essay about environmental changes

Essay on Environmental Changes

Students are often asked to write an essay on Environmental Changes in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Environmental Changes

Introduction.

Environmental changes refer to alterations in the natural world around us. These changes may be slow, like climate change, or rapid, like natural disasters.

Environmental changes are often caused by human activities. Pollution, deforestation, and overpopulation are some human-induced factors. Natural events like volcanic eruptions can also cause changes.

These changes affect all life forms. They can lead to loss of biodiversity, climate change, and health issues in humans.

To protect our environment, we need to reduce pollution, plant more trees, and conserve resources. Everyone has a role in preserving our environment.

250 Words Essay on Environmental Changes

Environmental changes refer to alterations in the biophysical environment, largely due to human activities. These changes have far-reaching implications for biodiversity, climate, and human survival.

Causes of Environmental Changes

The primary cause of environmental changes is anthropogenic activities. Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution are significant contributors. They disrupt ecological balance, leading to climate change, loss of biodiversity, and resource depletion.

Impacts of Environmental Changes

Environmental changes have severe consequences. Rising global temperatures, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels are manifestations of climate change. These changes threaten human settlements, particularly coastal communities, and biodiversity.

The Role of Policy in Mitigating Environmental Changes

Policy plays a crucial role in mitigating environmental changes. Governments and international bodies need to enforce strict regulations to control pollution, promote sustainable practices, and protect biodiversity. The Paris Agreement is a notable example of international cooperation for climate change mitigation.

Environmental changes pose a significant threat to our planet. It is imperative to understand the causes and impacts, and to take collective action to mitigate these changes. Through responsible behavior, stringent policies, and global cooperation, we can ensure a sustainable future for all.

500 Words Essay on Environmental Changes

Environmental changes are the alterations in the biosphere, occurring on temporal and spatial scales. These changes can be natural or anthropogenic, with the latter having a significant impact on the Earth’s ecosystems. They include changes in biodiversity, climate, natural resources, and land use, which have far-reaching implications for human societies.

Climate Change

One of the most significant environmental changes is climate change, primarily driven by anthropogenic activities. The burning of fossil fuels and deforestation have led to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing global warming. This has resulted in changes in weather patterns, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. The implications are profound, affecting agricultural productivity, water availability, and increasing the risk of natural disasters.

Biodiversity Loss

Another crucial aspect of environmental change is biodiversity loss. Human activities, such as habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation of species, and introduction of invasive species, are driving a global biodiversity crisis. The loss of biodiversity threatens ecosystem stability and resilience, with potential ripple effects on food security, human health, and economic development.

Natural Resource Depletion

The unsustainable use of natural resources is another significant environmental change. Overexploitation of resources, such as water, soil, minerals, and forests, leads to their depletion and degradation. This not only threatens the survival of many species but also undermines the ability of ecosystems to provide essential services, such as clean air, water, and fertile soil.

Land Use Change

Land use change, particularly deforestation and urbanization, is another critical environmental change. These changes result in habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, driving biodiversity loss and altering ecosystem functions. Furthermore, land use changes contribute to climate change by altering the carbon cycle and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

In conclusion, environmental changes pose significant challenges to the sustainability of our planet. They threaten biodiversity, disrupt ecosystems, and exacerbate climate change. Therefore, it is crucial to understand these changes and their implications to develop effective strategies for mitigation and adaptation. This requires a multidisciplinary approach, integrating knowledge from ecology, climatology, social sciences, and other fields. By doing so, we can work towards a sustainable future, where human societies coexist harmoniously with nature.

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Climate Change Essay

500+ words essay on climate change.

Climate change is a major global challenge today, and the world is becoming more vulnerable to this change. Climate change refers to the changes in Earth’s climate condition. It describes the changes in the atmosphere which have taken place over a period ranging from decades to millions of years. A recent report from the United Nations predicted that the average global temperature could increase by 6˚ Celsius at the end of the century. Climate change has an adverse effect on the environment and ecosystem. With the help of this essay, students will get to know the causes and effects of climate change and possible solutions. Also, they will be able to write essays on similar topics and can boost their writing skills.

What Causes Climate Change?

The Earth’s climate has always changed and evolved. Some of these changes have been due to natural causes such as volcanic eruptions, floods, forest fires etc., but quite a few of them are due to human activities. Human activities such as deforestation, burning fossil fuels, farming livestock etc., generate an enormous amount of greenhouse gases. This results in the greenhouse effect and global warming which are the major causes of climate change.

Effects of Climate Change

If the current situation of climate change continues in a similar manner, then it will impact all forms of life on the earth. The earth’s temperature will rise, the monsoon patterns will change, sea levels will rise, and storms, volcanic eruptions and natural disasters will occur frequently. The biological and ecological balance of the earth will get disturbed. The environment will get polluted and humans will not be able to get fresh air to breathe and fresh water to drink. Life on earth will come to an end.

Steps to be Taken to Reduce Climate Change

The Government of India has taken many measures to improve the dire situation of Climate Change. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is the nodal agency for climate change issues in India. It has initiated several climate-friendly measures, particularly in the area of renewable energy. India took several steps and policy initiatives to create awareness about climate change and help capacity building for adaptation measures. It has initiated a “Green India” programme under which various trees are planted to make the forest land more green and fertile.

We need to follow the path of sustainable development to effectively address the concerns of climate change. We need to minimise the use of fossil fuels, which is the major cause of global warming. We must adopt alternative sources of energy, such as hydropower, solar and wind energy to make a progressive transition to clean energy. Mahatma Gandhi said that “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not any man’s greed”. With this view, we must remodel our outlook and achieve the goal of sustainable development. By adopting clean technologies, equitable distribution of resources and addressing the issues of equity and justice, we can make our developmental process more harmonious with nature.

We hope students liked this essay on Climate Change and gathered useful information on this topic so that they can write essays in their own words. To get more study material related to the CBSE, ICSE, State Board and Competitive exams, keep visiting the BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions on climate change Essay

What are the reasons for climate change.

1. Deforestation 2. Excessive usage of fossil fuels 3. Water, Soil pollution 4. Plastic and other non-biodegradable waste 5. Wildlife and nature extinction

How can we save this climate change situation?

1. Avoid over usage of natural resources 2. Do not use or buy items made from animals 3. Avoid plastic usage and pollution

Are there any natural causes for climate change?

Yes, some of the natural causes for climate change are: 1. Solar variations 2. Volcanic eruption and tsunamis 3. Earth’s orbital changes

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Counselling

Introductory essay

Written by the educators who created Climate Change, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material.

The greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now. James Hansen, June 24, 1988

The drought that crippled much of the U.S. and Canada in 1988-89 was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history prior to Hurricane Katrina. It spawned dust storms in the Midwest and forest fires in Yellowstone National Park. That summer, thousands died during an intense heat wave.

It was against this backdrop, on a 101-degree day in the nation's capital, that NASA scientist James Hansen delivered his landmark testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The next day, The New York Times ran a headline that read "Global Warming Has Begun, Expert Warns." Coverage of Hansen's testimony by the Times and other national and global media organizations transformed climate change from a relatively obscure scientific topic to one that people began to discuss over dinner, in the pub, at school and at work.

It remained newsworthy over the rest of that pivotal year. Days after Hansen's testimony, the World Meteorological Association (WMO) hosted a conference called "Our Changing Atmosphere," one of the earliest international climate change gatherings. 300 scientists and policy makers representing 46 countries attended. Participants called upon countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent or more by 2005, and by the end of the year the WMO and the United Nations Environment Program had established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously became one of the first world leaders to talk about climate change in a speech delivered that September to the Royal Society. "For generations, we have assumed that the efforts of mankind would leave the fundamental equilibrium of the world's systems and atmosphere stable," remarked Thatcher. "But it is possible that… we have unwittingly begun a massive experiment with the system of this planet itself." In this speech and others she gave during the remainder of her tenure, Thatcher advocated for expanded climate research and for policies that would safeguard the environment and promote sustainable development.

As global public awareness of the issue grew in the 1980s and beyond, the science and its significance were vigorously debated. Is there credible evidence that climate change is real? If it's real, when and how will we feel its effects? If it's real, what should be done, and who should do it? (Thatcher herself reversed position many years later, calling climate change "the doomsters' favorite subject" predicated on science that is "extremely obscure" and leading to "worldwide, supra-national socialism.")

Climate change is still hotly contested and the debate is often shrill, with skeptics branded as "climate deniers" and activists derisively labeled "warmists." Tensions are palpable, as when nearly 800 NGO representatives walked out of the 2013 international climate negotiations in Poland.

How has climate change become so politicized? It requires us to tackle thorny ethical and economic dilemmas, like how the least developed nations will cope with the effects of climate change and who should help them. It highlights serious structural issues like how to reckon with entrenched carbon-based industry interests and the connected yet complex resistances to decarbonization efforts. It calls for global governmental collaboration on an unprecedented scale. Atmospheric chemist Rachel Pike comments, "It goes, of course, to the top of our sky, but it goes to the bottom of the ocean, to every corner of the globe. It's every nation, every people. It's political, it's economic, it requires debate; it's scientific, it's engineering. It's the biggest problem you could ever imagine." It's no surprise, then, that climate change prompts a range of individual psychological and collective societal responses—avoidance, fatalism, denial, paralysis and wishful thinking, to name a few.

It's also not surprising that the scientific evidence is contested, given that the indicators of climate change -- like changing precipitation patterns over decadal time scales -- may be difficult for ordinary citizens to detect, and given what's at stake once we acknowledge that those indicators are correct. Initially -- and even today, despite the fact that we've reached the gold standard for scientific certainty -- some have questioned the quantity and quality of the evidence, feeding the public's perception that the science is half-baked. In reality, by the time Hansen delivered his congressional testimony in 1988, he'd been researching the relationship between atmospheric components and temperature since the 1960s, building upon a line of scientific inquiry stretching back at least a century.

A crash course on climate science

During the previous century, French physicist Joseph Fourier (1821) and Irish physicist John Tyndall (1861) described the Earth's natural "greenhouse effect" whereby water vapor and other gases in the atmosphere regulate the planet's surface temperatures. By the end of the 1800s, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius had made the prediction that industrialized coal-burning would intensify the natural greenhouse effect. Remarkably, when Arrhenius calculated the quantitative effects on temperature his results were relatively close to what's predicted by modern climate change models.

In the 1930s, British engineer and citizen scientist Guy Callendar demonstrated that global temperatures were rising, using data from more than 140 weather stations around the world. Callendar argued that rising CO2 levels were to blame, but his hypothesis failed to gain widespread acceptance in the scientific community. Two decades later, American researcher Gilbert Plass analyzed the infrared absorption of various gases and created the early computational models suggesting that a 3- to 4-degree rise in temperature would result from doubling the concentration of atmospheric CO2. For the scientists aware of Plass's work, Dave Keeling's findings a few years later were undoubtedly unsettling: the American geochemist provided the first unequivocal proof that atmospheric CO2 levels were increasing, based on analysis of atmospheric samples he collected at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

Many scientists assumed that the world's oceans would absorb the extra atmospheric CO2 that human industry was producing, until American oceanographer Roger Revelle and chemist Hans Suess demonstrated otherwise. The authors of a 1957 National Academy of Sciences climatology report quoted Revelle: "In consuming our fossil fuels at a prodigious rate, our civilization is conducting a grandiose scientific experiment."

Revelle's subsequent testimony before a Congressional committee helped put climate change on the radar of elected officials. In 1965, a presidential advisory panel warned that the greenhouse effect was a "real concern," and the U.S. government's engagement deepened when Nixon established the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1970. Political and scientific interest in climate change grew during the ‘70s, culminating in the First World Climate Conference sponsored by the WMO in 1979. The Second World Climate Conference a decade later paved the way for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was launched and the groundwork laid for subsequent international climate change negotiations.

The challenge of communicating climate change

The task of translating climate research for policymakers and the general public has been hampered by multiple definitions of climate change within and outside of the scientific community. As Roger Pielke Jr. argued in his 2005 article " Misdefining climate change: Consequences for science and action ," definitions used by the UNFCCC, IPCC and others profoundly influence public opinion and the range of probable policy choices. Additionally, the conflation of "climate change," "global warming" and "the greenhouse effect" in news coverage has fueled public confusion about how to diagnose and treat the problem. For our purposes here, "climate change" is any change in climate over time due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. This is consistent with the IPCC's use of the term.

Rachel Pike's comment that it's the "biggest problem you could ever imagine" reminds us that climate change is a dense and multifaceted issue. There are facets of climate science and policy where convergent agreement dominates, while in other areas, contentious disagreement has generated worthwhile debate and discussion. The media's conflation of these diverse dimensions into one sweeping issue has contributed to confusion and created a breeding ground for manipulation from outlier viewpoints to inadvertently or deliberately skew public opinion.

It's important that we critically assess who ‘speaks for climate change' and understand their agendas. To the extent that their claims are flatly reported, or that in the name of fairness and balance speakers are frequently placed on equal footing irrespective of their expertise, individuals and organizations have become empowered to speak with authority through mass media. This skews how citizens and policy makers understand climate change issues, the stakes involved and the spectrum of possible actions to take. Cognizant of this, in 2013 the L.A. Times announced it would no longer print letters from climate change detractors. L.A. Times letters editor Paul Thornton wrote, "Simply put, I do my best to keep errors of fact off the letters page; when one does run, a correction is published. Saying "there's no sign humans have caused climate change" is not stating an opinion, it's asserting a factual inaccuracy."

About this TED Studies collection

While poorly communicated information can hamper the ability to make important decisions related to climate change causes and consequences, accurate and engaging information accessed through these TED Talks gives you power: power to understand, power to share your understanding with others, and power to take action.

Here we'll consider the environment as our planet's renewable and non-renewable natural resources, and a support system for the quantity, quality and sustainability of human activities. We'll see science as a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge, sorting through the unceasing flow of human experience. We'll explore policy as guides for decision making about human management of environment, articulating the principles, intentions, and mandates about who gets what, when and how. And we'll contemplate values as systems of conduct and broad preferences (individual to societal) concerning the morality of outcomes.

We begin with three modules that center our considerations on the climate science. First, through science journalist Lee Hotz's TED Talk, we explore the evidence that the climate is changing. Next, photographer James Balog contributes additional compelling, visible, measurable documentation of certain climate change effects. Balog's talk also highlights critical elements of the certainty/uncertainty debate that has dogged the issue. Third, through the TED Talk by climate scientist James Hansen, we explore the convergent agreement in the scientific community that humans contribute to contemporary climate change.

We continue with three modules exploring the politics of taking action through mitigation, adaptation and cross-cutting market-based, risk-reduction regulatory measures. We start with a TED Talk from former United States Vice President Al Gore, who calls for various ways to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (mitigation). Next, we turn to the TED Talk by environmental lawyer Vicki Arroyo, who suggests ways in which human communities can reduce their vulnerability to climate change and increase resilience (adaptation). Then we consider cross-cutting, often market-based risk reduction efforts by way of a TED Talk from journalist Naomi Klein. Her talk opens a space where we can critically evaluate climate risk reduction endeavors such as the market-based cap and trade proposals that are considered an essential tool by some, and merely a shell game by others.

We finish with two modules that focus our attention on important values and ethics questions. First, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown challenges us to build a stronger global society by cutting carbon emissions in a way that is beneficial and equitable to all nations. Finally we turn to sustainabily strategist Johan Rockström's TED Talk about how nine ‘planetary boundaries' (which include climate change) can usefully guide ecosystem and environmental protection for future generations.

Let's begin with a look at the scientific evidence that's being unearthed at" the South Pole; science journalist Lee Hotz takes us there via his TED Talk "Inside an Antarctic time machine."

Inside an Antarctic time machine

Relevant talks.

James Balog

Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss.

James Hansen

Why i must speak out about climate change.

New thinking on the climate crisis

Vicki Arroyo

Let's prepare for our new climate.

Naomi Klein

Addicted to risk.

Gordon Brown

Global ethic vs. national interest.

Johan Rockström

Let the environment guide our development.

What Is Climate Change?

Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term.

Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the mid-20th century are driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, raising Earth’s average surface temperature. Natural processes, which have been overwhelmed by human activities, can also contribute to climate change, including internal variability (e.g., cyclical ocean patterns like El Niño, La Niña and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) and external forcings (e.g., volcanic activity, changes in the Sun’s energy output , variations in Earth’s orbit ).

Scientists use observations from the ground, air, and space, along with computer models , to monitor and study past, present, and future climate change. Climate data records provide evidence of climate change key indicators, such as global land and ocean temperature increases; rising sea levels; ice loss at Earth’s poles and in mountain glaciers; frequency and severity changes in extreme weather such as hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods, and precipitation; and cloud and vegetation cover changes.

“Climate change” and “global warming” are often used interchangeably but have distinct meanings. Similarly, the terms "weather" and "climate" are sometimes confused, though they refer to events with broadly different spatial- and timescales.

What Is Global Warming?

Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. This term is not interchangeable with the term "climate change."

Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased Earth’s global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a number that is currently increasing by more than 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. The current warming trend is unequivocally the result of human activity since the 1950s and is proceeding at an unprecedented rate over millennia.

Weather vs. Climate

“if you don’t like the weather in new england, just wait a few minutes.” - mark twain.

Weather refers to atmospheric conditions that occur locally over short periods of time—from minutes to hours or days. Familiar examples include rain, snow, clouds, winds, floods, or thunderstorms.

Climate, on the other hand, refers to the long-term (usually at least 30 years) regional or even global average of temperature, humidity, and rainfall patterns over seasons, years, or decades.

Find Out More: A Guide to NASA’s Global Climate Change Website

This website provides a high-level overview of some of the known causes, effects and indications of global climate change:

Evidence. Brief descriptions of some of the key scientific observations that our planet is undergoing abrupt climate change.

Causes. A concise discussion of the primary climate change causes on our planet.

Effects. A look at some of the likely future effects of climate change, including U.S. regional effects.

Vital Signs. Graphs and animated time series showing real-time climate change data, including atmospheric carbon dioxide, global temperature, sea ice extent, and ice sheet volume.

Earth Minute. This fun video series explains various Earth science topics, including some climate change topics.

Other NASA Resources

Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio. An extensive collection of animated climate change and Earth science visualizations.

Sea Level Change Portal. NASA's portal for an in-depth look at the science behind sea level change.

NASA’s Earth Observatory. Satellite imagery, feature articles and scientific information about our home planet, with a focus on Earth’s climate and environmental change.

Header image is of Apusiaajik Glacier, and was taken near Kulusuk, Greenland, on Aug. 26, 2018, during NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) field operations. Learn more here . Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Discover More Topics From NASA

Explore Earth Science

Earth Science in Action

Earth Science Data

Facts About Earth

The Costs and Benefits of Environmental Changes

This idea set explores unexpected and often obscured effects of human modifications of the environment. Challenge students to think about their own habits of consumption as well as the habits of human society as a whole with these activity ideas.

Earth Science, Geography, Social Studies

Photograph by Michael S. Yamashita

One challenge of measuring the environmental impact of human modifications to Earth is quantifying the effects that are often invisible to the vast majority of the world’s people. Aside from locals who are experiencing change firsthand, many people are mostly unaware of the environmental impact of oil spills, removing a dam, or even buying certain products. This idea set dives into these environmental modifications and explores the varied, widespread, and often obscured effects of human life on the environment while encouraging students to analyze their own habits through their learning.

