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Climate Change Dissertation Topics

Published by Carmen Troy at January 4th, 2023 , Revised On May 20, 2024

Are you a student who wants to add your share of climate change activism? Do what is important: Increase others awareness. Many climate change activists around the world are putting efforts into saving this earth from getting any further destroyed by the increasing temperature. As a student, studying and informing people about its implications can be a great contribution to helping the earth.

Climate change is believed to be the most striking problem that will massively affect life on Earth. Climate change refers to the long-term change in the weather pattern of the earth, which is basically rising temperatures due to the destruction of the ozone layer in the stratosphere.

So, if you have planned to write your dissertation on climate change, here are a few useful ideas that can help you get started with your research.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting a brief research proposal from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an introduction to the problem, research question, aim and objectives, literature review, and the proposed methodology of research to be conducted. Let us know if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  example dissertation  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

You can review step by step guide on how to write your dissertation  here .

List Of Dissertation Topics On Climate Change

• The Evolving Role of Artificial Intelligence in Mitigating Climate Change Impacts.
• Geopolitical Tensions on the Rise: The Scramble for Resources in a Changing Climate.
• Reimagining Urban Infrastructure for Resilience in the Face of Extreme Weather Events.
• The Ethical Implications of Geoengineering: A Critical Evaluation of Proposed Climate Interventions.
• Climate Change Communication Strategies and Public Perception: Bridging the Gap Between Science and Policy.
• Psychological Adaptation Strategies for Individuals and Communities Facing Climate Displacement.
• The Potential of Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies
• The Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Climate Change Adaptation
• Exploring the Growing Burden of Eco-anxiety and Depression.
• The Green Economy: A Driver for Sustainable Growth and Climate Action.
• The Role of Consumer Behaviour in Climate Change Mitigation
• Climate Change and the Future of Global Supply Chains
• The Impact of Climate Change on Public Health Infrastructure
• Geopolitical Implications of Melting Ice and Resource Exploitation.
• The Future of Nuclear Power in a Carbon-Constrained World
• The Role of Media in Shaping Public Discourse on Climate Change
• Climate Change and the Preservation of Cultural Heritage
• The Ethical Considerations of Climate Change Solutions
• The Challenges and Opportunities of Climate Finance
• The Role of Business Leadership in Climate Action
• Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss
• The Future of Transportation in a Low-Carbon Economy:  Exploring Electric Vehicles, Public Transit, and Sustainable Infrastructure.
• The Impact of Climate Change on Global Education Systems
• Climate Change and the Refugee Crisis
• Space-Based Technologies for Climate Change Monitoring and Mitigation

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More Climate Change Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: investigating the impacts of climate change on the deterioration of human health – a study on increasing cardiovascular diseases in the uk..

Research Aim: This study aims to critically analyse how climate change deteriorates human health, especially in relation to the increasing cardiovascular diseases in the UK.

Objectives:

• To critically analyse the common effects of climate change on human health.
• To investigate how climate change is being a threat to human health in the UK and increasing the risks of cardiovascular diseases.
• To suggest strategies about how climate change can be controlled and its adverse impacts can be mitigated to address the growing problem of cardiovascular diseases in the UK.

Topic 2: A study on the growing relevance of sustainable transport as a solution for adverse consequences of climate change in the UK.

Research Aim: This study aims to share the concept of sustainable transport thereby interpreting how it is being relevant as a solution for adverse consequences of climate change in the UK.

• To exemplify the concept of sustainable transport and its potential impacts on the environment.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of introducing sustainable transport to address the negative impacts of climate change in the UK.
• To recommend strategies to bring sustainable transport into action to address adverse consequences of climate change in the UK.

Topic 3: Examining the initiatives to restrict the impacts of CFC emission on drastic changes in climate - a study on banning CFC in the UK.

Research Aim: The present research study aims to conduct a detailed analysis of the UK government’s initiatives to restrict CFC emissions that drastically change the climate. This study will specifically focus on the government’s strategic initiative to ban CFCs.

• To make a comprehensive analysis of different initiatives taken by the UK government to minimise CFC emissions.
• To explain how CFC emissions can be restricted by the government’s strategy of banning CFC as a way to mitigate climate change.
• To share innovative ideas to minimise CFC emissions, ban CFC, and increase awareness about its impacts.

Topic 4: Critical analysis of the drastic move by the UK government towards cleaner energy solutions to mitigate climate change – a study on solar and wind energy generation.

Research Aim: The study aims to critically analyse the drastic move UK government towards cleaner energy solutions to mitigate climate change. This study will extensively focus on solar and wind energy generation.

• To analyse the importance of adopting cleaner energy solutions to mitigate climate change.
• To describe the initiatives of the UK government to develop cleaner energy solutions like solar and wind energy to address climate change.
• To recommend strategies and best ways to generate solar and wind energy as best possible cleaner energy solutions against climate change.

Topic 5: A study on the far-reaching effects of climate change on food production in the UK – a case study of Nestle’s food production.

Research Aim: The aim of this study is to exemplify the impacts of climate change on food production in the UK and the study will specifically emphasise the food production practices of Nestle.

• To critically interpret how climate change is impacting food production in the UK.
• To describe how the food production of Nestle is being affected by climate change in the UK.
• To provide a set of recommendations to Nestle for addressing climate change thereby minimising its adverse effects on food production.

Topic 6: Global warming and greenhouse gas emission

Research aim: When radiations from the planet’s atmosphere warm the planet’s surface to a temperature that it would be without temperature, it is called the greenhouse effect. The emission of greenhouse gasses leads to greenhouse gas emissions.

The aim of the research is to identify and analyse greenhouse gas emissions and their long term ramifications on global warming. The researcher will

Topic 7: Repercussions of climate change on lives of people

Research aim: Climate change is not a war that will end sometime, and everything will get to its place in order. It is a phenomenon that is taking us an inch closer to destruction every day. With the rapid climate change, things will not remain the same as ever.

The aim of the research is to identify, analyse, and discuss the effects of climate change on people’s lives.

Topic 8: Climate change and marine life

Research aim: Climate change does not only affect life on the land but also impacts life inside the sea significantly. The aim of the research is to identify how climate change can affect marine life and lead marine life to incur significant changes in their habitat.

Topic 9: Effects of global warming on agriculture

Research aim: The aim of the research is to study and evaluate the effects of global warming on agriculture. The research will also aim to find out the significant impacts on the countries that rely on agriculture and what are the necessary steps that they are required to take to avoid the results.

Topic 10: Global warming and natural disasters:

Research aim: The many natural disasters occurring in the world are due to global warming. The aim of the research is to study the interrelationship of global warming and natural disasters and how natural disasters can be stopped by controlling global warming.

