Volume 6 Issue 12, December 2016

The built environment will play a key role in determining future emissions, so it is essential that low-carbon infrastructure and design are implemented.

To catalyse climate transformation, we need leadership everywhere. It is time for more of us to take the first steps to lead actively.

Cities are becoming increasingly important in combatting climate change, but their overall role in global solution pathways remains unclear. Here we suggest structuring urban climate solutions along the use of existing and newly built infrastructures, providing estimates of the mitigation potential.

An end-to-end comprehensive climate information system is needed to complement mitigation and adaptation as responses to the threat of human-induced climate change.

Moderating the impacts of climate change is a global problem. Research now shows that cultural values determine whether personal environmental concerns actually lead to pro-environmental action.

Small island states will experience decreasing freshwater resources under climate change this century.

Changes in the ocean affect the biogeochemical cycle of iron, which in turn impacts phytoplankton growth. This Perspective discusses what research is needed to predict the future marine iron cycle.

Climate change communication often relies on visualization of climate data. This Review highlights research from the cognitive and psychological sciences that can inform practices for increasing accessibility of graphics to non-experts.

Analysis of the US’s intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) shows additional policies are likely to be needed for it to meet its promised emissions reduction target, and highlights where deeper cuts could be made.

The Arctic winter polar vortex has weakened in recent years: this study shows that there has also been a shift in the location of the vortex towards Eurasia. This is related to cryospheric changes, with implications for mid-latitude weather.

Aquifer characteristics and water use data for 43 widely distributed small island states indicate that 44% are in a state of water stress. While recharge is projected to increase on 12 islands it is projected to decrease by up to 58% on the other 31.

Assessment of the emergence of novel climatic combinations, rapid displacement of climatic isoclines, and divergence between temperature and precipitation trends provides an indication of where and why novel communities are likely to emerge.

Climate change is expected to lead to significant changes in phylogenetic diversity and endemism at a continental scale in Australia, threatening the hyper-diverse clade of eucalypt trees that dominate much of the continent.

Climate impact projections for plant taxa using models calibrated with palaeo-data for the past 21,000 years increase, on average, the conservation threat status of European and North American plants.

Photoperiod is only an important leaf-out regulator for woody plants in areas with short winters and in lineages that derive from lower latitudes. Consequently, photoperiod constraint on range expansion should be limited to these areas and species.

The use of natural high-CO₂ sites to assess the impact of ocean acidification on coral reef zooplankton shows a threefold reduction in biomass compared with ambient-CO₂ sites. However, zooplankton species distribution is unchanged. The reduction may be partly due to a change in coral species.

The impact of climate change on crop yield can be estimated using a variety of methods. Here, a multi-method ensemble is used to quantify ‘method uncertainty’ and improve overall confidence in projections of climate impacts on wheat yields.