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Global climate change governance has seen an increase in action beyond national governments. This Perspective sets forth a research agenda and recommendations for evaluating non-state and subnational climate mitigation action.
The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the leading mode of intraseasonal variability in the tropical atmosphere. This Perspective examines how the MJO may change with anthropogenic warming, revealing a projected increase in MJO-related precipitation.
Investors are increasingly asking businesses to disclose their climate risk and corresponding management strategies. A review of corporate adaptation strategies reveals limited consideration of broader risks to supply chains, customers and employees.
Climate policy is heavily focused on reducing demand for fossil fuels, but supply-side polices represent a potentially powerful tool to reduce CO2 emissions. This Perspective uses the US state of California as a case study to explore the rationale and possible impacts of limiting oil production.
With warming, meltwater will play an increasingly important role in driving ice loss from Antarctica, raising global sea levels. This Perspective discusses the key process through which Antarctic surface hydrology impacts mass balance.
This Perspective provides an overview of the snow–sea ice systems in the Arctic and Antarctic, offering insight on how current uncertainties can be reduced, and future challenges met, to improve understanding of polar climate change.
Meeting the Paris Agreement climate goals requires increasingly ambitious climate policy. A framework for ratcheting up stringency through policy sequencing is proposed and illustrated using the cases of Germany and California, USA.
Ambitious carbon pricing reform is needed to meet climate targets. This Perspective argues that effective revenue recycling schemes should prioritize behavioural considerations that are aimed at achieving greater political acceptance.
Ocean acidification, a result of increased levels of CO2, impacts the marine environment and its biology. This Perspective presents the current understanding of the issue and highlights future directions for research.
A press–pulse framework is used to understand the interactive ecological effects of gradual climate trends and extreme weather events. Australian case studies include population collapses, loss of relictual communities and novel ecosystems.
Action needs to be taken to limit the impacts of climate change, however, human rights and the right to development need to be preserved. This Perspective weighs the risks of action and inaction on achieving a just transition to a low-carbon world.
This Perspective draws on two case studies to examine geodiversity and cultural diversity approaches to conservation currently used by US land trusts, and their complementary strengths and weaknesses in fostering climate resilience.
This Perspective provides a comparative analysis of how well six cities and regions with different coastal and social characteristics and adaptation constraints will be able to adapt to sea-level rise, considering technological, economic, financial, and social factors.
Climate memory is anticipated to increase in the future, a process known as reddening. This Perspective examines how a change in the temporal autocorrelation of climate variables may impact the likelihood of critical transitions, using examples from forests, coral reefs, poverty traps and ice sheets.
Climate change poses a financial risk but it is unclear what management role there is for central banks and financial regulators. This Perspective outlines research and policy directions needed for financial sector engagement.
Compound events, events of significant impact that are caused by a combination of processes, are difficult to predict. This Perspective discusses the need for a systematic approach to improve risk assessment of these events.
This Perspective reviews the literature on climate change and mental health, and advocates for a systems approach, which considers the complex set of interacting distal, intermediate and proximate factors that influence mental health risk, in future research.
Climate change has a gradual influence on landscapes and ecosystems that may lead to feelings of loss for those with close ties to the natural environment. This Perspective describes existing research on ecological grief and outlines directions for future inquiry.
Flood impact and recovery is influenced by behavioural responses. This Perspective describes how integrating human behaviour and risk perception into flood-risk assessment models may improve identification of effective risk-management strategies.
The response of storms, blocks and jet streams to external forcing, basin-to-basin and tropical–extratropical interactions, and non-linear predictive theory, are highlighted as strategic areas to advance understanding of regional climate dynamics