A Dam Do or Do Not: Debating Dam Removal

Dams change a landscape’s ecosystem and waterways permanently—unless they are removed. Sometimes, however, the removal causes just as many problems as keeping the dam in place. Weigh the pros and cons of dam removal with students. First, have students read two articles about dam removal: Removing a Dam , River Revives After Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History , and The Pros and Cons of Dam Removal . After dividing students into two groups, giving one group the position of “pro dam removal” and assign the other group “against dam removal.” Have students research their positions and prepare for a debate to defend their position. Then hold a debate between the two sides, letting each student share one of their points. At the end of the debate, have students share which side they personally fall on, after hearing both sides and doing research. To extend this activity, review the section on the Argo Dam in The Pros and Cons of Dam Removal article as a counter argument. Finally, have students do more research and debate the removal of the Argo Dam, or write a persuasive essay of their opinion.

The Daily Impact of Deforestation

While students may think that cars, machinery, and other large items are the main threat to trees, smaller items that people use everyday can also contribute to worldwide deforestation. Have students consider their impact on the environment by researching the origins of the products they use. First, have students read articles on some of the causes of deforestation: WWF’s Timber Introduction , Palm Oil Scorecard 2016 , and FAO: Commercial agriculture accounted for almost 90 percent of deforestation globally . Then brainstorm a list of products that students use everyday, even those that are seemingly not connected to trees (including beauty and food products). Have each student pick one of the items listed and research the environmental impact of those products on deforestation. Instruct students to take notes on their chosen item and create an informational pamphlet or handout about their findings, giving their product a letter grade on its tree-friendliness. Finish the activity by having each student present their findings and letter grade, and compiling a class list of products by letter grade to distribute to other students in the school.

Aquiculture: Pros and Cons

Aquiculture is a type of farming, most often used in the food industry, where fish and other aquatic animals are raised in oceans and waterways. While there are aquiculture methods that are more sustainable, there are still some environmental impacts. Investigate the pros and cons of aquiculture with students by reading Seafood Month: Aquaculture Allure . As a class, make a T chart with Pros on one side, Cons on the other, and fill out the chart with information students read in the article. Then share the graphic The Mangrove Ecosystem. Read the infographic aloud, and using the shrimp farming inset, add additional pros and cons to the class list. In a class discussion, ask students to further analyze the rest of the infographic and hypothesize about other possible positive or negative outcomes of increasing the use of aquiculture farming. Then, ask students to imagine they are citizens who live near the mangrove ecosystem. Ask them to draft a letter to a local or state government official, arguing for or against increasing the amount of aquiculture that is happening in their area.

Oil Spill in the Gulf

Oil spills can have disastrous effects on plants and wildlife, especially when the spill is underwater. Investigate these effects with National Geographic’s The Gulf of Mexico: Layers of Life infographic. Share the infographic with students and have them read aloud the key sections about the effect of oil spills on the Gulf of Mexico. Assign each student one of the “layers of life” from the infographic, including the above-ground mangrove forests and shoreline. Have students use the infographic and additional resources from the library or online to research plants and animals that live in the layer assigned to them, as well as the short- and long-term effects oil can have on them. Also ask students to look for ways to rehabilitate the area to bring back the flora and fauna in their layer. Then bring students together into groups, making sure each layer was researched by at least one student in the group, and have them share their work with each other, creating a master list of the negative effects of an oil spill on the Gulf’s flora and fauna. Together in their groups, students will imagine a plan to rehabilitate the Gulf, then write a brief plan for a campaign to spread awareness of how to improve the Gulf’s ecosystem. The plan may include local outreach, national coverage in the press, social media messaging, and more.

Reducing Light Pollution

Light pollution is an often-overlooked area of humanity’s effect on the environment. Start an investigation of this topic by having students read this article on Light Pollution . Guide students to take notes on the different effects light pollution can have on an environment and the people within it. As a class, discuss the points most relevant to students’ neighborhoods and region, such as effects on specific local animals and humans. In pairs, have students create a locally-focused marketing campaign around reducing light pollution, with tips for family homes or businesses. Ask students to create at least three different forms of media or outreach (such as flyers, social media posts, scripts for television commercials or radio ads, and special events). Have each pair present their marketing campaign to the class, explaining who the campaign is geared toward and why they think their messaging will be effective. To extend the activity, have students choose one part of their campaign to implement locally. Have students contact local leaders (in government, local news, local interest groups, etc.) to help them reach their intended audience.

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• Covid-19, climate...

Covid-19, climate change, and the environment: a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient global recovery

Read our latest coverage of the climate emergency.

• Related content
• Peer review
• Nicholas Stern ,
• IG Patel , professor of economics and government and chair ,
• Bob Ward , policy and communications director
• Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
• r.e.ward{at}lse.ac.uk

We are at a critical moment in history, facing growing crises in climate change, biodiversity, and environmental degradation—as well as covid-19. But we also have an enormous opportunity to transform the global economy and usher in an era of greater wellbeing and prosperity, write Nick Stern and Bob Ward

The covid-19 pandemic has shown how vulnerable and exposed the world is to global threats. The effects of the disease and the measures that have been taken to control it have had serious consequences for lives and livelihoods. In addition to the tragic toll of illness and death, economies have been hit hard, particularly in developing countries.

Continuing to tackle the disease must be the priority, particularly by ensuring access to vaccines and treatments in all countries. Rich countries have a critical responsibility not just to safeguard their own populations but to support the distribution of vaccines to developing countries.

Every country will remain potentially exposed and vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus as long as it is able to spread rapidly through unvaccinated populations in any part of the world. Common humanity and self-interest point in the same direction.

Governments have tried to limit and reverse the economic damage through rescue and recovery packages. The rescue efforts have understandably focused on protecting existing jobs and companies, but recovery offers the chance to accelerate the transition towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient form of economic development and growth.

A report prepared at the request of the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, for the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, in June 2021 laid out the case for an investment led recovery from the pandemic. 1 It pointed out that an increase in annual investment of $1tn (£0.7tn; €0.9tn), equivalent to 2% of the collective national output, across the G7 countries over the coming decade and beyond would drive strong growth out of the economic difficulties arising from the pandemic and from the relatively low levels of investment, particularly since the financial crisis in 2008-9, which have been a major cause of sluggish growth in many rich countries over the past decade.

Most of this increase in investment will be made by the private sector, but governments also need to lead by example through their spending programmes both to kickstart growth and play their parts in crucial infrastructure investment, particularly in zero carbon and climate resilient energy, transport, and buildings.

The rich countries should also work to support investment in developing countries to foster sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development and growth. Most global investment in the next two decades will be in emerging markets and developing countries, and the nature of that investment will shape the future for us all in terms of wellbeing and its sustainability.

These investments in both developed and developing countries should aim both to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to improve resilience against the effects of climate change that cannot now be avoided. Many relevant investments spur development, reduce emissions, and strengthen resilience. There are examples across all sectors: protecting and restoring mangroves; restoring degraded land; expanding and protecting forests; improving public transport; installing decentralised solar energy systems; and constructing and retrofitting buildings to make them more efficient and resilient. All of these can boost economic development, climate change mitigation, and adaptation.

Central to these changes will be extra finance, much of it concessional, from the national and multilateral development banks. This will be crucial to reducing and managing risk for both private and public investment. The scale of the challenge implies that its scale must be expanded.

Growing effects of climate change

The growing consequences of climate change have been all too visible across the world this year with severe heatwaves, floods, wildfires, and tropical cyclones. A new assessment of the science by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in August 2021, concluded that there is now a clear link between rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. 2 It states: “Climate change is already affecting every inhabited region across the globe, with human influence contributing to many observed changes in weather and climate extremes.”

Although the IPCC’s review of the effects of climate change on people and wildlife is not due to be published until next year, losses are clearly mounting around the world. One of the great injustices of climate change is that the poorest people around the world are often most exposed and vulnerable to the effects, even though they are least responsible for the driving cause: the rise in concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The most recent Human Development Report, 3 published by the United Nations Development Programme in December 2020, pointed out that climate change has played a large role in reducing average incomes, particularly in low income countries, increasing the number of people experiencing hunger and expanding the number of people affected by climate and weather disasters.

Climate change has been making it more difficult to achieve many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), even before the pandemic. In his 2021 annual progress report on the SDGs, 4 the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, said: “The pandemic related economic downturn has pushed between 119 and 124 million more people into extreme poverty in 2020, further compounding challenges to poverty eradication such as conflict, climate change, and natural disasters.”

The mounting damage from climate change is clearly harming efforts to overcome poverty and raise living standards, particularly in developing countries. Global mean surface temperature is already more than 1°C above its pre-industrial level. A special report by the IPCC in October 2018 provided a detailed review of the evidence about the risks of warming exceeding 1.5°C. 5 There is a growing consensus that those risks pose an unacceptable threat.

The IPCC report concluded that, to prevent warming exceeding 1.5°C by the end of the century, greenhouse gas emissions would need to be cut sharply over the coming decades, with net carbon dioxide emissions reduced to zero by 2050—this means that any residual emissions from human activities would need to be compensated by equivalent removals from the atmosphere by planting more vegetation or through other artificial methods involving carbon capture, use, and storage. Many countries have now pledged to reach net zero annual emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.

New form of economic development and growth

Greater understanding of the urgency required to cut emissions has been accompanied by mounting evidence that it does not mean sacrificing economic development and growth. Annual emissions by the United Kingdom, for example, fell by 43.8% between 1990 and 2019, 6 whereas its gross domestic product rose by 78% over the same period. 7 This is a critically important insight, particularly for developing countries that understandably view economic growth as essential to improving the lives of their citizens. The increase in economic activity is usually accompanied by more jobs, higher incomes, and less hunger, as well as potentially higher tax revenues for governments to invest in public services, including health and education.

Some people argue that greenhouse gas emissions can only be eliminated by killing economic growth. But this is analytically incorrect. There is nothing inherent about economic growth that requires emissions. Energy can be generated from sources other than fossil fuels, which are the main driver of emissions. Furthermore, commitment to the new path for economic development and growth is already generating rapid innovation and cost reduction for most countries. Round-the-clock renewable electricity is now cheaper than fossil fuel electricity in many places, for example. Electric vehicles are more efficient than those driven by internal combustion engines. Resource efficiency (including the circular economy) improves productivity. And progress is rapid.

As countries emerge from the pandemic, investments in the rapid transition away from fossil fuels towards cleaner sources of energy will have multiple economic benefits. It will, for example, drastically reduce the number of deaths from air pollution, which kills more than seven million people worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization, 8 and knocks several percentage points off economic output, 9 particularly in countries like China and India.

Investments in sustainable infrastructure, such as renewable energy and electric trains, can improve the economic competitiveness of countries and transform cities into more attractive places where people can live, move, and breathe more easily. Infrastructure that is not sustainable has the opposite effect—creating more pollution, waste, and congestion.

An investment led recovery that accelerates the transformation to sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economic development and growth will not only avoid the worst potential consequences of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation, but will also create meaningful job opportunities and improve the lives of people around the world. A new form of clean, sustainable, efficient and inclusive development and growth is now in our hands. It will involve strong investment and some dislocation. It is important that the transition is, and is seen to be, just. All this will require strong commitment and leadership. But if offers us a much better future.

Biographies

Nick Stern is a cross bench member of the UK House of Lords. He has been president of the British Academy, the Royal Economic Society, and the European Economic Association. He was head of the UK Government Economic Service from 2003 to 2007 and head of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change , published in 2006. He was chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development between 1994 and 1999, and chief economist and senior vice president at the World Bank between 2000 and 2003.

Robert Ward is deputy chair of the London Climate Change Partnership and a fellow of the Geological Society, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Energy Institute. He was previously director of public policy at Risk Management Solutions between 2006 and 2008, and senior manager for policy communication at the Royal Society between 1999 and 2006. He has also worked as a freelance science journalist

Commissioned, not externally peer reviewed.

Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and declare the following: NS oversaw the preparation of the G7 report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, which he has chaired since its foundation in 2008, and RW, who has been policy and communications director at the institute since its foundation, was one of the writing team.

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ's website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

• ↵ Stern N. G7 leadership for sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economic recovery and growth: An independent report requested by the UK Prime Minister for the G7. London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. June 2021. https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/g7-leadership-for-sustainable-resilient-and-inclusive-economic-recovery-and-growth/ .
• ↵ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change 2021: the physical science basis. 2021. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/#FullReport
• ↵ United Nations Development Programme. Human development report 2020. 2020. http://hdr.undp.org/en/2020-report
• ↵ United Nations Secretary-General. Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: report of the secretary-general. 30 April 2021. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2021/secretary-general-sdg-report-2021--EN.pdf
• ↵ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Global warming of 1.5°C: 2018. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
• ↵ Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. 2019 UK greenhouse gas emissions, final figures. 2021. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957887/2019_Final_greenhouse_gas_emissions_statistical_release.pdf
• ↵ Office for National Statistics. Gross domestic product: chained volume measures: seasonally adjusted £m. 2021. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/timeseries/abmi/pn2
• ↵ World Health Organization. Air pollution. 2021. https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1
• ↵ World Bank, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. The cost of air pollution: strengthening the economic case for action. 2016. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/781521473177013155/pdf/108141-REVISED-Cost-of-PollutionWebCORRECTEDfile.pdf

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Essay on Climate Change: Check Samples in 100, 250 Words

• Updated on  
• Sep 21, 2023

Writing an essay on climate change is crucial to raise awareness and advocate for action. The world is facing environmental challenges, so in a situation like this such essay topics can serve as s platform to discuss the causes, effects, and solutions to this pressing issue. They offer an opportunity to engage readers in understanding the urgency of mitigating climate change for the sake of our planet’s future.

Must Read: Essay On Environment  

This Blog Includes:

What is climate change, what are the causes of climate change, what are the effects of climate change, how to fight climate change, essay on climate change in 100 words, climate change sample essay 250 words.

Climate change is the significant variation of average weather conditions becoming, for example, warmer, wetter, or drier—over several decades or longer. It may be natural or anthropogenic. However, in recent times, it’s been in the top headlines due to escalations caused by human interference.

Obama at the First Session of COP21 rightly quoted “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it.”.Identifying the causes of climate change is the first step to take in our fight against climate change. Below stated are some of the causes of climate change:

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Mainly from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy and transportation.
• Deforestation: The cutting down of trees reduces the planet’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.
• Industrial Processes: Certain manufacturing activities release potent greenhouse gases.
• Agriculture: Livestock and rice cultivation emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Climate change poses a huge risk to almost all life forms on Earth. The effects of climate change are listed below:

• Global Warming: Increased temperatures due to trapped heat from greenhouse gases.
• Melting Ice and Rising Sea Levels: Ice caps and glaciers melt, causing oceans to rise.
• Extreme Weather Events: More frequent and severe hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires.
• Ocean Acidification: Oceans absorb excess CO2, leading to more acidic waters harming marine life.
• Disrupted Ecosystems: Shifting climate patterns disrupt habitats and threaten biodiversity.
• Food and Water Scarcity: Altered weather affects crop yields and strains water resources.
• Human Health Risks: Heat-related illnesses and the spread of diseases.
• Economic Impact: Damage to infrastructure and increased disaster-related costs.
• Migration and Conflict: Climate-induced displacement and resource competition.

‘Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority,’ says Bill Gates. The below points highlight key actions to combat climate change effectively.

• Energy Efficiency: Improve energy efficiency in all sectors.
• Protect Forests: Stop deforestation and promote reforestation.
• Sustainable Agriculture: Adopt eco-friendly farming practices.
• Advocacy: Raise awareness and advocate for climate-friendly policies.
• Innovation: Invest in green technologies and research.
• Government Policies: Enforce climate-friendly regulations and targets.
• Corporate Responsibility: Encourage sustainable business practices.
• Individual Action: Reduce personal carbon footprint and inspire others.

Climate change refers to long-term alterations in Earth’s climate patterns, primarily driven by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat, leading to global warming. The consequences of climate change are widespread and devastating. Rising temperatures cause polar ice caps to melt, contributing to sea level rise and threatening coastal communities. Extreme weather events, like hurricanes and wildfires, become more frequent and severe, endangering lives and livelihoods. Additionally, shifts in weather patterns can disrupt agriculture, leading to food shortages. To combat climate change, global cooperation, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable practices are crucial for a more sustainable future.

Must Read: Essay On Global Warming

Climate change represents a pressing global challenge that demands immediate attention and concerted efforts. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This results in a greenhouse effect, trapping heat and leading to a rise in global temperatures, commonly referred to as global warming.

The consequences of climate change are far-reaching and profound. Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities, displacing millions and endangering vital infrastructure. Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires, have become more frequent and severe, causing devastating economic and human losses. Disrupted ecosystems affect biodiversity and the availability of vital resources, from clean water to agricultural yields.

Moreover, climate change has serious implications for food and water security. Changing weather patterns disrupt traditional farming practices and strain freshwater resources, potentially leading to conflicts over access to essential commodities.

Addressing climate change necessitates a multifaceted approach. First, countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through the transition to renewable energy sources, increased energy efficiency, and reforestation efforts. International cooperation is crucial to set emission reduction targets and hold nations accountable for meeting them.

In conclusion, climate change is a global crisis with profound and immediate consequences. Urgent action is needed to mitigate its impacts and secure a sustainable future for our planet. By reducing emissions and implementing adaptation strategies, we can protect vulnerable communities, preserve ecosystems, and ensure a livable planet for future generations. The time to act is now.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in Earth’s climate patterns, primarily driven by human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

Five key causes of climate change include excessive greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, notably burning fossil fuels and deforestation. 

We hope this blog gave you an idea about how to write and present an essay on climate change that puts forth your opinions. The skill of writing an essay comes in handy when appearing for standardized language tests. Thinking of taking one soon? Leverage Edu provides the best online test prep for the same via Leverage Live . Register today to know more!

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With a heart full of passion for writing, I pour my emotions into every piece I create. I strive to connect with readers on a personal level, infusing my work with authenticity and relatability. Writing isn't just a skill; it's my heartfelt expression to touch hearts and minds.

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What Is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change , primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

The main greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and cutting down forests can also release carbon dioxide. Agriculture, oil and gas operations are major sources of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main sectors  causing greenhouse gases.

Humans are responsible for global warming

Climate scientists have showed that humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. Human activities like the ones mentioned above are causing greenhouse gases that are warming the world faster than at any time in at least the last two thousand years.

The average temperature of the Earth’s surface is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s (before the industrial revolution) and warmer than at any time in the last 100,000 years. The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record , and each of the last four decades has been warmer than any previous decade since 1850.

Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others.

The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways

Climate change can affect our health , ability to grow food, housing, safety and work. Some of us are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other developing countries. Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point where whole communities have had to relocate, and protracted droughts are putting people at risk of famine. In the future, the number of people displaced by weather-related events is expected to rise.

Every increase in global warming matters

In a series of UN reports , thousands of scientists and government reviewers agreed that limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C would help us avoid the worst climate impacts and maintain a livable climate. Yet policies currently in place point to a 3°C temperature rise by the end of the century.

