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Road to Copenhagen

In the run up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, Nature covered every aspect of the effort to forge a new deal on climate.

News

Features

  • Copenhagen: the scientists' view

    The United Nations Climate Change Conference is mainly a political affair but it has drawn hundreds of scientists to the Danish capital. Jeff Tollefson finds out what they hope to gain.

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  • Carbon trading: How to save a forest

    Projects in Madagascar could provide a model for stemming deforestation. But first these efforts must deal with the poverty and political upheaval that threaten forests, reports Anjali Nayar.

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  • Climate: When the ice melts

    Deep in the Himalayas, the disappearance of glaciers is threatening the kingdom of Bhutan. Anjali Nayar trekked through the mountains to see how the country is adapting to a warming world.

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Opinion

  • No quick switch to low-carbon energy

    In the first of two pieces on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, Gert Jan Kramer and Martin Haigh analyse historic growth in energy systems to explain why deploying alternative technologies will be a long haul.

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  • Let the global technology race begin

    In the second of two pieces on decarbonization, Isabel Galiana and Christopher Green argue that fostering a technology revolution, not setting emissions targets, is the key to stabilizing the climate.

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  • EDITORIAL: Climatologists under pressure

    Stolen e-mails have revealed no scientific conspiracy, but do highlight ways in which climate researchers could be better supported in the face of public scrutiny.

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Books & Arts

  • Conveying the campaign message

    The arts and advertising can galvanise public and political will in tackling global warming. But shared concern for human health is a better motivator than polar bears, finds Sanjay Khanna.

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  • Q&A: The science of persuasion

    Psychologist Robert Gifford is co-author of a recent American Psychological Association report that examined the interface between psychology and climate change. He explains what makes people receptive and how to get messages about climate science across effectively.

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  • Climate books with clout

    David Reay examines the evolution of books about global warming and highlights those that have had most influence on public perceptions.

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  • Q&A: Architect of a sustainable future

    German architect Albert Speer Jr is a pioneer of sustainable building and city planning whose firm has designed ecological communities from Cologne in Germany to Shanghai in China. With the publication of a new book setting out his philosophy, he explains why we should take a more holistic approach to urban development.

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  • Must-reads for Copenhagen

    At the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen this December, talk will turn to scientific, political and economic issues with a global reach and a long history - not easy to pick up from the daily news. We asked select experts on climate change what books we should be reading ahead of the big event.

Research

Audio & Video

  • Copenhagen: The final hours

    Olive Heffernan awaits the final conclusion of the Copenhagen conference on climate change. Author Tom Friedman, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and others give us their take on the UN talks, and we finally get a glimpse of Barack Obama.

Elsewhere in Nature

  • Barcelona climate summit

    Nature reporter Jeff Tollefson's blogging from the United Nations negotiations held on 2-6 November 2009.

  • Planetary Boundaries

    A Nature special examines whether humanity must stay within defined limits for a range of essential, and interlinked, Earth-system processes to avoid catastrophic environmental change.

  • Climate Policy Timeline

    A timeline from Nature Reports Climate Change that shows milestones in international climate policy from 1972 to the present.

  • Climate feedback

    A blog from the editors and reporters at Nature Publishing Group on climate science and its wider implications.

  • Newsblog

    Regular updates on progress towards a global climate deal on the Nature News blog.