Climate themes & Topics
What does a changing climate mean for Georgia? What can we do about it?
The information below is meant to identify and explain important themes for framing climate stories as well as to spark ideas for stories that talk about both climate change impacts and solutions in Georgia. Remember to check out the inspiration page to see a curated list of examples of climate stories (both from professionals and students) as well as print media publications to read what others are saying about some of these topics.
This page explains the different categories of climate stories listed in the graphic to the right:
Climate Impacts
Climate Solutions (mitigation and adaptation)
Climate Justice
resources from GCP + Partners
Georgia Climate Project has been hosting a monthly webinar series featuring experts from around the state
If you want to learn more about climate change impacts on ecosystems, water resources, health or the coast, visit the links here on our GCP YouTube channel to view recordings
Focused on climate impacts
The goal of this portal—created by Georgians for Georgians—is to share information and resources that can help all of us answer two key questions: What does a changing climate mean for Georgia, and what can we do about it?
Currently includes pages on ecosystems, health and the coast. More portal pages are coming in Spring 2021.
Focused on climate impacts
Drawdown Georgia is the first, state-centered effort to crowdsolve for climate change, with 20, high-impact solutions that are tailored to Georgia’s unique natural, economic, and social resources. These solutions can help us take multiple megatons of carbon out of the atmosphere.
View the technical briefs on electricity, buildings and materials, food, land sinks and transportation
Focused on climate solutions
Climate impacts vs. solutions
When creating climate stories, it is important to differentiate between climate change impacts and climate change solutions.
Climate change alters atmospheric chemistry and temperature, ocean chemistry and temperature, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and precipitation patterns, all of which will directly and indirectly influence ecological systems and human well-being globally (IPCC 2014; Melillo et al. 2014). Georgia’s climate is no exception to these changes and in the years to come, scientists expect more heat, rising sea levels, more intense flooding, more drought and more intense storms. These changes are all understood as the impacts and effects of climate change.
These changes bring real and ever increasing risks to Georgians and the natural systems on which we depend. However, tackling these risks presents real opportunities for Georgia to grow our economy, advance equity, improve public health and protect our environment. These opportunities to combat and respond to issues related to climate change are understood as climate solutions. Georgia already has a variety of potential responses to climate change in place, and communities across Georgia are actively exploring strategies to respond to climate change (Evans et al. 2016; Gambill et al. 2017). Some are working to assess vulnerabilities and build resilience to potential impacts (e.g., Evans et al. 2014), while others are developing technologies and policies to reduce emissions (City of Atlanta 2015). Several large Georgia-based multinational corporations are also proactively developing strategies to minimize the extent and effects of climate change and to create new economic opportunities in response to climate change (e.g., Anderson and White 2009).
Climate Mitigation vs. Adaptation
Both climate mitigation and adaptation can be considered solutions to climate change, but what is the difference?
What is climate change mitigation?
MITIGATION seeks to limit the phenomenon of climate change itself by controlling its causes: the increase of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Therefore, mitigation refers to all the actions that help reduce emissions or enhance the sinks of emissions (such as forests and wetlands).
Be careful: The word mitigation is also used in Disaster Risk Reduction work to describe "the lessening or minimizing of the adverse impacts of a hazardous event" that could be climate-related or not (for example, an earthquake).
For great examples of climate mitigation be sure to check out Drawdown Georgia, a collaborative effort presenting 20 high-impact solutions that, when scaled, have the power to cut Georgia’s emissions significantly over the next decade, and put the state on a path toward carbon neutrality. Each climate solution was selected to best map to Georgia’s unique economic, social and natural resources.
What is climate change adaptation?
ADAPTATION refers to all the actions that help manage the current and future impacts of climate change. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Adaptation is defined as "the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities." Adaptation responses are taken because we failed to act early enough to mitigate all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and limit climate change impacts. Georgians will need to adapt to many different impacts, including but not limited to: more frequent and/or intense climate hazards such as droughts, floods, dry spells, and hurricanes; temperature increases; sea level rise; unpredictable rainfalls and shortening rainy seasons.
Examples of adaptation include:
Farmers planting different crops (e.g. drought tolerant crops) and investing in smart irrigation technology to adjust to warming temperatures and more extreme weather events (such as droughts and floods)
Households buying flood insurance or local governments defining no-building areas in flood-prone regions.
Fostering climate-proof planning at the local level and the integration of adaptation into local planning, actions and education.
Investments in the development of climate-resilient infrastructure (e.g. building defenses to protect against sea-level rise, quality road surfaces to withstand hotter temperatures, and storm-resistant buildings or houses).
Climate justice
When thinking about impactful climate change stories, it is important to consider climate justice and equity.
Climate justice begins with the ideas that the adverse impacts of a warming climate are not felt equitably and that those who contribute the least to the causes of climate crisis are often the most vulnerable to its impacts.
According to the international non-governmental organization Oxfam, "the poorest half of the global population are responsible for only around 10% of global emissions yet live overwhelmingly in the countries most vulnerable to climate change – while the richest 10% of people in the world are responsible for around 50% of global emissions."
Georgia is no exception to this rule. Moreover, in Georgia patterns of climate change may differ at regional and local geographic scales (Ruth and Ibarraran 2009) and variability in susceptibility to harm, in ecological, social and infrastructure systems, will lead to differential impacts from climate change (Crimmins et al. 2016; Patz et al. 2005; Thornton et al 2014). Specifically, the impacts of climate change are most likely to be relatively high in regions and communities with relatively low levels of economic wealth, educational attainment, or social cohesion (Rufat et al 2015; Cutter et al 2003).
Furthermore, in order to fully address the generational challenge of climate change, we must acknowledge and address our society’s multi-generational legacy of racial injustice. Climate change does not exist in a vacuum, and it is important to recognize that it impacts many Black communities in Georgia disproportionately.
Climate story topics
When curating a climate story, there are a number of powerful topics to choose from. Focusing on a specific theme or topic helps to create a more compelling story that can be tailored to specific audiences, thus improving communication around climate change. Here are some suggested topics that are relevant to Georgia.
Coast
Increases in king tide/sunny-day flooding
Increases in erosion on barrier island coastlines due rising sea levels
Strategies for climate/sea level rise resilient infrastructure
Health
Increased allergy and respiratory complications due to longer, more intense pollen seasons
Warming temperatures threaten to impact air pollution levels
Increases in heat related Illness
Changes in the distribution of vector borne diseases
Ecosystems
Freshwater fish losing habitat due to warming, variable waters
Wetland habitats threatened by drought
Amplification of ecosystem stressors (urban expansion, pollutant runoff, invasive species, and fire frequency)
Water Resources
Increased water usage due to hotter temperatures
Excessive rainfall facilitating entry of waste into waterways
Adaptation plans to reduce water usage
Green infrastructure to reduce flooding and reduce non-point source pollution
Weather and Climate
The increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (hurricanes, flooding, drought)
Changes in frequency and intensity of and precipitation patterns
Agriculture
Changes in growing seasons due to warmer winters
Damages to crop production due to drought and other extreme weather events
Development of new water efficient irrigation strategies and technologies
Equity and Justice
Impacts of heat and flooding in low-income communities
Achieving energy efficient rental properties
Solutions that address climate and increase equity
Just and equitable transition to clean energy
Energy and Infrastructure
Reducing Georgia's carbon footprint by investing in solar energy, electric vehicles, alternative transportation, energy efficient buildings, etc.
New opportunities from green energy jobs
Capturing landfill methane to generate electricity