Ten new insights in climate science 2020- A horizon scan
Journal
Global Sustainability
Date Issued
2020-01-01
Author(s)
Pihl, Erik
Alfredsson, Eva
Bengtsson, Magnus
Bowen, Kathryn J.
Cástan Broto, Vanesa
Cleugh, Helen
Ebi, Kristie
Edwards, Clea M.
Fisher, Eleanor
Friedlingstein, Pierre
Godoy-Faúndez, Alex
Gupta, Mukesh
Harrington, Alexandra R.
Hayes, Katie
Hayward, Bronwyn M.
Hebden, Sophie R.
Hickmann, Thomas
Hugelius, Gustaf
Ilyina, Tatiana
Jackson, Robert B.
Keenan, Trevor F.
Lambino, Ria A.
Leuzinger, Sebastian
Malmaeus, Mikael
McDonald, Robert I.
McMichael, Celia
Miller, Clark A.
Muratori, Matteo
Nagabhatla, Nidhi
Nagendra, Harini
Passarello, Cristian
Penuelas, Josep
Pongratz, Julia
Rockström, Johan
Romero-Lankao, Patricia
Roy, Joyashree
Scaife, Adam A.
Schlosser, Peter
Schuur, Edward
Scobie, Michelle
Sherwood, Steven C.
Sioen, Giles B.
Skovgaard, Jakob
Sobenes Obregon, Edgardo A.
Sonntag, Sebastian
Spangenberg, Joachim H.
Spijkers, Otto
Srivastava, Leena
Stammer, Detlef B.
Torres, Pedro H.C.
Turetsky, Merritt R.
Ukkola, Anna M.
Van Vuuren, Detlef P.
Voigt, Christina
Wannous, Chadia
Zelinka, Mark D.
Abstract
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press. Non-technical summary We summarize some of the past year's most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding of Earth's sensitivity to carbon dioxide, finds that permafrost thaw could release more carbon emissions than expected and that the uptake of carbon in tropical ecosystems is weakening. Adverse impacts on human society include increasing water shortages and impacts on mental health. Options for solutions emerge from rethinking economic models, rights-based litigation, strengthened governance systems and a new social contract. The disruption caused by COVID-19 could be seized as an opportunity for positive change, directing economic stimulus towards sustainable investments. Technical summary A synthesis is made of ten fields within climate science where there have been significant advances since mid-2019, through an expert elicitation process with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) a better understanding of equilibrium climate sensitivity; (2) abrupt thaw as an accelerator of carbon release from permafrost; (3) changes to global and regional land carbon sinks; (4) impacts of climate change on water crises, including equity perspectives; (5) adverse effects on mental health from climate change; (6) immediate effects on climate of the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements for recovery packages to deliver on the Paris Agreement; (7) suggested long-term changes to governance and a social contract to address climate change, learning from the current pandemic, (8) updated positive cost-benefit ratio and new perspectives on the potential for green growth in the short- A nd long-term perspective; (9) urban electrification as a strategy to move towards low-carbon energy systems and (10) rights-based litigation as an increasingly important method to address climate change, with recent clarifications on the legal standing and representation of future generations. Social media summary Stronger permafrost thaw, COVID-19 effects and growing mental health impacts among highlights of latest climate science.
Subjects
climate anxiety | climate feedbacks | climate governance | climate impacts | climate litigation | climate mitigation | climate models | climate policy | environmental economics | future earth | risk governance | thermokarst | urban transformations | water stress
Type
other