The emissions that cause climate change come from every part of the world and affect everyone, but some countries produce much more than others .The seven biggest emitters alone (China, the United States of America, India, the European Union, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, and Brazil) accounted for about half of all global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.

Everyone must take climate action, but people and countries creating more of the problem have a greater responsibility to act first.

We face a huge challenge but already know many solutions

Many climate change solutions can deliver economic benefits while improving our lives and protecting the environment. We also have global frameworks and agreements to guide progress, such as the Sustainable Development Goals , the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement . Three broad categories of action are: cutting emissions, adapting to climate impacts and financing required adjustments.

Switching energy systems from fossil fuels to renewables like solar or wind will reduce the emissions driving climate change. But we have to act now. While a growing number of countries is committing to net zero emissions by 2050, emissions must be cut in half by 2030 to keep warming below 1.5°C. Achieving this means huge declines in the use of coal, oil and gas: over two-thirds of today’s proven reserves of fossil fuels need to be kept in the ground by 2050 in order to prevent catastrophic levels of climate change.

Adapting to climate consequences protects people, homes, businesses, livelihoods, infrastructure and natural ecosystems. It covers current impacts and those likely in the future. Adaptation will be required everywhere, but must be prioritized now for the most vulnerable people with the fewest resources to cope with climate hazards. The rate of return can be high. Early warning systems for disasters, for instance, save lives and property, and can deliver benefits up to 10 times the initial cost.

We can pay the bill now, or pay dearly in the future

Climate action requires significant financial investments by governments and businesses. But climate inaction is vastly more expensive. One critical step is for industrialized countries to fulfil their commitment to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries so they can adapt and move towards greener economies.

To get familiar with some of the more technical terms used in connection with climate change, consult the Climate Dictionary .

Learn more about…

The facts on climate and energy

Climate change is a hot topic – with myths and falsehoods circulating widely. Find some essential facts here .

The science

See the latest climate reports from the United Nations as well as climate action facts .

Causes and Effects

Fossil fuels are by far the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, which poses many risks to all forms of life on Earth. Learn more .

From the Secretary-General

Read the UN Chief’s latest statements on climate action.

What is net zero? Why is it important? Our  net-zero page  explains why we need steep emissions cuts now and what efforts are underway.

Renewable energy – powering a safer future

What is renewable energy and why does it matter? Learn more about why the shift to renewables is our only hope for a brighter and safer world.

How will the world foot the bill? We explain the issues and the value of financing climate action.

What is climate adaptation? Why is it so important for every country? Find out how we can protect lives and livelihoods as the climate changes.

Climate Issues

Learn more about how climate change impacts are felt across different sectors and ecosystems.

Why women are key to climate action

Women and girls are on the frontlines of the climate crisis and uniquely situated to drive action. Find out why it’s time to invest in women.

Facts and figures

• What is climate change?
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Cutting emissions

• Explaining net zero
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• What is renewable energy
• Five ways to speed up the energy transition
• Why invest in renewable energy
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Adapting to climate change

• Climate adaptation
• Early warnings for all
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Financing climate action

• Finance and justice
• Loss and damage
• $100 billion commitment
• Why finance climate action
• Biodiversity
• Human Security

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344 Environmental Essay Topics & Ideas

18 January 2024

last updated

Environmental essay topics explore people’s interconnection with nature. Some themes may range from examining the escalating effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution to the promotion of sustainable practices and green technologies. These subjects invite in-depth discourse on the ethical dimensions of environmental conservation, touching on issues, such as eco-justice and the rights of indigenous communities. They also encompass the analysis of environmental policies, the role of global governance in environmental preservation, and the economic implications of environmental degradation. By offering a diverse landscape for discussion, these environmental essay topics provide a valid platform to not only raise awareness but also generate solutions for the ongoing environmental crises. Each topic is an invitation to deep, critical thinking, encouraging individuals to take an active role in understanding and protecting the planet.

Best Environmental Essay Topics

• Climate Change: Consequences and Possible Solutions
• Biodiversity in the Rainforest: The Imperative of Protection
• The Growing Menace of Ocean Plastic Pollution
• Nuclear Energy: A Sustainable Future or Environmental Catastrophe?
• Addressing the Decline of Pollinators: Impacts on Agriculture
• Impacts of Agriculture on Freshwater Systems
• Environmental Education: Key to Creating Sustainable Societies
• Depletion of Natural Resources: Causes, Consequences, and Countermeasures
• Coral Reefs: Stewardship and Restoration Strategies
• Increasing Scarcity of Fresh Water: Solving the Global Crisis
• E-Waste Management: The Hidden Environmental Challenge
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Role of the Transport Sector
• Renewable Energy: Benefits and Challenges of Solar Power
• Evolution of Environmental Policies: A Global Perspective
• Ecotourism: A Sustainable Approach or A Threat to Wildlife?
• The Importance of Soil Conservation in Farming Practices
• Industrial Waste: Innovative Techniques for Treatment and Recycling
• Urbanization: Balancing Development With Environmental Sustainability
• Genetically Modified Crops: Environmental Benefits and Risks
• Effects of Mining on Local Ecosystems
• Global Meat Production: Its Impact on Climate Change
• Deforestation: Strategies to Reverse the Damage

Easy Environmental Essay Topics

• Droughts and Their Impact on Food Security
• Sustainable Fashion: Tackling Waste in the Textile Industry
• Overfishing: Threat to Marine Biodiversity
• Roles of Artificial Intelligence in Environmental Conservation
• Geothermal Energy: Potential and Environmental Impacts
• Oil Spills: Evaluating Long-Term Environmental Effects
• Conservation of Endangered Species: Success Stories and Lessons Learned
• Green Architecture: Implications for Urban Planning
• Rethinking Waste: The Circular Economy Model
• Desertification: Causes, Impacts, and Prevention Strategies
• Environmental Justice: Disproportionate Impacts of Pollution on Communities
• Landfills: Innovations in Waste Management
• The Influence of Lifestyle Choices on Carbon Footprint
• Climate Refugees: The Rising Humanitarian Crisis
• Melting Polar Ice: The Far-Reaching Environmental Impacts
• Impacts of Invasive Species on Native Ecosystems
• Noise Pollution: An Underestimated Environmental Hazard
• Restoration of Wetlands: An Ecological Imperative
• Understanding the Role of Microplastics in Marine Ecosystems
• Biofuels: A Green Energy Source or Environmental Pitfall?
• Impacts of the Fashion Industry on Freshwater Depletion
• Challenges and Successes of Wildlife Corridors
• Indoor Air Quality: The Unseen Environmental Risk
• Satellite Technology: Monitoring Environmental Change from Space
• The Role of Green Spaces in Urban Ecosystems

Interesting Environmental Essay Topics

• Carbon Sequestration: Understanding Its Role in Climate Mitigation
• Health Risks of Air Pollution: A Global Perspective
• Fracking: Evaluating the Environmental and Health Risks
• Hydroelectric Power: Balancing Energy Needs and Ecosystem Impact
• The Environmental Impact of Single-Use Plastics
• Ecological Footprint: Measurement and Global Comparisons
• Sustainable Agriculture: The Power of Permaculture
• The Link Between Deforestation and Disease Outbreaks
• Roles of Bees in Maintaining Biodiversity
• Ecological Impacts of Major Oil Pipeline Projects
• Effects of Light Pollution on Wildlife
• Algal Blooms: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions
• Fast Fashion: The Environmental Cost of Disposable Clothing
• The Future of Electric Vehicles: Environmental Benefits and Challenges
• Ozone Layer Depletion: Causes and Repercussions
• Sustainable Forestry: A Path to Climate Resilience
• Technology’s Role in Alleviating Water Scarcity
• Population Growth: Implications for Global Sustainability
• Pesticides: Balancing Crop Protection With Environmental Health
• Impacts of War on the Environment: A Case Study
• Microgrid Technology: Implications for Renewable Energy Use
• Bioengineering: Potential Solution to Climate Change?

Environmental Essay Topics for High School

• Impacts of Global Warming on Polar Ecosystems
• Harnessing Solar Energy: A Sustainable Solution
• The Consequences of Deforestation: Amazon Rainforest Case Study
• Biodiversity Loss: The Silent Extinction
• Strategies for Water Conservation in Arid Regions
• Plastic Pollution: Tackling the Global Crisis
• Urbanization’s Effect on Green Spaces
• Sustainable Agriculture: Balancing Human Needs and Nature
• Coral Reefs: Challenges and Conservation Efforts
• Air Quality and Health: The Underestimated Link
• Climate Change: Influences on Global Migration Patterns
• Overfishing: A Threat to Marine Ecosystems
• Electric Vehicles: A Solution to Air Pollution
• E-Waste Management: Ethical and Environmental Challenges
• Oceans as Carbon Sinks: Role and Vulnerabilities
• Consumerism and Its Environmental Footprint
• The Significance of Indigenous Knowledge in Conservation Efforts
• Acid Rain: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
• The Role of Green Buildings in Reducing Environmental Impact
• Fashion Industry: Analyzing Its Environmental Costs
• Nuclear Energy: Environmental Risks and Rewards

Environmental Essay Topics for College Students

• Evaluating the Impacts of Deforestation on Global Climate
• Greenhouse Gases: Understanding Their Sources and Implications
• Sustainable Agriculture: Future Pathways for Food Security
• Examining the Consequences of Urban Sprawl
• Ocean Acidification: A Silent Crisis
• The Rising Problem of Electronic Waste: Solutions and Challenges
• Species Extinction: Assessing the Role of Human Activities
• Wetlands Conservation: Why Is It Critical for Biodiversity?
• Renewable Energy: The Path to a Sustainable Future
• Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Implications
• Impacts of Air Pollution on Urban Environments
• Conserving Endangered Species: The Role of Zoos and Sanctuaries
• Marine Pollution: The Threats to Our Oceans and Seas
• Analyzing the Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy
• Challenges in Water Conservation: A Global Perspective
• The Critical Role of Bees in Ecosystems
• Understanding the Threat of Invasive Species
• Melting Polar Ice: The Consequences for Marine Life
• Ecotourism: An Environmental and Economic Boon or Bane?
• Discussing the Causes and Effects of Soil Erosion
• Dams: Balancing Human Needs and Environmental Consequences
• Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Meat Production

Environmental Essay Topics for University

• Urban Green Spaces: Their Importance and Conservation
• The Relationship Between Overpopulation and Environmental Degradation
• Examining the Environmental Impact of Tourism
• The Potential of Solar Energy in Mitigating Climate Change
• Influence of Population Growth on Water Resources
• The Critical Role of Mangrove Forests in Coastal Protection
• Oil Spills: Consequences and Cleanup Techniques
• The Impact of Mining on Natural Ecosystems
• Relevance of Rainforest Preservation to Climate Stability
• Challenges and Opportunities in Wind Energy
• Impacts of Industrialization on Air Quality
• Effectiveness of International Treaties in Protecting the Environment
• Desertification: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
• The Role of Public Transportation in Reducing Carbon Emissions
• Strategies for Reducing Plastic Pollution in Oceans
• Sustainable Cities: Measures to Improve Urban Sustainability
• The Role of Green Buildings in Urban Sustainability
• Biomass Energy: Prospects and Challenges
• Organic Farming: Impact on Soil Health and Biodiversity
• Pesticides and Their Impact on Non-Target Species
• Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture: A Path Forward
• Impacts of Climate Change on Coral Reefs
• Carbon Capture: A Potential Solution to Climate Change?

Argumentative Environmental Essay Topics

• Adoption of Renewable Energy: A Necessity for a Sustainable Future
• Implications of Overpopulation on Global Biodiversity
• Forest Conservation: An Essential Strategy Against Climate Change
• Measures to Control Industrial Pollution: A Policy Perspective
• Implementing Strict Regulations on Plastic Usage: Is It Effective?
• Roles of Urbanization in Escalating Air Quality Concerns
• Genetically Modified Crops: Solution or Threat to Biodiversity?
• Governments Should Mandate Sustainable Practices in Corporations: A Debate
• Ocean Acidification: Consequences and Mitigation Techniques
• Impacts of Fast Fashion on Environmental Sustainability
• Ecotourism: A Sustainable Economic Model or Environmental Exploitation?
• Assessing the Effectiveness of Carbon Taxation Policies
• Overfishing: A Global Crisis and Its Impacts on Ecosystems
• Impacts of Climate Change on Global Agriculture: A Comprehensive Analysis
• Mitigating Deforestation: Evaluating the Effectiveness of REDD+ Initiatives
• Nuclear Energy: An Environmentally-Friendly Power Source or Potential Hazard?
• Sustainable Farming Practices: Are They Really Beneficial?
• Environmental Ethics: Assessing Our Responsibility Toward Future Generations
• Veganism and Its Potential Impact on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Landfill Waste Management: Strategies for Reducing Environmental Impact
• The Threat of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: Causes and Solutions

Controversial Environmental Essay Topics

• Examining the True Cost of Fossil Fuels: Environmental Damage vs. Economic Development
• Debating the Efficacy of Carbon Capture Technology: Promising Solution or Futile Endeavour?
• Impact of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) on Biodiversity: Progress or Peril?
• Harnessing Nuclear Power: Environmental Savior or Silent Killer?
• Climate Change’s Influence on Global Politics: Cooperation or Conflict?
• Gauging the Ecological Footprint of Digital Technologies: Is Green IT Possible?
• Geoengineering and Climate Intervention: Responsible Management or Playing God?
• Ecotourism’s Paradox: Protecting or Exploiting Nature?
• Meat Consumption’s Role in Environmental Degradation: Time for a Dietary Revolution?
• Urban Sprawl and Ecosystem Fragmentation: Can Smart Cities Reverse the Trend?
• Plastic Waste Management: Effective Recycling or Biodegradable Solutions?
• Implications of Overpopulation: Is Population Control Ethically Justifiable?
• Are Renewable Energy Sources Truly Sustainable? Unveiling Hidden Environmental Costs.
• Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity: A Looming Crisis?
• Deforestation and Indigenous Rights: A Clash of Interests?
• Deciphering the Economic Viability of Green Energy: Profitability or Philanthropy?
• Invasive Species and Ecosystem Balance: Is Human Intervention Necessary?
• Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking): Energy Solution or Environmental Nightmare?
• Industrial Agriculture’s Role in Soil Degradation: Need for Agroecological Methods?
• Chemical Pesticides vs. Organic Farming: Which Ensures Food Security?

Environmental Essay Topics on Air Pollution

• Analyzing the Health Impacts of Industrial Air Pollution
• Air Quality Index: An Essential Tool for Monitoring Air Pollution
• Measures for Mitigating Vehicular Air Pollution in Urban Centers
• The Role of Wildfires in Exacerbating Global Air Pollution
• Climate Change: The Direct Consequences of Increasing Air Pollution
• The Intricate Relationship Between Air Pollution and Respiratory Diseases
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Air Quality Regulations in Developed Countries
• Industrialization’s Impacts on Air Pollution: A Case Study of China
• Strategies for Reducing Household Air Pollution in Developing Countries
• Air Pollution in Megacities: The Case of New Delhi
• Policy Analysis: International Efforts to Control Air Pollution
• The Silent Killer: Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Air Pollution
• Proliferation of Plastic Waste: A Significant Contributor to Air Pollution
• Impacts of Agriculture-Related Air Pollution on Rural Communities
• E-Waste and Its Contribution to Toxic Air Pollution
• The Dangers of Radioactive Air Pollution: A Deep Dive Into Chernobyl
• The Unseen Consequences of Military Conflicts on Air Pollution
• Understanding the Global Disparity in Air Pollution Standards
• Dissecting the Impact of Air Pollution on Biodiversity
• A Critique of Current Air Purification Technologies
• The Effect of Deforestation on Air Pollution Levels

Environmental Essay Topics on Water Pollution

• Investigating the Impact of Industrial Effluents on Groundwater Quality
• Analysis of Microplastic Contamination in Marine Ecosystems
• Unveiling the Truth: The Health Effects of Drinking Polluted Water
• Dead Zones in the Ocean: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
• Pharmaceutical Pollution in Waterways: The Unseen Threat
• Heavy Metal Contamination in Freshwater Bodies: A Silent Crisis
• Acid Rain and its Detrimental Effects on Aquatic Life
• Understanding the Role of Agriculture in Nutrient Pollution
• The Consequences of Oil Spills on Marine Wildlife and Coastal Communities
• The Menace of Eutrophication: Lake and River Ecosystems at Risk
• Sewage Disposal: Unraveling Its Environmental and Health Implications
• The True Cost of Fracking: Contaminated Water Supplies
• Algal Blooms: Understanding Their Causes and Ecological Impacts
• Plastic Waste in Oceans: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
• Microorganisms and Water Pollution: Unseen Invaders
• Unearthing the Impact of Mining Activities on Water Quality
• Radioactive Waste Disposal in Oceans: A Lurking Danger
• Landfills Leaching: Assessing Its Impact on Groundwater Pollution
• Tackling Water Pollution: Emerging Technologies and Innovations
• Ship Wrecks and Underwater Munitions: The Forgotten Water Pollutants

Environmental Essay Topics on Ecosystem Pollution

• Analyzing the Impact of Oil Spills on Marine Ecosystems
• Investigating Agricultural Runoff’s Role in Eutrophication of Freshwater Bodies
• Exploring the Detrimental Effects of Air Pollution on Forest Ecosystems
• Revealing the Long-Term Consequences of Acid Rain on Soil Ecosystems
• Scrutinizing the Influence of Industrial Waste on Wetland Ecosystems
• Discussing the Impact of Microplastics on Aquatic Ecosystems
• Evaluating the Effects of Heavy Metal Contamination in River Ecosystems
• Assessing the Interplay Between Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss
• Elucidating the Consequences of Landfills on Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Debating the Ramifications of Climate Change on Arctic Ecosystems
• Investigating Urbanization and Its Effect on Local Ecosystems
• Pondering the Effects of Light Pollution on Nocturnal Ecosystems
• Highlighting the Impact of Persistent Organic Pollutants on Ecosystem Health
• Examining the Influence of Noise Pollution on Wildlife Ecosystems
• Interpreting the Effects of Overfishing on Oceanic Ecosystems
• Unraveling the Role of Radioactive Contamination on Ecosystem Dynamics
• Detailing the Impacts of Pesticide Drift on Non-Target Ecosystems
• Illustrating the Detrimental Effects of E-Waste on Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Clarifying the Implications of Chemical Fertilizers on Soil Microbial Ecosystems
• Delving Into the Consequences of Greenhouse Gases on Global Ecosystems
• Weighing the Impact of Tourism on Fragile Ecosystems

