presentation on climate action

Climate Action

Tackling Climate Change

Goal 13 calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. It is intrinsically linked to all 16 of the other Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Learn more about Goal 13 , and for the latest United Nations climate news, visit un.org/climatechange .

Paris Agreement FAQ

Why we need action

Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow.

People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea level, and more extreme weather events. The greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are driving climate change and continue to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3 degrees Celsius this century—with some areas of the world expected to warm even more. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most.

A race we can win

Affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. The pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts.

But climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. Emissions anywhere affect people everywhere. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level and it requires international cooperation to help developing countries move toward a low-carbon economy.

To address climate change, countries adopted the  Paris Agreement at the  COP21 in Paris  on 12 December 2015. The Agreement entered into force less than a year later. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and given the grave risks, to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Implementation of the Paris Agreement is essential for the achievement of the  Sustainable Development Goals , and provides a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience.

IPCC Climate Report 2022

The Working Group III report provides an updated global assessment of climate change mitigation progress and pledges, and examines the sources of global emissions. It explains developments in emission reduction and mitigation efforts, assessing the impact of national climate pledges in relation to long-term emissions goals. Read more here .

The Paris Agreement on climate change

The UN continues to encourage all stakeholders to take action toward reducing the impacts of climate change.

COP25: Madrid, 2019

The conference was designed to take the next crucial steps in the UN climate change process. The conference served to build ambition ahead of 2020, the year in which countries have committed to submit new and updated national climate action plans. Crucial climate action work was taken forward in areas including finance, the transparency of climate action, forests and agriculture, technology, capacity building, loss and damage, indigenous peoples, cities, oceans and gender.

COP24: Katowice, 2018

The 2018 UN Climate Conference took place in Katowice, Poland from 2-14 December.

The conference finalized the rules for implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change under the Paris Agreement work programme (PAWP). It also included a number of high-level events, mandated events, action events and roundtables.

COP23: Bonn, 2017

The 2017 UN Climate Conference took place in Bonn, Germany, from 6-18 November. Leaders of national governments, cities, states, business, investors, NGOs and civil society gathered to speed up climate action to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

COP22: Marrakesh, 2016

High-Level Event Towards Entry into Force: 21 September, 2016

Recap of the High-Level Event Towards Entry into Force

Paris Agreement Signing Ceremony, 22 April 2016

To keep the global spotlight focused on climate change and build on the strong political momentum from Paris, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited representatives of all countries to sign  the Paris Agreement on climate change   at a special Ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters on 22 April.

Cop21, 12 December 2015

Paris Agreement – Frequently Asked Questions

What is the present status of the paris agreement on climate change.

The Paris Agreement on climate change officially entered into force on 4 November 2016, after 55 countries accounting for 55 per cent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions, deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval with the UN Secretary-General.

As of June 2020, 195 signatories and 189 countries have joined the Paris Agreement.

What is the next step towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement?

What are the most significant aspects about the new agreement, is this agreement really going to help, what does the agreement require countries to do, what happens if a country doesn’t live up to its commitments would there be any enforcement, developing countries stressed the need for equity and fairness. does the agreement provide that, how can paris get us to the 2 degree—or even 1.5 degree goal, how are climate change and the paris agreement linked with the sustainable development goals, why is it so urgent that we do something now, related news.

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New Presentation: Our Changing Climate

Key concepts:.

Climate Central unveils Our Changing Climate —an informative and customizable climate change presentation that meteorologists, journalists, and others can use for educational outreach and/or a personal Climate 101 tool.

The presentation follows a ”Simple, Serious, Solvable” framework, inspired by climate scientist Scott Denning. This allows the presenter to comfortably explain, and the viewers to easily understand, the causes (Simple), impacts (Serious), and solutions (Solvable) of climate change. 

Our Changing Climate is a revamped version of our 2016 climate presentation, and includes the following updates and features:

Up-to-date graphics and topics

Local data and graphics

Fully editable slides (add, remove, customize)

Presenter notes, background information, and references for each slide

Supplementary and bonus slides

Download Outline (PDF, 110KB)

Download Full Presentation (PPT, 148MB)

Updated: April 2021

Climate Central is presenting a new outreach and education resource for meteorologists, journalists, and others—a climate change presentation, Our Changing Climate . This 55-slide presentation is a guide through the basics of climate change, outlining its causes, impacts, and solutions. This climate change overview is unique because it includes an array of local graphics from our ever-expanding media library. By providing these local angles, the presenter can demonstrate that climate change is not only happening at a global-scale, but in our backyards.

This presentation was designed to support your climate change storytelling, but can also double as a great Climate 101 tool for journalists or educators who want to understand climate change better. Every slide contains main points along with background information, so people that are interested can learn at their own pace or utilize graphics for their own content. 

In addition to those features, it follows the “Simple, Serious, Solvable” framework inspired by Scott Denning, a climate scientist and professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University (and a good friend of the program). These three S’s help create the presentation storyline and outline the causes (Simple), impacts (Serious), and solutions (Solvable) of climate change. 

