Chicago, December 7, 2017 – Climate change threatens the very basis of human survival everywhere – from nation states to cities. Yet in spite of the devastating impacts and economic costs of global warming, sea level rise and contamination of air, water, and soil, national authorities are reluctantly mitigating and adapting to these threats. This is because national politicians face few penalties for inaction and even fewer rewards for taking assertive action. Take the case of the United States, a country responsible for 20 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions, which is led by a president and party that believes climate change is a hoax.

Read the article of Sheila Foster, professor of law at Georgetown University, and Robert Muggah, co-founder of the Igarape Institute and SecDev Group, on the website of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Sheila Foster and Robert Muggah are both members of the GPM Advisory Committee.