Climate change: Causes, impacts, and pathways toward sustainability
Amber Afshan SHIKOH
Abstract. Climate change has emerged as the most pressing environmental, economic, and social challenge of the 21st century. Driven largely by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, it is accelerating global warming, altering weather patterns, and intensifying natural disasters. This paper reviews the scientific basis of climate change, examines its ecological and socio-economic impacts, and evaluates strategies for mitigation and adaptation. The findings highlight that climate change is not only an environmental issue but also a multidimensional crisis that requires coordinated global action, technological innovation, and behavioral change. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region face unique vulnerabilities: extreme heat, water scarcity, and reliance on fossil fuels. However, the UAE is also emerging as a hub for climate innovation, hosting COP 28 in 2023 and investing in renewable energy, carbon capture, and sustainable agriculture. The Earth’s climate system has always fluctuated, but the rate of change observed in the last century is unprecedented. This paper seeks to: identify the major drivers of climate change, analyze its environmental, social, and economic impacts, and explore mitigation and adaptation strategies to promote sustainability.
Keywords
Mitigation, Adaptation, Anthropogenic, Innovation, Sustainability, Deforestation, Urbanization and Desertification
Published online 6/20/2026, 5 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Amber Afshan SHIKOH, Climate change: Causes, impacts, and pathways toward sustainability, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 67, pp 180-184, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904176-25
The article was published as article 25 of the book Climate Action and Sustainability
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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