Commentary in 2015

How can we measure disaster loss reduction in the absence of reliable loss data on the economic and human impacts? Existing loss accounting systems vastly underestimate the true burden of disasters, both nationally and globally.

Reforming fossil fuel subsidies could free up enough funds to finance universal access to water, sanitation, and electricity in many countries, as well as helping to cut global greenhouse-gas emissions.

Global flood risk models were developed to identify risk hotspots in a world with increasing flood occurrence. Here we assess the ability and limitations of the current models and suggest what is needed moving forward.

Cutting levels of soot and other short-lived pollutants delivers tangible benefits and helps governments to build confidence that collective action on climate change is feasible. After the Paris climate meeting this December, actually reducing these pollutants will be essential to the credibility of the diplomatic process.

Initiatives to adapt to the effects of climate change are growing in number but may fail to achieve the desired outcomes unless critical competing interests are taken into account during the planning process.

The third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction ended with an agreement lacking ambition. The conference showed that better communication between the scientific community and decision-makers is needed to develop informed frameworks.

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'.

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.

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.

Accelerated oxygen loss in both coastal and open oceans is generating complex biological responses; future understanding and management will require holistic integration of currently fragmented oxygen observation and research programmes.

The hiatus in warming has led to questions about the reliability of long-term projections, yet here we show they are statistically unchanged when considering only ensemble members that capture the recent hiatus. This demonstrates the robust nature of twenty-first century warming projections.

The models used by the IPCC are yet to provide realistic predictions for nitrogen emissions from the land to the air and water. Natural isotopic benchmarks offer a simple solution to this emerging global imperative.

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.

Adaptation and geoengineering responses to climate change should be taken into account when estimating the social cost of carbon.

Fingers are often pointed directly at the news media for their powerful influence and ineffective reporting of climate change. But is that the best place to point? And are there more effective ways to conceptualize the power of the media and to consider whom they serve?

The shipping industry expects ongoing growth in CO₂ emissions to 2050, despite an apparent recent decline. Opportunities for decarbonizing the sector in line with international commitments on climate change need to be re-evaluated.

IPCC assessments present an unparalleled opportunity for climate science to speak directly to power. Re-thinking the summaries written for policymakers would enable scientists to communicate far more effectively with political leaders and the public.

In the light of its potential benefits, some scientists have been using the concept of risk to frame their discussions of climate change. At the moment, the media hardly pick up on risk language, so can anything be done to encourage them?

Current climate engineering proposals do not come close to addressing the complex and contested nature of conceivable 'climate emergencies' resulting from unabated greenhouse-gas emissions.