Environmental Essay Topics on Waste Management & Utilization

• Sustainable Methods for Waste Management and Utilization
• Innovative Approaches to Recycling and Waste Reduction
• The Role of Technology in Waste Management and Utilization
• Maximizing Resource Recovery Through Effective Waste Management
• Promoting Circular Economy: Waste Management and Utilization
• Waste-to-Energy Solutions: Harnessing the Power of Waste
• Effective Strategies for Hazardous Waste Management and Utilization
• The Importance of Community Engagement in Waste Management
• Exploring Biodegradable Alternatives for Waste Management
• Enhancing Public Awareness of Waste Management and Utilization
• Economic Benefits of Efficient Waste Management Systems
• Sustainable Packaging Solutions: Waste Management and Utilization
• Addressing E-Waste: Challenges and Solutions for Proper Management
• Innovative Methods for Organic Waste Management and Utilization
• Waste Management in the Construction Industry: Best Practices
• The Role of Legislation and Policy in Waste Management and Utilization
• Waste Management and Utilization in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities
• Waste Minimization Strategies for a Greener Future
• The Impact of Consumer Behavior on Waste Management and Utilization
• Effective Strategies for Industrial Waste Management and Utilization

Environmental Essay Topics on Depletion of Natural Resources

• Renewable Energy Sources and Their Role in Resource Depletion
• Urbanization and Loss of Natural Habitats
• Preservation of Endangered Species
• Responsible Mining Practices and Environmental Protection
• Sustainable Forestry for Timber Production
• Managing Water Scarcity in Arid Regions
• Control of Erosion and Land Degradation
• Impacts of Overconsumption on Resource Depletion
• Sustainable Fishing Practices and Aquatic Resource Management
• Recycling and Waste Management for Resource Conservation
• Soil Conservation and Nutrient Depletion
• Conservation of Coral Reefs and Marine Biodiversity
• Alternative Materials for Reducing Resource Depletion
• Sustainable Tourism and Protection of Natural Resources
• Strategies for Sustainable Water Management
• Energy Efficiency and Reduction of Resource Depletion
• Preservation of Natural Carbon Sinks
• Environmental Impacts of Extractive Industries
• Conservation of Rainforests and Tropical Biodiversity
• Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Agriculture
• Renewable Energy Transition and Resource Preservation
• Management of Non-Renewable Resource Depletion
• Sustainable Consumption Patterns and Resource Conservation

Environmental Essay Topics About Human Impact

• Technology’s Role in Environmental Conservation
• Overfishing: Consequences for Oceanic Ecosystems
• Promoting Sustainable Economic Development Through Ecotourism
• Addressing the Water Crisis: Sustainable Management and Conservation
• Urbanization’s Impacts on Natural Habitats
• The Power of Education in Promoting Environmental Awareness
• International Environmental Agreements: Effectiveness and Implications
• Sustainable Transportation: Reducing Carbon Emissions
• Wetlands: Ecological Importance and Preservation Efforts
• Consumer Choices: Driving Environmental Conservation
• Recycling Programs: Benefits, Challenges, and Innovations
• Protecting Endangered Species: Successful Conservation Strategies
• Green Architecture: Designing Sustainable Buildings
• Sustainable Fashion: Ethical and Eco-Friendly Practices
• Mining Activities: Impacts on Land and Water Resources
• Forest Restoration: Carbon Sequestration and Importance
• Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Understanding the Connection
• Pesticides and Herbicides: Effects on Ecosystems and Human Health
• Environmental Regulations: Controlling Industrial Pollution
• Rural Electrification: Harnessing the Potential of Renewable Energy
• Sustainable Consumption: Reducing Waste and Carbon Footprints

Essay Topics About Nature and Environment

• Sustainable Urban Development: Green Infrastructure and Efficient Resource Management
• Ecosystem Restoration: Rehabilitating Degraded Landscapes and Habitats
• The Significance of Coral Reefs for Marine Biodiversity and Coastal Protection
• Promoting Sustainable Waste Management: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• The Impacts of Overfishing on Oceanic Food Chains and Fisheries
• Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Vulnerable Communities
• The Relationship Between Human Health and Environmental Quality
• The Role of Environmental Education in Shaping Sustainable Mindsets
• Protecting Water Resources: Conservation and Efficient Use
• Impacts of Urbanization on Wildlife Habitats and Ecological Connectivity
• Promoting Green Buildings and Energy-Efficient Infrastructure
• Biodiversity Hotspots: Protecting Regions of Exceptional Natural Value
• The Role of International Agreements in Environmental Conservation
• Addressing Plastic Pollution: Towards a Plastic-Free Future
• The Importance of Soil Health for Sustainable Agriculture
• Promoting Sustainable Transportation: From Electric Vehicles to Public Transit
• Benefits and Challenges of Implementing Renewable Energy Sources
• The Role of Environmental NGOs in Advocacy and Conservation Efforts
• Preserving Natural Landscapes: National Parks and Protected Areas
• The Impacts of Industrialization on Air Quality and Human Health

Environmental Law Essay Topics

• Addressing Deforestation: Strategies for Forest Conservation
• Regulating Fracking: Assessing Environmental and Health Risks
• Managing Water Resources in a Changing Climate: Legal Challenges
• The Role of Environmental NGOs in Shaping Policy and Law
• Examining Legal Implications of Genetically Modified Organisms
• Balancing Conservation and Indigenous Rights: A Legal Perspective
• Waste Management and Recycling: Legal Approaches
• Evaluating Wildlife Protection Laws and Enforcement Mechanisms
• Analyzing Climate Change Litigation: Legal Implications
• Air Pollution: Legal Frameworks and Mitigation Strategies
• Ensuring Environmental Compliance in Extractive Industries
• Controlling Pollution From Industrial Activities: Legal Mechanisms
• Promoting Sustainable Urban Development: Legal Strategies
• Liability and Compensation in Environmental Damage Cases
• Legal Frameworks for Environmental Education and Awareness
• Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital Valuation: Legal Perspectives
• Regulating Agricultural Practices for Sustainable Farming
• Protecting Marine Biodiversity: Legal Frameworks for Conservation
• Promoting Renewable Energy Investments: Legal Incentives
• International Trade Law and Environmental Considerations
• Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade: Legal Strategies
• Integrating Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Into Environmental Law

To Learn More, Read Relevant Articles

207 climate change essay topics & ideas, 389 expository essay topics & good ideas.

Essay on Environment for Students and Children

500+ words essay on environment.

Essay on Environment – All living things that live on this earth comes under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc.

Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet sage and sound.

Importance of Environment

We truly cannot understand the real worth of the environment. But we can estimate some of its importance that can help us understand its importance. It plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy in the environment.

Likewise, it maintains the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth. It provides food, shelter, air, and fulfills all the human needs whether big or small.

Moreover, the entire life support of humans depends wholly on the environmental factors. In addition, it also helps in maintaining various life cycles on earth.

Most importantly, our environment is the source of natural beauty and is necessary for maintaining physical and mental health.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Benefits of the Environment

The environment gives us countless benefits that we can’t repay our entire life. As they are connected with the forest, trees, animals, water, and air. The forest and trees filter the air and absorb harmful gases. Plants purify water, reduce the chances of flood maintain natural balance and many others.

Moreover, the environment keeps a close check on the environment and its functioning, It regulates the vital systems that are essential for the ecosystem. Besides, it maintains the culture and quality of life on earth.

The environment regulates various natural cycles that happen daily. These cycles help in maintaining the natural balance between living things and the environment. Disturbance of these things can ultimately affect the life cycle of humans and other living beings.

The environment has helped us and other living beings to flourish and grow from thousands of years. The environment provides us fertile land, water, air, livestock and many essential things for survival.

Cause of Environmental Degradation

Human activities are the major cause of environmental degradation because most of the activities humans do harm the environment in some way. The activities of humans that causes environmental degradation is pollution, defective environmental policies, chemicals, greenhouse gases, global warming, ozone depletion, etc.

All these affect the environment badly. Besides, these the overuse of natural resources will create a situation in the future there will be no resources for consumption. And the most basic necessity of living air will get so polluted that humans have to use bottled oxygen for breathing.

Above all, increasing human activity is exerting more pressure on the surface of the earth which is causing many disasters in an unnatural form. Also, we are using the natural resources at a pace that within a few years they will vanish from the earth. To conclude, we can say that it is the environment that is keeping us alive. Without the blanket of environment, we won’t be able to survive.

Moreover, the environment’s contribution to life cannot be repaid. Besides, still what the environment has done for us, in return we only have damaged and degraded it.

FAQs about Essay on Environment

Q.1 What is the true meaning of the environment?

A.1 The ecosystem that includes all the plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, water bodies, fishes, human beings, trees, microorganisms and many more are part of the environment. Besides, all these constitute the environment.

Q.2 What is the three types of the environment?

A.2 The three types of environment includes the physical, social, and cultural environment. Besides, various scientists have defined different types and numbers of environment.

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Natural Sciences: Organisms and Environmental Changes Essay

Introduction, topic description, goals of the topic, analysis and conclusion.

Although it is general, Farb (1963) describes ecology as a concept that focuses on the relationship between living organisms and their environment. It is crucial to acknowledge that this environment comprises of both the biotic and non-biotic factors affecting organisms.

This concept develops another aspect of ecosystem that is defined as self-sustaining systems of biological communities. These communities found within a common locale interact with physical and chemical factors in the ecosystems.

However, the chemical and physical factors fluctuate according to the prevailing conditions that can be triggered by humans among other factors.

These fluctuations causing drastic interference with the ecosystem must be controlled to restore the aspect of a self-sustaining system (Dickinson & Murphy, 2007). This implies that living organisms must respond to the changes that are imposed on them. As a result, this paper will focus on how organisms respond to environmental changes.

The introduction part has stated that ecosystems experience changes in terms of physical and chemical factors (Brennan & Withgott, 2010). However, the elements of these changes can be triggered by the environment resulting in environmental change. Instead of focusing on general change impacting on an ecosystem, we will describe the environmental change that is caused by environmental factors like climate.

Essentially, changes caused by environmental factors are more important than other changes because they occur in a manner that is not controlled by human factors. For example, the volcanic eruption in Iceland was not controlled by human beings. Also, the volcano could not be stopped by the human factors that prevailed around the area. This means that the change in the ecosystem, which comprises human beings, could not be evaded.

As a result, the people moved from the affected area and closed all human activities like airports. Most of the air flights were canceled as a result of the disruption that was caused by the volcanic eruption. This cancellation is a perfect example of an ecosystem responding to environmental change to restore the original sustainability.

In another example, BP oil spilled in river Mississippi polluting the entire ecosystem due to the insufficient oxygen level in the water (Landau, 2011). Some living organisms, which can swim in water including fish and frogs, moved away from the polluted part of the river resulting in a dead zone. This implies that living organisms found in an ecosystem respond to environmental change to restore the aspect of a self-sustaining system.

It is, therefore, necessary to conduct an experimental activity that could be conducted in a laboratory under regulations to determine the responses. The experimental determination will provide the basis of making broader inferences.

The goals of this topic refer to the lessons that students should learn after handling this topic. From a general point of view, the goal of this laboratory activity is familiarizing the students with the practical part of environmental science. In this case, the practical application of theories enables students to experience the real situation found in the environment (Douglas, 1925).

The experience obtained by observing the real environmental situation enables students to approach issues from a realistic point of view rather than an ideal perspective. As a result, the students become all rounded, unlike their counterparts who might have learned theories alone (Douglas, 1925).

Previous researches have shown that a student cannot execute a theory in the field without practicing it in class. It, therefore, implies that the laboratory activity will equip a student with the necessary courage enabling them to tackle practical issues (Douglas, 1925).

Secondly, this activity aims at helping the students to determine whether an ecosystem responds to environmental changes. This will help to understand that they cause changes in the environment and lead to the ecosystem’s responses that can affect them positively or negatively.

This will form the basis of advising the student about the changes they should induce in the environment to obtain positive responses. On the contrary, it will teach students that they should avoid negative inductions to prevent negative implications to the ecosystems surrounding them. This implies that the activity will provide a rationale for environmental conservation improving the standards of the environment.

Also, the experiment is designed to strengthen the theoretical opinions that explain the ideology of the ecosystem’s responses. In this case, the introduction has provided a theoretical opinion about the responses of ecosystems. The theories are not effective without a practical experience that demonstrates the validity of the theories. It implies that the experiment will confirm the validity of the theories learned in class and strengthen them.

Also, the activity aims at providing an opportunity that helps a student to acquire skills such as observation, recording, interpretation, and answering questions among others. The skills help students to improve their class performance due to the improvement of diligence. For example, there could be a question at the end of the laboratory activity to test observance and ability to answer questions.

The quiz will be revised in class to guide the students about the art of answering questions. After the activity, the skills that have been attained by the students could be used during the entire class work enabling them to adopt best practices in their studies.

In light of this activity, the students will experiment to demonstrate the responses that take place in an ecosystem. The experiment directed by the teacher before starting the activity will involve aquatic worms that have been subjected to regulated conditions. These conditions are regulated in a manner reflecting the real ecosystem that they live.

Requirements

• Water at 25 degree Celsius
• Aquatic worms in a beaker of water
• Heating Stove
• Glass basin
• Thermometer
• Put a half basin of water at room temperature of 25 degrees Celsius into a basin.
• Take the aquatic worms immersed in a beaker of water and keep them into the basin so that they enter into the basin’s water gradually.
• Using a stirring rod, stir the basin’s water gently while observing the distribution of the worms.
• Add some ice cubes into the water and wait for them to melt down. Observe the distribution of the worms after fifteen, thirty and forty-five minutes.
• Using the heating stove and a beaker, heat some water up to about 60 degrees Celsius. Take some water and add to the basin’s water containing the aquatic worms. Observe the distribution of the worms after fifteen, thirty and forty-five minutes.
• Heat several beakers containing water to 100 degree Celsius and add it to the system of worms. Observe the worms’ response at this temperature.

1. After observing the various responses during the activity, complete the following table. Record the observed responses and do not attempt to include theoretical opinions to match the outcomes with the theories.

2. Explain the observations that are obtained in the above table. Each of the observations should be attributed to a valid reason that maps into a theoretical perspective.

3. In the first procedure, the worms are immersed in water at 25 degree Celsius. Why is it necessary to maintain the initial temperature at 25 degrees Celsius? Otherwise, what are the dangers of lowering or increasing the temperatures more than twenty-five degrees?

4. The experiment uses aquatic worms that are close relatives to the earth worm in the entire experiment. Why is it necessary to use the aquatic worms rather than earthworms? What would be the possible defects that would be related to the use of earthworms in the experiment?

5. The experiment instructs the student to use ice cubes in the procedure. What is the rationale of immersing ice cubes in the basin’s water? What else can be used rather than ice cubes to achieve similar results?

6. Why do we add water heated up to 60 degree Celsius in the fifth step of the experiment?

7. In the last step, the experiment directs the learner to add water that is heated up to 100 degrees Celsius. Why is it important to include such an extreme temperature? What is peculiar about the observations that are made in the last step?

8. Lastly, the experiment allows the learner to record observations after fifteen minutes. Why is it important to make observations after this interval? Do you think the interval is sufficient to satisfy its intended function?

Answer Sheet

2. Originally, the worms were immersed in water at room temperature. This temperature was similar to the natural ecosystem that portrays a uniform distribution of the worms. When the ice cubes were immersed in water, it lowered the temperature of the water, reduced their movement and intertwined with each other. When the hot water was added to the system, the temperature increased to 40 degrees Celsius leading to fast movements of the worms. However, a 100 degree Celsius leads to the death of all the worms since it is too hot to sustain life.

3. The original water is maintained at 25 degree Celsius since it reflects the natural ecosystem that exists at that room temperature. Lowering or increasing the temperature would not reflect the condition experienced in the natural ecosystem (Robson, 2001).

4. In this experiment, aquatic worms were used because they live in a medium that can be manipulated easily in terms of changing the temperature. Using earthworms would not provide any results since the worms cannot live in water.

5. Ice cubes were used to reduce the temperature of the system. Cold water that is colder than the system’s water could be used to achieve similar results.

6. In the fifth step, we add water to increase the temperature of the system and observe.

7. The water was heated to 100 degree Celsius to portray the effect of extreme conditions on an ecosystem.

8. The fifteen minutes are enough to facilitate response by function due to changes in temperature.

It is observed that the worms respond to changes in temperature by increasing or reducing movement. When temperature reduces, the worms stop and intertwine with others to reduce their surface area to volume ratio enabling them to retain heat (Richardson, 2009). The retention of heat ensures that the system is self-sustainable despite the changes in temperature. As a result, the experiment has shown that an ecosystem responds to changes in temperature to achieve self-sustainability.

Brennan, S. R., & Withgott, J. (2010). The science behind the stories . San Francisco: Addison-Wesley. (Original work published 4th)

Dickinson, G., & Murphy, K. J. (2007). Ecosystems (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

Douglas, N. (1925). Experiments, . New York: R.M. McBride & Co.

Farb, P. (1963). Ecology, . New York: Time, inc.

Landau, E. (2011). Oil spill!: disaster in the Gulf of Mexico . Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.

Richardson, G. (2009). Ecosystems . New York, NY: Weigl Publishers.

Robson, P. (2001). Ecosystems . Brookfield, Conn.: Copper Beech Books.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Human, economic, environmental toll of climate change on the rise: WMO

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The relentless advance of climate change brought more drought, flooding and heatwaves to communities around the world last year, compounding threats to people’s lives and livelihoods, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) said on Friday.

WMO latest State of the Global Climate report shows that the last eight years were the eight warmest on record , and that sea level rise and ocean warming hit new highs . Record levels of greenhouse gases caused “planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere”.

#ClimateChange shocks increased in 2022. Ocean heat and sea level rise at record levels. Antarctic sea ice hit a new low. Extreme glacier melt in Europe. #StateOfClimate report highlights the huge socio-economic cost of droughts, floods, and heatwaves.🔗 https://t.co/yipNQtrK12 https://t.co/Vnrbe9M8Xl World Meteorological Organization WMO April 21, 2023

The organization says its report, released ahead of this year’s Mother Earth Day , echoes UN Secretary-General António Guterres ’ call for “ deeper, faster emissions cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius”, as well as “ massively scaled-up investments in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and communities who have done the least to cause the crisis”.

WMO Secretary-General, Prof. Petteri Taalas, said that amid rising greenhouse gas emissions and a changing climate, “populations worldwide continue to be gravely impacted by extreme weather and climate events ”. He stressed that last year, “continuous drought in East Africa, record breaking rainfall in Pakistan and record-breaking heatwaves in China and Europe affected tens of millions, drove food insecurity, boosted mass migration, and cost billions of dollars in loss and damage.”

WMO highlights the importance of investing in climate monitoring and early warning systems to help mitigate the humanitarian impacts of extreme weather. The report also points out that today, improved technology makes the transition to renewable energy “cheaper and more accessible than ever” .

Warmest years on record

The State of the Global Climate report complements the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Sixth Assessment report released a month ago, which includes data up to 2020.

WMO’s new figures show that global temperatures have continued to rise, making the years 2015 to 2022 the eight warmest ever since regular tracking started in 1850. WMO notes that this was despite three consecutive years of a cooling La Niña climate pattern.

WMO says concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – reached record highs in 2021, which is the latest year for which consolidated data is available , and that there are indications of a continued increase in 2022.

Indicators ‘off the charts’

According to the report, “melting of glaciers and sea level rise - which again reached record levels in 2022 - will continue to up to thousands of years ”. WMO further highlights that “Antarctic sea ice fell to its lowest extent on record and the melting of some European glaciers was, literally, off the charts”.

