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The Paris Agreement gave the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage a permanent and potentially prominent place in climate negotiations, but beyond that its impact remains wide open for interpretation.
Ambitious temperature targets are intended to be catalysts of political and practical action on climate change. They also pose many applied research questions to science.
The impacts of climate change imply a reconceptualization of environment-related criminality. Criminology can offer insight into the definitions and dynamics of this behaviour, and outline potential areas of redress.
Climate change could cost the world trillions of dollars every year. But at the moment, no one is required to pay for this damage, even if it is arguably their fault. That is where the world's courts come in.
Weather is unpredictable and storms such as those seen in June have always occurred. Now climate change, in the form of sea-level rise, is increasing the risk of damage along the coasts and has implications for insurance and preparedness.
The success of the Paris Agreement relies on a system of 'pledge and review', and the power of shaming laggards. This puts much of the burden for holding countries accountable on civil society.
Indonesian peatlands need to be protected and restored to prevent fires and the health, environmental and economic impact that they have on the wider region.
The Paris Agreement duly reflects the latest scientific understanding of systemic global warming risks. Limiting the anthropogenic temperature anomaly to 1.5–2 °C is possible, yet requires transformational change across the board of modernity.