The 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report states: “Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming” and that “human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe.”
However, just what are the scientific, policy and societal links between the June 2024 heat waves and climate change? Was the heat wave just a normal climatic variation, or something which can be attributed to human-caused climate change?
For the first time Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has drawn a clear link between heat waves and climate change using this June heat wave as a key data set. These findings, and how they were made, have the potential to fundamentally shift how we best adapt to a warming world.
Finding attribution
The ECCC’s Rapid Extreme Event Attribution system is designed to examine the links between human-caused climate change and the increased risk of heat waves and extreme cold and precipitation events. However, attribution is not an easy task.
By learning how much human-caused climate change affects extreme weather events, the ECCC will enable better preparation for changing weather patterns while also aiding adaptation efforts.
The European Court of Human Rights confirmed that climate change is intimately linked to human rights . Moreover, the court also ruled that all European governments are accountable to adopt more rigorous measures to combat climate change, and that citizens have a right to sue their governments to hold them to account.
Climate change is impacting every aspect of human life and the risks will continue to grow with increasing frequency and severity. A 2021 synthesis report on Building Climate Resilient Communities shows that, while some communities in Canada have prepared high level adaptation plans, very few have detailed implementation strategies with established funding frameworks and Canada is lagging in climate change adaptation.
The climate crisis needs to be reviewed from all perspectives, including that of social scientists . The attribution program can help provide needed information in real time, which will help the public and climate experts design and implement more effective action.
Gordon McBean has received research funding from Canadian funding agencies and from Western University that has supported his relevant research.
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