Aclimate apocalypse is a term used to denote apredicted scenario involving the globalcollapse of human civilization due to climate change. Such collapse could theoretically arrive through a set of interrelated concurrent factors such as famine,extreme weather, war and conflict, and disease.[1] There are many similar terms in use such as climatedystopia,collapse,endgame, andcatastrophe.
Aclimate apocalypse could theoretically arrive through a set of interrelated concurrent factors such as famine (crop loss,drought),extreme weather (hurricanes,floods), war (caused by the scarce resources) and conflict, systemic risk (relating tomigration, famine, or conflict), and disease.[2][1]
Rhetoric and belief centered onapocalypticism has deep roots in religious contexts, and similar rhetorical approaches undergird secular apocalyptic interpretations of climate.[3] Historical interpretations fall into two visions of apocalypse: the tragic and the comic. Tragic apocalypticism frames a clearly divided good and evil, with preordained events. In contrast, comic framing emphasizes flawed human agency, and it tends to be characterized by an open-ended, episodic, and ongoing timeline.[3] Some of the most significant books in environmentalism make use of either the tragic or comic apocalyptic framing:Rachel Carson'sSilent Spring (1962),Paul andAnne Ehrlich'sThe Population Bomb (1972), andAl Gore'sEarth in the Balance (1992).[3]
There is aWestern world tradition of describing a climate apocalypse with images and descriptions of theFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse and other features of the apocalypse of the Christian faith.[4]
"Climate apocalypse scenarios" are explored in multiplescience fiction works. For example, inThe Wind from Nowhere (1961), civilization is devastated by persistent hurricane-force winds, andThe Drowned World (1962) describes a future of melted ice-caps andrising sea-levels caused bysolar radiation.[5] InThe Burning World (1964, later retitledThe Drought) his climate catastrophe is human-made, adrought due to disruption of the precipitation cycle byindustrial pollution.[6]
Octavia E. Butler'sParable of the Sower (1993) imagines a near-future for the United States where climate change, wealth inequality, and corporate greed cause apocalyptic chaos. Here, and in sequelParable of the Talents (1998), Butler dissects how instability and political demagoguery exacerbate society's underlying cruelty (especially with regards to racism and sexism) and also explores themes of survival and resilience.[7][8] Butler wrote the novel "thinking about the future, thinking about the things that we're doing now and the kind of future we're buying for ourselves, if we're not careful."[9]
Margaret Atwood explored the subject in her dystopian trilogyOryx and Crake (2003),The Year of the Flood (2009) andMaddAddam (2013).[10] InOryx and Crake, Atwood presents a world where "social inequality, genetic technology and catastrophic climate change, has finally culminated in some apocalyptic event".[11]Some researchers have speculated that society cannot comprehend an accurate end of the world prediction, and instead, more governments would be willing to respond productively to prevent catastrophe if reports framed the matter as a smaller problem than it actually is.[12] Talking about potential disaster can have a broad impact upon society by making many people feel that if the situation were truly horrible, then there must be good plans to prevent it so no further action is needed.[13][better source needed]
Climate endgame is a term used to refer to the risk ofsocietal collapse and potentialhuman extinction due to theeffects of climate change.[2] The usage of the term seeks to improve risk management by putting a higher priority onworst-case scenarios, to "galvanise action, improve resilience, and informpolicy".[2][14] The termendgame has been used in relation to climate change by other authors in the past,[15] like inThe Extinction Curve book by John van der Velden and Rob White, published in 2021.[16]
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