John D. Sutter - CNN contributor

John D. Sutter

CNN contributor

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John D. Sutter is an independent journalist and filmmaker based in Salt Lake City.

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A firefighter monitors flames from the Mosquito Fire as it burns in Foresthill in Placer County, California, U.S., September 7, 2022. REUTERS/Fred Greaves

Fred Greaves/Reuters

New report paints dire picture of America’s future as climate crisis accelerates

The National Climate Assessment provides vital context about the very real pain the climate crisis is causing in the United States today, and how far we are from creating a world safe for future generations.

PORT VILA, VANUATU - DECEMBER 07: An aerial view of Erakor island and the coastline of Port Vila on December 07, 2019 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Satellite data show sea level has risen about 6mm per year around Vanuatu since 1993, a rate nearly twice the global average, while temperatures have been increasing since 1950. 25 percent of Vanuatu's 276,000 citizens lost their homes in 2015 when Cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, devastated the South Pacific archipelago of 83 islands while wiping out two-thirds of its GDP. Scientists have forecast that the strength of South Pacific cyclones will increase because of global warming. Vanuatu's government is considering suing the world's major pollution emitters in a radical effort to confront global warming challenges and curb global emissions, to which it is a very small contributor. Last year, the country banned single use plastic bags, styrofoam food containers and drinking straws in an effort to contain pollution and set an example to larger nations. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Opinion: In 1991, tiny Vanuatu already nailed the climate conversation

“Back in 1991, the small island nation of Vanuatu raised a question on the global stage that rich nations have been avoiding ever since: Who should pay for climate catastrophe?” writes John D. Sutter. More than 30 years later, expect this question to be a big topic at COP27.

vanishing bees 01

The old man and the bee

Bees are critical for food pollination, but some of them are disappearing at an alarming rate. CNN columnist John Sutter investigates and meets a man on a quest to find a bee that may already be extinct.

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2012: Slavery’s last stronghold

Despite numerous attempts by Mauritania’s government to destroy slavery, it continues to thrive.

FILE - Steam billows from a coal-fired power plant Nov. 18, 2021, in Craig, Colo. The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 30, 2022, limited how the nation's main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Opinion: Supreme Court deals a massive blow to the planet

The Supreme Court limiting the EPA’s power to push toward carbon neutrality is the 36.4 billionth reminder that this is an all-hands-on-deck moment for climate action, writes John Sutter.

Laguna Niguel, CA - May 11: Firefighter drop water in Aliso Canyon during the Coastal Fire in Laguna Niguel, CA, on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. More than a dozen homes overlooking the ocean in Laguna Niguel were engulfed in flames as a fast-moving brush fire is spreading rapidly amid strong winds. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange Country Register/Getty Images

Opinion: Orange County fire magnifies a stunning truth about climate change

The fires in Orange County, California, should be the signal America needs to wake up and end the use of fossil fuels, John Sutter writes.

Young protestors attend the Fridays For Future COP26 Scotland March on November 5, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Why COP26 leaves me furious – and searching for hope

John D. Sutter writes that while the conclusion of the COP26 is infuriating, not all hope can be lost. While some progress was made at the meeting, not enough was made, and the pace was uselessly slow. The planet will be at a crisis before the goals are even met.

Firefighters put on fire gear before dousing hotspots at the Dixie Fire, a wildfire near the town of Greenville, California, U.S. August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Fred Greaves

Fred Greaves/Reuters

Stop blaming yourself for the climate crisis

The “code red” for humanity expressed in a recent report on the climate crisis isn’t new, says John D. Sutter. What’s new is that the public feels the dangers - fire, drought, extreme weather and more - in our day-to-day lives, and we know that solutions are about institutional accountability, not individual responsibility.

vanishingfrogs

He can hear species disappearing

CNN columnist John Sutter heads to the rainforests of Costa Rica where scientists use sound recordings to listen for the extinction of amphibian species.

John D. Sutter is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Salt Lake City. His work has won the Livingston Award, the IRE Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Peabody Award and has received two EMMY nominations. His project, “BASELINE,” is a pioneering documentary series that tells the story of the global environmental change beyond a human lifetime by revisiting subjects in four locations between now and 2050.