Sea level rise, which threatens the existence of coastal communities and sometimes entire countries, has been fuelled not only by melting glaciers and ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica, but also by the expansion of the volume of oceans due to heat. WMO notes that ocean warming has been “particularly high in the past two decades”.

Deadly consequences

The report examines the many socio-economic impacts of extreme weather, which have wreaked havoc in the lives of the most vulnerable around the world . Five consecutive years of drought in East Africa, in conjunction with other factors such as armed conflict, have brought devastating food insecurity to 20 million people across the region.

Extensive flooding in Pakistan caused by severe rainfall in July and August last year killed over 1,700 people, while some 33 million were affected. WMO highlights that total damage and economic losses were assessed at $30 billion, and that by October 2022, around 8 million people had been internally displaced by the floods.

The report also notes that in addition to putting scores of people on the move, throughout the year, hazardous climate and weather-related events “worsened conditions” for many of the 95 million people already living in displacement .

Threat to ecosystems

Environmental impacts of climate change are another focus of the report, which highlights a shift in recurring events in nature, “such as when trees blossom, or birds migrate”. The flowering of cherry trees in Japan has been tracked since the ninth century, and in 2021 the date of the event was the earliest recorded in 1,200 years .

As a result of such shifts, entire ecosystems can be upended . WMO notes that spring arrival times of over a hundred European migratory bird species over five decades “show increasing levels of mismatch to other spring events”, such as the moment when trees produce leaves and insects take flight, which are important for bird survival.

The report says these mismatches “are likely to have contributed to population decline in some migrant species , particularly those wintering in sub-Saharan Africa”, and to the ongoing destruction of biodiversity.

Ending the ‘war on nature’

In his message on Earth Day, UN chief Mr. Guterres warned that “ biodiversity is collapsing as one million species teeter on the brink of extinction ”, and called on the world to end its “relentless and senseless wars on nature”, insisting that “we have the tools, the knowledge, and the solutions” to address climate change.

Last month, Mr. Guterres convened an Advisory Panel of top UN agency officials, private sector and civil society leaders, to help fast track a global initiative aiming to protect all countries through life-saving early warning systems by 2027. Stepped up coordinated action was announced, initially in 30 countries particularly vulnerable to extreme weather, including Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

Early Warnings for All

WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas said on Friday that some one hundred countries currently do not have adequate weather services in place, and that the UN Early Warnings for All Initiative “ aims to fill the existing capacity gap to ensure that every person on earth is covered by early warning services”.

Mr. Taalas explained that “achieving this ambitious task requires improvement of observation networks, investments in early warning, hydrological and climate service capacities.” He also stressed the effectiveness of collaboration among UN agencies in addressing humanitarian impacts of climate events, especially in reducing mortality and economic losses. 

• extreme weather
• climate action

Effects of environmental change on agriculture, nutrition and health: A framework with a focus on fruits and vegetables

Hanna L. Tuomisto Roles: Conceptualization, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing Pauline F.D. Scheelbeek Roles: Conceptualization, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing Zaid Chalabi Roles: Conceptualization, Writing – Review & Editing Rosemary Green Roles: Conceptualization, Writing – Review & Editing Richard D. Smith Roles: Writing – Review & Editing Andy Haines Roles: Conceptualization, Writing – Review & Editing Alan D. Dangour Roles: Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Project Administration, Writing – Review & Editing

Environmental change, agriculture, nutrition, population health, climate change, food-systems, fruits, vegetables

Revised Amendments from Version 1

With the helpful comments of our reviewers we have improved our manuscript. In this updated version we have further clarified and justified our focus on fruits and vegetables and changed the title, introduction and discussion to be consistent with this focus. Furthermore, we expanded the climate change, water quality and water availability sections and added a new section on adaptation and mitigation options. In figure 3 “heat stroke” was changed to “heat stress” to better reflect the many gradations of heat impact on producers health and labour productivity.  Furthermore, we adapted the conclusions to point out the various possible applications of the framework.

See the authors' detailed response to the review by John McDermott See the authors' detailed response to the review by Marco Springmann

1. Introduction

In the next decades, the world population will continue to be confronted with environmental changes that pose increasing challenges to our food systems, health and well-being. These changes – such as climate change, increased ground-level ozone, changes in water availability, carbon dioxide fertilisation, soil degradation, deforestation and land use change – can directly and substantially influence agricultural production. In addition, variability in abundance and spread of pests, pathogens and pollinators – which are also related to environmental change – could form an additional, indirect impact on agriculture. Without successful and widespread implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies aiming to overcome and/or reverse these environmental changes and their consequences, global food security, health and well-being could be significantly affected ( IPCC, 2014 ).

The scale of impacts of environmental change on food systems and health will depend on a variety of environmental, behavioural and economic factors. Firstly, the magnitude of environmental change will depend on the current level and trends of different environmental stressors and the mitigation actions taken by both individual countries and the global society as a whole. For example, several countries are taking individual action to ban nicotinoid pesticides to protect insect pollinators, and the Paris agreement ( UN, 2015 ) has committed the global community to mitigating future climate change. Secondly, the effects of environmental change will depend on the adaptation mechanisms developed and adopted. This could include changing agricultural production methods and altering the types of crop grown in certain areas that are less sensitive to certain environmental stressors. Thirdly, markets play a key role in distributing food between production and consumption locations. Globalised agricultural systems may be better placed to respond to changes in environmental conditions for food production, whereas food systems in areas that are strongly dependent on local markets may be more vulnerable to environmental change. Fourthly, food prices have an influence on consumer behaviour – consumption of some foods is much more sensitive to price changes than other foods. Finally, the effect of changing food availability on nutrition and health is likely to differ between countries and population groups, due to both price responsiveness and differences in pre-existing dietary patterns. Therefore, predicting the impacts of environmental changes on diets and health requires a detailed understanding of the various interactions and feedback loops between numerous actors and processes, as well as information on environmental, social and economic contexts.

Past research has been largely one-directional and limited to single steps in the pathways linking environment, food and health, e.g. concentrating on the impacts of environmental change on crops or the impacts of different diets on health. Research related to the impacts of environmental change on food production has mainly focused on the effects of climate change on staple crops ( Challinor et al. , 2014 ; Knox et al. , 2012 ; Porter et al ., 2014 ), whereas the impacts on other foods and impacts from other environmental stressors have been less studied.

A few studies have integrated environmental change, agriculture, markets, nutrition and health ( Myers et al. , 2017 ; Smith et al. , 2015 ; Springmann et al. , 2016a ) focussing mostly on important staple crops and/or meat. These studies have provided better insight into the potential scale of the impact of environmental change on the food system but the nutritionally-important fruit and vegetable food-groups remain largely understudied. With their unique nutritional features, significance for public health and relatively low environmental footprint ( Clune et al. , 2017 ), fruits and vegetables have the potential to play a crucial role in healthy population diets of the future.

The association between low consumption of fruits and vegetables and risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer ( Forouzanfar et al. , 2016 ; Miller et al. , 2017 ) is well established. Furthermore, recent research has shown that even beyond the WHO recommendation of 400 grams a day, higher intake of fruits and vegetables continues to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality ( Aune et al. , 2017 ). The consumption of fruits and vegetables per person has been shown to be linked with socioeconomic status: low income countries have lower consumption per capita than high income countries ( Miller et al. , 2016a ), and within countries consumption has been found to be lower in poor neighbourhoods than in wealthier ones ( Dubowitz et al. , 2008 ; Pessoa et al. , 2015 ). However, many fruit and vegetable crops prove to be relatively sensitive to environmental changes ( Backlund et al. , 2008 ) raising the prospect of reduced fruit and vegetable availability in the future with contingent public health concerns.

We focus in this paper specifically on fruits and vegetables due to their nutritional importance. The aim of this paper is to illustrate a set of pathways that connect environmental changes, production of fruits and vegetables, nutrition and health in a comprehensive framework. The framework provides a basis for the identification and detailed modelling of the key pathways that link environmental change – through agriculture and nutrition – with population health. Even though this paper focuses on fruits and vegetables, we acknowledge the importance of also considering staple crop and livestock production in a comprehensive analysis. Furthermore, the framework considers only pathways that impact health through nutrition, whereas direct health impacts of environmental changes (for example through air pollution, extreme weather events or infectious diseases) are not included in this paper.

The framework was constructed based on an extensive literature search, including both peer-reviewed and grey literature. First, the literature was searched for existing frameworks covering several parts of the environmental change, agriculture, nutrition and health nexus. The identified existing frameworks, such as Ingram (2011) and McMichael (2003) , informed the selection of main components for the new framework and facilitated hypothesis formulation around impact pathways. Subsequently, evidence was gathered (preferably in the form of systematic reviews) to establish the main pathways linking environmental change (through agriculture) with nutrition and health. This exercise included consultations with experts working in the fields of environment, agriculture, trade, nutrition and health including those studying the temporal trends and impact of specific environmental stressors.

The framework is graphically presented in three stages: i) a schematic overview of the links between environmental change, food systems, nutrition and health (Section 3, Figure 1 ); ii) illustration of the interactions between different environmental stressors (Section 4, Figure 2 ); and iii) the links between environmental stressors and production of fruits and vegetables (Section 4, Figure 3 ). The following section presents an overview of mechanisms through which the most important interactions between environmental change and production of fruits and vegetables operate (Section 4). The potential consequences of environmental change on food security (through changes in the availability of fruits and vegetables), nutrition and health outcomes are discussed in Section 5. The feedback loops from dietary choices to agricultural production and the impacts of agriculture on environmental change are discussed in Section 6 and the adaptation and mitigation strategies in Section 7. It was outside of the scope of this article to provide a systematic review of each interaction in the framework, neither was it possible to quantify and rank each individual stressor in terms of the strength of the evidence. We intend, however, to contribute to this evidence base through our future work.

Figure 1. Overall framework connecting environmental change, agriculture, nutrition and health.

Figure 2. links between environmental changes., figure 3. pathways between environmental changes and agriculture., 3. overall framework.

Within the overall framework ( Figure 1 ), we refer to the boxes and the arrows in the figure with the symbols ■ and ▲, respectively, followed by a corresponding letter or number) six main components are distinguished to map the interactions between environmental change, agriculture, and nutrition: i) socio-economic and societal factors (■ A); ii) environmental changes (■ B); iii) interventions and policies (■ C); iv) food system activities (■ D); v) food and nutrition security (■ E); and vi) nutritional health and well-being (■ F) ( Figure 1 ). The socio-economic factors, such as culture, religion, wealth distribution and population structure provide the context for environmental change, interventions and policies, food system activities, level of food and nutrition security and nutrition related health and well-being. The environmental changes include stressors that directly affect food systems (▲1, Section 4 ). The interventions component includes research and innovation, technological development and government policies that provide the boundaries, opportunities and restrictions to the interactions between environmental changes, food system activities, food and nutrition security, health and well-being (▲2, 3, 12). The food system activities component covers the interlinked food system functions, including production of inputs and infrastructure, agricultural processes, food processing, trade, consumption and waste management (▲4–11). In the framework, food and nutrition security are identified as a fifth component group, which are important determinants of the burden of disease and well-being. The framework presents a static conceptualisation of the interactions, although we recognise that the interactions are dynamic and operate over different time scales. For example, changes in food prices can have an immediate impact on food consumption, whereas the impacts of some environmental changes on health outcomes may be seen only after a few decades.

4. Impacts of environmental change on production of fruits and vegetables

4.1. climate change.

Climate change has been predicted to impact agricultural production through multiple direct and indirect pathways ( Porter et al ., 2014 ; Smith et al ., 2014 ). Changes in temperature and water availability combined with increased variation in weather conditions and more frequent episodic weather events will have a direct impact on crop yields ( Lobell & Gourdji, 2012 ). Increased temperature results in faster crop growth, and therefore, shorter cropping seasons and lower yields. Temperature also impacts on photosynthesis rates and respiration. C4 crops (maize, sorghum, sugarcane, etc.) have higher optimum temperature for photosynthesis than C3 crops (cereals and most vegetables and fruits).

Climate change can have also some positive impacts as on crop production as increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere can boost photosynthesis of C3 crops and water use efficiency in both C3 and C4 crops, and improve crop growth ( Long et al. , 2006 ). At the same time, however, this can lead to a reduction in protein, vitamin and mineral concentrations in the edible part of the crop, possibly due to reduced canopy transpiration or changes in metabolite or enzyme concentration ( McGrath & Lobell, 2013 ). This phenomenon was studied by Myers and colleagues who modelled the impact of CO 2 on staple and legume crops and found that the impact of CO 2 was very different for C3 plants compared to C4 plants ( Myers et al. , 2014 ; Myers et al. , 2015 ). Nearly all fruits and vegetables in the human diet are C3 crops and hence are likely to be relatively vulnerable to these climatic changes. While research on drought and heat resistant staple crops has taken off greatly in the last decades, adaptive capacities in fruits and vegetables are less studied.

Besides the direct effects, increased temperatures may indirectly affect fruit and vegetables yields due to decreased labour productivity of farmers, affecting agricultural productivity ( Kjellstrom et al. , 2016 ). Many fruit and vegetable crops require high labour inputs, especially for planting and harvesting and hence climate change induced heat stress may disproportionately affect this sector.

Climate change affects many other environmental drivers, both directly and indirectly ( Figure 2 ). For example, rising temperatures increase tropospheric (i.e. ground-level) ozone formation, and increased ozone levels cause oxidative stress for plants, which reduces photosynthesis and plant growth ( Ainsworth et al. , 2012 ). Furthermore, climate change has impacts on animal species, and a decrease of plant pollinator populations, for example, could have multiple impacts on agricultural production ( Pacifici et al. , 2015 ) (see Section 4.6). Climate change is also likely to increase crop losses and damages due to pests, pathogens, fungi and weeds ( Flood, 2010 ). It has been estimated that hundreds of pests and pathogens have moved towards poles on average by 2.7 km yr -1 between 1960 and 2012 ( Bebber et al ., 2013 ).

4.2. Historical ozone depletion & current ozone layer recovery

The stratospheric ozone layer, protecting the earth from solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, has been depleting over the past decades due to anthropogenic emissions of chlorofluorocarbon and nitrous oxides, although the recent evidence indicates healing of the ozone layer due to reduced cholofluorocarbon emissions ( Solomon et al ., 2016 ). However, in Antarctica, ozone depletion continues to occur each year, whereas the Arctic ozone shows high year-to-year variability ( Andrady et al. , 2015 ).

Many factors such as cloud cover, altitude, ground reflectance and atmospheric path length, impact on the level of UV-B reaching plants. Due to the natural variations of those factors, the effect of stabilization of the ozone layer is not yet detected in the measurements of UV-B radiation.

UV-B radiation has been found to damage DNA, RNA, proteins and membranes of plants and to impair photosynthesis ( Björn et al. , 1999 ; Caldwell et al. , 2007 ). A meta-analysis of the effect of increases in UV-B on yields found that herbaceous plants including most vegetables (e.g. beans, tomatoes, spinach, radish, carrots, cucumber and gourd) and many fruits (such as strawberries and sea-buckthorn) showed a more significant decrease in yield due to the UV-B exposure than woody plants ( Li et al. , 2010 ).

4.3. Water quality

The quality of irrigation water has a direct impact on crop quality and quantity. In the past decades, several trends in water quality – with a strong link to environmental change – have put increasing pressure on the agricultural sector, and it is expected that these trends will continue in the future ( Turral et al. , 2011 ).

Salinization is major threat to irrigation water quality. Salt tolerance levels vary greatly from crop to crop. Predominantly, salinization decreases yields, but the impact on crop quality is mixed ( Hoffman et al. , 1989 ). Many vegetable crops are negatively affected and salinity can substantially reduce their market value. However, in some crops, such as carrots and asparagus, salinity can increase sugar content, whilst in tomato and melon it can increase soluble solids. Generally, however, salinity-induced decreases in yield outweigh any beneficial effects ( Hoffman, 2010 ).

Climate change may exacerbate salinity problems which in turn impact health through drinking water and diet ( Khan et al. , 2014 ; Scheelbeek et al ., 2017 ). In several low-lying coastal areas, the increased frequency of tropical cyclones and inundations can have a serious impact on the sodium (and other salts) content of soils as well as ground- and surface-water. In climate-vulnerable coastal areas, such as Bangladesh, an additional problem arises when farmers move away from saline irrigation sources and obtain water from deeper groundwater layers; high arsenic concentrations have been measured in these groundwater sources. Arsenic can remain on the crop’s surface after harvesting and could form a serious health threat to its consumers ( Das et al. , 2004 ; Su et al. , 2014 ). Further inland, changing precipitation patterns and drought can cause significant increase in sodium concentrations in freshwater bodies, affecting irrigation and drinking water quality ( Jeppesen et al. , 2015 ).

Contaminated irrigation water affects crop quantity and quality significantly. More than 10% of the global population consumes foods that are irrigated with untreated wastewater or faecal contaminated surface water, and most of those people live in low-income countries with arid and semi-arid climates ( WHO, 2006 ). Increasing water scarcity, expanding populations and recognition of the fertilisation value of wastewater are the main drivers for the increasing use contaminated water for irrigation. The use of pathogen (e.g. Salmonella spp., norovirus, E. coli, Clostridium perfringens and Cambylobacter spp.) contaminated urban wastewater for irrigation and post-harvest processes has been linked to food-borne disease outbreaks ( Antwi-Agyei et al ., 2015 ; WHO, 2015 ). This is particularly a problem with fruits and vegetables that are often eaten without cooking.

Problems also occur if high concentrations of certain toxic ions in irrigation water - such as chloride, sodium and boron - are taken up by the plant and accumulate to concentrations that can cause damage in the crop and reduce yields ( Bañón et al. , 2011 ). Both agricultural and industrial factors play an important role in toxin concentrations in water, including chemical wastewater being released in watersheds used for agriculture and/or pumping up irrigation water, as well as farm-disposal of agrochemicals. Most irrigation water sources contain concentrations of elements below toxicity thresholds; however, boron tolerance of most vegetable crops is relatively low and even quite low boron concentrations could damage crops ( Hoffman, 2010 ). The magnitude of damage varies per crop; permanent perennial-type crops are believed to be most sensitive to irrigation water toxicity ( WHO, 2006 ).

A third important water quality threat is the occurrence of excessive nutrients in irrigation water, notably nitrogen. This is often the result of (over)fertilisation of agricultural land, whereby excess fertilisers end up in water sources used for irrigation and may damage marine ecosystems. In susceptible crops - such as apricot, citrus and avocado - high nitrogen concentrations trigger excessive vegetative growth and delay of maturing. In leafy vegetables, this causes a decrease in harvestable product and could negatively affect fruit quality parameters, such as sugar content ( Ayers & Westcot, 1985 ). It could also cause crops to grow taller and hence to be more vulnerable to lodging (bending over of stems) in extreme weather events, such as tropical storms.

4.4. Non-renewable resource depletion

Non-renewable resource depletion includes reduced availability of minerals used for fossil fuels, fertilisers or infrastructure, and depletion of aquifers that can be used for irrigation water. The reduced availability of these resources can have an impact on crop production, unless alternative technologies are adopted (e.g. use of renewable energy sources or organic fertilisers).

