Climate Change

Framing ethical perspectives

Climate change refers to human-induced global warming, mostly due to greenhouse gas emissions, and large-scale impacts on weather patterns. As floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events become more common and certain regions turn inhospitable to humans, society is changing as well. Carnegie Council’s events, experts, and Impact Initiatives, such as the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G) and the Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC), analyze these changes from a socio-political perspective and search for ethical solutions to, possibly, the most pressing challenges that humanity has ever faced.

Featured Climate Changes Resources

Climate governance, climate-altering technologies, and more

MAR 28, 2024 Video

Unlocking Cooperation: The Global South and Global North

In the inaugural panel of the "Unlocking Cooperation" series, Ramu Damodaran leads a discussion on forging a path forward for Global South/North collaboration.

JAN 8, 2024 Podcast

C2GTalk: Why does the world now need to consider solar radiation modification? with Kim Stanley Robinson

Many objections to solar radiation modification have been overtaken by events, says "The Ministry of the Future" author Kim Stanley Robinson in this "C2GTalk."

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MAY 30, 2018 Article

Why is the Media Unfair to the United Nations?

Journalist Javier Delgado Rivera covers the UN regularly. He lays out the many and complex reasons why the media coverage of the UN focuses on ...

MAY 17, 2018 Podcast

Climate Change and the Power to Act: An Ethical Approach for Practical Progress

We are already living with climate change; and although countries have pledged to limit global warming to 2 °C, success seems highly unlikely. This panel explores ...

APR 5, 2018 Podcast

Hope for Asian Fisheries, with Brett Jenks

With rich and varied coral reefs, Indonesia and the Philippines are critically important for marine biodiversity, says Brett Jenks of Rare, a conservation organization. Overfishing ...

FEB 26, 2018 Podcast

It's Better than It Looks: Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear, with Gregg Easterbrook

Today, many feel paralyzed by the constant stream of bad news. Yet as Gregg Easterbrook shows, statistics on crime, poverty, and longevity prove that things ...

CREDIT: <a hfer="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratospheric_Particle_Injection_for_Climate_Engineering#/media/File:SPICE_SRM_overview.jpg">Hughhunt</a>. SPICE research project on solar radiation management (SRM). (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC</a>)

FEB 26, 2018 Article

Errors of Omission, Commission, and Emission: Moral Culpability in Climate Change and Considerations of Solar Radiation Management

"As it becomes clearer that we can't stop the repercussions of climate change through mitigation alone, an ugly question rears its head, presenting perhaps the ...

Detail from book cover

FEB 21, 2018 Podcast

Virtual Reality for Social Good, with Jeremy Bailenson

In this fascinating conversation, Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, describes how virtual reality (VR) can be used as a force ...

Vice Pres. Pence, Pres. Trump, National Security Adviser McMaster with U.S. military members, July 2017. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trump_Pence_McMaster_Lunch_Service_Members_18_July_2017-2.jpg">White House/Shealah Craighead</a>

JAN 10, 2018 Podcast

Deciphering the Middle East and Trump's National Security Stategy, with Asha Castleberry

Asha Castleberry, Fordham professor and U.S. Army veteran, describes her "mixed reaction" to Trump's National Security Strategy--touching on China and Russia, cybersecurity, and climate ...

CREDIT: <a href=https://www.pexels.com/photo/air-air-pollution-climate-change-dawn-221012/">Pixabay (CC)</a>

DEC 22, 2017 Article

Climate Change Might Give Your Grandfather a Heart Attack: Changing Public Perception to Drive Action

"Climate change" is often framed as something that will occur in a distant time and place. But, as Mikaela Bradbury writes, it is already affecting ...

The Pentagon. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_030926-F-2828D-089_Aerial_view_of_the_Pentagon.jpg">U.S. Navy/Public Domain</a>

DEC 20, 2017 Podcast

Trump's National Security Strategy, with Julianne Smith

"I would say most of the people I have talked to outside of government, including some people in Congress, have been a little taken aback," ...

NOV 14, 2017 Podcast

Elizabeth Economy on China, Climate Change, and the Environment

How does climate change play into Xi Jinping's larger strategy for China's economy and its role on the global stage? Xi has a vision for ...