Climate change is making heat waves worse. A new study shows how specific companies are promoting the problem

The growing role of carbon emissions is becoming clear due to summer waves, floods, droughts and other extreme weather, thanks Growing area Climate Attention Studies.

This research suggests how much a particular weather disaster is due to climate change – a particular weather disaster.

A new study Published by climate researchers in Europe and America and published in Journal Nature has carried on this analysis further Fatal Disaster Type – Heat Waves – directly for major fossil fuel companies and their products.

the study Saw the major summer waves between 2000 and 2023, and the role of “carbon major”. These include state-owned companies (such as Gazprom or Saudi Aramco in Russia), investor-owned private companies (Shell, BP, Exonmobile or even Canadian companies such as Suncor and Senovas) and nation-states that produce coal (India, East Soviet Union).

The study described the lifelong carbon emissions of these carbon major on previous research, and other studies suggest how carbon emissions make it worse. He then added those two strands to guess how the emission of a specific carbon major affected the severity and possibility of a special summer wave.

The study found that climate change made the average intensity of heat waves globally to 1.68 C hotter between 2010 and 2019, and its 0.47 C was due to only 14 of the largest carbon major.

The study goes into grain expansion, with data for each of the 180 carbon major data and their specific contributions in each of the 213 heat waves studied. It has also shown the impact of small companies in detail – for example, the smallest carbon prominent by emission, a Russian coal company, formed more than 10,000 times the possibility of 16 heat waves – meaning that the heat waves were almost impossible without the emission of that carbon major.

“I was surprised that even the smallest carbon major was actually contributing to the possibility of warm waves,” said Quilkil, a climate scientist in Eth Zurich, who led the study.

Experts say that research is a new limit in assigning moral and legal responsibility to fossil fuel companies for climate change, experts say that significant impact for climate litigation and to advocate worldwide.

The study does not determine the damage caused by each company – which depends on more factors than the intensity of the heat wave, such as the use of emergency preparation or air conditioner. But experts say that it can still be used to calculate monetary damage and obligation of specific companies.

It comes in the form of taking back its climate policies to companies and countries in view of an American administration that is reversing climate policies and promoting fossil fuels. Canada has gone away from many major climate policies in recent months, such as Consumer carbon tax And a planned Electrical vehicle sales mandate,

Prime Minister Mark Carney has not yet announced what will be the place of these policies to help Canada meet his emission goals, but he has pushed for more Resource development As a way to combat a difficult economic and business status.

What are the legal results for fossil fuel companies?

In July, the International Court of International Court of Advisory in the Top Court of the United Nations issued an advisory opinion, stating that countries suffering from climate disasters may explore the most carbon -emitted countries and contribute to the problem. The court’s verdict was seen as an example that people could attract people in local courts worldwide as they use legal matters for climate action.

Jessica Wenge, Senior Fellow of Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, says that it creates the latest Atribution Research on ICJ’s opinion, and further helps those who want to sue the companies – especially by establishing their positions in making a case.

“Initially when a plaintiff needs to show that they are standing in a case, they have to allege that they have an injury that is traced to the preparation’s conduct,” he said. The new study will help create that link, she says, although she admits that still has a long way to go until the courts actually find companies financially liable.

Ventz said, “The functioning that outlines such conclusions can also be used in more fungi methods, not only to look at the contribution of carbon major, but you can possibly use a similar approach to see the government,” Ventz said.

In Canada, two major cases brought by young people are making their way through the system. Both claim that the government’s inactivity on climate change is violating the rights of the Canadian people. A Case against Ontario government While running Case against federal government Can be led for a test.

Professor Naomi Orescase, Professor of Science History at Harvard University, is one of the leading researchers in the world on climate misinformation. She says that the study may have a great help for people affected by climate change – who may have some resources – to seek prevention.

“Suppose you are a farmer and your livestock has died in the death (2021 North American) Heat Dome. You do not have the ability to prove as a personal farmer that this heat wave was caused by climate change,” he said.

“But now you are not because in fact, scientists have done that work.”

Oresk called the findings of the study “powerful and motivator”, showing how much carbon major emissions have contributed to the heat problem.

“These corporations, they produce these (fossil fuels) products … We know in many cases also incorrectly present what they knew and they fought a policy fight to reduce climate change,” Oresk said, “said,” previous research From his and other experts showing major oil companies Know about the effects of carbon emissions And threats from countries to implement climate policies for decades of global warming.

He said, “Some corporations have played a kind of major role in the manufacture of these products, causing this damage … I would not say that they tolerate all the responsibility, but they definitely own the lion’s share, and this paper is a kind of quantitative assessment of how big the lion is really,” he said.

The CBC studied several carbon major mentioned in the study, but they either refused to comment or did not respond from the time of publication.