Arguments
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #10 2025
Posted on 6 March 2025 by Doug Bostrom, Marc Kodack
Open access notables
Snow Mass Recharge of the Greenland Ice Sheet Fueled by Intense Atmospheric River, Bailey & Hubbard, Geophysical Research Letters:
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) have been linked with extreme rainfall and melt events across the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS), accelerating its mass loss. However, the impact of AR-fueled snowfall has received less attention, partly due to limited empirical evidence. Here, we relate new firn core stratigraphy and isotopic analyses with glacio-meteorological data sets from SE Greenland to examine an intense AR in mid-March 2022. We demonstrate that the associated snowfall—up to 11.6 gigatons d−1—delayed summer melt onset by11-days and offset Greenland's 2022 net mass loss by 8%. Since 2010, our synoptic analysis reveals that snow accumulation across SE Greenland increased by 20 mm water equivalent a−1, driven by enhanced Atlantic cyclonicity. We find that the impact of ARs on the GrIS is not exclusively negative and their capacity to contribute mass recharge may become increasingly significant under ongoing Arctic amplification and predicted poleward intrusion of mid-latitude moisture.
The People against the Sun? Ideology and Strategy in Far-Right Parties' Climate Obstruction of Solar Energy, Weisskircher & Volk, Environmental Politics:
Far-right parties increasingly mobilize against climate action. While scholarship has initially focused on explicit climate denialism, by now research analyzes the opposition against specific climate policies. This article studies far-right parties’ positions on solar energy, the fastest growing renewable energy source in Europe. First, we examine the crucial case of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a prominent example of climate obstruction. Second, we explore ten additional far-right parties from eight western European countries as shadow cases. Methodologically, we analyze 61 manifestos (2014–2023). The article makes three key contributions: First, it shows how far-right parties frame solar power. Second, it underlines the heterogeneity of positions among far-right parties over space and time. Third, it argues that variation in opposition and support indicates that positions towards solar power are driven rather by strategic considerations than by a common coherent ideological stance – an important finding for understanding far-right climate obstruction more broadly.
Anticipating the Challenges of AI in Climate Governance: An Urgent Dilemma for Democracies, Machen & Pearce, WIREs Climate Change:
There is increasing interest in AI as a means of accelerating climate policy interventions. While undoubtedly promising, AI's recent history in other fields demonstrates the risk of significant unintended consequences that widen social inequalities or reduce democratic engagement. In this perspective, we review recent developments in climate governance and in AI governance and anticipate several potential problems when the two are combined. In particular, we highlight potential democratic challenges for the application of AI in climate governance through narrowing the range of policy options, narrowing the range of experts and publics that can contribute to climate governance, and how the implementation of AI may run counter to norms of democratic accountability. These challenges represent an urgent dilemma for climate governance as ignoring these issues will erode democratic oversight, lead to unpopular unintended consequences, and could reverse recent positive trends in diversity and participation within climate science and policy. In contrast, engaging with them could strengthen democracy and increase the successful social uptake of the technologies. By way of mitigating these risks, we introduce four principles for a bounded application of climate AI technologies that recognizes and enhances understanding of the political and contested nature of environmental decision-making. First, situating AI within expert and lay public debates. Second, valuing non-quantifiable knowledge. Third, expanding deliberation within AI decision-making. Fourth, developing domain-specific AI applications.
China’s readiness for transitioning to a low-carbon economy: mitigant and catalyst factors for a geopolitical conflict, Chen et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science:
The transition from a carbon-intensive economy to a carbon-neutral one has become a critical global objective to address climate change. This study examines the relationship between Low-Carbon Economic Development (LCED) and Geopolitical Risk (GPR) in China by focusing on the challenges and opportunities they present. We use a qualitative analysis to identify that rising GPR, exacerbated by market instability, resource allocation conflicts, and trade disputes, significantly hinders LCED progress. However, these geopolitical tensions also act as a catalyst for accelerating the development of renewable energy, reducing reliance on traditional energy sources, and fostering low-carbon technologies. Furthermore, LCED can ameliorate GPR by decreasing dependence on energy imports, promoting international cooperation, and encouraging scientific innovation. These findings suggest actionable policy recommendations to support the global transition to a low-carbon economy. This research underscores the potential LCED has as a fundamental tool for resolving geopolitical tensions and uniting global efforts to combat climate change.