Topic 11: Analysis of climate change activism

Research aim: Climate change activism is the need of the hour, as the least we can do to save the earth is to stop climate change from getting worse. Climate change activism is running all over the world. The aim of the research is to analyse and evaluate how this activism works, how it is effective, and identify the areas that need to be improved to make it more powerful.

Topic 12: Analysing global policies about climate change

Research aim: The aim of the research is to analyse and evaluate how stakeholders and those in power respond to climate change and what policies() they have made. The research will also analyse if the policies are effective in controlling global warming.

Topic 13: Global Warming and Africa

Research aim: The aim of the research is to study the effects of global warming that are challenging life in Africa today and what it would be if it were uncontrolled today.

Topic 14: Impact of climate change on the Gulf countries

Research aim: Gulf countries, especially landlocked countries, can be affected massively due to global warming. The aim of the research will be to analyse and assess the impact of climate change on Gulf countries.

Topic 15: Climate change across the world

Research aim: It is important to understand the current state of climate change to take the imperative steps on time. The research will study and analyse the climate change that has occurred and impacted life and the earth and provide suggestions for controlling it immediately.

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ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Topic 16: Climate change and the efforts of UN

Research aim: The aim of the research is to find out how the United Nations is working to cope with the striking problem of climate change. It will analyse and explore the key efforts made by the institution that lead to sustainable results.

Topic 17: The financial cost of climate change

Research aim: Climate change has a lot to do with humans, and affecting them financially is one of them. The financial costs that humans may need to pay to recover and control the massive destructions posed by climate change will be immense. The main goal of the research would be to estimate and calculate the financial cost of climate change that humans will pay steadily over time.

Also Read: Finance and Accounting Dissertation Topics

Topic 18: Efforts to control climate change

Research aim: Time should not be wasted regretting what has already happened but investing in useful planning and execution to stop it from getting worse. The research will aim to find out the most important efforts essential to controlling climate change.

Topic 19: Impact of climate change on Asia

Research aim: Asia, being the largest and most densely populated continent, may have faced serious results of climate change. The aim of the research is to identify the social, physical, and economic impact of climate change on Asia.

Topic 20: Media and climate change activism:

Research aim: Media is sometimes called the fifth pillar of the state, and there is no way one can deny that media plays immense importance in making a matter more important in people’s eyes. The aim of the research would be to understand and analyse how global media is playing a significant role in boosting or leading climate change activism.

Topic 21: Climate injustice; the theoretical model

Research aim: Climate injustice is a theoretical framework that talks about the ethical dimension of climate change. According to this approach, the activists are calling climate change an ethical problem as it is an environmental problem.

The research aims to study and analyse the application of climate injustice and how much it is relevant in today’s context. It will also critically analyse the scope of theory in future.

Topic 22: Greenhouse effect and ozone depletion

Research aim: The aim of the research is to find out the relationship between the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion.

Topic 23: How well-informed people are about climate change

Research aim: The aim of the research is to find out how many people in a particular area are aware of climate change as a serious environmental threat. The research will help analyse if climate activism is effective or not.

Topic 24: climate change and the rapid increase in industrialisation

Research aim: Industrialisation has contributed a lot to climate change in the last few decades. The aim of the research is to study the prospects in the field of industrialisation and if climate change is in consideration of the stakeholders.

Topic 25: climate change and global security

Research aim: It is inevitable that climate change will affect humans in all possible ways. The aim of the research will be to understand climate change and its impacts on life security, such as natural disasters, diseases, and famine, etc.

Conducting research can be one of the most exciting things, but when it comes to writing, students become dreadful. But do not worry. We have got your back. Whether you want a section of the dissertation to be written impeccably or the whole of it, we are here. Don’t wait; click here .

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to find climate change dissertation topics.

To find climate change dissertation topics:

• Study IPCC reports and recent research.
• Analyse local/global impacts and adaptations.
• Explore policy and technological aspects.
• Consider interdisciplinary angles.
• Brainstorm solutions or communication strategies.
• Select a topic resonating with your passion and expertise.

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The dissertation projects of the DK  (in the first phase from 2014 to 2018) contribute to finding answers to three questions:

• How do we understand and deal with climate change uncertainties in the natural and social sciences as well as from the perspective of normative theories?
• What are critical thresholds of environmental, social and economic systems considering their vulnerability and how are these thresholds related to the normative threshold of sufficiency, that is, the threshold of well-being below which persons’ basic rights are infringed or violated?
• What are scientifically sound, technologically and institutionally feasible, economically efficient, and ethically defensible and sustainable strategies to cope with climate change, particularly taking into account the problems of implementation in an environment characterized by uncertainties and thresholds?

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Students can use the campus to test solutions to real-world sustainability challenges as part of a Living Lab project. Here are some sustainability dissertation ideas.

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Living lab for a positive climate .

Our goal is to have net zero-arbon buildings by 2024 and to be a net zero-carbon institution by 2030.

Research topics include:

• Review UCL buildings for climate change resilience and implement adaptation measures
• Research into enhancing video conferencing for large events
• Sourcing renewable energy providers for gas to enable a zero-carbon heating supply
• Research on academic travel reduction initiatives
• Research on UCL’s new Climate Accountability Scheme (combining a carbon price with behavioural nudges) to incentivise climate action by departments.
• Reducing the climate impact of UCL’s hospitality

Living lab on reducing waste and consumption

Our goal is to reduce waste per person by 20% and to become a single-use plastic-free campus by 2024.

• How to eliminate plastic across UCL
• How to increase recycling at UCL (campaign)
• Labels and messaging on food

Consumers are becoming more aware of sustainability considerations in food production and consumption. In addition to the traditional dietary and nutritional requirements, consumers are seeking labels and certifications to know where and how food is made, what it is made from, its carbon footprint and sustainability credentials. UCL would like to investigate what information we should supply, how this should be displayed, communicated and marketed, to allow our communities to make informed decisions and promote a flexitarian diet. It is anticipated this would require the following activity:

• Developing questionnaires for opinions on carbon footprinting, carbon pricing and other sustainability information they want to know about, to inform point-of-sale purchasing choices in outlets.
• Comparing marketing of food as “vegan” or “plant-based” and the impacts on consumer’s perceptions.
• Investigating the notion of “label fatigue “where consumers are overwhelmed by information on packaging, and the impact of the project on this.
• Baselining data on food choices.
• Developing a labelling system for packaging/ refectory display boards – using data and survey responses.
• Trialling the labelling system.
• Surveying responses.
• Recording food choices and comparing to baseline, to identify behavioural change.

