[5] GLOBAL WARMING AND THE HUMAN FUTURE IN EUROPE: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH TO CLIMATE ADAPTATION, CULTURAL RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION
How to Cite : Lalit Shrestha (2026). Global Warming and the Human Future in Europe: An Anthropological Approach to Climate Adaptation, Cultural Resilience and Sustainable Transformation. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research & Reviews, 5(9), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.56815/ijmrr.v5i9.2026.43-55
Abstract
Global warming is no longer merely an environmental or atmospheric phenomenon; it is an increasingly profound anthropological challenge affecting human health, livelihoods, migration, settlement, food systems, cultural practices, social institutions and relations between humans and the environment. Europe provides a particularly significant case because it is the fastest-warming continent, with climate risks increasingly affecting ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, food and energy security, economies and human health. The European State of the Climate 2025 reports that Europe continued to experience exceptional warming, with heatwaves extending from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, record-high sea-surface temperatures and the largest area burned by wildfires on record. This chapter examines global warming in Europe through an anthropological lens, moving beyond purely technological and economic explanations. It explores how climate change interacts with culture, social inequality, political economy, indigenous and local ecological knowledge, migration, urbanisation, consumption and human adaptation. Drawing upon environmental anthropology, political ecology, cultural ecology, climate anthropology and resilience theory, the chapter argues that Europe cannot “escape” global warming through technological solutions alone. Rather, climate resilience requires a transformation of human-environment relationships, consumption patterns, institutions and cultural values. The chapter proposes an anthropological framework based on mitigation, adaptation, ecological restoration, climate justice, local knowledge, community participation and intergenerational responsibility. It concludes that Europe’s pathway out of the climate crisis must be simultaneously ecological, technological, cultural and ethical.