For example, it has been estimated that the current economically exploitable phosphate reserves will be depleted in approximately 50–100 years ( Cordell et al. , 2009 ). Therefore, options to recycle nutrients back to the fields from bio-waste and sewage sludge may become more financially attractive. Similarly, industrial agriculture relies heavily on the use of fossil fuels for producing nitrogen fertilisers, running farm machinery and other uses. The depletion of fossil fuel reserves or the inability to exploit them because of climate change imperatives may pose a threat for agricultural production unless renewable energy sources can be significantly scaled up. However, this will be more of a problem in industrial farming systems than in subsistence farming that relies mainly on manual labour.

Finally, the depletion of water resources can have negative impacts on agricultural production, especially in areas where aquifers provide an important source of irrigation water. The depletion of aquifers is linked to changes in precipitation levels, exhaustion of rivers and increased use of water. Climate model simulations project precipitation increases in high latitudes and parts of the tropics, and decreases in some tropical and lower mid-latitude regions ( Bates et al. , 2008 ). Poor rural farmers in the arid and semi-arid tropics and Asian and African mega-deltas are likely to be the most vulnerable to these changes in water availability. Furthermore, international food trade contributes to the decline of aquifers in the producing countries ( Dalin et al. , 2017 ). Most of the irrigation water globally is used for staple crops (mainly for wheat) and less than 10% of all irrigation water is used for fruits and vegetables, which is in line with the percentage of land used for fruits and vegetables ( FAOSTAT, 2017 ).

4.5. Land use

Agricultural land is a limited natural resource. It is estimated that nearly a third of global arable land has been lost due to soil erosion and pollution during the past 40 years ( Cameron et al. , 2015 ). Other reasons for loss of agricultural land include urbanisation, sea level rise, and renewable energy production (e.g. solar panels on agricultural land), as well as land requirements for bio-fuels and other non-food crops. At the same time, forests have been converted to agricultural land, mainly driven by increased consumption of meat and need of land for feed production. Therefore, the percentage of agricultural area of the total global land area has been relatively stable during the past decades. However, deforestation contribute to the acceleration of many environmental changes, such as climate change and loss of biodiversity, and therefore, can have negative indirect impacts on food security, e.g. through loss of wild foods (Section 6).

Soil degradation typically refers to multiple processes, such as erosion, desertification, salinization, compaction and encroachment of invasive species ( Gibbs & Salmon, 2015 ). Soil organic matter plays a vital role in maintaining the long-term productivity of soils. The increased use of industrial farming practices, such as mono-cropping, minimal use of organic fertilisers and removal of crop residues from fields, is one of the main reasons for decline in soil organic matter contents.

Acidification of soils is caused by acid rains or use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers in some conditions. Acid rains generally result from the reaction of water molecules and sulphur dioxide or nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere, which mainly originate from anthropogenic sources, such as energy generation and industrial processes ( Klimont et al. , 2013 ). Soil acidification can alter nutrient availability, and has generally negative impact on plant growth, except in alkaline soils some acidification can be beneficial ( Lee et al. , 1981 ). Application of lime and balanced fertilisers help to mitigate crop losses caused by acidification ( Mason et al. , 1994 ).

Phytotoxicity means the toxic effect on plants caused by compounds such as trace metals, allelochemicals, pesticides, phytotoxins or salinity. Contamination of soil with toxic metals, such as cadmium and high concentrations of aluminium, has negative impacts both on crop yields and human health ( Khan et al. , 2015 ). Metals cause oxidative stress for plants, which reduces biomass accumulation.

4.6. Biodiversity loss

In some cases, losses of biodiversity can have direct impacts on food availability in areas where wild food, including wild fruits and vegetables, comprise a substantial proportion of diets. Field-grown crops and livestock are also heavily dependent on multiple ecosystem services, such as pollination, natural predation of pests and services provided by soil macro- and micro-organisms.

During the past decade, the numbers of pollinators have declined, due to combined stress from parasites, pesticides and habitat loss ( Goulson et al. , 2015 ). As many fruit and vegetable species rely on pollinators, a complete loss of pollinators has been predicted to reduce global fruit supply by 23%, vegetables by 16% and nuts and seeds by 22% with major adverse effects on health ( Smith et al. , 2015 ).

Ecosystem functions are complex and it is currently not possible to model the required level of biodiversity needed for sustaining agricultural production. Therefore, maintaining a high level of biodiversity is regarded as a precautionary mechanism that increases the resilience of agro-ecosystems to environmental changes ( Koohafkan et al. , 2012 ; Lin, 2011 ). Farming practices that reduce vulnerability to environmental change include diversification of agro-ecosystems, high genetic diversity of crops, integration of livestock and crop production, management of soil organic matter and water conservation. Crop diversification reduces pest, disease and weed outbreaks, and increases resilience towards greater climate variability and extreme events. In low income settings, farms with a high level of biodiversity have been found to be more resilient to climate disasters, such as hurricanes and droughts ( Altieri et al. , 2015 ). Smallholder farmers in tropical regions are particularly vulnerable to climate variability, including erratic rainfall, and as a coping mechanism they rely on agricultural biodiversity, such as planting a high diversity of crops each year, including many varieties of the same crop, using drought tolerant crop varieties, changing the locations of crops and planting trees to provide shade and to maintain humidity ( Meldrum et al. , 2013 ).

5. Impact of drivers, influencers and activities on food security and health outcomes

5.1. links between agriculture and food security: from subsistence farming to international trade.

The most direct link between agriculture and food security occurs in subsistence farming communities and involves the production and quality of crops and their impact on the availability of nutritious food to producing households. Most people living in the rural areas in low income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are dependent from subsistence farming, and 72% of all farms in the world are under 1 hectare ( FAO, 2014 ; Herrero et al. , 2017 ).

Considering the predominantly negative influences of environmental stressors on both fruit and vegetable yield and quality (see previous sections), populations heavily reliant on subsistence farming appear likely to have food insecurity in the future ( Morton, 2007 ; Shrestha & Nepal, 2016 ; Tibesigwa et al. , 2015 ). The extent of these influences on their nutrition and health depends on the farmers’ ability to adapt to these environmental changes ( Shisanya & Mafongoya, 2016 ). Many subsistence farmers are particularly vulnerable due to a high dependence on rain-fed agriculture and limited adaptation strategies: rain-fed agriculture accounts for approximately 95% of farmed land in sub-Saharan Africa and 90% in Latin America ( Wani et al. , 2009 ). Moreover, in contexts where agricultural surpluses are sold at the local market as critical sources of cash, reduced yields will likely decrease household incomes.

In larger and more complex trade systems – ranging from farmers producing for the local markets to agribusinesses and international trade – a more complex interplay of mechanisms determine the impact of suboptimal yields on food security, including market mechanisms and food choices ( Figure 1 , ■ D), possible technological or political interventions ( Figure 1 , ■ C) and the influence of social factors ( Figure 1 , ■ A).

Compromised production – and therewith reduced availability – of a locally important vegetable could, for example, push up local or regional prices, and make the specific vegetable unaffordable for the less affluent ( Brown et al. , 2012 ). Households’ purchasing power and preference will determine their substitution strategy, e.g. buying another cheaper vegetable if available, buying more staples, or not substituting the “missing” vegetable. The price elasticities of fruits and vegetables tend to be higher than those for cereals, which means that consumers reduce their demand more in response to an increase in price ( Cornelsen et al. , 2015 ). The household substitution strategy used will partly determine the scale of health impacts ( UNSCS, 2010 ).

Forced switches to alternative crops could also have far reaching consequences for farmers, in case the switches become permanent (i.e. consumers start preferring the “new” vegetable above the “conventional” one), as sometimes experienced after temporary food aid programmes ( Barrett, 2006 ). This applies especially to small farmers that might lack the financial resources to shift to another (more commercial) crop as a response to the changed commodity prices, even if this would be much more profitable ( García-Germán et al. , 2013 ). Higher prices may push subsistence farmers to sell more and consume less of their own yields, which could also have an impact on their food security ( Anríquez et al. , 2013 ; Zezza et al. , 2008 ). Nonetheless, it has been argued that higher food prices will generally affect food security of net consumer countries more than net producer countries ( ODI, 2008 ), and nutritional health, especially among children under 5 years of age ( Figure 1 , ▲13, 14). In larger markets with more producers integrated across diverse environments, the abundance of competitors offering the same vegetable crop may stabilise the commodity prices, and may therefore directly affect the financial security of farmers that experienced compromised yields of that specific vegetable.

Crop quality, including nutritional content, may affect dietary micronutrient supplies of consumers and subsistence farmers. Especially in areas where nutritional needs are only marginally met or where there is a widespread marginal nutrient deficiency, slight changes in vitamin and mineral concentration in crops – even without any actual change in diet – could be crucial for food and nutrition security. Fruits and vegetables are therefore particularly important as they provide a rich source of essential micronutrients that are present in much lower concentrations in other food groups.

5.2. Links between food security, consumption, health and well-being

There is a substantial evidence base on the impact of food security on population diets. Furthermore, the links between diets, health and well-being are the most well-researched parts of the framework ( Figure 1 ,▲14). Non-optimal diets are estimated to account for ~10% of the global burden of disease ( Forouzanfar et al. , 2016 ).

There are two main pathways leading from nutrition to population health: non-optimal quantity of food intake (under- and over-nutrition) and non-optimal quality of food intake (nutrient deficiencies due to poor dietary composition, toxins, pathogens, etc.). In terms of the former pathway, overweight and obesity increases the risk of various NCDs, including diabetes, certain cancers and cardiovascular disease, whilst undernutrition can lead to several deficiencies, affecting, for example, child growth and development and immune system function ( Figure 1 , ■ F).

As well as contributing to daily dietary energy requirements, fruits and vegetables play a key role in the second pathway, linking sub-optimal quality of food intake and poor health. For many populations around the world, fruits and vegetables provide several essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids usually found in limited amounts in other components of the diet, particularly where consumption of animal-source foods is low. Low fruit and vegetable intake is associated with increased risk of vitamin deficiencies, all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease, strokes, and several types of cancer ( Forouzanfar et al. , 2016 ; Miller et al. , 2017 ; Wang et al. , 2014 ).

To further explore the importance of the pathway between fruit and vegetable consumption and health, full dietary composition (i.e. consumption besides fruits and vegetables) should be considered, as well as the drivers for food choices. Low fruit and vegetable intake can in some situations be the direct results of food insecurity (i.e. limited access, affordability of stability of fruits and vegetables), whilst in other situations it reflects the population’s preferences to consume foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fats instead of fruits and vegetables.

Where clinical health outcomes are difficult to measure, anthropometric indicators, such as height-for-age, weight-for-height and biomarkers, including cholesterol level, blood pressure and blood glucose, can be used for modelling the health implications of a diet.

6. Feedback loops from dietary choices and agriculture to environmental change

The framework highlights that – in addition to the described “environment – food system – health” pathway – there are several feedback loops linking dietary choices and nutrition back to agricultural strategies ( Figure 1 , ▲15) and environmental change ( Figure 1 , ▲1).

A remarkable example of these feedback loops is based on the rapid global shift towards a more “Western” diet, which is driven by urbanisation, economic growth and changes in technology and culture ( Popkin, 2006 ; Tilman & Clark, 2014 ). Western diets are characterised by greater consumption of animal source and highly processed foods often in parallel with a reduction of the consumption of vegetables and pulses. To meet the growing demand in animal source products, livestock and dairy farming has increased enormously ( FAO, 2015 ), contributing directly to increased greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication (the enrichment of an ecosystem with nutrients), and loss of biodiversity due to intensification of agriculture and conversion of forests and natural habitats to agricultural land ( Gerber et al. , 2013 ). Currently, livestock production occupies approximately 80% of global agricultural land (including arable and grassland), whereas only a few percent of the land is used for fruits and vegetables ( FAO, 2017 ).

Agriculture is also one of the main contributors to climate change, accounting for ~25% of global anthropogenic emissions ( Vermeulen et al. , 2012 ), while livestock production alone has been estimated to account for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions ( Gerber et al. , 2013 ). It has been estimated that the consumption of fruits and vegetables accounts for only 7% of all food related GHG emissions globally ( Springmann et al ., 2016b ). Generally, fruits and vegetables have a lower carbon footprint compared to livestock products and grains when measured per unit of product weight, although this is not necessarily the case when measured per unit of energy content, especially if the fruits and vegetables are processed ( Drewnowski et al. , 2015 ).

Agriculture is estimated to account for ~70% of global water withdrawals ( Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010 ). The water footprint of fruits and vegetables is relatively low compared to cereals and oil crops when measured per unit of product, but higher when measured per unit of energy. However, the variation between different fruits is high - ranging from 235 m 3 water per tonne of watermelon to 3350 m 3 water per tonne of figs ( Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010 ).

Particularly in developed countries, agriculture is the main contributor to eutrophication of waterways, due to nitrogen and phosphorus leached from fields ( Withers et al. , 2014 ). Eutrophication disturbs the natural balance of the ecosystem by favouring certain species and causing harm to others, e.g. in aquatic ecosystems the nutrient inputs increase the growth of algae and plants, and the decay of the biomass leads to oxygen depletion, causing death of fish and other aquatic animals. The eutrophication potential of fruit and vegetable production is generally higher than that of cereals ( Xue & Landis, 2010 ), due to the relatively high nutrient inputs required for production of fruits and vegetables.

Agricultural emissions, such as ammonia, toxic organic compounds, pesticides and particulates, have an impact on air quality, which has direct implications for human health. Agriculture accounts for ~30% of all acidifying emissions and 90% of ammonia emissions in Western Europe ( Erisman et al. , 2008 ). Ammonia emissions are mainly produced from manure management and use of nitrogen fertilisers. The contribution of agriculture to particulate matter emissions in Europe has been estimated to be ~20% ( Erisman et al. , 2008 ). Particulate matter emissions from agriculture originate from field operations such as ploughing, tillage and harvesting, and from livestock bedding materials and manure.

Industrialisation of agriculture has also contributed to the losses in biodiversity due to simplification of agroecosystems, reduced number of crops and crop varieties grown, use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, intensification of agriculture, increase in field size and clearance of natural forests for agricultural land. The increased demand for agricultural products is causing a pressure for converting forests to agricultural land, especially in tropical regions ( Laurance et al. , 2014 ). Extensive farming systems, such as organic farming systems, generally have higher on-farm biodiversity compared to intensive farming ( Bengtsson et al. , 2005 ; Tuomisto et al. , 2012a ). However, many studies have questioned whether land sparing, i.e. using intensive farming systems and leaving land out from agriculture for biodiversity conservation would lead to higher total biodiversity benefits compared to land sharing ( Phalan et al. , 2011 ; Tscharntke et al. (2012) ; Tuomisto et al. , 2012b points out that there is a clear difference between the type of biodiversity that land sparing and land sharing approaches support. The land sparing concept can under value functional agrobiodiversity that helps to increase the resilience of the farming systems to environmental changes.

7. Adaptation and mitigation options

There are many possibilities for farmers and societies to adapt to and mitigate environmental changes ( FAO, 2010 ; FAO, 2012 ). These practices can happen at various levels and range from minor changes to major system level changes. The agriculture and food production industries can implement adaptation practices that ensure increased high-quality food production with lower environmental burdens. However, as increasing food production does not guarantee that food would be distributed equally, additional policies will be required to improve the availability and access to healthy and nutritious foods to everybody.

Farmers have possibilities to adapt to environmental changes by altering farm management practices, such as changing crop varieties, planting times, irrigation practices and residue management, or by implementing major systemic changes, such as switches to different crop species and changes in farming systems or even relocation of agriculture to new areas ( Challinor et al. , 2014 ). Many farming practices that increase the climate resilience of agriculture also help to mitigate GHG emissions ( Altieri & Nicholls, 2017 ).

Agriculture can also benefit from technological innovations, such as biotechnology and precision farming. Novel plant breeding technologies can provide crop varieties that are more suitable to new environmental conditions, e.g. drought resistant crops ( Hu & Xiong, 2014 ), or have higher concentrations and bioavailability of micronutrients ( Bhullar & Gruissem, 2013 ). Precision farming technologies apply geographical information systems, remote sensing and GPS for identifying variations in fields, and therefore help farmers to target the use of fertilisers and pesticides where they are needed the most. Small unmanned aerial systems are increasingly used for field imaging to find the problem areas at an early stage ( Zhang & Kovacs, 2012 ). The use of robots in agriculture is increasing, especially for activities that are currently often carried out manually, e.g. weed control, fertilisation and harvesting of fruits and vegetables ( Bogue & Bogue, 2016 ). The replacement of human labour by robots can be extremely beneficial as an adaptation to climate change, especially in areas where high daytime temperatures will make working on the fields impossible.

Novel technologies can also provide solutions to more systemic changes. Indoor farming and cellular agriculture enable food production without direct exposure to environmental stressors. Indoor farming in vertical systems (e.g. tall buildings) reduces land requirements and transportation needs, as production can take place closer to cities. The need for artificial lighting in many indoor farming systems is energy consuming ( Cheng, 2014 ), but developments in LED light technology may improve the energy efficiency of those systems in the future ( Darko et al. , 2014 ).

Cellular agriculture or the production of agricultural products by using cell culturing technologies, has the potential to revolutionise food production. The products from cellular agriculture include both acellular and cellular products. Acellular products are produced by culturing yeast or bacteria that synthetize a protein (e.g. milk protein or egg albumin) that is used for the final product. Cellular products, such as cultured meat or leather, consist of living or once living cells ( Post, 2012 ). Cellular agriculture is not limited only to replacing animal source foods, but plant cells and algae can also be cultivated in bioreactors for food ( Räty, 2017 ). Most of these technologies are currently at the development stage, but commercial products are expected to appear in the supermarkets during the next few years. Some preliminary studies have estimated that products from cellular agriculture could have potential to reduce environmental impacts substantially compared to conventionally produced livestock products ( Mattick et al. , 2015 ; Tuomisto & de Mattos, 2011 ; Tuomisto et al. , 2016 ). Studies on the environmental impact of plant products produced through cellular agriculture are currently lacking.

Adaptation and mitigation mechanisms are required also in the post-farm/post-primary production stage. Extreme climatic and hydrological events can make transportation of food less reliable due to floods, heavy rains, landslides etc. Therefore, diversification of supply chains and increased local production may increase the resilience and stability of food supply chains ( Miller et al. , 2016b ). This may require food industries and consumers to adopt purchasing strategies that take into account seasonality based on the local climate. However, relying solely on local production is not a secure strategy due to the risk of extreme climatic and hydrological events affecting the local area.

Consumers have also a key role to play as they have the power to influence in the sustainability of food system by their consumption behaviour and dietary choices. As discussed in section 5&6 the consumption choices regarding quantities of animal source foods have a major impact on the environmental burden of diets. Environmental changes may also require consumers to alter the consumption of fruits and vegetables, as the availability and prices of most popular products may change. Therefore, consumers might need to choose different fruits and vegetables at different seasons and get used to a wider variety of species. Purchasing locally produced commodities could also promote the expansion of local production.