Living lab on biodiversity

Our aim is to create 10,0000m2 of extra biodiverse space by 2024 – equivalent to more than one and a half football pitches as well as increasing health and wellbeing for the Bloomsbury community.

Research topics include: 

• Research on different types of green infrastructure e.g. green walls, roofs, community gardens, and where UCL could implement them.
• Research on biodiversity and wildlife across UCL’s estate.
• Research on air pollution levels across UCL’s estate

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Step 1: choose your topic.

• Take a look at the sustainability research topics list to see if they interest you.
• If you require data on energy, travel, procurement, UCL’s sustainability engagement programmes or water please email Sustainable UCL to request this.
• If you have alternative research topic ideas for a sustainable living lab dissertation or project please contact us.

Step 2: Discuss with your department

• Speak with your supervisor or someone in your department about undertaking a living lab dissertation and refining your topic.
• They can advise you on scales, time scales and marking criteria.

Step 3: Contact Sustainable UCL

• Arrange a meeting with Sustainable UCL to ensure your project can make a valuable contribution to UCL.
• Sustainable UCL can provide data and put you in touch with relevant operational staff such as catering members and plumbers to test out your ideas.
• You can invite your supervisor to this meeting, but it is not a requirement.

Step 4: Undertake your dissertation

• Sustainable UCL can meet a further 2 times or 2 hours maximum to support your dissertation or project.

Step 5: Sharing data and findings

• One of the principles of the Living Lab Project is to make available any additional data you generate for others to build on, so the work can keep ‘living’
• Once your dissertation is completed, we require a concise 2-3 page briefing or presentation on your findings so that we can implement your ideas onto campus or future students and staff can build on your research. Living Lab projects usually spark plenty of ideas for further research, including aspects you were not able to cover during the project.

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Climate Change Research Paper Topics

Table of contents

• 1.1 How to analyze the main points?
• 1.2 How to approach your thesis?
• 1.3 The subject of climatic changes does face opposition
• 2 Most Interesting Climate Change Topics to Write About
• 3 Simple And Easy Research Topics About Climate Change
• 4 Major Topics on Climate Change for Academic Writing
• 5 Cool Climate Change Research Topics
• 6 Conclusion

Climate change research topics are becoming critical in the modern industrialization and technological era. And that’s why it is one of the most common themes to write and discuss in numerous learning institutions.

But choosing the best topic to write  about climate warming can be pretty annoying. You must explore first and find the specific subjects that interest you. You can brainstorm and find the best titles to write about based on your exploration.

This post has been crafted to assist you in understanding climatic variation, and to provide you with the best talking points for your writing. Additionally, if you find that you need help, you can pay for a research paper to help you out.

So without any further ado, let’s begin.

How to Select the Best Climate Change Research Paper Topic?

Firstly, you should make a list of the areas within climate change that interest you. Then, you should research and identify possible sources of information related to the topics. After that, you should read and note down the relevant information from these sources. Finally, you should narrow down the topics and write my research paper on the most interesting one.

How to analyze the main points?

Before looking for climate change topics for a research paper , begin by conducting a simple analysis. This analysis has to be on the grand subject of climatic variation.

After that, focus on the domain that you find most interesting. You can consult various thesis and books along with multiple articles. Knowing how to start a research paper intro will allow you to gain more insights into your area of interest. You can start the brainstorming process according to the analysis you conducted earlier.

As we have already mentioned, there are different ways to write essays and college papers on global heating. You can either be in favor or against this issue. But it is essential that you first look at some of the factors contributing to this problem. On the other hand, you can always apply for help to our essay writer  and forget about the worries with your studies.

How to approach your thesis?

Make them see the bigger picture

People know and understand that climate warming is directly associated with pollution. But they also need to see a bigger picture here. The research paper topics and climate change topics for presentation that can work here include:

• What’s the mechanism behind the occurrence of climatic change?
• How do large corporations contribute to climate variation?
• How is deforestation associated with weather changes?
• Do our daily activities somehow contribute to temperature changes?

Focus on solutions to the contributing factors

From here, you can always focus on writing about the solutions to these problems. Your essays can provide various recommendations on how corporations and individuals can keep their environmental impact down to a minimum. Here are some interesting climate change research subjects you can write about:

• How can global corporations reduce their environmental impact?
• Examples of corporations who have successfully reduced their environmental impact.
• Can renewable energy and reforestation assist in climatic variation?
• Is weather warming an inescapable trend, or can it be reversed?

What measures have been taken?

Many countries have passed laws to control climatic variations and decrease environmental damage. And highlighting their efforts to set an example can also be the focus of your writing. Here are some titles that you can focus on:

• Popular national environmental protection policies in different parts of the world.
• Do regulations and laws influence environmental protection?
• Do environmentally-friendly policies impact businesses and individuals?
• How to measure the effectiveness of national/global policies on environmental protection?

The subject of climatic changes does face opposition

Now, despite all the evidence that global heating exists, the subject draws some opposition. Certain politicians, business personalities, and even scientists oppose this global matter, and you can also focus on this in your writing. Here are some points that you can focus on in your term paper:

• Why do people think that global heating is not real?
• Climatic changes: the ultimate proof.
• What are the benefits of the argument against climatic variations?
• Why is or why isn’t weather changes real?

Focus on the effects that have already occurred

You can also back up your argument while focusing on the effects of temperature changes already. Highlighting these points and discussing them in your climate change argumentative essay topics can also get you some extra points. For example,

• How has wildlife already been affected by climatic changes?
• What will be the consequences of these temperature changes if they continue to progress simultaneously?
• How is the air and water revolution impacting the environment?
• Why or why not can a temperature rise cause the end of life on this planet?

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Most Interesting Climate Change Topics to Write About

Can I pay for college papers ? Yes, you can. But if you want to write on your own, there are various interesting subjects. We will list them down for your convenience. Here are some of them to get you going:

• Climate change and its negative impact on cities and its solution.
• The global implications of climate change on tourism and hospitality.
• Climate change and the global security threat.
• Climate change – is capitalism an economical solution or a global problem?
• Addressing climate change and transforming the economy with global resource competition.
• Climate change and its economic cost.
• Behavioral economy and its role in climate, fossil fuels, and energy policy.
• Economic discourse and climate change.
• Climate change and the future.
• Indigenous people and climate change.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis in decreasing climate change effects.
• Asset-based community development and climate change.
• Vulnerabilities of global countries to climate change.

