The most popular climate change stories of 2014

The end of the year is nigh, and now is the perfect time to look back on all that's happened during 2014...

Using Buzzsumo, a platform that lets you find the most shared content for any topic or domain, we've rounded up the most engaging climate change content of the year.

Leonardo DiCaprio with all his activism and UN appointments over the last year obviously made the list, but what else caught the worlds attention when it came to climate change during 2014?

Here are 10 of the most shared and engaged with articles over the past year, in no specific order...

1. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Climate Change Debate

Who could forget when John Oliver on Last Week Tonight staged a mathematically representative climate change debate, with the help of special guest Bill Nye the Science Guy, of course. The video was a viral sensation , and has had nearly 5 million views.

If you haven't seen it yet (where have you been, seriously?), then it's absolutely worth watching John Oliver and Bill Nye school climate deniers in the video below.

2. Gingers could become extinct due to climate change, experts warn

This article from Mirror had over 200,000 shares, and especially strung-a-chord with redheads, including our own Shea Hogarth. Scientists believe the gene that causes red hair is an evolutionary response to cloudy skies and allows inhabitants to get as much Vitamin D as possible. This explains why in Ireland, Scotland and the UK there are so many red heads, as the weather is much cloudier up there!

With increasing temperatures, it is said that redheads could cease to exist within centuries! However, at the moment this is still just a theory. See what 1 Million Women's Shea had to think about all of this.

3. Pope Francis Makes Biblical Case For Addressing Climate Change: 'If We Destroy Creation, Creation Will Destroy Us'

Think Progress reported on Pope Francis' call to his fellow Christians to become “Custodians of Creation" as he issued a dire warning about the potentially catastrophic effects of global climate change earlier this May.

Speaking to a massive crowd in Rome, the first Argentinian pope delivered a short address in which he argued that respect for the “beauty of nature and the grandeur of the cosmos" is a Christian value, noting that failure to care for the planet risks apocalyptic consequences.

Pope Francis also wrote a kick-ass letter to Tony Abbott this year telling him to get his act together on climate change. Read the best parts here.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio Asks Everyone In The World To Stop Pretending Like Facts Don't Exist

We all know Academy Award-nominated actor and committed environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio is passionate about us all not dying from global warming. In September of this year he was recognised for this passion by the United Nations, and appointed a UN Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change.

It's wonderful to see a celebrity like Leo using their status to further awareness on climate change and other important environmental issues. Plus, people are listening to him! His opening statement at the UN Climate Summit 2014 had nearly 1.7 million views. Watch below.

5. Eating less meat essential to curb climate change, says report

Curbing the world's huge and increasing appetite for meat is essential to avoid devastating climate change, according to a new report says The Guardian .

The global livestock industry produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all cars, planes, trains and ships combined. The UN have even coined a new term in response to this 'demitarian' - which literally means cutting your consumption of animal products in half.

If we all became demitarians we could significantly help the environment, however there's a fear from governments and green campaigners to tackle the issue due to fears of a consumer backlash.

6. Beautiful paintings by Zaria Forman that address climate change

Zaria Forman is no ordinary artist. Her work is moving and dramatic but the most impressive part? She paints with her fingers. Her latest collection of works, inspired by a trip to the Maldives, brought the sad plight of the Maldives as the lowest-lying nation in the world to the attention of many.

The Maldives are especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming, and Forman highlights this beautifully through hyper-realistic finger paintings of the rising seas. See all the collection here.

7. Neil deGrasse Tyson Destroys Climate Deniers

In this video that garnered half a million views, Neil deGrasse Tyson explains in a simple and visually effective way the differences between weather and climate change to outline why, no matter how cold you were in Winter, that's no argument against global warming.

This video is part of the groundbreaking Fox and National Geographic Channel series Cosmos which attracted more than 3 million U.S. viewers every Sunday night during its run, extremely high ratings for a science based show. Watch the video below.

8. Look At These Images And Tell Me Again That Climate Change Isn't Real. You Can't.

Images are an extremely powerful tool to capture the hearts and minds of people, especially when it comes to climate change. They say "seeing is believing" and the images in this Viral Nova article do a pretty good job of showing what's going on with our world.

When people see that climate change is impacting the earth, and on people lives right now, in this moment, they stop seeing climate change as a future occurrence that won't impact them. This has the power to motivate a person into taking action and profoundly changing their life. See all 20 images here.

9. Don't panic, but we are RUNNING OUT of CHOCOLATE

Life is like a box of chocolates, and according to leading chocolate brands we might be running head-on into a world chocolate shortage says Mirror . This article definitely caused quite a stir for the chocolate lovers out there, which is pretty much half of the world.

The world is actually in chocolate deficit! Yep, it's a real thing. We are in the longest consecutive streak of chocolate deficit in more than 50 years, partly because we all eat too much chocolate, but also because dry weather which is exacerbated by global warming is ravaging cocoa plants. Read 1 Million Women's coverage of this topic .

10. Solar FREAKIN' Roadways!

With a phenomenal 18 million views, this video was dubbed a cool idea no matter what your stance on climate change is.

Solar Roadways are proposing to replace the worlds roads, pavements, concrete and asphalt courts and bike tracks that sit their soaking up the sun all day long into a sustainable source of energy - into solar roadways!

Literally! Solar road panels! This invention really could be the future, and what a colourful future it would be. The solar road panels are not complete yet, but hopefully they will be soon! Watch the video to find out more.