Volume 13 Issue 10, October 2023

Non-state actors play an essential role in the fabric of global climate governance. Here we propose four tailored strategies that non-state actors can mobilize to advance climate action among states and harness the potential of the global stocktake.

Better integration of climate action and sustainable development can help enhance the ambition of the next nationally determined contributions, as well as implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Governments should use this year as an opportunity to emphasize the links between climate and sustainable development.

The global stocktake seeks to enhance climate ambition through assessment and review of collective efforts every five years. A recent breakthrough in finance for addressing loss and damage is an opportunity to strengthen the finance agenda and rebuild much needed trust in the multilateral system.

The global stocktake (GST) could both enable and hamper the inclusion of equity. This Comment outlines why equity is central to the GST and the challenges faced in addressing it, as well as the utility of needs-based assessments for advancing equity within the GST and the climate action generally.

Ice melt processes that take place at the ice–ocean boundary of Greenland and Antarctic glaciers play a pivotal role in their evolution and contribution to sea-level rise, but widespread observations in these regions are lacking. A major observational initiative will be necessary to drastically reduce uncertainties in projections and better prepare society for sea-level rise.

Over the past years, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have seen a range of developments around climate mitigation and environmental policy. Nature Climate Change asked a selection of scientists from the region to share their thoughts on research questions and responses to climate change in their area of study.

Oxygen concentrations are a key aspect of water quality, with low levels linked to ecosystem stress. Research indicates that oxygen levels will decrease in hundreds of rivers across the USA and Central Europe under climate change.

Amidst the Arctic sea-ice decline and the consequent increasing under-ice light transmittance, Arctic zooplankton face challenging times. The collection of a unique dataset in the central Arctic Ocean unravels the patterns of their vertical migration, signalling potential disruptions to the Arctic ecosystem.

Weather station records are too short and sparse to effectively detect the signature of climate change in Antarctica. Using the isotopic composition of ice cores as a temperature proxy suggests that Antarctica is warming faster than the global average temperature and expectations from climate models for the region.

Arctic uplands consume atmospheric methane, but whereas methane emissions are reasonably well studied, Arctic soil methane uptake is poorly understood. High-resolution measurements show that the Arctic soil methane sink might currently be underestimated, and is driven by soil moisture and labile carbon availability, implying increased methane uptake with climate change.

An insight into the global patterns of marine heatwaves from the surface to depths of 2,000 m reveals that subsurface events are more intense and long-lasting than surface ones. Biodiversity exposure to the effects of marine heatwaves is higher at depths of 50–250 m, suggesting that subsurface biodiversity could be at considerable risk.

Emission savings from three circular economy strategies aiming to close, slow and narrow China’s bulk material loops have been analysed using an integrated model. This analysis highlights that material recycling delivers substantial emission cuts, but demand reduction is equally crucial for decarbonizing bulk materials.

Net-zero pledges are emerging around the world, but to be consequential they must compel credibility as a core objective of climate policy design. This paper proposes an approach, named backward induction, that aims to maximize policy credibility by balancing building commitment and cost efficiency.

In this Perspective, the authors highlight the potential of animal-borne sensors to overcome common limitations of traditional climate measurements. Animal-borne sensors can provide fine-grained and ecologically relevant sampling, and tagged animals could function as environmental sentinels worldwide.

Establishment of the loss and damage fund is a major step in climate negotiations for Global South countries, yet resource allocation remains unsettled. This Review shows how vulnerability-based approaches are variable and complex, with the adoption of quantitative measures likely to bring division.

Upslope migration is a recognized climate change response, but which traits support this migration is unclear. The authors use a global dataset of 807 insect species—flying and non-flying—to show that lagging upslope migration in terrestrial animals may be linked to oxygen demands.

The decarbonization of the global iron and steel industry is important for energy systems mitigation. Using a facility-level database, this Article presents cost-effective, region-specific strategies targeting plants with a large age-to-capacity ratio and/or high emissions intensity.

Recent decades have seen the increasing frequency of multiyear La Niña events. Here the authors find that there are two different types of multiyear La Niña that are each linked to different mechanisms related to warming in the western equatorial Pacific.

The effect of global warming on Antarctic temperatures is difficult to quantify, due to short weather observations and large internal variability. Here the authors use ice cores to identify polar amplification that results in warming in Antarctica larger than the internal variability.

Fire impacts soil organic carbon stocks, in addition to aboveground biomass, yet changes are not well constrained. This study shows that more soil carbon is lost from drier ecosystems than humid ones and that the carbon sink is increasing in savannah–grassland regions with declining burned area.

The Arctic is estimated to be a source of atmospheric methane but the sink capacity may be underestimated. This study shows that methane uptake in well-drained Arctic soils is driven by soil moisture and carbon availability, indicating a potential increased methane sink under climate change.

Warming waters in a changing climate have led to declining oxygen levels in oceans and lakes; the impact on rivers has been less clear. This study shows that widespread deoxygenation in rivers in the United States and Central Europe may accelerate under climate change and influence water quality.

The authors estimate the intensity, duration and number of global marine heatwaves from 1993 to 2019, from the surface to 2,000 m. They show generally higher intensity of marine heatwaves at 50–200 m, but increased duration with depth, and predict ocean regions of higher biodiversity exposure.

The authors used an autonomous biophysical observatory to estimate the light intensity triggering seasonal zooplankton vertical migration under Arctic sea ice. Considering this trigger, they project future reductions in time spent in the under-ice habitat, with implications for Arctic ecosystems.

Climate policy requires proenvironment attitudes and voting by the public in democracies, yet economic conditions can impact such perceptions and behaviour. Higher exposure to globalization can lead to lower support for environmentalist parties and more climate scepticism.

Bulk materials are essential to modern society, but their production releases large amounts of GHG emissions. This Analysis shows that circular economy strategies have great potential for emissions mitigation, alongside reduced material demand.