Simple And Easy Research Topics About Climate Change

Maybe you don’t want to get into deep science or the economic impact of climatic changes. And for that, you can keep things simple and easy. Here are some areas that are much less complex and easy to digest:

• Solving the problem of climate change with energy conservation.
• The impact of climate change on the global economy.
• Climate change and international security.
• Weather changes and their impact on the US (or any other country).
• Potential consequences of drastic temperature variations.
• Climate changes and the international collaborations to sort it out.
• The challenges that our humanity faces – are climatic changes and technology.
• Transportation’s impact on global temperature and energy consumption.
• Climate changes policy development and human rights.
• The UN and climatic variations.
• The negative impact of global warming on biodiversity.
• Does the aviation industry have to deal with climate variation?
• The theories and concepts of climatic variation governance.
• Carbon dioxide gas emissions and climate change impacts.
• How are ocean acidification and climatic variations related?
• Is geoengineering the possible weather changes response?
• The misconceptions associated with climatic changes and CO2 emissions.
• Air pollution, soil degradation, and global change.

Major Topics on Climate Change for Academic Writing

Here are some climate change title ideas to write on when discussing this issue in your academic writing:

• Is global climate change causing irregular weather patterns?
• How is climate change associated with disappearing rainforests?
• The effects of global warming on air quality in urban towns.
• Greenhouse effect and global warming and their possible health risks.
• Is climate change affecting the food chain?
• How global warming and climate change is affecting agriculture?
• How does climate change work, and how can environmental conservation help?
• Is climate change dangerous to humanity and its existence?
• How can we minimize climate change’s effects on human health?
• Does climate change affect healthcare?
• Impact of climate change on life quality in urban and rural sites.
• Does warmer temperature boost allergy-related illnesses?
• Is climate change a risk to all life on earth?
• Do climate change and global natural disasters correlate?
• Does climate change influence the population of the planet?
• Is climate change related to global warming?
• Has global warming caused extreme heating in sub-urbs?
• Do wildfires relate to climate change and global warming?
• How does climate change affect the global habitat?

Cool Climate Change Research Topics

If you want to focus on some cool climate change research topics, here are some to consider:

• Global warming is not a myth.
• Car emissions effects and temperature rise.
• Al Gore’s global warming speech.
• Climatic changes and all the seriousness associated with it.
• Climatic variations and the rising sea level across the globe.
• Effects of climatic changes on animal life.
• When nature is in agony – climate change.
• Climate change and its association with extreme weather.
• Climate change – remedies and human activities.
• Global warming is humanity’s fault.
• Climate change and the altering disease patterns.
• Does denying climate change affect animal life?
• Is climate change directly responsible for species’ extinction?
• Temperature changes and their economic, physical, and social effects.

The essay points that we have listed above work as a map. You can use this map to get all the directions for writing a classy essay on the concern of environmental changes. But make sure, to begin with, proper exploration of the grand subject. Of course, you can always use our  paper writing service to receive great results in your studies.

Identify your interests, and then brainstorm your theme based on those interests. That’s the only way you will stay hooked to your essay, and that’s how you keep your readers hooked too.

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Climate change thesis statement examples.

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Climate change is an urgent global issue, characterized by rising temperatures, melting glaciers, and extreme weather events. Writing a thesis on this topic requires a clear and concise statement that guides the reader through the significance, focus, and scope of your study. In this piece, we will explore various examples of good and bad thesis statements related to climate change to guide students in crafting compelling research proposals.

Good Examples

Focused Approach: “This thesis will analyze the impact of climate change on the intensity and frequency of hurricanes, using data from the last three decades.” Lack of Focus: “Climate change affects weather patterns.”

The good statement is specific, indicating a focus on hurricanes and providing a time frame. In contrast, the bad statement is too vague, covering a broad topic without any specific angle.

Clear Stance: “Implementing carbon taxes is an effective strategy for governments to incentivize companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Not So Clear: “Carbon taxes might be good for the environment.”

The good statement takes a clear position in favor of carbon taxes, while the bad statement is indecisive, not providing a clear standpoint.

Researchable and Measurable: “The thesis explores the correlation between the rise in global temperatures and the increase in the extinction rates of North American mammal species.” Dull: “Global warming is harmful to animals.”

The good statement is researchable and measurable, with clear variables and a focused geographic location, while the bad statement is generic and lacks specificity.

Bad Examples

Overly Broad: “Climate change is a global problem that needs to be addressed.”

This statement, while true, is overly broad and doesn’t propose a specific area of focus, making it inadequate for guiding a research study.

Lack of Clear Argument: “Climate change has some negative and positive effects.”

This statement doesn’t take a clear stance or highlight specific effects, making it weak and uninformative.

Unoriginal and Unengaging: “Climate change is real.”

While the statement is factual, it doesn’t present an original argument or engage the reader with a specific area of climate change research.

Crafting a compelling thesis statement on climate change is crucial for directing your research and presenting a clear, focused, and arguable position. A good thesis statement should be specific, take a clear stance, and be researchable and measurable. Avoid overly broad, unclear, unoriginal, or unengaging statements that do not provide clear direction or focus for your research. Utilizing the examples provided, students can navigate the intricate process of developing thesis statements that are not only academically rigorous but also intriguing and relevant to the pressing issue of climate change.

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Environmental studies theses and dissertations.

