; thus, even those who accept climate change are resistant to action.

Johan Rockström, an environmental scientist, writes that Earth is in the Anthropocene epoch, named for the impact humans have had on the Earth. The Great Acceleration saw an increase of resource use and fossil fuel emissions. The planet cannot sustain the destruction, and the situation is reaching a tipping point that will destabilize the climate. There is still hope—albeit limited hope—as the climate has not yet destabilized.

Rockström argues that civilization was built on the ideas that change is linear and the biosphere has an infinite capacity to mitigate human expansion. Both assumptions are incorrect—progression is exponential, and the biosphere is limited. Small changes can trigger tipping points resulting in cataclysmic changes and feedback loops. The event cannot be reversed, and the impacts may not be visible for years, meaning future generations will suffer the effects. Earth systems, like the carbon and water cycles, are linked, and a 2019 study showed that some Earth system elements are nearing their tipping points. A 2022 study showed that five of those elements may be tipped within the range of the Paris Agreement guidelines. As scientists learn more about tipping points and feedback loops, the risks of climate change become more apparent and ominous.

Thunberg argues humans are all connected to each other and to all life on Earth. Similarly, the various essays in The Climate Book are interconnected, uniting to form a comprehensive perspective on the climate crisis. Humans need to employ every potential method to slow climate change and prevent a crisis. Some warn that to discuss morality would incite guilt, but Thunberg argues morality and guilt are necessary elements to the discussion. She also calls for a democratic approach, but for democracy to be effective, the people must be well-informed. The purpose of The Climate Book is to meet this need. People need to learn the facts and to share them with others. Until now, humans have prioritized greed, but thanks to human intelligence, we have the ability and responsibility to protect the natural world, and everyone needs to be involved.