Volume 7 Issue 1, January 2017

How clouds respond to warming remains the greatest source of uncertainty in climate projections. Improved computational and observational tools can reduce this uncertainty. Here we discuss the need for research focusing on high-resolution atmosphere models and the representation of clouds and turbulence within them.

A holistic and transdisciplinary approach is urgently required to investigate the physical and socio-economic impacts of collapsing coastlines in the Arctic nearshore zone.

A diverse range of approaches, including contributions based on national interest and local benefits of climate action, is needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Now, research considers how equitable approaches may play a role.

The sub-tropics are some of Earth's driest regions, and are expected to get even drier under climate change. Now research overturns our previous understanding of this drying, and suggests that it will affect the oceans much more than the land.

The decay of floating ice shelves around Antarctica speeds up ice flow from the continent and contributes to increased sea-level rise. Now, meltwater attributed to warm winds has been discovered on an East Antarctic ice shelf, suggesting greater vulnerability than previously thought.

An in-depth review of five major integrated assessment models from an industrial ecology perspective reveals differences between the fields regarding the modelling of linkages in the industrial system.

The global North dominates climate change research, but contributions from the South are needed to address this global issue. This Perspective examines the North–South divide and proposes actions, across a range of scales and actors, that may help bridge the divide.

This Review assesses the reasons for concern framework, a key component of IPCC assessments which communicates risk associated with climate change. The study identifies limitations as well as points to extensions which would offer additional metrics.

Five equitable approaches to mitigation are investigated: the authors find that most developing countries are more ambitious than the average, whilst if developed nations and China adopted the average of the approaches the gap between INDCs and a 2 °C pathway would narrow.

Data from 4,038 households in India show wireless sensors could make clean energy solutions affordable for those at the bottom of the energy pyramid.

Climate change is causing increases in extreme rainfall across the United States. This study uses observations and high-resolution modelling to show that rainfall changes related to rising temperatures depend on the available atmospheric moisture.

Projected decreases in subtropical rainfall have previously been attributed to enhanced moisture transport or atmospheric circulation changes. New research shows that neither is the key mechanism, and instead greater land–sea temperature contrast in response to direct radiative forcing dominates.

Surface melt has been tied to the collapse of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves. This study illustrates that warmer temperatures associated with katabatic winds drive similar processes in an East Antarctic ice shelf, highlighting vulnerability to disintegration.

Global high-resolution crop-specific estimates of greenhouse gas emissions intensity (in 2000) reveal that certain cropping practices contribute disproportionately to emissions, making them suitable targets for climate mitigation policies.

A coupled agriculture and health modelling framework shows that levying greenhouse gas taxes on food commodities could be a health-promoting climate policy in high-, mid-, and low-income economies.

Households’ carbon footprints often differ with wealth and level of consumption. This study shows the urban rich disproportionally contribute to the Chinese carbon footprint, whilst overall household footprints are growing with increased consumerism.

How ocean acidification will impact coastal biogenic habitats is unclear. This study predicts that indirect effects on habitat-forming organisms, combined with direct effects on biodiversity, will cause changes in structural complexity and extent of these habitats.