Simple. It is simple—burning fossil fuels is heating up the Earth. This section outlines the well-understood science that goes back to the 1800s, presenting local and global evidence that our climate is warming due to human activities.

Serious. More extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increased health and economic risks—the consequences of climate change. In this section, well, we get serious. Climate change impacts are already being felt around the world, and they will continue to intensify until we cut greenhouse gas emissions. 

Solvable. With such a daunting crisis like climate change, it is easy to get wrapped up in the negative impacts. This section explains how we can curb climate change and lists the main pathways and solutions to achieving this goal. 

With the rollout of our new climate change presentation, we at Climate Central would value any feedback on this presentation. Feel free to reach out to us about how the presentation worked for you, how your audience reacted, or any ideas or topics you would like to see included. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & SPECIAL THANKS

Climate Central would like to acknowledge Paul Gross at WDIV-TV in Detroit and the AMS Station Science Committee for the original version of the climate presentation, Climate Change Outreach Presentation , that was created in 2016. We would also like to give special thanks to Scott Denning, professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University and a member of our NSF advisory board, for allowing us to use this “Simple, Serious, Solvable” framework in this presentation resource.

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Climate Change Presentation templates

Climate change is a reality. it is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today, and urgent global action is required to address its causes and mitigate its effects. our selection of google slides and ppt templates can serve as a means to raise awareness, inform, expose ideas and ultimately make presentations about this fact. from fun to more serious and professional, choose the style that best fits your content..

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Climate Watch Slide Deck

This Tool is part of  Climate Watch within Climate Program . Reach out to Leandro Vigna for more information.

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Need to know the latest trend in emissions, countries climate targets and how the top emitters compare?

The Climate Watch Slide Deck is a PPT deck of 27 curated slides providing answers to the most common climate change questions with data, visualizations and explanations.

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Climate Action Explained

Climate action explained: episode 4, how are young people changing the world.

In this episode of Climate Action Explained , join us on a tour to Georgia, India and Panama to see how young people are accessing the tools and opportunities they need to make their leadership and demands known and shape the future of climate action.

We need bold and urgent solutions to tackle climate change. But what does taking climate action actually look like?

With UNDP’s new video series Climate Action Explained , take a tour around the world and witness many impressive efforts and climate solutions already underway.

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PREPARE Call to Action to the Private Sector at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference

Climate change.

Fact sheet – November 11, 2022

As part of this Call to Action launch during COP27, ten companies are announcing specific commitments that improve climate resilience for consumers and communities experiencing climate impacts first-hand. Commitments in support of this Call to Action include expansions of climate information and early warning systems, introduction of new financial products and services, innovations for climate-smart food systems, and paradigm-shifting insurance solutions. Initial companies to join the Call to Action include: Google, Gro Intelligence, Mastercard, Marsh McLennan, Meta, Microsoft, Pegasus Capital Advisors, PepsiCo., SAP, and WTW (formerly Willis Towers Watson).

This Call to Action recognizes the urgent need for both private and public sector action to address long-standing gaps in climate adaptation. It also acknowledges that progress on reducing emissions resulted, in part, from over a decade of public and private sector collaboration, and that strong collaboration with attention to the needs of local communities, can drive further action on global climate adaptation.

For these reasons, Secretary Kerry and Administrator Power call on private sector actors to draw on their unique resources, expertise, and innovation to support inclusive approaches to climate adaptation. Together, we can remove barriers to investment in adaptation and, together with a 1.5 degree future, build a future in which communities are able to thrive, even in the face of climate change.

Mobilizing Resources for Adaptation through PREPARE

PREPARE will support half a billion people in developing countries to adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change by preparing knowledge, plans, programs, and finance for adaptation and resilience efforts. Nineteen U.S. federal agencies with experience adapting to impacts across diverse sectors are committed to partnering with climate-vulnerable countries and communities to increase their resilience to climate impacts. President Biden is also working with Congress to provide $3 billion in adaptation finance annually for PREPARE by 2024.

This Call to Action is aligned with PREPARE’s strategic efforts to mobilize public and private resources for climate adaptation and address barriers to investment to help achieve the scale and innovation needed to address these gaps.

As detailed in the PREPARE Action Plan , the U.S. Government is undertaking efforts to accelerate financing of adaptation measures by enhancing engagement with multilateral funds, strengthening the capacity of partner countries to access finance for adaptation, and supporting the development of bankable investments and climate risk finance strategies.

Call to Action Focus Areas

With a focus on climate-vulnerable partner countries, this Call to Action invites the private sector to invest in the resilience of their supply chains and workforce, innovate on new products or efficiency gains needed to adapt to a warming world, or to deploy products and services that enable people to prepare for and manage climate impacts.

Consistent with the broader PREPARE Action Plan, this Call to Action aims to galvanize private sector action in six focus areas with an emphasis on supporting vulnerable populations, including women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and low income and marginalized groups. These constituencies have historically been excluded from adaptation planning and action, yet often face the greatest risks.

The six focus areas include:

Climate information Services

Commitments to expand access to or usability of early warning and climate information services to make informed decisions about how to address the risks posed by a changing climate. Illustrative examples include digital tools to link early warning systems to local options for action, data management and storage, broadband expansion, support for the observation, monitoring, modeling, forecasting, and response to impacts like sea level rise, drought, wildfire, and extreme flooding events.

Infrastructure

Commitments to systematically address the risk of cascading climate impacts in infrastructure planning, design, and development. Illustrative examples include the development of new infrastructure and materials, both grey and green, that build the resilience roads, bridges, waterways, ports, pavement, and other critical sectoral infrastructure (e.g. permeable pavement, fire-resistant building technology, drainage).

Commitments to provide solutions for water scarcity and flooding in alignment with local climate risk. Illustrative examples include water harvesting, recycling, and storage technologies across supply chains, potable water management and waste management, advances in low/zero-carbon technologies and services for water collection, treatment, harvesting, and storage; desalination; leak detection; investment in local water management across the supply chain.

Commitments that support the access to and delivery of health care in the face of climate impacts, and goods and services that reduce and address novel health threats. Illustrative examples include building supply chains for materials and infrastructure that address human well-being amidst extreme heat, such as cool roofs and low-cost cooling systems. This could also include using climate risk assessments to geographically expand the distribution of vaccines and other prevention practices for vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, that are proliferating due to global warming.

Food and agriculture

Commitments to reduce global hunger and malnutrition spurred by climate change. Illustrative examples include strengthening supply chains for regenerative and resilient agricultural and sustainable fishing practices, advance purchase or offtake agreements from suppliers that are using climate-resilient practices or products, clean energy/low-emission cold storage, drought-resistant crop varieties, climate-resistant crop storage technologies, greenhouses, biodigesters, precision agriculture and drip irrigation, and nature-positive production, sourcing, processing, logistics handling, and distribution.

Financial Tools and Services

Commitments to develop new tools, products, or services that drive investment into adaptation (e.g., adaptation-focused index funds, innovative approaches to insurance and broadening coverage, mobile money linked to disaster risk finance). This could include financial tools and services for emerging and developing country market structures.

Responding to the Call

Additional information on responding to the Call to Action can be found through the Global Resilience Partnership by reaching out at [email protected] .

Founding Participants in the Call to Action

Founding participants for the PREPARE Call to Action include Google, Gro Intelligence, Marsh McLennan, Mastercard, Meta, Microsoft, Pegasus Capital Advisors, PepsiCo., SAP, and Willis Towers Watson.

Administrator Samantha Power Launches The PREPARE Call To Action To The Private Sector

Body Administrator Samantha Power, as co-lead with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) John Kerry on implementation of the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), announced today at COP27 a global Call to Action for businesses to make new, significant commitments to building climate resilience in partner countries. 

Administrator Samantha Power At The Launch Of The PREPARE Private Sector Call To Action

Body One of the great features of America's leadership at this climate conference is to be able to give additional attention to the inflation Reduction Act and the $368 billion American investment in combating climate change – historic investment.

USAID AT COP27

Body The United States is working with countries around the world every day to advance climate ambition and ensure a strong outcome from COP27.

For More Information

The president’s emergency plan for adaptation and resilience.

Body Co-led by the U.S. Department of State and USAID, and bringing together 20 departments and agencies, the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) is the cornerstone of the U.S. government’s approach to help more than half a billion people in developing countries adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change by 2030.

Climate Adaptation

Body USAID strengthens the resilience of vulnerable populations to the impacts of climate change by partnering with countries to apply best practices, science, knowledge and tools.

Body USAID plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and addressing its impacts by working with partner countries to implement ambitious emissions reduction measures, protect critical ecosystems, transition to renewable energy, build resilience against the impacts of climate change, and promote the flow of capital toward climate-positive investments.

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Administrator power at prepare call to action to the private sector roundtable.

• July 30, 2024

Health, Tech, and Infrastructure Companies Respond to PREPARE Call to Action During White House Roundtable

Usaid and ifrc hold global summit on extreme heat, launch global action sprint.

• March 28, 2024

USAID and IFRC to Host First Global Summit on Extreme Heat

• March 11, 2024

The United States Announces New Projects to Support Climate Adaptation and Resilience in the Caribbean

• February 26, 2024

Partner Under PREPARE to Invest in Climate Adaptation

• January 30, 2024

Administrator Samantha Power Calls for Increased Focus and Funding to Prepare Communities Around the World for Increasingly Deadly and Dangerous Climate Shocks

Update on prepare call to action to the private sector.

• December 15, 2023

USAID Announcements at COP28

• December 11, 2023

Administrator Samantha Power at the COP28 PREPARE Call to Action Event

• December 6, 2023

Administrator Samantha Power And Special Envoy Kerry Announce New USAID, Private Sector Commitments to Mobilize Finance for Climate Adaptation Under PREPARE

Usaid releases climate strategy progress review.

• June 28, 2023

• climate change

The Inflation Reduction Act Took U.S. Climate Action Global. Here’s What Needs To Happen Next

W hen the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed a year ago, some of our international allies greeted it with a level of concern if not consternation given the IRA’s focus on expanding U.S. clean energy markets. But in fact, the IRA was not intended to be, nor is it, protectionist. Its mission, coupled with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, was to spark private- and public-sector investment across the U.S.—in red and blue states—and beyond, while restoring U.S. leadership on the global stage.