8. Conclusions

The evidence-based framework presented in this paper provides an overview of the multidimensional and complex interactions with feedback between environmental change, the food system, nutrition and health, and forms an analytical basis for detailed investigation of these interactions. The novelty of the framework is in its focus on fruits and vegetables, and in the detailed presentation of the pathways between environmental stressors and plant production ( Figure 3 ). This paper emphasises the importance of considering multiple environmental stressors and their interactions instead of focusing only on a single stressor (e.g. climate change). The focus on fruits and vegetables highlights the need for more research on this nutritionally-important food group as the majority of research efforts to-date have been targeted on staple crops and animal source foods.

The framework can be adapted for other food groups as well as for regional case studies. The inclusion of the livestock sector would require adding livestock specific pathways into the framework, such as changes in livestock diseases and changes in grassland quality and feed production. The current framework can be directly used for staple crops.

This paper has highlighted many environmental issues that can potentially have major nutrition and health consequences unless mitigation and adaptation practices are implemented. However, many of the major risks may be faced by farmers and poor consumers in developing countries whose adaptation possibilities are limited especially in the short term. Therefore, this framework helps to develop further research to estimate the potential nutrition and health consequences of environmental changes on different population groups, and the effectiveness of alternative mitigation and adaptation options with various timeframes.

Some other more specific potential applications of the framework include:

Guiding our understanding of the complex interactions of environmental, social, political, agricultural, market-related food security, diet and health mechanisms within food systems. It could be used for teaching and training sessions, research priority settings, as well as advocacy purposes.

Identifying research gaps, determining research directions and guiding proposal writing. Likewise, the information can be used by funders to specify calls for proposals.

Use as a heuristic tool for future food system and multi-sectoral modelling. This will enable further quantification of the impacts of environmental change – through agriculture and food security – on population health, as well as the assessment of the effectiveness of adaptation mechanisms at different parts of the system. By using an open-source platform, further detail could be added to the framework – and shared with the research community – when more evidence will become available.

For food system programmes and policy makers, the framework gives an overview of where in the food system there are barriers and opportunities for change. With the available evidence, it would be possible to identify crucial links and mechanisms, which can guide health and sustainability programmes, as well as food system policy formulation.

Although the framework was written for environment, food system and health interactions, similar frameworks could potentially be constructed in other sectors. The key role and interactions that societal factors, policies and research play within the “core” system mechanisms, is something commonly observed in other sectors (e.g. urban planning). The framework provides an example of how these complex interactions can be captured.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the development of the framework. HT and PS wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors were involved in the revision of the draft manuscript and have agreed to the final content.

Competing interests

No competing interests were disclosed.

Grant information

The work was supported by the Wellcome Trust ‘Our Planet, Our Health’ programme [106924].

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Majid Ezzati and Samuel S. Myers for their intellectual contribution to the development of the framework presented in this paper, Edward Joy for comments on the draft manuscript and Agnes Becker for the graphical design of the figures.

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•   Wani SP, Rockström J, Owels T: Rainfed agriculture: unlocking the potential. Wallingford, UK: CABI; Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT); Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI), 2009; 310. Reference Source
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Reviewer Expertise: Environmental and health implications of dietary change, public health and sustainability research, policy analysis

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?

Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?

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If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?

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• Author Response 31 Oct 2017 Hanna Tuomisto , Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK 31 Oct 2017 Author Response Responses to Reviewer 2   Dear Dr Springmann,   Thank you very much for your excellent comments that have helped us to improve our paper. We have revised the paper ... Continue reading Responses to Reviewer 2   Dear Dr Springmann,   Thank you very much for your excellent comments that have helped us to improve our paper. We have revised the paper based on your suggestions as detailed below. In addition, we made revisions based on comments from Dr McDermott and we added a new section discussing adaptation and mitigation options (section 7).     “In their article ‘Effects of environmental change on population nutrition and health: A comprehensive framework with a focus on fruits and vegetables,’ Hanna Tuomisto and colleagues aim to develop a framework that details the interactions between environmental change, diets, and health, with a particular focus on fruits and vegetables. Their article is a welcome review of the impacts of environmental change on agriculture and health, and I recommend it for indexing subject to addressing a few comments that I am detailing below.   First, I think the motivation of the review could be strengthened. What sets it apart from other reviews, such as the IPCC’s, or maps of the food system?” Authors: We appreciate the motivation/difference was not stipulated clearly: the focus on fruits and vegetables rather than on staple crops. We have strengthened the justification for this in the introduction section.  “Related to that, the article does not contain any methods and discussion sections. This might be fine for a review/overview article, but if the stated aim is to develop a framework of interactions, then one would expect at least some detail on what the added value of that framework is, how it was constructed, and how it compares to other frameworks.” Authors: We have expanded the description of the methods, and added a methods heading. We have also strengthened the explanation of the added value and differences compared to the other frameworks. A brief discussion of the potential uses of the framework as well as some limitations can be found in section 8.  “From my reading of the article, it is a review of interactions between environmental change and mostly agriculture, with special emphasis on the implications for fruits and vegetables, and some discussion on health implications. It might therefore be advisable to describe it as such.” Authors: The title and introduction of the paper have been amended to clarify that it presents a framework with a particular emphasis on fruit and vegetable production. As the paper is designed to be read by a primarily health-focused audience, we have added particular detail on the interactions between environmental change and fruit and vegetable production, as this is the area of the framework the journal’s readership is likely to be least familiar with.    “That would also address some problems I have with the conclusions, which seem to be a little bit of an overstretch to me. For most of the points raised, what would actually be required is some information on the relative importance of each factor. For advocacy or funding purposes, for example, one would want to know how significant a particular aspect is to gauge whether focussing on it would be worth the investment. The review, I think, nicely catalogues the various interactions between environmental change and agriculture, but it does not contain any interpretation of the information that is presented, or a discussion on what to do with it.” Authors: The aim of the framework is to provide a basis for modelling and quantification of the relative importance of the different factors, and as such the quantification itself is beyond the scope of this piece of work. However, we also identified some uses for the framework itself, which are listed in the conclusions section. We will look into possibilities for other research groups to add to the framework in the future (perhaps using open source software) to further quantify each of the indicated links.      “For some of the aspects that are discussed I found myself going back to related IPCC chapters, in particular those on Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AR5, WG3, Chapter 11), Food Security and Food Production Systems (AR5, WG3, Chapter 7), and Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits (AR5, WG2, Chapter 11). Many of the aspects discussed in the article are reviewed at great length there, and in part using more recent studies. I would at least expect that a review like the present one would mention those reports, so that interested individuals know where they can find more detailed information.” Authors: Thank you for the suggestion. We have added citations to the suggested reports in the paper.    “The section on stratospheric ozone depletion is a good case in point. The impacts of changes in ultraviolet radiation on biomass are reviewed, but it is not clear whether it is an important effect or not. For example, what is missing from the discussion is the fact that the ozone hole has started to “heal” (see, e.g., Solomon et al, Science 2016, 1  ; or an earlier IPCC special report on the ozone layer), and where to read on.” Authors: Thank you for the comment. We have added the point that the ozone layer is healing and added a reference to the Solomon et al 2016 paper. We also removed the following sentence as the reference is relatively old and is contradicting the fact that the ozone layer is healing: “It has been estimated that the springtime UV doses will increase 14% in the Northern hemisphere and 40% in the Southern hemisphere in 2010–2020 compared to levels in 1979–1992 (Taalas et al., 2000).”. “In addition to the agricultural impacts, changes in ultraviolet radiation also impact human health directly. It might be worth re-emphasizing that the direct health impacts of many of the environmental changes reviewed are not discussed in the article. (That is also the case for tropospheric ozone, which is briefly mentioned in relation to oxidative stress for plants, but which arguably has a bigger direct health impact in its relationship to urban air pollution).” Authors: We have added a note in the introduction section (end of the fourth paragraph) stating the fact that the paper doesn’t cover direct health impacts.   “At a couple of instances, it might be worth to add some detail related to attribution. For example, in the discussion on acid rain (3.5), one could get away with the impression that it is a natural phenomenon (“Acid rains generally result from the reaction of water molecules and sulphur dioxide or nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere,” p. 6). Whilst natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, surely contribute to acid-rain precursors, the principal causes are anthropogenic emissions of sulphur and nitrogen compounds, especially from coal-fired power plants.” Authors: We have clarified the point on acid rains and screened the paper for additional paragraphs that would benefit from more detail related to attribution: more detail was added to these sections.  “Another clarification regarding attribution might be when discussing fruit and vegetable consumption. On page 8, it is mentioned that in some situation, low consumption reflects population preferences. Although one can surely see it that way, another way of explaining consumption behaviour is by pointing to the food environment and its role in shaping preferences. The benefit of this angle is that it allows one to study the influences of actors, such as governments and the food industry, on the food environment and on the preferences shaped by it.” Authors: Thank you for this excellent comment. We edited the sentence to: “A remarkable example of these feedback loops is based on the consumer-driven rapid global shift towards a more “Western” diet, which is driven by urbanisation, economic growth and changes in technology and culture ( Popkin, 2006).”   “Despite being in the title, health is actually not discussed to a great extent in the review. That’s totally fine, but it might be worth being a bit clearer about what is, and what is not discussed in the article.” Authors: we have now clarified the desired focus of the paper, expanded the health section (5.2) and briefly discussed possible implications for health.  “A specific aspect I was missing from the discussion of pathways leading from nutrition to population health (pp. 7-8) is dietary composition. What is mentioned are the quantity and quality of food intake. Although dietary composition is sometimes subsumed under the banner of quality of food intake, that is not obvious from the related paragraph and could be clarified. Of note here is that changes in dietary composition are broader, and more impactful for health than changes in specific nutrient levels – a point illustrated by the ranking of risk factors in the Global Burden of Disease study 2  that is referred to a couple of times in the article.”   Authors: we clarified that the term ‘food quality’ covers also dietary composition, and have altered this section to focus more explicitly on fruits and vegetables and their contribution to quality of dietary intake.   “A final comment is that the literature used could be a bit more general at times. For example, I don’t understand why when discussing the greenhouse gas emissions related to agriculture, the only study referred to for quantifying the emissions attributable to fruit and vegetable consumption is a working paper focussed on the UK. There are several more general sources that have quantified the emissions attributable to both global and regional consumption of fruits and vegetables. For example, in one of my own studies 3 , I calculated that about 7% of all food-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2005/07 were related to fruit and vegetable consumption.” Authors: thanks for this information. We have added a reference to your paper.  “Tilman and Clark’s article 4  also includes some global estimates and could be consulted in that regard. Another example is the discussion on changes in water demand (p. 6) where a national case-study on India is cited, without noting more comprehensive, global analyses. Good resources here are again the IPCC, and the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP). In general, I think it is good practice in reviews to indicate whether a reference provides a specific example, or whether it supports a general argument.”      Authors: We have improved this section and added a reference to the IPCC report.   References 1. Solomon S, Ivy DJ, Kinnison D, Mills MJ, Neely RR, Schmidt A: Emergence of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer. Science . 2016;  353  (6296): 269-74  PubMed Abstract  |  Publisher Full Text   2. GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators: Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.  Lancet . 2016;  388  (10053): 1659-1724  Publisher Full Text   3. Springmann M, Godfray HC, Rayner M, Scarborough P: Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change cobenefits of dietary change. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 2016;  113  (15): 4146-51  PubMed Abstract  |  Publisher Full Text   4. Tilman D, Clark M: Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature . 2014;  515  (7528): 518-22  PubMed Abstract  |  Publisher Full Text   Responses to Reviewer 2   Dear Dr Springmann,   Thank you very much for your excellent comments that have helped us to improve our paper. We have revised the paper based on your suggestions as detailed below. In addition, we made revisions based on comments from Dr McDermott and we added a new section discussing adaptation and mitigation options (section 7).     “In their article ‘Effects of environmental change on population nutrition and health: A comprehensive framework with a focus on fruits and vegetables,’ Hanna Tuomisto and colleagues aim to develop a framework that details the interactions between environmental change, diets, and health, with a particular focus on fruits and vegetables. Their article is a welcome review of the impacts of environmental change on agriculture and health, and I recommend it for indexing subject to addressing a few comments that I am detailing below.   First, I think the motivation of the review could be strengthened. What sets it apart from other reviews, such as the IPCC’s, or maps of the food system?” Authors: We appreciate the motivation/difference was not stipulated clearly: the focus on fruits and vegetables rather than on staple crops. We have strengthened the justification for this in the introduction section.  “Related to that, the article does not contain any methods and discussion sections. This might be fine for a review/overview article, but if the stated aim is to develop a framework of interactions, then one would expect at least some detail on what the added value of that framework is, how it was constructed, and how it compares to other frameworks.” Authors: We have expanded the description of the methods, and added a methods heading. We have also strengthened the explanation of the added value and differences compared to the other frameworks. A brief discussion of the potential uses of the framework as well as some limitations can be found in section 8.  “From my reading of the article, it is a review of interactions between environmental change and mostly agriculture, with special emphasis on the implications for fruits and vegetables, and some discussion on health implications. It might therefore be advisable to describe it as such.” Authors: The title and introduction of the paper have been amended to clarify that it presents a framework with a particular emphasis on fruit and vegetable production. As the paper is designed to be read by a primarily health-focused audience, we have added particular detail on the interactions between environmental change and fruit and vegetable production, as this is the area of the framework the journal’s readership is likely to be least familiar with.    “That would also address some problems I have with the conclusions, which seem to be a little bit of an overstretch to me. For most of the points raised, what would actually be required is some information on the relative importance of each factor. For advocacy or funding purposes, for example, one would want to know how significant a particular aspect is to gauge whether focussing on it would be worth the investment. The review, I think, nicely catalogues the various interactions between environmental change and agriculture, but it does not contain any interpretation of the information that is presented, or a discussion on what to do with it.” Authors: The aim of the framework is to provide a basis for modelling and quantification of the relative importance of the different factors, and as such the quantification itself is beyond the scope of this piece of work. However, we also identified some uses for the framework itself, which are listed in the conclusions section. We will look into possibilities for other research groups to add to the framework in the future (perhaps using open source software) to further quantify each of the indicated links.      “For some of the aspects that are discussed I found myself going back to related IPCC chapters, in particular those on Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AR5, WG3, Chapter 11), Food Security and Food Production Systems (AR5, WG3, Chapter 7), and Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits (AR5, WG2, Chapter 11). Many of the aspects discussed in the article are reviewed at great length there, and in part using more recent studies. I would at least expect that a review like the present one would mention those reports, so that interested individuals know where they can find more detailed information.” Authors: Thank you for the suggestion. We have added citations to the suggested reports in the paper.    “The section on stratospheric ozone depletion is a good case in point. The impacts of changes in ultraviolet radiation on biomass are reviewed, but it is not clear whether it is an important effect or not. For example, what is missing from the discussion is the fact that the ozone hole has started to “heal” (see, e.g., Solomon et al, Science 2016, 1  ; or an earlier IPCC special report on the ozone layer), and where to read on.” Authors: Thank you for the comment. We have added the point that the ozone layer is healing and added a reference to the Solomon et al 2016 paper. We also removed the following sentence as the reference is relatively old and is contradicting the fact that the ozone layer is healing: “It has been estimated that the springtime UV doses will increase 14% in the Northern hemisphere and 40% in the Southern hemisphere in 2010–2020 compared to levels in 1979–1992 (Taalas et al., 2000).”. “In addition to the agricultural impacts, changes in ultraviolet radiation also impact human health directly. It might be worth re-emphasizing that the direct health impacts of many of the environmental changes reviewed are not discussed in the article. (That is also the case for tropospheric ozone, which is briefly mentioned in relation to oxidative stress for plants, but which arguably has a bigger direct health impact in its relationship to urban air pollution).” Authors: We have added a note in the introduction section (end of the fourth paragraph) stating the fact that the paper doesn’t cover direct health impacts.   “At a couple of instances, it might be worth to add some detail related to attribution. For example, in the discussion on acid rain (3.5), one could get away with the impression that it is a natural phenomenon (“Acid rains generally result from the reaction of water molecules and sulphur dioxide or nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere,” p. 6). Whilst natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, surely contribute to acid-rain precursors, the principal causes are anthropogenic emissions of sulphur and nitrogen compounds, especially from coal-fired power plants.” Authors: We have clarified the point on acid rains and screened the paper for additional paragraphs that would benefit from more detail related to attribution: more detail was added to these sections.  “Another clarification regarding attribution might be when discussing fruit and vegetable consumption. On page 8, it is mentioned that in some situation, low consumption reflects population preferences. Although one can surely see it that way, another way of explaining consumption behaviour is by pointing to the food environment and its role in shaping preferences. The benefit of this angle is that it allows one to study the influences of actors, such as governments and the food industry, on the food environment and on the preferences shaped by it.” Authors: Thank you for this excellent comment. We edited the sentence to: “A remarkable example of these feedback loops is based on the consumer-driven rapid global shift towards a more “Western” diet, which is driven by urbanisation, economic growth and changes in technology and culture ( Popkin, 2006).”   “Despite being in the title, health is actually not discussed to a great extent in the review. That’s totally fine, but it might be worth being a bit clearer about what is, and what is not discussed in the article.” Authors: we have now clarified the desired focus of the paper, expanded the health section (5.2) and briefly discussed possible implications for health.  “A specific aspect I was missing from the discussion of pathways leading from nutrition to population health (pp. 7-8) is dietary composition. What is mentioned are the quantity and quality of food intake. Although dietary composition is sometimes subsumed under the banner of quality of food intake, that is not obvious from the related paragraph and could be clarified. Of note here is that changes in dietary composition are broader, and more impactful for health than changes in specific nutrient levels – a point illustrated by the ranking of risk factors in the Global Burden of Disease study 2  that is referred to a couple of times in the article.”   Authors: we clarified that the term ‘food quality’ covers also dietary composition, and have altered this section to focus more explicitly on fruits and vegetables and their contribution to quality of dietary intake.   “A final comment is that the literature used could be a bit more general at times. For example, I don’t understand why when discussing the greenhouse gas emissions related to agriculture, the only study referred to for quantifying the emissions attributable to fruit and vegetable consumption is a working paper focussed on the UK. There are several more general sources that have quantified the emissions attributable to both global and regional consumption of fruits and vegetables. For example, in one of my own studies 3 , I calculated that about 7% of all food-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2005/07 were related to fruit and vegetable consumption.” Authors: thanks for this information. We have added a reference to your paper.  “Tilman and Clark’s article 4  also includes some global estimates and could be consulted in that regard. Another example is the discussion on changes in water demand (p. 6) where a national case-study on India is cited, without noting more comprehensive, global analyses. Good resources here are again the IPCC, and the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP). In general, I think it is good practice in reviews to indicate whether a reference provides a specific example, or whether it supports a general argument.”      Authors: We have improved this section and added a reference to the IPCC report.   References 1. Solomon S, Ivy DJ, Kinnison D, Mills MJ, Neely RR, Schmidt A: Emergence of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer. Science . 2016;  353  (6296): 269-74  PubMed Abstract  |  Publisher Full Text   2. GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators: Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.  Lancet . 2016;  388  (10053): 1659-1724  Publisher Full Text   3. Springmann M, Godfray HC, Rayner M, Scarborough P: Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change cobenefits of dietary change. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 2016;  113  (15): 4146-51  PubMed Abstract  |  Publisher Full Text   4. Tilman D, Clark M: Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature . 2014;  515  (7528): 518-22  PubMed Abstract  |  Publisher Full Text   Competing Interests: We declare that we have no conflict of interest Close Report a concern Reply -->
• expansion of agricultural lands into natural forests,
• intensification of livestock and fish systems (that can have beneficial or negative effects, depending on management),
• depletion of ground water, and
• land / soil degradation.
• Water: water quality is an important issue and is intimately linked with food safety, particularly for vegetables. The landmark WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) report from December 2015 estimates that the main burdens associated with fresh foods are overwhelmingly due to biological pathogens rather than chemicals ( http://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/foodborne-diseases/ferg/en/ ). In general, consumers are more concerned with chemical contamination. Many of the vegetables consumed in urban and peri-urban areas are grown with contaminated wastewater. How this wastewater is managed is a critical issue for vegetable production 1 . The issue of water availability is ignored in the framework, but it is of critical importance. Subsidized water for cereal production is leading to a depletion of groundwater in the western Indo-Gangetic plains. Over-exploitation of ground water is also critical in dryland farming areas in Australia, Central Asia and North America. These systems will be forced to de-intensify or become unproductive. In Africa, there has been relatively little investment in irrigation to date, but it is a very dry continent and sustainable irrigation will be critical to adapting food production systems to increasing climate variability.
• Biodiversity loss: this is one example of the need to go beyond listing issues to assessing tradeoffs. As noted by the authors, this is complex to model and decide, but people are constantly making decisions between adhering to a precautionary principle of maintaining natural areas, and adopting more intensive and less diverse systems. The framework would need to consider how such tradeoffs can be considered and monitored, and evolve over time.
• Diet quality in sustainable and healthy food systems: implied in the discussion of fruits and vegetables is the diversification of diets and improving diet quality by promoting consumption of healthy foods (and reducing consumption of unhealthy foods). In LMICs, most agricultural policies provide subsidies and greater investment for cereals with the result that supply chains for cereals are more efficient and the prices lower relative to more nutritious foods such as pulses, fish and vegetables. Thus, rebalancing agricultural policies to make them more commodity-neutral is needed to improve diet quality.
• Tradeoffs between sustainability and health. Animal-source foods represent the greatest challenge in this regard since they are very nutritious but much more environmentally costly. A strong case can be made that the poor (especially mothers and children) should eat more animal-source foods, but it is desirable, for both sustainability and health reasons, to limit the dramatic increases in consumption of animal-source foods observed as incomes rise in LMICs.                        

