Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

The blame game

Nature volume 432, pages 551–552 (2004)Cite this article

Who will pay for the damaging consequences of climate change?

Last year one of us (M.R.A.) wrote a Commentary in Nature, asking if it would ever be possible to sue anyone for damaging the climate1. At the time, this was largely a thought experiment, as the scientific and legal arguments were too immature to provide a satisfactory answer. But in this week's issue, Peter Stott, Daithi Stone and M.R.A. provide some scientific justification for revisiting that question2. Their paper considers how much human influence on climate could be ‘to blame’ for the southern European summer heatwave of 2003.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Allen, M. R. Nature 421, 891–892 (2003).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Stott, P. A., Stone, D. A. & Allen, M. R. Nature 432, 610–614 (2004).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Campbell, P. Nature 421, 1 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Black, E. et al. Weather 59, 217–223 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Schär, C. et al. Nature 427, 332–336 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. ICRC World Disasters Report Ch. 2 (Eurospan, London, 2004).

  7. Grossman, D. Col. J. Environ. Law 28, 1–61 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Schär, C. & Jendritzky, G. Nature 432, 559–560 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Cogan, D. G. Corporate Governance and Climate Change (CERES, Boston, 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  10. AEP files motion to dismiss CO2 lawsuits; available at http://www.aep.com/newsroom/newsreleases/default.asp?dbcommand=displayrelease&ID=1156

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK

    Myles R. Allen

  2. Brick Court Chambers, 7–8 Essex Street, London, WC2R 3LD, UK

    Richard Lord

Authors
  1. Myles R. Allen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard Lord
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Allen, M., Lord, R. The blame game. Nature 432, 551–552 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/432551a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/432551a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing