In recent years, a new narrative has appeared on Chinese social media: that a warmer and wetter climate in Northwest China will herald a return to the “golden age” of the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). 

Climate change will bring benefits, so the story goes, as historically China has flourished during warmer and wetter periods – conditions becoming common once more in the Northwest, a region extending from the province of Shaanxi to Xinjiang in the far west.

The amount of critical minerals required to develop low-carbon energy technologies is predicted to be six times higher than what is needed today. Yet meeting this demand is necessary to enable a global transition that will address climate change and  comply with agreements such as the European Green New Deal.

Go to the Arkansas Rice Festival in Wiener, Arkansas and you will discover how delicious – and diversely flavored – this cereal grain can be. Savory, sweet, or even spicy: Each dish at the festival’s annual rice recipe contest shows the many ways to prepare this international food staple.

Why look to Arkansas for rice? The state produces 4 million tons of it every year, which is nearly half the rice grown in the United States.  But that U.S. annual total is dwarfed by the amount produced by China, which at 207 million tons is the world’s largest rice producer.  It’s also natural that the world looks to China for rice; genomic mapping has suggested that cultivated rice was first grown in the Pearl River valley in southern China.

Is water important in climate policy? It seems obvious. Water has a well-established link as the medium of most negative climate impacts. Yet when it comes to addressing the climate crisis, the answer depends very much on who you ask.

There’s a scene near the climax of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express when Hercule Poirot starts to plot out the possible murderers. There’s Colonel Arbuthnot, who had opportunity and motive. There’s Mr. McQueen, suspicious in his transparent attempts to misdirect the detective. There’s even the haughty, toad-faced Princess Dragomiroff. Like practically everyone on the train, she had good reason to wish the evil Ratchett dead.

Every year, more than two billion farmers around the world work the land day in and day out to earn a living and produce what is needed to feed and clothe an ever-growing global population that reached 8 billion in November 2022. Though they bear the brunt of climate change on the front lines, many of the world’s farmers, ranchers and fishers are unaware of the international processes that affect their livelihoods.