News & Views

Wealthy countries failed to meet their US$100 billion climate finance pledge, and research now suggests that they may be further away from their goal than previously thought. Machine coding of finance projects may help settle the debate and could be part of a more rigorous tracking system.

More cities are including urban forests in their climate change adaptation plans. Now, research shows that more than two-thirds of tree species across cities worldwide are facing severe climate risks, undermining their roles in climate adaptation and other ecosystem services they provide.

The impact of climate change on tropical Atlantic variability has been elusive, partly due to regional biases in climate models. Now, research shows that current models predict a robust weakening of sea surface temperature variance in the eastern tropical Atlantic, with repercussions for precipitation and climate in the area and beyond.

Credibility is the cornerstone of international climate pledges; meanwhile, ambition is essential to reach the temperature targets. Research shows the flexibility of Paris agreements encourages countries to be ambitious yet maintain credible.

Tree swallows are becoming smaller in response to climate change, but this isn’t driven by reduced growth as chicks. The overall picture is much more complicated, with climate effects impacting adults, juveniles, males and females differently.

The Arctic is home to the largest surface water fraction of any terrestrial biome, containing thousands of low-lying lakes. Now, it appears that some Arctic lakes are drying due to rising air temperatures and autumn rains, causing permafrost to thaw and water bodies to drain.

US homes are large by any international standards. Full grid decarbonization and electrification of residential energy uses — along with extensive house renovation — are all required, but smaller homes could make this much easier to deliver.

Tiny phytoplankton are the base of ocean production and thus critical to carbon storage, carbon fluxes and living marine resources. Now, research suggests that the vertical migration of these organisms provides a previously under-recognized resiliency to climate warming.

How global warming affects the ability of northern peatlands to store carbon is uncertain. Now, researchers show that early summer warming increases carbon uptake, whereas warmer late summer decreases it.

A warmer world will shift mortality patterns around the world. Research suggests that the mortality costs from climate change will be massively larger than previously thought, despite accounting for future adaptation and rising incomes.

Summits on climate change, organized by various (international) institutions on a frequent basis, seek to discuss and decide on future initiatives for climate action. Research now shows that there is significant variation in their effectiveness in terms of climate mitigation.

Years of research on adaptation to climate change shows that many efforts are counterproductively increasing vulnerability, rather than reducing it — known as ‘maladaptation’. Now a study suggests ways forward by identifying four structural challenges that need to be overcome in adaptation implementation.

Quantifying historical trends in tropical cyclone activity has proved difficult, but a new reconstruction reveals a clear global decline over the past century, driven by an increasingly cyclone-hostile environment in the troposphere.

The world’s poorest households, who often depend on agricultural incomes, are increasingly vulnerable to weather-induced shocks. A recent study shows how anti-poverty programmes can help to protect both consumption and income when exposed to shocks.

How the species that form ecological communities respond to climate change will affect the future resilience of ecosystems, and their capacity to support humankind. The responses of animals and plants to four decades of warming demonstrate the sensitivity of high-latitude ecosystems to increasing temperatures.

Climate change and rising CO₂ concentrations have been increasing plant productivity over the past two decades. Now, research projects that this increase will cease over most of the Northern Hemisphere, except the Arctic, by 2060.

Anthropogenic climate change is accelerating melting at the surface of the Greenland ice sheet. Evidence now suggests that extensive melting is also occurring at the base of the ice at much faster rates than previously thought.

In response to future warming and freshening of the North Atlantic Ocean, climate models project a slowing of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Geological data and climate modelling for the past 11,700 years suggest the AMOC may be much less sensitive to large freshening of the ocean than often assumed.

Global warming is expected to have beneficial impacts on overwintering crops in cool and temperate regions of the world. Now, statistical analysis that combines different sources of historical yield and meteorological data reveals that decreases in snowpack insulation partly reduce yield benefits of winter wheat.