Reviews & Analysis

Declining snow cover poses a substantial risk for many ski resorts that often counter this trend with snowmaking, leading to increasing emissions caused by ski tourism. Research now quantifies the risks of rising temperatures to the skiing industry at the pan-European level, together with the potential and emissions of snowmaking.

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.

Reducing the risk of maladaptation is critical to successful climate adaptation, yet such dichotomy hampers nuanced assessments of adaptation outcomes. The authors provide a framework to assess relevant dimensions of adaptation outcomes on a continuum and apply it to various adaptation options.

Atmospheric observations can quantify anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, but variability in net land carbon exchange delays the detection of changes. Now, research improves understanding of this variability and allows earlier detection of emissions changes.

Satellite-based analysis indicates that the relative change in cloud droplet number concentration with relative change in aerosol concentration is sublinear, contrary to common assumptions. The revised nonlinear method predicts that in heavily polluted regions the additional warming due to improvements in air quality will occur two to three decades later than predicted by the linear method.

The stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is uncertain on a rapidly warming planet. Geoengineering through solar radiation modification could halt global warming and potentially delay the demise of the ice sheet. But in high-greenhouse-gas-emission scenarios, collapse of the ice sheet ensues despite such intervention.

Studies on sea-level rise often claim to be useful for local decision-makers and adaptation planning. We asked researchers and practitioners to discuss the different ways in which science can inform local to global decision-making and what researchers can do to improve the utility of their findings.

A net-zero change in tree cover is often considered to have no impact on the biophysical effects of forests. Satellite observations now reveal an asymmetric influence of gross tree-cover gain versus loss on land surface temperature. Neglecting this influence might lead to biases in quantifying the biophysical effects of forests.

Climate change might alter mosquito-borne disease risk, but research now suggests that one emerging mosquito control approach might be largely resistant to warming temperatures.

Satellite radar altimetry enables the detection of sea-level changes by collecting data that have exceeded early expectations. This Perspective discusses potential advances that would enhance the data, allowing regional detection and attribution of sea-level change and improving ocean heat uptake estimates.

Natural disasters can trigger conflictive behaviour among affected individuals. Now, research based on survey experiments with Syrian and Iraqi refugees shows how people behave altruistically after experiencing drought, but only towards ingroup members.

Nature-based solutions, such as urban green spaces, are shown to contribute to carbon emissions reduction and carbon sequestration, and also to have valuable indirect effects and behavioural impacts. Implementing such solutions could achieve carbon neutrality within the decade in several major cities in Europe.

We established a comprehensive assessment framework to explore the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reduction potential from coal–biomass co-firing power plants with retrofitted carbon capture and storage (CBECCS) in China. Optimal spatiotemporal deployment of the CBECCS transition could achieve CO₂ mitigation of 1.6 Gt yr⁻¹ in 2040 and 41.2 Gt cumulatively over the period 2025–2060.

An endangered turtle population translocated to a higher-latitude (cooler) location grew inadequately. This calls into question the future viability of the population and highlights the difficulties in carrying out climate change-related translocations.

Most models of global climate change impacts and policy do not consider adaptation or societies’ ability to adapt. Here the authors propose a way to better integrate adaptation in such models using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway scenario framework to quantify adaptive capacity via a suite of socioeconomic indicators.

Climate and socioeconomic change are reshaping wildfire patterns and increasing risks globally, leading to potential new conflicts and equity issues. Incorporating justice considerations from different perspectives into integrated wildfire risk management is essential to address these new challenges.

An integrated assessment model calibrated on past economic and climate development is used to estimate the historical time-series of the social costs of carbon from 1950 to 2018. The extent to which individual countries reduced global wealth through their fossil and industrial-process carbon dioxide emissions was then assessed.

In this Perspective, the authors discuss the importance of considering phenotypic plasticity in conservation actions. They propose a framework to directly connect plasticity to management and a road map for developing tools to highlight where considering plasticity could be beneficial or required.

Climate policy adoption in one country increases the probability of adoption in neighbouring countries. Governments can thus support global climate action by adopting a leadership role in climate policy and do not need to worry about freeriding behaviour.