In its first year of implementation, the IRA has been a game changer. It spurred a race to the top. The world’s major economies rushed to develop their own competitive climate plans and opened up unprecedented opportunities to take a big bite out of global carbon emissions while enhancing domestic economies, growing good-paying clean energy jobs, saving families money, and improving air quality and health outcomes—especially for communities most in need.

The European Union’s Green Deal Industrial Policy was announced in February this year. In March, Canada’s budget included IRA-inspired tax credits to spark production of minerals and EV components while strengthening labor conditions. France’s new climate framework was unveiled in May. And Germany plans to expand its battery cell production, create a new hydrogen center, and initiate investments in chip manufacturing .

These plans are designed to level the cost of renewables and other clean energy solutions. Doing so will allow clean sources to more effectively compete against coal and other damaging fossil-fuel-reliant technologies and products that have too often avoided accountability for the global climate and health damages they caused.

Read more: How the Inflation Reduction Act Has Reshaped the U.S.—and The World

In the U.S., companies have announced or moved forward with projects in 44 states since the IRA was passed, accounting for more than 170,600 new clean energy jobs and $278 billion in new investments . Our goals under the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 are now within reach. The U.S. can head to the global COP28 climate negotiations this fall ready to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

But as we celebrate the biggest climate investment the U.S. has ever made, let’s also recognize that we can, should, and must do more now to reduce—and over time eliminate—our reliance on fossil fuels. And we must support developing nations on this path as well. We cannot solely rely on the fast buildup of clean energy if we hope to deliver net zero by 2050. We must demand reductions in fossil fuel exploration, development, and use now to ensure the transition to a cleaner, safer, healthier, and more stable world for all countries.

First, let’s push harder to nudge fossil fuels out of domestic and international markets and shift to energy systems that meet the needs of developing countries at lower costs. This will not only help strengthen economies but also create cleaner air to breathe. African nations, for example, can benefit greatly from leapfrogging to a clean energy future and yet over the last 20 years, only 2% of global renewable energy investments were made in Africa. Meanwhile, investments for polluting oil and gas projects, including from American and European multinationals, continue to pour in, at a great cost to the continent.

Second, we must push to ensure that every developed country meets or exceeds its country-level commitments already made to the developing world, as well as marshall the global public finance resources commanded by the World Bank and regional development banks. And we must demand full and fair consideration of the costs of political inaction versus the full benefits of public investment in climate action. As Barbados Prime Minister Mia Motley so clearly articulated when announcing the Bridgetown Initiative last September , developing nations need multilateral development banks to focus on their missions, not just higher returns, so nations can open up private investments in ways that work for them, define their own paths toward economic security, and deliver the transition to clean energy we need.

Read more: Here's How to Actually Make Rich Countries Pay For Their Climate Impact

Third, public investments are simply not enough; we must entice more private sector investment in the developing world if we hope to preserve and protect the world’s critical natural resources and support the growth and development of clean energy economies that align with country-specific needs and opportunities.

A functioning carbon credit trading system can entice private investments—lowering project costs as credits are generated and sold to corporations and other institutions—as a way to meet their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments. Unfortunately, concerns about greenwashing and months of debate about new and improved carbon market rules have left both sellers and buyers facing significant uncertainties that are stalling investment and frustrating corporations and institutions. What we need is a more realistic and credible system that utilizes the latest technologies, ensures transparency, and jumpstarts finance to prevent further deforestation and meet the clean energy needs of developing countries.

It is time for all of us to stop turning a blind eye to the developing world when it continues to be hit by climate impacts first and worst, when it has contributed the least to the climate crisis, and when it literally has the fewest resources available to respond to the havoc that climate change is wreaking. Just last month, for example, India stopped exporting rice —food that 40% of the world currently relies on as a staple in their diets—when they were hit by heavy monsoon rains that damaged domestic crops. The impact will be far-reaching: Farmers will lose crops and money, while families suffer from hunger, malnutrition, and other life-threatening health challenges.

So on this one-year anniversary of the IRA, let’s do more than celebrate its ongoing success and push to keep implementing its provisions fast and furiously. Let’s push Congress to meet our international climate financing commitments to provide $11.4 billion per year by 2024 to the developing world. Let’s equip developing nations with the resources they need to secure their place in a clean energy future. Let’s encourage our government leaders to work across all international venues to open up public and private sector investments for the good of our families, our communities, our countries, and our world.

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Recent Supreme Court decisions are already slowing climate progress

Supreme court rulings limiting federal authority have upended the legal landscape — and could discourage bold climate policies..

During its last session, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority dealt blow after blow to federal agencies’ authority to draft and enforce policies, including those aimed at mitigating climate change. Its decisions have already created upheaval for courts considering issues ranging from the approval of a solar project to vehicle emissions rules. This has upended the legal landscape for judges and for regulators, and could slow climate progress as a result.