Reviewer Expertise: Epidemiology, agriculture and livestock production, food systems in low and middle income countries, veterinary medicine, agriculture intensification and infectious disease risk (food safety, emerging diseases)

• Water: water quality is an important issue and is intimately linked with food safety, particularly for vegetables. The landmark WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) report from December 2015 estimates that the main burdens associated with fresh foods are overwhelmingly due to biological pathogens rather than chemicals (http://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/foodborne-diseases/ferg/en/). In general, consumers are more concerned with chemical contamination. Many of the vegetables consumed in urban and peri-urban areas are grown with contaminated wastewater. How this wastewater is managed is a critical issue for vegetable production (for example, see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4640866/ ).”
• “Biodiversity loss: this is one example of the need to go beyond listing issues to assessing tradeoffs. As noted by the authors, this is complex to model and decide, but people are constantly making decisions between adhering to a precautionary principle of maintaining natural areas, and adopting more intensive and less diverse systems. The framework would need to consider how such tradeoffs can be considered and monitored, and evolve over time.”
• “Tradeoffs between sustainability and health. Animal-source foods represent the greatest challenge in this regard since they are very nutritious but much more environmentally costly. A strong case can be made that the poor (especially mothers and children) should eat more animal-source foods, but it is desirable, for both sustainability and health reasons, to limit the dramatic increases in consumption of animal-source foods observed as incomes rise in LMICs.”

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Alongside their report, reviewers assign a status to the article:

Reviewer Reports

• John McDermott , International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, USA
• Marco Springmann , University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

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• Environment Problems

environmental changes

Updated 08 May 2023

Subject Environment Problems ,  Learning ,  Goals

Downloads 51

Category Environment ,  Education ,  Life

Topic Climate Change ,  Research ,  Change

With each passing day, the world continues to endure environmental changes, the consequences of which have jeopardized the very existence of life on Earth. Many research institutes and academic centers of excellence have drawn a bleak picture of the planet's future based on present environmental trends. Modern human factors have continued to exploit the world's natural resources, resulting in degradation of the very resources that support life and are factors of production (Cetron & Davies, 2005).

Changes in the following areas will result in an altered perspective on the world in 20 years. The world would much warmer than it is today if no mitigation measures are put in place to arrest the current factors that are causing an immense rise in the global temperatures. The ever-rising global warming will drive the increase in temperatures. The average temperatures on the surface of the earth will continue to go up because of the upsurge in the emission of greenhouse gases. More, tragically is the fact that the greenhouse gases are rising because of human factors like combustion of fossil fuels. Much as the efforts are being put into place to address the issue of the ever-increasing greenhouse gases, the initiative will be brought to naught if nothing is done to reduce the rate of combustion of fossil fuels (Cox et al., 2000).

Likewise, the next 20 years will see an unprecedented rise in the water levels of the seas and oceans due to the massive and extensive melting of the icecap of the Greenland. The water generated from the melting of the ice will flow as a result of gravity and drain into the major water bodies such as seas and oceans. On top of that, there will be an unprecedented increase in the levels of methane in the Tundra (Swingedouw, Braconnot & Marti, 2006).

In to the bargain, the current environmental trends paint a picture of drastic changes in the patterns of rainfall and drought across the world. The present exploitation of the available fresh water resources such as rivers is creating a situation whereby many streams are diminishing, and size as others dry up and become extinct. That would mean that there will not be enough water bodies to transmit water into the atmosphere in the form of water vapor through evaporation. High atmospheric temperatures will also lead to drying of forests and vegetation. The combined effect of reduced forest cover and a decrease in surface water resources will be a decline in the evapotranspiration. Therefore, there will not be enough water vapor in the atmosphere needed for precipitation. The result will change in the rainfall patterns.

Furthermore, the current trend and rate of cutting down trees and clearing of vegetation for urbanization and construction of settlements will lead to more atmospheric carbon dioxide. The trees act as carbon sinks. Therefore, cutting down trees would result in more carbon suspension in the atmosphere (Le Quéré et al., 2009).

The trends which will undoubtedly have predictable outcomes are, clearing of vegetation and cutting down of trees. Without trees, there will be no more carbon sinks. Hence, temperature levels will go up. Additionally, the melting of ice will also have a predictable outcome since the rise in the sea level is a measurable outcome.

Current environmental trends will have an enormous impact in the world in the next 20 years and more if nothing will be done to reverse these trends. There needs to be concerted efforts and measures that will address the growing and worrying trend of environmental degradation.

Cetron, M. J., & Davies, O. (2005). Trends now shaping the future: Economic, societal, and environmental trends. The Futurist, 39(2), 27.

Cox, P. M., Betts, R. A., Jones, C. D., Spall, S. A., & Totterdell, I. J. (2000). Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model. Nature, 408(6809), 184.

Le Quéré, C., Raupach, M. R., Canadell, J. G., Marland, G., Bopp, L., Ciais, P., ... & Friedlingstein, P. (2009). Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide. Nature geoscience, 2(12), 831.

Swingedouw, D., Braconnot, P., & Marti, O. (2006). Sensitivity of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation to the melting from northern glaciers in climate change experiments. Geophysical research letters, 33(7).

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How imperfect environmentalists can drive action on climate change 

Imperfect environmentalists can drive change through even the smallest of actions. Image:  Getty Images/iStockphoto

.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:hover,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:focus,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);} Sheila M Morovati

.chakra .wef-9dduvl{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-9dduvl{font-size:1.125rem;}} Explore and monitor how .chakra .wef-15eoq1r{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-size:1.25rem;color:#F7DB5E;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-15eoq1r{font-size:1.125rem;}} Climate Change is affecting economies, industries and global issues

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}} Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:, climate action.

• Climate anxiety is growing, with a survey showing that 59% of people aged 16-25 are very or extremely worried about the state of the planet.
• However, there are many effective ways for individuals to inspire change and protect the planet by taking action, no matter how big or small.
• Here's how being an 'imperfect environmentalist' can drive climate action through changing habits and leveraging the power of consumerism.

This is the year to become an 'imperfect environmentalist’. Climate anxiety is growing and it is a very real issue that many people are facing.

The American Psychology Association (APA) describes climate anxiety , often called eco-anxiety, as “the chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change and the associated concern for one's future and that of next generations”.

A recent study on climate anxiety surveyed young people aged 16-25 to gauge their feelings about climate change and their governments' responses. Participants were found to be overwhelmingly worried about climate change, with 84% reporting moderate worry, and 59% saying they were very or extremely worried.

Have you read?

Climate anxiety is real. why talking about it matters, how to help gen z turn climate anxiety into action, how to cope with climate anxiety: stanford expert shares techniques that help.

The research also revealed a variety of emotional responses including sadness, anxiety, anger, powerlessness, helplessness and guilt in 50% of respondents, with 45% reporting that these emotions negatively impacted their daily life and functioning.

Three-quarters (75%) of those surveyed find the future frightening, and 83% think that we have failed to take care of the planet. We owe younger generations a future – yet many of us feel too overwhelmed to even know where to start in the face of the immensity of the climate crisis.

Imperfect environmentalism as a catalyst for change

Studies show that easing climate anxiety is done by taking action. Imperfect environmentalists are people who may not identify as full-fledged environmentalists, but are willing to help by living more sustainably “most” of the time. This helps individuals shift their mindset from “I’m only one person” to “I can start the ripple effect for change”.

Imperfect environmentalism is a movement rooted in social science and human behaviour research, that seeks to fight climate change and rising climate anxiety through influencing micro and macro actions and values.

What's the World Economic Forum doing about the ocean?

Our ocean covers 70% of the world’s surface and accounts for 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. We can't have a healthy future without a healthy ocean - but it's more vulnerable than ever because of climate change and pollution.

Tackling the grave threats to our ocean means working with leaders across sectors, from business to government to academia.

The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the World Resources Institute, convenes the Friends of Ocean Action , a coalition of leaders working together to protect the seas. From a programme with the Indonesian government to cut plastic waste entering the sea to a global plan to track illegal fishing, the Friends are pushing for new solutions.

Climate change is an inextricable part of the threat to our oceans, with rising temperatures and acidification disrupting fragile ecosystems. The Forum runs a number of initiatives to support the shift to a low-carbon economy , including hosting the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, who have cut emissions in their companies by 9%.

Is your organization interested in working with the World Economic Forum? Find out more here .

This means that we want to see grassroots actions and a collective shift in the behaviour of the masses to reduce waste and have better habits, while simultaneously putting pressure on large corporations and legislators to create lasting change.

I have personally spearheaded several global movements that have changed the way we look at our wastefulness via both my environmental non-profit organizations Habits of Waste and Crayon Collection .

There are effective ways for individuals to make the change and protect our planet by creating new systems and by inspiring people to take action, no matter how big or small. This movement offers the guilt-free opportunity for the masses to begin where they can instead of striving for perfection, which tends to paralyse people into inaction.

We often hear that we need billions of people to help in the reversal of climate change instead of a small handful of people doing it perfectly and imperfect environmentalism is the catalyst to bring about this uprising.

Yale researchers highlight the benefit of social support systems for our mental well-being, especially as it relates to climate worry. By lowering the barrier of entry for climate action by embracing imperfection, we make it easier for individuals to join this collective and create positive associations with climate action.

We need a different approach to individual climate action – one that more closely ties personal choices to systemic change and fights anxiety and apathy. By lowering the barrier of entry to environmental action, we can create an incredible collective effort to fight the climate crisis.

How Habits of Waste encouraged consumers to influence change

At Habits of Waste, for example, we created a bridge between everyday individuals and these larger entities such as Amazon, Walmart, Uber Eats, Hollywood Studios and local and state legislators in the US.

Several thousand people sent pre-written emails to these corporations and government entities demanding change to make it easier for millions of users to “do better”. These emails took less than two minutes for individuals to send, giving consumers incredible power to influence change.

There are countless other opportunities like this for activism within Habits of Waste, from requesting sustainable packaging from the biggest online retailers to calling for sustainable swaps in film and television.

It is no longer an “all or nothing” mindset. For example, studies show that the single most important action individuals can take is to eat more plant-based meals. Since many people are unable to adopt a fully vegan diet, it is worth highlighting broadly that an “imperfect” vegan diet still has a great impact.

Researchers from Oxford University and University of Michigan both confirm that if western cultures cut their consumption of animal products by around 40%-50% we create enough of a carbon offset to actually combat climate change.

To make this finding more approachable for the public we deduced that a 40% reduction of animal products results in eight plant-based meals a week. If we each swapped just eight meals a week to plant-based meals, we could reduce a significant amount of methane gas emissions and offer individuals an attainable commitment that averts failure.

This is the basis of Habits of Waste’s #8meals campaign , and inspiration for what imperfect and accessible environmental action looks like in pursuit of a more sustainable lifestyle.

No action is too small when it comes to tackling climate change

Imperfect environmentalism posits the idea that solving the climate crisis will require action across a spectrum of sizes, with no action too small to count.

We create a “snowball effect” for change by using our voices. The normalization of sustainable action will underpin a societal shift towards a deeper value system towards sustainability, where our widely accepted habits and practices become those that protect the planet.

Structural causes of climate change such as global economic dependence on fossil fuels and industrial and manufacturing waste remain a critical focus. One accessible solution for this issue is shifting default settings.

For example, Habits of Waste’s #CutOutCutlery campaign convinced all major food delivery services to globally change their default settings so that single-use plastic cutlery is made available upon request only.

By changing the default to an environmentally friendly option, we can help people take environmental action even if they do not identify as environmentalists. Chinese researchers corroborate the efficacy of this work. In a study on a major food delivery app in China, the green nudge of changing default settings reduced the number of orders including plastic cutlery by 648%.

Many companies can also more easily reach their environment, social and governance goals by choosing eco-friendly default settings in products like Google Maps and Nest, as users will automatically default to a sustainable choice that was made for them.

Individuals hold the power for incredible change with effective action. Think of the community you live in, or your circle of friends.

How is the World Economic Forum fighting the climate crisis?

The Global Risks Report 2023 ranked failure to mitigate climate change as one of the most severe threats in the next two years, while climate- and nature- related risks lead the rankings by severity over the long term.

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate is a multistakeholder platform that seeks to safeguard our global commons and drive systems transformation. It is accelerating action on climate change towards a net-zero, nature-positive future.

Learn more about our impact:

• Scaling up green technologies: Through a partnership with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, and over 65 global businesses, the First Movers Coalition has committed $12 billion in purchase commitments for green technologies to decarbonize the cement and concrete industry.
• 1 trillion trees: Over 90 global companies have committed to conserve, restore and grow more than 8 billion trees in 65 countries through the 1t.org initiative – which aims to achieve 1 trillion trees by 2030.
• Sustainable food production: Our Food Action Alliance is engaging 40 partners who are working on 29 flagship initiatives to provide healthy, nutritious, and safe foods in ways that safeguard our planet. In Vietnam, it supported the upskilling of 2.2 million farmers and aims to provide 20 million farmers with the skills to learn and adapt to new agricultural standards.
• Eliminating plastic pollution: Our Global Plastic Action Partnership is bringing together governments, businesses and civil society to shape a more sustainable world through the eradication of plastic pollution. In Ghana, more than 2,000 waste pickers are making an impact cleaning up beaches, drains and other sites.
• Protecting the ocean: Our 2030 Water Resources Group has facilitated almost $1 billion to finance water-related programmes , growing into a network of more than 1,000 partners and operating in 14 countries/states.
• Circular economy: Our SCALE 360 initiative is reducing the environmental impacts of value chains within the fashion, food, plastics and electronics industries, positively impacting over 100,000 people in 60 circular economy interventions globally.

Want to know more about our centre’s impact or get involved? Contact us .

Could your family eat plant-based eight times a week? Could you find a group of people at your school or workplace to cycle or take public transit together?

Can you and a few friends convince your local officials to require restaurants to offer straws with drinks only when requested as Habits of Waste did with Los Angeles, California? Or perhaps even spearhead a ban on plastic straws and cutlery like Habits of Waste did in Malibu, California, which happened to be the first one in history.

Just because action starts small doesn't mean it can’t make a difference. Let’s create a change, together.

To learn more about “imperfect environmentalism” and the work of Habits of Waste, read Sheila Morovati’s book Imperfect Environmentalist , which is released on 16 April, 2024.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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International Governance of Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Recent Developments and Future Directions

Ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is attracting increased attention as a possible climate change response strategy. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made clear that, while CDR cannot substitute for rapid and deep cuts in emissions, its use is “unavoidable” if the worst impacts of climate change are to be avoided. According to IPCC estimates , a minimum of 6 gigatons of carbon dioxide will likely need to be removed annually by 2050 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Currently, though, the largest technological CDR facility in operation anywhere in the world is only capable of removing just 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Clearly there is a long way to go and ocean-based CDR approaches could help us get there. Several of the ocean CDR approaches currently under consideration are thought to be highly scalable , with some (e.g., ocean alkalinity enhancement ) theoretically able to remove 1 gigaton or more of carbon dioxide annually. Further research is, however, needed to determine whether these theoretical maximums can be achieved and answer other key questions about the efficacy and impacts of ocean CDR. Indeed, a recent report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences concluded that “[t]he present state of knowledge on many ocean CDR approaches is inadequate,” and called for the establishment of a multi-billion research program. Conducting the necessary research is, however, likely to be challenging for a host of reasons. In a new paper published today, the Sabin Center explores the governance challenges associated with ocean CDR research and (if deemed appropriate) deployment.

Many of the remaining questions about ocean CDR can only be answered through controlled field trials in the ocean and, in some cases, relatively large-scale and/or long-duration trials may be required. That sort of in-ocean activity could raise a host of issued under international law. The ocean is a globally shared resource and, as such, a number of international agreements have been developed to govern ocean-based activities. Most of the relevant agreements pre-date discussion of ocean CDR and adapting them to this new class of activities has proved challenging.

In a new paper – International Governance of Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Recent Developments and Future Directions —I explore the treatment of ocean CDR under three key international agreements governing ocean-based activities. These are: (1) the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); (2) the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of wastes and Other Matter (commonly known as “the London Convention”); and (3) the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention (commonly known as “the London Protocol”). The paper explores the challenges inherent in applying these decades-old agreements to ocean CDR and suggests an alternative approach to governance grounded in the new Agreement under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (the so-called “BBNJ Treaty”).

Read the full paper here .

Romany Webb

Romany Webb is a Research Scholar at Columbia Law School, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Climate at Columbia Climate School, and Deputy Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link Executive Actions to Ensure Safe and Responsible Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Research in the United States
• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link An Update on the Evolving Legal Landscape for Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Key Outcomes of the October 2023 Meeting of the Parties to the London Convention and Protocol
• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link The Evolving Legal Landscape for Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal
• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link Rethinking the Willow Project: Did BLM Have Other Options?

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