In Pursuit of Climate Justice

“The stakes could not be higher.” These are the recent words not of climate activists, but of a coalition representing major oil and gas companies in a letter to the US Supreme Court. The context? They’re asking the Court to block dozens of lawsuits that seek to hold these firms to account for their role in driving the climate crisis, including by awarding damages for the costs of extreme weather events.

But how do these cases actually work? While it is becoming more frequent, extreme weather has always been a part of our planet’s natural variation, so how can we know which events are part of a new normal as a result of climate change and which are just "normal"? For a long time, it was hard to give a clear answer. But thanks to the work of today’s guest, Dr. Fredi Otto, that is all beginning to change. In this episode, Adrienne and Fredi Otto break down "attribution science", a relatively new field that seeks to examine the role of climate change in extreme weather events. Through the the work of Fredi and her team, we are gaining a much clearer picture not only of our changing planet, but also of how climate change is inescapably tied up with inequality and injustice.

Dr. Otto is Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and co-founder of World Weather Attribution, an international effort to analyse and communicate the role of climate change in extreme weather events.

Note: Since this episode was recorded, the case of KlimaSenniorinen vs. Switzerland was ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, affirming that the government had violated their rights by failing to act on climate, in a landmark judgement.