News & Views in 2019

Heatwaves increase in frequency and intensity with global warming. Research now shows that the sequence of a tropical cyclone followed by a heatwave may also occur more often, threatening power grids when air conditioning is needed most.

Negative emotions around climate change may inhibit people’s capacity to affect change. New research on tourists’ perceptions of coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef suggests that loss associated with iconic places taps into protective sentiments and increases concern, which may encourage collective action.

With climate change, marine species are on the move and changing in abundance. Now, research shows that the ecological impacts of climate change will differentially affect fishing communities, even within the same region.

Corporations devote massive amounts of resources to lobby policy makers in the United States. New research highlights the channels through which direct lobbying has blocked climate legislation, and evaluates the resulting social welfare loss.

‘Nudge’ interventions, such as green energy defaults, may be simple and cost-effective ways to address climate change and can complement more substantive climate policies. But, new research finds that information about a nudge policy lowers support for a carbon tax, unless that nudge policy is described as part of a comprehensive approach.

The Arctic stores vast amounts of soil carbon, much of which is likely to be lost to the atmosphere as the climate warms. A clever new analytical approach suggests that even carbon that has been stored for hundreds to thousands of years is vulnerable to warming.

Public education for youth can influence future generations, but it typically does not create outcomes for those who need to vote on policies and create change today. A new study suggests that well-designed instructional units can foster family interactions that increase adult concern about climate change.

Climate change exposes more people to heat waves and other extreme weather events. New research shows that experiencing a heat wave can affect concerns about energy security, but not enough to change behaviour.

North American winters have varied from mild to extremely cold in recent years. Now, research provides a framework for understanding these changing temperature extremes.

A fifty-year observational record of Central Amazon forest reveals the multifaceted nature of tree death and concerning signs of vulnerability to increasing heat.

The Arctic climate is changing rapidly, but quantifying outcomes for Inuit has been elusive. Now, research starts with trail-use instead of models, and finds that the effects from climate change are modest compared with the role of skill and risk-tolerance of the travellers.

Women have typically been excluded from forest conservation programs due to traditional decision-making structures in their villages and local governments. Research now shows that greater representation of women in forest-user groups leads to more equitable sharing of program benefits and increases conservation outcomes.

According to the conventional wisdom, defection by one country from global climate cooperation should undermine the incentives for other countries to act. But new research shows that the public in the United States and China both maintain robust support for national climate reforms, even when a major carbon polluter stops cooperating.

To meet the Paris Agreement goals, CO₂ emissions in industrial countries must decrease over the long term. Now research shows that an increase in the share of renewable energy and a decrease in energy use have contributed to emissions reductions in industrial countries, but enhanced policies are needed to decouple economic growth from emissions.

Collaborative research utilizing field trials and whole farm crop simulation enables adaptation of Australian wheat crop practices. Novel varieties sown earlier enable a longer growing season, which facilitates wheat yield increases despite an increasingly challenging climate.

Global greenhouse gas emissions are set to rise again in 2018. New research from the United States Geological Survey casts light on emissions from fuels produced on federal lands and finds that they accounted for over 20% of US emissions in recent years.

In the Southern Ocean, climate-driven contraction of Antarctic krill from open ocean toward the frozen continent is a perilous journey. Research now shows that a poleward shift in distribution is accompanied by diminished spatial less habitat, lower densities and larger mean size of adults.

Climate change adaptation encompasses a wide range of behaviours in response to a variety of short- and long-term risks. Now meta-analyses identify which motivational factors are consistent predictors of adaptation action, and which are more context-specific.