News & Comment

The recent El Niño event has elevated the rise in CO₂ concentration this year. Here, using emissions, sea surface temperature data and a climate model, we forecast that the CO₂ concentration at Mauna Loa will for the first time remain above 400 ppm all year, and hence for our lifetimes.

The academic community could make rapid progress on quantifying the impacts of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, but a refocusing of research priorities is needed in order to provide reliable advice.

A research agenda that integrates understanding of the social processes with technical analysis of climate and energy systems is necessary to catalyse a transition to a low-carbon world.

Physicist; climate and energy innovator.

In the aftermath of COP21, potential post-2030 emission trajectories and their consistency with the 2 °C target are a core concern for the ocean scientific community in light of the end-century risks of impact scenarios.

After the success of last December's climate negotiations, politicians and researchers are starting to eye a 'post-Paris' agenda.

Economic research is starting to pay increasing attention to the social impacts of significant (if less likely) climatic events.

Most city councils are still struggling to raise environmental standards for buildings.

The value of the social sciences to climate change research is well recognized, but notable gaps remain in the literature on adaptation in agriculture. Contributions focus on farmer behaviour, with important research regarding gender, social networks and institutions remaining under-represented.

An IPCC Special Report on 1.5 °C should focus on resolving fundamental scientific and political uncertainties, not fixate on developing unachievable mitigation pathways.