Analysis
Climate Change
Our position
Climate change is real, caused by human greenhouse gas emissions and land use change, and a wicked problem that will be managed rather than solved. But representations of climate change as an existential threat to humanity have broken loose from scientific assessments. Long-run emissions trends track macroeconomic forces and technological change, not the stringency of climate rhetoric or targets. Weather-related disaster impacts upon humans and the economy hinge far more upon wealth, resilient infrastructure, and government capacity than they do upon the level of warming, emphasizing the critical importance of adaptation measures and human development. Catastrophism persists not because the evidence demands it or because of any meaningful political results it produces, but because professional incentives and political identity reward vivid rhetoric.
Start here
Three pieces the team says to read first
Ten Words You Can't Say About Climate Change
There Is No Climate Tipping Point
Analysis
Do Climate Attribution Studies Tell the Full Story?
Climate Change work
Research, analysis and everything we have put on the record: comments, testimony, statements, letters and endorsements.
Showing 73–78 of 79
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Analysis
Electricity Deregulation has a Decarbonization Blind Spot
Being low carbon doesn’t get you more revenue in the electric market
· Matthew L. Wald
Analysis
Nuclear Shutdowns Have Already Harmed the Planet
Every year, avoidable nuclear power plant shutdowns release CO2 emissions equivalent to 37 African countries
· Guido Núñez-Mujica, Seaver Wang
Analysis
How Cold Will the Next European Winter Be?
The latest rundown of the seasonal forecast for the upcoming European winter.
· Patrick Brown
Analysis
Can an "All of the Above" Approach to Decarbonization Work?
"All of the Abundance" at Ecomodernism 2022
· Breakthrough Staff
Analysis
Will a Cold European Winter Exacerbate The Energy Crisis? Pt. 2
What the modeling predicts, as of September 30th.
· Patrick Brown
Analysis
Will a Cold European Winter Exacerbate the Energy Crisis?
Despite the best efforts of politicians, no policy response will be able to replace the energy previously provided by Russian natural gas quickly, and this reality will come to a head in the winter.
· Patrick Brown
73–78 of 79
Who to talk to
Ted Nordhaus
Founder and President Email
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Questions
Is climate change real?
Yes. Earth’s global average temperature is warming, primarily because human activities have increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.
How much of climate change is caused by humans?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that essentially all observed global warming since the late 19th century is attributable to human influence. Greenhouse gas emissions have caused substantial net warming that dwarfs the effects from natural factors.
Can climate change be reversed?
Climate change can be slowed and eventually stabilized through decarbonization. However, due to the long residence time of carbon dioxide and some other greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, reversing climate change after stabilization has been achieved will be very difficult without carbon removal at vast scales.
Will the world still be livable in 2050?
Climate change will create serious challenges but will not make the world uninhabitable by 2050. Pathways for the Earth’s future warming diverge relatively later in the 21st century, such that climate and weather variability in 2050 will feel relatively indistinguishable in most regions from the climate of today.