Climate Change
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A groggy climate giant: subsea permafrost is still waking up after 12,000 years
New research suggests slow but substantial greenhouse gas release from submarine permafrost In the far north, the swelling Arctic Ocean inundated vast swaths of coastal tundra and steppe ecosystems. Though the ocean water was only a few degrees above freezing, it started to thaw the permafrost beneath it, exposing billions of tons of organic matter […]
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Delaying less developed countries’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions would have a minimal impact on global temperature change
The impact on climate change would only be modest if countries in the process of development were to delay efforts to reduce their carbon emissions until they reach a certain level of economic growth. That is the key finding in a new study published today in Environmental Research Letters by scientists from the Carnegie Institution […]
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China’s air pollutant reduction success could make it tougher to control climate change
China’s success in improving air quality by cutting polluting emissions may have a negative knock-on effect on climate change overall, a new study has found. The research, by scientists from Carnegie Institution for Science, USA, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, China, Tsinghua University, China and the University of California Irvine, USA, used modelling to analyse […]
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‘Daring multi-level club solution’ could offer key to combating climate change
‘Climate clubs’ offering membership for sub-national states, rather than just countries, could speed up progress towards a globally-harmonised climate change policy. This is the key finding of a new study by researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain, published today in Environmental Research Letters. The study’s lead author, Nick Martin from UAB, explained: […]
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Energy advances open the door to more aggressive climate policies
An international research team has called for a more sober discourse around climate change prospects, following an extensive reassessment of climate change’s progress and its mitigation. They argue that climate change models have understated potential warming’s speed and runaway potential, while the models that relate climate science to consequences, choices and policies have understated the […]
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Machine learning and artificial intelligence to aid climate change research and preparedness
Machine learning and artificial intelligence are expected to provide significant new insights into understanding climate change and how to fight it, according to a study published today in Environmental Research Letters. The study, led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK, provides a compelling argument that machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) can […]
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Aviation emissions’ impacts on air quality larger than on climate, study finds
New research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has quantified the climate and air quality impacts of aviation, broken down by emission type, altitude and location. The MIT team found that growth in aviation causes twice as much damage to air quality as to the climate. Writing today in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters, […]
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Study offers verdict for China’s efforts on coal emissions
Researchers from China, France and the USA have evaluated China’s success in stemming emissions from its coal-fired power plants (CPPs). CPPs are one of the main contributors to air pollution in China, and their proliferation over the last 20 years has had significant impacts on air quality and public health. These impacts led authorities to […]