The uncertainty has alarmed, but not surprised, legal experts who earlier this summer predicted that four rulings limiting federal authority could curtail the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies to limit pollution, govern toxic substances, and mitigate global warming. 

“It’s going to throw climate policy into many years of litigating what these cases actually mean when applied to individual rulemakings,” said Deborah Sivas, an environmental law professor at Stanford University. “That’s not good for the energy transition that we actually need to go through.”

In its most consequential ruling, the Supreme Court overturned the so-called Chevron doctrine , which has since 1984 granted federal regulators broad leeway to use their expertise to interpret ambiguities in the law. Another ruling effectively eliminated a six-year statute of limitations on lawsuits against federal regulations, opening the door to challenges against any policy regardless of how old it is. A lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission invalidated the use of in-house administrative law judges , jeopardizing a key enforcement mechanism used by more than a dozen agencies. And the conservative majority, ruling in Ohio v. EPA, blocked a federal smog reduction plan , a victory for polluters and conservatives who have long argued that EPA regulations create undue burdens. 

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The flurry of litigation stemming from those decisions started with the Supreme Court. On July 2, shortly after discarding Chevron, the court, in a case challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of a solar energy project, sent the matter back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Justices asked the lower court to reconsider it “in light of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo ,” the decision overturning Chevron deference.

That could be an issue, because the D.C. Circuit cited Chevron when it ruled in favor of FERC in February. Utilities had challenged the agency’s decision to make a solar and battery storage facility in Montana eligible for benefits under a 1978 law that requires utilities to purchase power from small renewable energy projects. Utility groups argued that the project in question shouldn’t qualify because its combined power capacity exceeded the size allowed under that law. The D.C. Circuit, invoking Chevron, deferred to the agency in upholding its decision.

Sivas said the judges most likely will stand by their decision, but will have to explain their reasoning without relying on Chevron. Although this case ultimately could demonstrate the limits of Chevron in turning back regulatory actions — jurists, after all, have other precedents they can cite, including the Skidmore deference that favors agencies when they provide persuasive reasoning for their actions — it is indicative of the litigation to come now that the Supreme Court has “watered down the influence of agencies,” she said. “We’re already in the thick of it.” 

Appellate judges, taking cues from the Supreme Court, have started returning cases to lower courts for reconsideration in light of the high court’s latest rulings. Last month, the 5th Circuit asked a Texas district court to revisit its decision upholding a Department of Labor rule allowing retirement fund managers to consider climate risks when making investments. Republican state attorneys general and fossil fuel companies considered the rule “ arbitrary and capricious ,” but the Texas court cited Chevron when rejecting their challenge in September. A reversal could imperil the ability of investors to align financial decisions with climate action . 

In other cases, courts are asking litigants to explain how recent Supreme Court decisions could impact their claims. On July 30, for example, the D.C. Circuit Court asked the plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging vehicle emissions standards established by the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to explain how the Chevron ruling and Ohio v. EPA change their arguments . The rules represented a broader push by the Biden administration to cut emissions from the transportation sector, and could serve as an early test of how such climate policies might fare in a post-Chevron world. 

It would be difficult to overstate the impact the fall of Chevron could have. Although the Supreme Court hasn’t relied on the doctrine for the last dozen or so years, lower courts have leaned on it roughly 17,000 times since 1984 to consider the legality of regulations governing everything from food safety to air pollution. They no longer have that long-standing precedent to guide them.

Jason Rylander, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the impact of the Supreme Court’s four recent decisions on these cases remains unclear, largely because the end of Chevron by design gives courts greater discretion to rule on agency interpretations of federal law. Until now, he said, Chevron deference “put a small thumb on the scale” in favor of agencies like the EPA. Now, courts must “come up with what they believe to be the best reading of the statute.” They might agree with an agency, they might not. Either way, courts hold more power to reach their own conclusions, sowing greater uncertainty — especially among courts that lean conservative, such as the 5th and 11th circuits.

Sending cases back to lower courts for further review will almost certainly delay decisions, limiting the effectiveness of federal policies to address climate change and other issues. But an even greater impact may be felt by the agencies charged with taking those actions and already facing increasing scrutiny and lawsuits. 

“Agencies will have to be even more careful than they already are to ground proposed regulations in the text of the statute and to explain why they believe that the regulation is consistent with Congressional intent,” Rylander said. 

More concerning, that ongoing legal chaos could discourage agencies from pursuing the bold policies needed to address the climate crisis, Sivas said. 

“If the agencies don’t think they can ever get these things past the judicial review,” she said, “they’re just not going to try to do it.” 

The elimination of Chevron is already a point of contention in debates over FERC’s Order 1920 , a rule released three months ago that requires regions to engage in long-term transmission planning to facilitate the deployment of renewable energy. The rule has already faced legal challenges by groups like the Louisiana and Mississippi public service commissions, and opponents have cited the demise of Chevron as one reason jurists should deem the rule invalid. In another jarring example, lawyers for the U.S. Air Force recently told the EPA that the end of Chevron means the Air Force should not be required to heed an order to clean up PFAS -contaminated drinking water at Tucson International Airport in Arizona.

Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry and other polluters, emboldened by the Supreme Court’s recent decisions, have ramped up challenges to environmental regulations. In late July, Republican state attorneys general, rural electric cooperatives, and fossil fuel trade organizations asked the Supreme Court to pause an EPA rule to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of coal- and gas-fired power plants. As in Ohio v. EPA, the plaintiffs are once again asking the high court to block the rule even as it wends through the D.C. Circuit. (The Supreme Court previously paused another EPA power plant emissions rule in 2016, the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which never went into effect.) Legal experts say the outcome of Ohio v. EPA proves the Supreme Court is willing to take such far-reaching actions — and that it has clearly encouraged this request for an emergency pause.

“Industry lawyers believe it is open season to go after regulations,” Michael Gerrard, an environmental law professor at Columbia University, said. Corporate clients, egged on by Ohio v. EPA and other Supreme Court wins, have concluded that “the expense of the lawsuit is small compared to the benefit if they win,” he said.

That attitude is clear from recent publications by major law firms encouraging clients to challenge federal regulations . “Now is a great time to reassess whether to challenge existing rules or prior statutory interpretations,” one major law firm recommended following recent Supreme Court decisions. Akin Gump, a global firm that from 2019 to 2023 earned $7.9 million in fossil-fuel related lobbying, highlighted how the decision in Corner Post, which effectively ended the statute of limitations on challenges to government regulations, creates new opportunities for clients and recommended companies file their lawsuits “in forums that are home to more conservative-leaning judges.”

The expected rise in challenges to environmental regulations is exacerbated by continued gridlock in Congress, Rylander said. Lawmakers are unlikely to revise laws to include detailed language outlining how agencies can act on climate change. That means federal agencies will need to increasingly lean on laws like the Clean Air Act — but they can’t if they’re thwarted by turmoil in the courts. 

“We are at a critical point for climate action, and in the absence of Congressional legislation, we’re going to be asking our federal agencies to do more and more with the statutory tools that they already have,” Rylander said. “If courts start standing in the way of that, then it’s going to be disastrous for meeting our climate goals and for humanity writ large.”

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Justice & Health

Thousands of disaster survivors urge the department of justice to investigate fossil fuel companies for climate crimes, the action follows a growing trend of lawsuits and legislation aimed at making oil, gas, coal and petrochemical companies pay for their damage to the atmosphere..

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‘Vance Profits, We Pay The Price’: Sunrise Movement Protests J.D. Vance Over Billionaire Influence and Calls on Kamala Harris to Take Climate Action

Montana’s High Court Considers a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate

Climate Litigation Has Exploded, but Is it Making a Difference?

Allen Myers was getting ready to visit his parents in his hometown of Paradise in November 2018 when the community was hit with the deadliest wildfire in California’s history. As he traveled home, Myers experienced the destruction in real time.

“I was watching chaos unfold live, as friends drove through flames, as my godparents were surrounded by fire,” he remembered.

Myers’ childhood home was destroyed and his parents and neighbors lost everything, he said. And although the local utility company—PG&E— pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter, Myers said another culprit went unnoticed: the fossil fuel industry, for exacerbating the conditions , like drought and dryness, that enable increasingly devastating fires. 

Now, Myers is among more than 1,000 self-identified survivors of climate disasters and about 10,000 total signers of a letter calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate fossil fuel companies for climate-related crimes.

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A small group, spearheaded by nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, delivered the letter to the DOJ on Thursday morning. It’s the latest in a growing trend of legal action attempting to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for the human costs of climate change, and a newer push to put companies and industry executives in criminal court. 

“The folks who are injured or lose their homes or [are] killed in [climate-driven disasters], those aren’t just tragic accidents,” said Aaron Regunberg, a senior policy counsel at Public Citizen. “They’re the result of specific reckless or knowing conduct by particular corporate actors that generated a substantial portion of all the greenhouse gas emissions that caused climate change and that engaged in this massive campaign of deception and delay, specifically in order to stop the actions that would have alleviated or avoided those disasters.”

The Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs declined to comment on the letter.

Calls for Big Oil’s Judgment Day

As the destruction from climate-related disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, floods and extreme heat become increasingly common and severe, and as public awareness of the fossil fuel industry’s disinformation grows, so have calls for compensation from the industry. This year, Vermont became the first state to pass legislation requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for climate damages, and New York’s parallel bill is awaiting the governor’s signature. Advocates have also increasingly moved to target fossil fuel companies in court.

Since 2016, the Center for Climate Integrity has tracked more than 30 lawsuits against fossil fuel companies for climate accountability in the U.S., with complaints ranging from consumer protection violations to accusations of racketeering and fraud. While most of these lawsuits are civil complaints, some legal scholars are now pushing for criminal prosecution against the industry, hoping for judgments that force companies to phase out oil, gas and coal and direct profits towards renewable energy, for example. Other legal experts have said that proving criminal liability will be an uphill battle.

Patrick Parenteau, a climate policy fellow and emeritus law professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, said that the increase in legal action stems from the acute financial burden of the climate crisis and “desperation” to find money to fund adaptation.

