The second chapter analyses the response to the climate grand challenge by institutions, governments, business practice and academia. Since the 1980s, climate science has alerted us, with data and evidence, to the serious effects that human intervention is having on the climate. This grand challenge constitutes a global problem that can be plausibly addressed through coordinated and collaborative efforts at a planetary scale, requiring the involvement of governments, supranational institutions, companies and, of course, management academics. From a historical perspective, we introduce the reader to how climate change was initially treated by multinational institutions and governments, and then we delve into the reaction of industry to this evidence, paying special attention to the fossil fuel industry because of its prominent role in the generation of greenhouse gases. Finally, we analyse the role of academia in addressing this challenge, in particular the role of organisations and the natural environment academics.

Human rights cases challenging government inaction on climate change have been filed throughout the world. These cases seek to enforce government obligations to respect the rights of individuals, communities adversely affected by climate change, and specific groups of vulnerable persons. An expanding body of climate change detection and attribution research supports these claims by demonstrating that climate change is occurring and causing harmful impacts and can be linked to government policies and conduct. The research is robust, supporting claims related to both mitigation and adaptation obligations. There are gaps and limitations in the research, but those constraints do not present a major obstacle to pursuing rights-based climate litigation. Attribution science is particularly well-suited to supporting community petitions that are based on collective rights, as evidence of attribution tends to be stronger when looking at impacts on a broader geographic and temporal scale. And by using attribution science to demonstrate that future climate impacts are foreseeable, litigants bolster their claims challenging governments’ failures to adapt.

This chapter traces the evolution of thought on the causes of climate change from the early science on atmospheric physics to the adoption of the UNFCCC’s “common but differentiated responsibilities” (of nations) in 1992 to the responsibilities of non-state actors and a shared burden of mitigation and damages. The discussion then shifts to the responsibility of fossil fuel companies for their contributions to atmospheric carbon dioxide content and their early knowledge of their culpability for climate change, followed by corporate and trade association campaigns of deflection and disinformation in an effort to delay climate action. I discuss the emergence of litigation against Carbon Majors, which seeks redress for damages to property and injunctions based on human rights violations. Oil, natural gas, and coal companies face substantial legal (and moral) liability for the costs of climate change, even though other parties also share partial responsibility. Leading oil and gas companies understand that the climate crisis is existential and that, to retain their social license to operate, it is essential that they align their business models to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target by mid-century.

Climate change is now a significant concern for almost every government, many major international organizations, industries of every variety, thousands of nongovernmental organizations and many millions of people around the world. Climate change has moved from being a minor scientific issue in international relations, national politics and human affairs to being, as we move through the 2020s, one of the most high-profile political issues globally. In short, climate change is now high politics. Governments have negotiated agreements to study climate change and to put in place policies that limit the greenhouse gas pollution that causes it. All of this has been driven to a great extent by climate science. However, despite the high profile of climate change and actions around the world to address it, the responses of countries and other actors, including businesses and individuals, have failed to keep up with the increasing pace of change. Special interests and climate denial have gotten in the way.

The fossil fuel industry has repeated the earlier strategy of the tobacco industry by undermining climate science and devoting public advertising and political lobbying resources to delay greenhouse gas reducing policies. Scientists can improve their techniques of communicating to non–experts. But the evidence from anecdotal experience and academic research suggests that some myths are difficult to dispell. This is especially the case if the beliefs are affected by competing worldviews in partisan politics.