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Survey data shows that policymakers are starting to seriously consider alternative climate governance forums to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Consumers in Germany are much more likely to purchase expensive ‘green’ energy produced from renewable resources if they have to actively opt out if they do not want it. In absence of such a ‘nudge’, behaviour depends more on political allegiance.
Carbon fixation by marine diatoms, which dominate ocean primary productivity, is energetically expensive. Now genetic analysis shows that elevated CO2 causes downregulation of these mechanisms, resulting in metabolic rearrangement and energy savings.
Analysis of an IPCC press conference shows that certain terms hold different meanings for scientific and public audiences, highlighting the difficulty of balancing scientific credibility with public dialogue.
Dry season rainfall in the Amazon is projected by constraining global climate models with simple models calibrated to observations. The results indicate a longer dry season over a larger area and a strengthening of the monsoon season this century.
Higher atmospheric greenhouse gases are shown to have driven the recovery of Sahelian rainfall since the 1980s. This study discounts the role of sea surface temperature changes that had previously been jointly credited as drivers of the recovery.
Automated text analysis shows that Norwegians emphasize themes around weather and ice, the future, consumption and attribution when responding to survey questions about climate change, with greater concern for societal aspects than UK or US citizens.
Widespread severe coral bleaching and degradation is projected to occur by 2050 due to global warming. But the risk of global bleaching could be reduced through climate engineering using stratospheric aerosol-based solar radiation management.
Common ragweed is an invasive plant in Europe, and many people are allergic to its pollen. Modelling results indicate that airborne pollen concentrations are likely to increase in Europe over coming decades, at least in part owing to climate change.
Surface area does not decrease monotonically with elevation for two-thirds of mountain ranges. Consequently many mountain species might not experience reduced habitat area as they move upslope under climate change.
US population exposure to extreme heat is set to increase four- to sixfold from the late twentieth century. Changes in population are as important as changes in climate in driving this outcome.
A hydraulic corollary to Darcy’s law is used to predict the characteristics of plants that will survive during drought in a warmer climate. This indicates that forest trees will need to be shorter and more drought-tolerant to survive in the future.
Rapid warming of Arctic marine ecosystems has led to a change in the spatial distribution of fish communities, with boreal communities expanding into regions previously dominated by Arctic fish species, which are now retracting northwards.
A study using a three-dimensional variability space where tropical cyclone frequency, intensity and activity are linked identifies surface ocean temperature as the cause of increased cyclone intensity and a decreased frequency of occurrence.
Power providers do not account for climate change in their development plans. But 46% of power stations in the western United States are vulnerable to long-term changes in streamflow, air temperature, water temperature, humidity and air density.
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.
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.
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.
Climate change is expected to exacerbate absenteeism as a result of heat stress, with ramifications for labour productivity. Reduced work performance in 2013–2014 in Australia was found to represent an economic burden of around US$6.2 billion.
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.