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• AN ACCUMULATION OF CATASTROPHE: A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WILDFIRE IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES  Dockstader, Sue ( University of Oregon , 2024-03-25 ) This dissertation is an environmental sociological study of wildland fire in what is now the western United States. It examines wildfire management from roughly the 1900s to the present time employing a Marxist historical ...
• Managing Life's Future: Species Essentialism and Evolutionary Normativity in Conservation Policy, Practice, and Imaginaries  Maggiulli, Katrina ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) Folk essentialist and normative understandings of species are not only prevalent in popular layperson communities, but also end up undergirding United States conservation policy and practice due to the simplistic clarity ...
• Unsettled Ecologies: Alienated Species, Indigenous Restoration, and U.S. Empire in a Time of Climate Chaos  Fink, Lisa ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This dissertation traces environmental thinking about invasive species from Western-colonial, diasporic settlers of color, and Indigenous perspectives within U.S. settler colonialism. Considering environmental discourses ...
• Futuremaking in a Disaster Zone: Everyday Climate Change Adaptation amongst Quechua Women in the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca  Moulton, Holly ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) Indigenous women in Peru are often labeled “triply vulnerable” to climate change due to race, gender, and economic marginalization. Despite Peru’s focus on gender, Indigeneity, and intersectionality in national adaptation ...
• Land Acts: Land's Agency in American Literature, Law, and History from the Colonial Period to Removal  Keeler, Kyle ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This dissertation examines land’s agency and relationships to land in the places now known as the United States as these relationships appear in literature and law from early colonization to the removal period. Land Acts ...
• PALEOTEMPERATURE, VEGETATION CHANGE, FIRE HISTORY, AND LAKE PRODUCTIVITY FOR THE LAST 14,500 YEARS AT GOLD LAKE, PACIFIC NORTHWEST, USA  Baig, Jamila ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) The postglacial history of vegetation, wildfire, and climate in the Cascade Range (Oregon) is only partly understood. This study uses high-resolution analysis from a 13-meter, 14,500-year sediment core from Gold Lake to ...
• On Western Juniper Climate Relations  Reis, Schyler ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Western juniper woodlands are highly sensitive to climate in terms of tree-ring growth, seedling establishment and range distribution. Understanding the dynamics of western juniper woodlands to changes in precipitation, ...
• Stories We Tell, Stories We Eat: Mexican Foodways, Cultural Identity, and Ideological Struggle in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles  Sanchez, Bela ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Food is a biological necessity imbued with numerous social, cultural, and economic implications for identity production and everyday meaning-making. Food television is a unique medium for the meanings of food and foodways ...
• Soil Nutrient Additions Shift Orthopteran Herbivory and Invertebrate Community Composition  Altmire, Gabriella ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Anthropogenic alterations to global pools of nitrogen and phosphorus are driving declines in plant diversity across grasslands. As such, concern over biodiversity loss has precipitated a host of studies investigating how ...
• Multispecies Memoir: Self, Genre, and Species Justice in Contemporary Culture  Otjen, Nathaniel ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Liberal humanism articulates an individual, rational, autonomous, universal, and singularly human subject that possesses various rights and freedoms. Although the imagined subject at the heart of liberal humanist philosophy ...
• Understanding How Changes in Disturbance Regimes and Long-Term Climate Shape Ecosystem and Landscape Structure and Function  Wright, Jamie ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Long-term and anthropic climatic change intersecting with disturbances alters ecosystem structure and function across spatiotemporal scales. Quantifying ecosystem responses can be convoluted, therefore utilizing multiproxy ...
• Ikpíkyav (To Fix Again): Drawing From Karuk World Renewal To Contest Settler Discourses Of Vulnerability  Vinyeta, Kirsten ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) The Klamath River Basin of Northern California has historically been replete with fire-adapted ecosystems and Indigenous communities. For the Karuk Tribe, fire has been an indispensable tool for both spiritual practice and ...
• Grassland Restoration in Heterogeneous, Changing, and Human Dominated Systems  Brambila, Alejandro ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Ecological restoration is a powerful tool to promote biodiversity and ecosystem function. Understanding underlying system variability and directional change can help predict outcomes of restoration interventions. Spatial ...
• Restoring What? And for Whom? Listening to Karuk Ecocultural Revitalization Practitioners and Uncovering Settler Logics in Ecological Restoration.  Worl, Sara ( University of Oregon , 2022-05-10 ) What does it mean to restore a landscape degraded by settler colonialism? How might a well intentionedprocess like ecological restoration end up causing harm from underlying settler colonial logics? This thesis explores ...
• Instigating Communities of Solidarity: An Exploration of Participatory, Informal, Temporary Urbanisms  Meier, Briana ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) This dissertationexamines the potential for participatory, informal urbanisms to buildcollaborative relations across ontological, cultural, and political difference. This research contributes to thefield of urban, environmental ...
• The Holy Oak School of Art and Ecology: A Proposal for Arts-Based Environmental Education Programming  Best, Krysta ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) The following is a proposal for arts-based environmental education programming in elementary schools, after-school programs, and day-camp programs, entitled the Holy School of Art and Ecology. Ecophenomenological, arts-based ...
• Settler Colonial Listening and the Silence of Wilderness in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area  Hilgren, Bailey ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) The Boundary Waters Canoe Area soundscape in northern Minnesota has a long and contested history but is most often characterized today as a pristine and distinctly silent wilderness. This thesis traces the construction and ...
• Species Dynamics and Restoration in Rare Serpentine Grasslands under Global Change  Hernandez, Eliza ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) Conserving rare serpentine grasslands is a challenge with ongoing nitrogen deposition. Nutrient-poor patches are fertilized by nitrogen-rich smog and exotic grasses can rapidly spread. Water resources are also being altered ...
• Place-making and Place-taking: An Analysis of Green Gentrification in Atlanta Georgia  Okotie-Oyekan, Aimée ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) Despite the benefits of urban greenspace, Atlanta’s Westside Park is causing gentrification and displacement pressures in Grove Park, a low-income African-American community in northwest Atlanta, Georgia. This study used ...
• Prairie Plant Responses to Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest  Reed, Paul ( University of Oregon , 2021-09-13 ) Understanding how plants respond to climate change is of paramount importance since their responses can affect ecosystem functions and patterns of biodiversity. At the population level, climate change may alter phenology ...

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• As seas rise, the relocation of Caribbean islanders has begun

The government-managed movement of 300 families from the island of Gardi Sugdub is a test case for “planned retreat” in Latin America

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U nder a light Caribbean drizzle, volunteers load plastic chairs, a chest of drawers and a gas stove into a military motorboat. On board, men in uniform help an indigenous woman dressed in the traditional green-and-red blouse of the Guna people to step down from the wharf.

She is, or was, a resident of Gardi Sugdub, a tiny coral island about a kilometre off the northern coast of Panama. On June 3rd the Panamanian government began moving 300 families from the island to new government-built housing on the mainland. A changing climate and rising seas are slowly swamping the island, and 37 other inhabited islands nearby, most of which lie less than one metre above sea level. That level is rising 3.4 millimetres every year. Storms are becoming heavier and more frequent. Steve Paton of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama City says the islands will be uninhabitable by the end of the century.

Gardi Sugdub’s families are the first to move. More may follow if things go well. “This is an historic event,” says Rogelio Paredes, Panama’s housing minister. “It’s the first time in Latin America that, as a result of climate change, a whole community has been moved to a new place. The eyes of the world are on Gardi Sugdub.”

But the notion of climate change driving unfortunate people from their homes is simplistic. Gardi Sugdub’s older residents have certainly noticed the creeping effects of warming; rainy-season flooding has become more frequent, and waters now lap a little higher on the ankle. But for the past 20 years their main concern has been sanitation, not submersion. A growing population meant several families began to live in each of the the narrow, reed-walled houses. Outdoor space in which children could play was squeezed out. Water, supplied by a pipe from a river on the mainland, was scarce and intermittent. The island’s lavatories are shacks at the end of piers which drop directly into the water below.