According to Parenteau, civil cases seeking compensation for financial damages are practical, but criminal cases—where the burden of proof is much higher—are more challenging.

“How do you then disaggregate global emissions to get down to an individual company and try to attribute to that company responsibility for the damage done by that event?” he asked.

In May, eight extreme weather victims filed a criminal case in France against executives of the global energy giant TotalEnergies, arguing that the company’s top decision-makers are criminally liable for human deaths and biodiversity damage. The European lawsuit, which is currently being considered by a public prosecutor, came just as Public Citizen was doing its own research on how to prosecute the industry in the U.S., said senior policy counsel Clara Vondrich.

“This wild idea was suddenly being made concrete,” Vondrich said. “It was really just confirmation that we were on the right track.”

Michael Gerrard, a climate and environmental law professor at Columbia University, said that proving criminal liability will be a “steep mountain to climb,” and said the tactic of criminally prosecuting the industry might be more useful as a campaigning tool than a legal one.

“Attribution science is growing stronger, and [it is] becoming increasingly possible to attribute the magnitude of a heat wave in part to fossil fuel emissions, but there’s still quite a leap between that and holding fossil fuel companies criminally liable,” Gerrard said.

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Regunberg said that Public Citizen is working with criminal legal scholars, former prosecutors, climate researchers and criminal justice reform advocates to develop a concrete legal pathway to hold oil and gas companies criminally accountable for climate harm. In June, the organization published a 50-page report showing a prosecutorial blueprint to pursue homicide charges for heat-related deaths in Arizona’s Maricopa County, where 2023 saw 645 such deaths .

Thursday’s action was focused on bringing the voices of those most impacted by climate disaster to the DOJ, Regunberg said, adding that the DOJ taking leadership on an investigation might open the door for public safety officials around the country to explore options for prosecuting the industry.

‘These Polluters Need to Pay’

In the first five years following the 2018 Camp Fire , Myers devoted himself to rebuilding Paradise . During that time, he had to evacuate the area three times, twice for wildfires and once for severely dangerous air quality. Watching as drought spread and wildfires grew in scale and intensity across California, he and his partner sought a safer place to live, settling on Portland, Oregon.

“We’ve been told … that these fires would get bigger because of the climate crisis, and we know that the fossil fuel industry is creating the climate crisis,” Myers said. “They are directly responsible, and yet they remain acting with impunity.”

“These industries are making billions of dollars here off of our backs, and all they’re giving us is poison and pollution and killing our babies.”

The signers of Public Citizen’s letter come from all across the country, and include Louisiana activist Roishetta Ozane, who has been hit continuously with climate disasters and environmental injustice. Ozane has been displaced three times by hurricanes over the past 20 years. In April, a tornado caused severe damage to the offices of The Vessel Project, Ozane’s mutual-aid and disaster relief organization in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 

Ozane has been at the helm of national movements to fight against the expansion of liquified natural gas terminals in the Gulf South and to target financial institutions and the insurance industry to cut off viability for the fossil fuel industry. She said signing onto the letter to the DOJ is just one of many tactics she’s taking to target the fossil fuel industry from all directions, seeking reparations for the harms her family and community have experienced.

“These polluters need to pay … for the climate crimes that they have committed,” Ozane said. “These industries are making billions of dollars here off of our backs, and all they’re giving us is poison and pollution and killing our babies.”

Over the next few weeks, Ozane’s 18-year-old son will undergo testing like video electroencephalography (EEG) to prepare for likely brain surgery to treat his epilepsy, which he was diagnosed with last year. He has been having frequent seizures, which specialists have told Ozane are likely connected to long-term exposure to industrial pollutants. 

Ozane and her kids live in southern Louisiana, in a community with some of the highest pollution rates in the country. Her son has traces of mercury in his system, and her other kids have dealt with asthma, eczema and other health issues.

“Being a mom, I’m trying to protect my children as much as possible from everyday dangers,” Ozane said. “But now I’m having to protect them from industries that are committing crimes.”

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How one pop band is trying to turn concertgoers into climate activists

At Ball Arena in Denver, thousands of fans of the multi-platinum-selling indie pop group AJR do the wave. The vast, coordinated ripple as the concertgoers throw their arms up instantly unites the room.

It's this type of mass, coordinated energy that AJR bassist and climate activist Adam Met wants to harness.

"Can we actually capture that power in the concert space and make use of it to get people to do something more?" said Met, who also runs the climate change research and advocacy non-profit Planet Reimagined .

AJR has been filling arenas across the country this summer on its Maybe Man tour with quirky-existential hits like "Bang!" "Burn the House Down" and "World's Smallest Violin."

Along the way, the band has also been collaborating with local nonprofits in each city to inspire concertgoers to take local, policy-based action to help reduce the impacts of human-caused climate change — right there in the arena.

Getting fans to do something more

According to data shared by Planet Reimagined and verified by its local nonprofit partners, concertgoers at AJR's two Salt Lake City shows sent 625 letters and 77 handwritten postcards to Utah legislators calling on them to decrease the amount of water being diverted from the Great Salt Lake.

