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Keeping politicians and the public informed about advances in climate science would benefit from the active participation of social scientists in the process.
The political opportunities for implementing a carbon tax high enough to induce large emission cuts will be better if at first the tax is charged on the difference between emissions and fixed thresholds, rather than on all emissions as is now practised.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its fifth assessment report (AR5) on the physical science of climate change on 27th September this year. Nature Climate Change speaks to the co-chair of the working group responsible for the report, Thomas Stocker.
A new alliance of top research institutions will tailor investigations into the economics of climate change to those best placed to act. Anna Petherick reports.
Analyses of changes in climate extremes at the local scale are affected by large uncertainties related to climate variability. Now research finds that integration over larger areas reveals consistent intensification of heat and precipitation extremes in projections of the near future.
This Perspective considers the extent to which early action to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, such as methane and black carbon, would help to limit global warming. Although decreasing emissions of these pollutants would have short-term benefits, simultaneous CO2 reductions are urgently required to mitigate the risk of dangerous climate change in the longer term.
The role of temporal discounting in group decisions is poorly understood. A group experiment on collective risk in the context of climate change is used to analyse cooperative behaviour under different timeframes for the realization of the cooperation benefits. Results show that gains that are delayed significantly into the future—intergenerational discounting—markedly diminish cooperation.
The amount of water required for electricity generation is expected to increase as CO2 emissions are reduced. A capacity expansion model of the Texas electricity grid in the USA demonstrates the trade-offs between CO2 emissions and water use in designing the power generation mix. Better understanding of the ‘water–energy nexus’ should help to coordinate mitigation and adaptation planning in the energy sector.
There are large uncertainties associated with the projection of climate extremes. This study shows that the uncertainties are mainly due to internal climate variability. However, model projections are consistent when averaged across regions, allowing robust projection of future extremes.
Predicting species’ chances of survival under climate change requires an understanding of their adaptive potential. Now research into hybridization—one mechanism that could facilitate adaptation—shows that species of the plant genus Pachycladon that survived the Last Glacial Maximum benefited from the transfer of genetic information through hybridization.
Larval stages are particularly vulnerable to environmental changes. The impact of ocean acidification on the digestive processes of sea urchin larvae is shown to decrease efficiency owing to a drop in stomach pH. Despite compensatory feeding, the larval energy budget is likely to be affected.
Climate extremes are on the increase. Research into mortality from extremes of heat in Stockholm now shows that during the period 1980–2009 mortality was double that likely to have occurred without climate change. Moreover, the frequency of cold extremes also increased slightly, despite higher average winter temperatures, contributing to a small increase in mortality during the winter months.
Will networks of protected areas remain effective as the climate changes? Research into the response of bird populations to climate variance and change attempts to shed light on this issue. Results suggest that despite projected declines in many of the species investigated, most sites that are designated as EU Special Protection Areas in the UK can be expected to retain their conservation value and legal status.