José Davis, the island’s octogenarian leader, says the community first began planning a move in the 1990s. The idea received financial and technical support from the Inter-American Development Bank as a climate-migration project in 2018. The government then tendered contracts for the construction of the new settlement on the mainland.

The new village, christened Isber Yala after the local loquat trees, was built on farmland owned by the community, half an hour from Gardi Sugdub by boat and road. Three hundred beige plastic houses with tiled roofs sit in a grid pattern. Each has two bedrooms, a bathroom with running water, and an ample back garden.

Marcos Suira, head of architecture at the housing ministry, stresses that Isber Yala is the first project of its kind. With bigger budgets, more sophisticated housing developments could come later.

But the relocating residents don’t seem to mind. Within minutes of arriving at Isber Yala they had strung up hammocks, the Guna’s preferred beds, from the houses’ metal beams.

“It’s pretty, it’s bigger than I’m used to. I love it,” says Yany Prestán, who is 46. On Gardi Sugdub she shared a house with four families; there was little privacy and frequent arguments over food and money. She wants to build a kitchen on the porch and two bedrooms in the garden to house her family of seven. The narrow patch of grass between the pavement and the drainage channel is perfect for a flowerbed.

One street over, 45-year-old Genaro Fernandez arrived early to build a reed fence round the perimeter of his plot. Shoots of plantain and manioc sprout from the ground.

There are problems. The electricity has yet to be connected. There is no rubbish-collection system and no public transport to the port, a big oversight given that most residents work in fishing and island tourism. The concrete shell of a planned hospital lies rotting in the sun.

But next to it is a large, modern school which will be open by the end of the year. With air-conditioned classrooms, dormitories and a soccer pitch, the school is a big draw for the new residents. Classes will be taught both in Spanish and Guna.

The Guna do not feel that the move will cause a major cultural dislocation either. They lived on the mainland 200 years ago, before moving to the islands to escape disease and conflict with Spanish colonists. Many ceremonial songs refer to the rivers and mountains of the mainland.

According to the UN , some 41m people in Latin America and the Caribbean live in coastal areas that are exposed to life-threatening storms and flooding. The Gardi Sugdub move looks like the sort of managed retreat that has a good chance of succeeding, largely because it serves other development goals, such as improved housing, sanitation and schooling. Sabrina Juran of the UN says managed-retreat programmes are more likely to succeed when they include communities in the decision-making, thereby meeting numerous needs.

After some initial scepticism, most on Gardi Sugdub accept that the waves will eventually claim their homes. But they will not abandon their island yet. Some of the new mainlanders say they intend to visit each weekend. Others say they will let their friends and cousins from crowded neighbouring islands string their hammocks there. One building on the island is being renovated. Its 64-year-old owner, Gustavo Denis, reckons that, with the competition moving to the mainland, it’s the perfect time to open a new shop. ■

Sign up to El Boletín , our subscriber-only newsletter on Latin America, to understand the forces shaping a fascinating and complex region. For more coverage of climate change, sign up for the Climate Issue , our fortnightly subscriber-only newsletter, or visit our  climate-change hub .

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Over rising seas”

The Americas June 8th 2024

Claudia sheinbaum’s landslide victory is a danger for mexico, a battle royal over deep-sea archaeology in the caribbean.

From the June 8th 2024 edition

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Colombia begins to explore one of the world’s most contested shipwrecks

She has huge power, but faces huge challenges

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Climate Change Added a Month’s Worth of Extra-Hot Days in Past Year

Since last May, the average person experienced 26 more days of abnormal warmth than they would have without global warming, a new analysis found.

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By Raymond Zhong

Over the past year of record-shattering warmth, the average person on Earth experienced 26 more days of abnormally high temperatures than they otherwise would have, were it not for human-induced climate change, scientists said Tuesday.

The past 12 months have been the planet’s hottest ever measured, and the burning of fossil fuels, which has added huge amounts of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, is a major reason. Nearly 80 percent of the world’s population experienced at least 31 days of atypical warmth since last May as a result of human-caused warming, the researchers’ analysis found.

Hypothetically, had we not heated the globe to its current state , the number of unusually warm days would have been far fewer, the scientists estimated, using mathematical modeling of the global climate.

The precise difference varies place to place. In some countries, it is just two or three weeks, the researchers found. In others, including Colombia, Indonesia and Rwanda, the difference is upward of 120 days.

“That’s a lot of toll that we’ve imposed on people,” said one of the researchers who conducted the new analysis, Andrew Pershing, the vice president for science at Climate Central, a nonprofit research and news organization based in Princeton, N.J., adding, “It’s a lot of toll that we’ve imposed on nature.” In parts of South America and Africa, he said, it amounts to “120 days that just wouldn’t be there without climate change.”

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Florida’s climate toll. A recent poll found that Republican Florida voters were overwhelmingly concerned about the cost of energy and the state’s heavy reliance on natural gas, and that most connected increasing storm severity to the impacts of climate change. That surprised the Tennessee polling firm, whose clients have included Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida. It shouldn’t have; Floridians of every partisan stripe are feeling the heat, literally and figuratively. The warm Atlantic waters are already promising an unusually active hurricane season this year. And it comes as Floridians are paying dearly for electricity, property insurance and major flood-control projects that all have links to higher temperatures. Nobody should be surprised that environmental concerns here extend beyond clean water and wildlife protection. The trick is in converting this health, safety and pocketbook issue into action on Election Day.

Regulators wake up. Speaking of hurricanes, Florida regulators are suddenly talking tough to the insurance companies. Insurers have regularly avoided scrutiny when seeking to raise premiums by keeping proposed rate hikes just below the 15% threshold that would trigger a public hearing. Out of 134 rate requests since 2022, the most commonly sought increase was 14.9%, the Tampa Bay Times reported this week. Companies have also piggy-backed rate adjustments — first introducing a rate under 15% and then coming back for more. That’s how some homeowners see their premiums surge more than 20% when their policies renew. But now the state says no more games; regulators are exercising a state law that allows rate hearings whenever authorities deem necessary. The enhanced scrutiny is welcome, but what took so long? Insurers have gamed the system for years even as Floridians have cried for relief. The state running to the rescue sure makes good election-year optics. Let’s see if it lasts and produces results.

