History of climate change

The author uses the fossil record to demonstrate that rapid climate changes have historically driven mass extinctions, noting that current human-induced increases in greenhouse gases mirror these dangerous trends. The text argues that because climate change is not easily reversible and may involve abrupt 'tipping points', traditional economic discounting is less relevant than immediate mitigation. Proposed solutions include worldwide prizes for breakthrough technologies, tradable permits, taxes, and energy efficiency standards, drawing parallels to the successful Montreal Protocol.

• Historical evidence from the fossil record indicates that while life can survive various stable climate levels, rapid changes in climate are the primary drivers of mass extinctions.
• The Permian–Triassic extinction, occurring approximately 250 million years ago, was the most severe mass extinction, eliminating 70% of plants, animals, and insects and 80–90% of ocean dwellers, with temperatures ending about 6°C higher than today.
• Current atmospheric CO2 levels have exceeded 400 ppm, surpassing the 172–300 ppm range found in deep ice cores from the past 800,000 years, while atmospheric methane has doubled over the same period.
• Ocean absorption of CO2 leads to acidification, which hinders the growth of invertebrates and plankton and may prevent the formation of coral reefs and diatoms' calcium carbonate shells.
• The author argues that traditional economic 'discount rates' are inappropriate for climate change because the process is not easily reversible and may involve 'tipping points' that shift global temperature distributions.
• Successful historical environmental actions, such as the 1987 Montreal Protocol to eliminate chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and various 'Clean Air Acts', demonstrate that emissions reductions can be achieved without significantly impacting a country's GNP.
• Proposed economic and policy mechanisms to mitigate climate change include a worldwide fund for large prizes for breakthrough technologies, a combination of taxes and tradable permits, and mandated 'best-practice' energy efficiency standards.

APA

Hendry, D. F. (2020). History of climate change. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/history-of-climate-change/

Chicago

Hendry, David F. History of climate change. World Economic Forum, 2020. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/history-of-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hendry |first1=David F. |title=History of climate change |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=28 October 2020 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/history-of-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hendry2020history, author = {Hendry, David F.}, title = {{History of climate change}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/history-of-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }