Research
IPCC’s input into key UN climate review at risk as countries clash over timeline
Most governments want reports ready before the next global stocktake, but a dozen developing nations are opposed over inclusivity concerns
Switzerland proposes first UN expert group on solar geoengineering
A draft resolution aimed at creating a space for discussion on sun dimming technologies will be debated at the summit of the UN’s environment body this month
Mainstream economists accused of playing down climate threat
Economic models have ignored tipping points, rainfall changes and indoor work, leading them to under-estimate climate change’s economic damage
Nations fight to be called climate vulnerable in IPCC report
Being recognised as partiuclarly vulnerable can help countries access climate finance and plan adaptation strategies
Researchers push to make polluters put carbon back in the ground
A team from Oxford University is trying to persuade governments to impose carbon capture and storage requirements on fossil fuel producers
A rush to mine the deep ocean has environmentalists worried
Tiny Nauru is behind a push to fast-track talks on mining rules for the deep seabed, which could see fragile habitats opened to exploitation as early as 2023
Cop26 must urgently get specific on carbon removal in net-zero pathways
The last IPCC report overlooked the technical, financial, and political limitations of carbon removal techniques and risks informing poor policy choices
Study suggests China’s crackdown on illegal CFC gases is working
Levels of the banned CFC-11 in the atmosphere have fallen over east Asia after the Chinese government cracked down on illegal producers in the foam industry
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Coronavirus pandemic threatens climate monitoring, WMO warns
Data for weather forecasts and climate monitoring provided by in-flight sensors and manual observations have decreased significantly since the Covid-19 outbreak
Coronavirus: in Hawaii’s air, scientists seek signs of economic shock on CO2 levels
Ralph Keeling estimates that global fossil fuel use would have to decline by 10% for a full year to clearly impact CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere
Carbon taxes are key to stop deforestation
In Colombia and Costa Rica, where governments have imposed carbon taxes, deforestation rates are down, while revenues to fund forest restoration efforts are up
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Kerala shows how floods are changing
Across the world, cities and communities are underprepared for the new flooding regime that climate change is ushering in
Link between Hurricane Harvey and climate change is unclear
Reports the devastating storm was made worse by humanity’s carbon emissions fail to grasp climate change is not just about warming
Sweltering European summer has human fingerprints
The chance of extremely hot days, such as have been seen across southern Europe this summer has been “greatly increased” by climate change
Humans massively increased odds of three consecutive hottest years
New research shows odds of record years and runs of record years have changed from tiny to probable because of greenhouse gases
African countries urged to prepare for rise in extreme El Niño events
Early warning systems and early action funds are needed to prevent repeats of the 2015/16 famine, experts warn in response to latest science
Pope’s climate essay won’t convince Trump, it didn’t even work on Catholics
Pope’s encyclical on climate change appealed to liberals, but conservative Catholics were driven away by the values it invoked
Dryland expansion to hit food crops as planet warms
Studies warn climate change will bring faster warming to subtropical dry areas, making crops like wheat and potatoes unviable