Tomorrowland for Disney. Disney’s wild ride into Florida culture wars seems to have come to an end. This week, a DeSantis-appointed board that oversees the Walt Disney World operating district gave initial approval to a new development agreement that could lead the company to invest up to $17 billion into its Florida resort and bring a fifth major theme park to Disney World. The move came months after Disney and the DeSantis-run board agreed to end a protracted legal fight sparked by the company’s opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, which restricts classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. That criticism sparked DeSantis’ takeover of the district, in what proved to be a politically damaging period for both sides. This agreement calms the waters and helps both sides save face, bringing some normalcy to the Disney governing district and the prospect of explosive tourism growth. In the end, money and political accommodation won out. Now that’s a truly Florida story.

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African farmers look to the past and the future to address climate change

by FARAI MUTSAKA, OMAR FARUK and DESMOND TIRO

From ancient fertilizer methods in Zimbabwe to new greenhouse technology in Somalia, farmers across the heavily agriculture-reliant African continent are looking to the past and future to respond to climate change.

Africa, with the world's youngest population, faces the worst effects of a warming planet while contributing the least to the problem. Farmers are scrambling to make sure the booming population is fed.

With over 60% of the world's uncultivated land, Africa should be able to feed itself, some experts say. And yet three in four people across the continent cannot afford a healthy diet , according to a report last year by the African Union and United Nations agencies. Reasons include conflict and lack of investment.

In Zimbabwe, where the El Niño phenomenon has worsened a drought, small-scale farmer James Tshuma has lost hope of harvesting anything from his fields. It's a familiar story in much of the country, where the government has declared a $2 billion state of emergency and millions of people face hunger.

But a patch of green vegetables is thriving in a small garden the 65-year-old Tshuma is keeping alive with homemade organic manure and fertilizer. Previously discarded items have again become priceless.

"This is how our fathers and forefathers used to feed the earth and themselves before the introduction of chemicals and inorganic fertilizers," Tshuma said.

He applies livestock droppings, grass, plant residue, remains of small animals , tree leaves and bark, food scraps and other biodegradable items like paper. Even the bones of animals that are dying in increasing numbers due to the drought are burned before being crushed into ash for their calcium.

Climate change is compounding much of sub-Saharan Africa's longstanding problem of poor soil fertility, said Wonder Ngezimana, an associate professor of crop science at Zimbabwe's Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.

"The combination is forcing people to re-look at how things were done in the past like nutrient recycling, but also blending these with modern methods," said Ngezimana, whose institution is researching the combination of traditional practices with new technologies.

Apart from being rich in nitrogen, organic fertilizers help increase the soil's carbon and ability to retain moisture, Ngezimana said. "Even if a farmer puts synthetic fertilizer into the soil, they are likely to suffer the consequences of poor moisture as long as there is a drought," he said.

Other moves to traditional practices are under way. Drought-resistant millets, sorghum and legumes, staples until the early 20th century when they were overtaken by exotic white corn, have been taking up more land space in recent years.

Leaves of drought-resistant plants that were once a regular dish before being cast off as weeds are returning to dinner tables. They even appear on elite supermarket shelves and are served at classy restaurants, as are millet and sorghum.

This could create markets for the crops even beyond drought years, Ngezimana said.

A GREENHOUSE REVOLUTION IN SOMALIA

In conflict-prone Somalia in East Africa, greenhouses are changing the way some people live, with shoppers filling up carts with locally produced vegetables and traditionally nomadic pastoralists under pressure to settle down and grow crops.

"They are organic, fresh and healthy," shopper Sucdi Hassan said in the capital, Mogadishu. "Knowing that they come from our local farms makes us feel secure."

Her new shopping experience is a sign of relative calm after three decades of conflict and the climate shocks of drought and flooding.

Urban customers are now assured of year-round supplies, with more than 250 greenhouses dotted across Mogadishu and its outskirts producing fruit and vegetables. It is a huge leap.

"In the past, even basic vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes were imported, causing logistical problems and added expenses," said Somalia's minister of youth and sports, Mohamed Barre.

The greenhouses also create employment in a country where about 75% of the population is people under 30 years old, many of them jobless.

About 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the capital, Mohamed Mahdi, an agriculture graduate, inspected produce in a greenhouse where he works.

"Given the high unemployment rate, we are grateful for the chance to work in our chosen field of expertise," the 25-year-old said.

Meanwhile, some pastoralist herders are being forced to change their traditional ways after watching livestock die by the thousands.

"Transitioning to greenhouse farming provides pastoralists with a more resilient and sustainable livelihood option," said Mohamed Okash, director of the Institute of Climate and Environment at SIMAD University in Mogadishu.

He called for larger investments in smart farming to combat food insecurity.

A MORE RESILIENT BEAN IN KENYA

In Kenya, a new climate-smart bean variety is bringing hope to farmers in a region that had recorded reduced rainfall in six consecutive rainy seasons.

The variety, called "Nyota" or "star" in Swahili, is the result of a collaboration between scientists from the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, the Alliance of Bioversity International and research organization International Center for Tropical Agriculture.

The new bean variety is tailored for Kenya's diverse climatic conditions. One focus is to make sure drought doesn't kill them off before they have time to flourish.

The bean variety flowers and matures so quickly that it is ready for harvesting by the time rains disappear, said David Karanja, a bean breeder and national coordinator for grains and legumes at KALRO.

Hopes are that these varieties could bolster national bean production. The annual production of 600,000 metric tons falls short of meeting annual demand of 755,000 metric tons, Karanja said.

Farmer Benson Gitonga said his yield and profits are increasing because of the new bean variety. He harvests between nine and 12 bags from an acre of land, up from the previous five to seven bags.

One side benefit of the variety is a breath of fresh air.

"Customers particularly appreciate its qualities, as it boasts low flatulence levels, making it an appealing choice," Gitonga said.

© 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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The Next Front in the War Against Climate Change

Clean-energy investment in America is off the charts—but it still isn’t translating into enough electricity that people can actually use.

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Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

I n August 2022 , the U.S. passed the most ambitious climate legislation of any country, ever. As the director of President Joe Biden’s National Economic Council at the time, I helped design the law. Less than two years later, the Inflation Reduction Act has succeeded beyond my wildest hopes at unleashing demand for clean energy. So why do I find myself lying awake at night, worried that America could still fail to meet its climate goals?

Because even though unprecedented sums of money are flowing into clean energy, our current electricity system is failing to meet Americans’ demand for clean power. If we don’t fix it, the surge in investment will not deliver its full economic and planetary potential.

The Inflation Reduction Act was historic in scale, investing 10 times more than any prior climate legislation in the United States. Our theory was that we could use public incentives to encourage major private investment in areas where technological innovation could pay big dividends. This in turn would make zero-carbon technology cheaper, disperse it more widely, and drive down emissions faster. During two years of intense, often painful legislative negotiations, I wondered whether we would ever get to test this theory in practice. We ran endless models, but the models only get you so far. If we provided the public incentives, would the private investment really come?

