Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Methods of removing CO2 from the atmosphere add vital flexibility to efforts to tackle climate change. They must be brought into mainstream climate policy as soon as possible to open up the landscape for innovation and development, and to discover which approaches work at scale.
A new kind of climate politics is emerging, as national actions prove insufficient to address the changing climate. Subnational actors — ranging from provinces and cities, to civil sector organizations and private companies — are acting alongside nation states, making up for lost ground and missed opportunities.
Subnational socio-economic datasets are required if we are to assess the impacts of global environmental changes and to improve adaptation responses. Institutional and community efforts should concentrate on standardization of data collection methodologies, free public access, and geo-referencing.
Climate scientists can do a better job of communicating their work to local communities and reignite interest in the issue. Local media outlets provide a unique opportunity to build a platform for scientists to tell their stories and engage in a dialogue with people currently outside the 'climate bubble'.
The decline of the Great Barrier Reef can be reversed by improvements to governance and management: current policies that promote fossil fuels and economic development of the Reef region need to be reformed to prioritize long-term protection from climate change and other stressors.
The global atmosphere is warming and human emissions are responsible. Now research shows that an increasing fraction of temperature and precipitation extremes are attributable to that warming.
Countries need to cut greenhouse-gas emissions from the energy sector if the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But no one is sure of the best path. New research highlights the key uncertainties driving energy policy debate in the UK.
The recent FACE model–data synthesis project used data from two FACE experiments to assess land ecosystem models. This Perspective details the 'assumption-centered' approach used to identify and evaluate the causes of model differences.
Clean electricity generation is good for the climate and improves the quality of the air that we breathe. An analysis of US power plants shows that the magnitude of the resulting health benefits depends greatly on the carbon standards adopted.
A survey of the Canadian public shows that those with links to members of environmental organizations are more likely to be concerned about climate change, highlighting the importance of social ties and cultural milieu in shaping such attitudes.
The results of an online survey of UK consumers suggest that achieving desired energy efficiencies and savings through demand-side management aimed at changing behaviour and encouraging uptake of energy-efficient technologies will not be easy.
This study investigates global surface temperature data since 1920, and the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation is found to be largely responsible for temperature fluctuations, exhibiting different spatial patterns to anthropogenic temperature drivers.
The contribution of human-induced climate change to global heavy precipitation and hot extreme events is quantified. The results show that of the moderate extremes, 18% of precipitation and 75% of high-temperature events are attributable to warming.
This study identifies and corrects instrumental drift for satellite altimeter missions, which affects estimates of the rates of sea-level rise. Corrected data show an acceleration in the rate of rise, counter to previous estimates and in line with projections.
A major question in fisheries science is how fish will respond to climatic warming. Research shows that future distributions of commercially important fish species in the North Sea will be overwhelmingly constrained by non-thermal habitat variables.
Quantification of microbial metabolic heat production in organic permafrost soils across Greenland reveals that the impacts of climate change on organic soils, and associated carbon storage, can be accelerated by microbial activity.
Considering the combined effects of CO2 fertilization and climate change drivers on plant physiology leads to a modest increase in simulated European forest transpiration in spite of the effects of CO2-induced stomatal closure.
Peatlands represent about a third of global soil carbon. Research now indicates that increased shrub cover following drought and warming can contribute to the build-up of phenolics, which suppress decomposition and soil carbon loss.
Climate change enhances root exudation of organic compounds into soils and can lead to loss of soil carbon. Research now shows that oxalic acid (a common exudate) releases organic compounds from protective mineral associations.
Greenhouse-gas payback times are derived for biofuel production systems using five feedstocks under high- and low-input farm management to assess replacement of natural vegetation with crop-based biofuels. Estimates ranged from 1–162 years.