"In Phoenix, they sent more than 1,000 letters to the city council calling on them to recognize extreme heat as a climate emergency," Met said. "In Chicago, 200 fans sent letters to Illinois legislators urging them to pass the Illinois clean jobs platform, which supports investments in building transportation and the grid."

Those seem like tiny numbers. But they make an impact.

"So if 30, 40 or 50 people are in a live setting and they're being encouraged to support a particular nonprofit’s agenda, and they all send emails at the same time, that is definitely going to get the attention of lawmakers because that’s unusual," said Bradford Fitch, president and CEO of the non-partisan Congressional Management Foundation, which has done research on outreach to lawmakers. "That doesn’t happen very frequently." 

Artists for climate activism

A growing number of artists are working to educate ticket-buyers at concerts about human-driven climate change as part of a broader environmental movement in the music industry.

"We're seeing more and more artists and venues and festival teams increasing their ambitions around sustainability overall," said Lucy August-Perna, global head of sustainability for music events promoter and venue operator Live Nation.

Artists like Billie Eilish have discussed the issue on stage.

“Most of this show is being powered by solar right now," Eilish said at last year’s Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago. "We really, really need to do a better job of protecting this [expletive] planet."

Many other performers, like Dave Matthews Band, The 1975 and My Morning Jacket, are also inviting activist groups to share information at concert venues.

"We have tables where fans can learn about local climate organizations and basically just connect about climate and sustainability," said Maggie Baird, who oversees Eilish's climate and sustainability efforts. (She's also the rock star's mom.) "I think it's really important that artists use their platforms. They have a unique gift, and they also have a unique responsibility."

"Most of our partner tours have fan actions and things that they can do on site," said Lara Seaver, director of touring and projects at Reverb, which works with touring artists such as Eilish and AJR on implementing their environmental efforts.

Seaver said what sets AJR's engagement work apart to a degree is its consistency and depth. "In every single market, we have something very local and meaningful and impactful happening," she said.

Assessing the impact

According to Planet Reimagined, around 12,000 audience members participated in climate-related civic actions during AJR's tour, such as signing petitions, sending letters, leaving voicemails, registering to vote, making donations and volunteering. An additional 10,500 scanned QR codes and signed up for emails to learn more about an issue.

AJR’s Met said he felt confident they would be responsive: Ticket buyers for concerts and festivals featuring artists like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Dave Matthews Band and many more were polled in the recent Planet Reimagined Amplify: How To Build A Fan Based Climate Movement study , undertaken in collaboration with Live Nation. The majority of respondents said they’d be open to not just learning about climate change, but also would be open to take climate-related actions at these events.

Met said the findings also highlight what artists should do to be effective at each stop on a tour, such as being relevant to the local community. "If it’s affecting them and their community personally, they’re so much more likely to take action," Met said.

Met said the research also shows artists need to model those actions themselves. "Fans have this deep connection to artists," Met said. "So there is so much more impact on fans if the artist says, 'Will you join me in doing this?' As opposed to, 'Will you do this?'"

Putting research into practice

In Denver, fans were able to use their phones to scan a QR code displayed on screen to support a local campaign aimed at getting an initiative on the 2026 Colorado state ballot to phase out new permits for fracking by 2030. A contentious issue in Colorado, the process is used to extract oil and gas. It generates wastewater and emits toxic pollutants and methane, which is a major source of planet-warming pollution. But it’s big business.

Meanwhile, out on the concourse, representatives from 350 Colorado , the local climate change nonprofit that’s running the campaign, chatted up fans.

350 Colorado's Chelsea Alexander told AJR fan Robin Roston that the QR code, "takes you to a form that takes about 20 seconds to complete."

"I think it's a good way to get boots on the ground, chatting with real people who are here to enjoy music, and connecting that with helping the environment," Roston said.

Small steps, big potential

According to 350 Colorado, 179 people took action over the course of AJR's two performances in support of the phase-out fracking campaign. At least 125,000 physical signatures will be needed to get the initiative on the ballot in 2026.

But 350 Colorado representative Bobbie Mooney said every bit helps.

"We often think in terms of a ladder of engagement, where we can invite someone to take a small action and give them a sense of empowerment that they're a part of the solution," Mooney said. "And then we can invite them to take another, maybe greater action. They can join a committee, they can become a part of advocating for a particular bill in our legislature."

Because of the collective energy they create, big, live gatherings such as concerts and sporting events provide a particularly powerful setting to get people on that ladder.

"The fact that everyone around us is doing something makes us dramatically more likely to do it ourselves," said Cindy McPherson Frantz , a professor of psychology and environmental studies at Oberlin College.

But Frantz said it’s not easy for fans to sustain enthusiasm for such things after coming down off that big event high.

"You could get all excited about calling your senator or voting at the rock concert," she said. "And then you go home, a week goes by or a month goes by, and you forgot all about it and you're busy and whatever. And then it just completely evaporates."

Frantz said simply getting fans to talk about climate change at a concert is a win, though. "The power of bringing people together and giving them the sense of, 'I am not alone, I'm not the only person scared about this, I'm not the only person working on this problem,' is a huge antidote to the hopelessness and the helplessness that comes from being isolated."

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