We now can definitively say that the answer is yes. Total investment in clean energy was more than 70 percent higher in 2023 than in 2021, and now represents a larger share of U.S. domestic investment than oil and gas. Clean-energy manufacturing is off the charts. Money is disproportionately flowing into promising technologies that have yet to reach mass adoption, such as hydrogen, advanced geothermal, and carbon removal. And, thanks to a provision that allows companies to buy and sell the tax credits they generate, the law is creating an entirely new market for small developers.

But for all of this progress to deliver, it needs to translate into clean energy that Americans can actually use. In 2023, we added 32 gigawatts of clean electricity to the U.S. grid in the form of new solar, battery storage, wind, and nuclear. It was a record—but it was still only about two-thirds of what’s necessary to stay on track with the IRA’s goal of reducing emissions by 40 percent by 2030.

For decades, the biggest obstacle to clean energy in the U.S. was insufficient demand. That is no longer the case. The problem now is the structure of our electricity markets: the way we produce and consume electricity in America. We need to fix that if we want the biggest clean-energy investment in history to actually get the job done.

T he topic of utility reform operates in what the climate writer David Roberts has described as a “force field of tedium.” I can say from experience that starting a cocktail-party conversation about public-utility-commission elections is a good way to find yourself standing alone. But if you care about averting the most apocalyptic consequences of climate change, you need to care about utilities.

A century ago, utilities were granted regional monopolies to sell electricity subject to a basic bargain. They could earn a profit by charging consumers for investments in building new power plants and transmission lines; in exchange, they’d commit to providing reliable electricity to all, and submit to regulation to make sure they followed through.

This model made sense for much of the 20th century, when generating electricity required building big, expensive fossil-fuel-powered steam turbines, and utilities needed to be assured of a healthy return on such heavy up-front investments. But it is at least a generation out of date. Over the past several decades, technology has opened up new ways of meeting consumers’ electricity demand. The 20th-century utility model doesn’t encourage this innovation. Instead, it defaults toward simply building more fossil-fuel-burning plants. As a result, consumers get a less reliable product at higher prices, and decarbonization takes a back seat.

Robinson Meyer: It wasn’t just oil companies spreading climate denial

Consider batteries. In recent years, battery technology has made huge leaps. Large batteries can charge up when prices are low, then push renewable electricity back onto the grid when people need power—even when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. They can be paired with rooftop solar panels to create virtual power plants that balance out the grid, saving consumers billions of dollars a year while helping to meet electricity demand. During one evening in April, for example, batteries supplied as much as a fifth of California’s total energy demand.

Many utilities, however, won’t prioritize installing batteries , and they won’t invest in solutions that let consumers do more with less energy. That’s because these programs lower utilities’ capital expenditures, which lowers the rates they charge consumers and, in turn, their profits. If utilities don’t get paid for innovating, they’re unlikely to do it.

The problem is even more pronounced when it comes to our electricity grid. Right now the grid is old, dumb, and too small. New technology makes it easier to change that. Just by rewiring lines from the 1950s with advanced conductors made of materials such as carbon fiber, we can double the amount of power they move. If we did this at scale, the existing grid could meet all projected electricity demand over the next decade. This tech isn’t science fiction. It has been piloted in the field since the early 2000s . But utilities aren’t investing in it at scale.

Part of the problem is our antiquated system for permitting and siting transmission projects, which takes too long and costs too much. That’s why the White House worked with Senator Joe Manchin and other legislators to establish a framework for permitting reform to be passed separately from the IRA, an effort that unfortunately has stalled in Congress. But the deeper issue is the system in which our utilities themselves operate.

T he IRA didn’t fix these issues. We were working with a 50–50 Senate, with no Republican support. That meant we had to pass the law through the budget-reconciliation process, which doesn’t allow for rewriting regulations. And although we were aware of the problems with electricity markets, we underestimated just how big a barrier they would pose to clean-energy adoption. This doesn’t mean the IRA is destined to fail. What it means is that the next phase of the fight against climate change must be the comparatively wonky, unsexy work of reforming our outdated electricity markets.

On a policy level, this isn’t rocket science. In Australia, households are paid for sending electricity back into the grid. Lo and behold, Australia today has the highest rate of rooftop solar panels per capita of any country. In the U.S., state legislatures and regulators in places as varied as Utah and Hawaii have figured out how to pay households to install batteries and send electricity back to the grid. Last year, Montana unanimously passed a law that gave utilities a financial incentive to use more advanced materials in their transmission lines. But these remain the exceptions to the rule.

George Packer: How Virginia took on Dominion Energy

The underlying challenge is political. As the incumbents in electricity markets, some utilities have a track record of undercutting regulatory reform. This can include illegal corruption, such as the case of a utility in Illinois that was caught bribing the Illinois House speaker to support legislation that raised consumers’ rates. More often, utilities rely on the depressingly legal practice of using money from Americans’ electricity bills to lobby regulators and legislators.

Utility companies’ most powerful weapon, however, isn’t cash or clout: It’s the force field of tedium. Even to environmentalists, the issue of utility reform feels esoteric and abstract. Yet what in the past may have felt like avoidable wonkery is now existential. Demand for electricity is increasing for the first time in two decades, spurred by the spread of data centers. Across the Southeast, vertically integrated utilities are claiming that rising demand leaves them with no choice but to burn more fossil fuels. As recently as last month, Georgia Power won approval to build new gas plants over the objections of corporate customers and consumer advocates.

But the potential for winning politics is here as well. Biden has made leveling the playing field a centerpiece of his economic agenda. The environmental movement needs to tap into the same impulse. The price of energy touches every American family and business. If a utility is trying to bill consumers for the cost of an expensive new natural-gas plant instead of cheaper and cleaner alternatives, that isn’t a fair price—it’s a junk fee that consumers are paying for no good reason. When a utility misuses your money to influence its own regulators, that’s simple corruption.

Shifting this approach will not happen without a new vocabulary and new coalitions. The climate movement must recognize that its primary target is no longer just Big Oil; it’s the regulatory barriers that keep clean energy from getting built and delivered efficiently to American homes. The movement also needs to pressure Big Tech companies, whose AI offerings are driving up energy demands, to follow through on their lofty climate talk by supporting reform in the utility system as well.

Solving these problems will not be easy. But the IRA’s success to date, unfinished though it may be, offers hope. When we get the politics and the incentives right, we can generate change far faster than we ever predicted.

Support for this project was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.