Barriers and limits to adaptation in the Arctic, Malik & Ford, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability:
The Arctic is experiencing rapid environmental changes, adaptation challenges, and geopolitical competition. Indigenous Peoples inhabiting the Arctic particularly experience these impacts affecting livelihoods, culture, and the possibilities for long-term adaptation. This study examines the social barriers and limits to adaptation in the Arctic, highlighting the intricate relationship between different social factors. We showcase that these factors are not merely technical or isolated but are deeply political in nature, influenced by broader structural factors, power dynamics, and governance systems. Colonialism, global capitalism, and geopolitical interests intersect and affect resource extraction, Indigenous sovereignty, cultural continuity, and adaptation. We highlight how structural inequalities, exclusion, marginalisation, and systemic neglect impact Indigenous Peoples’ adaptation. We examine how social norms, individual values, psychosocial factors, and governance systems shape adaptation outcomes, distinguishing between barriers and limits.
From this week's government/NGO section:
Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Perceptions of the Health Harms of Global Warming, Fall 2024, Fine et al., Yale University and George Mason University
The authors present their findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – from interviews with 1,013 adults (18+), conducted between December 11 – 22, 2024. The authors focused on public perceptions of the health harms of climate change and various sources of energy. The survey results reported here assess Americans’ awareness and understanding of the health harms of global warming; their beliefs about who should take action to protect people from these harms; and their trust in various sources of information about these harms. The authors compare many of the results with prior surveys conducted in 2014, 2018, and 2020. Many Americans have thought (32%) or worried (28%) a “great deal” or “moderate amount” about the health harms of global warming, similar to the percentages in 2014. 39% of Americans think Americans’ health is being harmed by global warming “a great deal” or “a moderate amount,” an 8 percentage point increase from 2014. However, only 16% think their own health is being harmed by global warming a “great deal” or a “moderate amount.” When asked to name health problems related to global warming, about four in ten Americans (37%) identify at least one health problem (+5 points since 2014).
Electricity Demand Growth and Data Centers: A Guide for the Perplexed, Koomey et al., Koomey Analytics and the Bipartisan Policy Center
Recent reports of unprecedented growth in electricity demand from data centers have appeared in many major news outlets. These headlines encapsulate two widely expressed concerns. First, the rising energy demand from data centers could further overburden aging power infrastructure. Second, this new source of demand could jeopardize efforts to mitigate climate change. The authors explore the accuracy of such narratives and explain the key drivers of load growth for data centers.
101 articles in 47 journals by 727 contributing authors
Physical science of climate change, effects
A Linear Sensitivity Framework to Understand the Drivers of the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature Changes, Kong & Huber, 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4765660/v1
Common and Distinct Drivers of Convective Mass Flux and Walker Circulation Changes, Kang et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2024gl111897
Dust in the arctic: a brief review of feedbacks and interactions between climate change, aeolian dust and ecosystems, Meinander et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1536395
Hot season gets hotter due to rainfall delay over tropical land in a warming climate, Song et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-025-57501-6
Sea ice pattern effect on Earth’s energy budget is characterized by hemispheric asymmetry, Zhou et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.adr4248
Soil moisture-atmosphere interactions drive terrestrial carbon-water trade-offs, Sun et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-025-02145-z
Modeling, simulation & projection of climate change, effects
Enhanced risk of hot extremes revealed by observation-constrained model projections, Simolo & Corti, Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-025-02133-3
Onshore intensification of subtropical western boundary currents in a warming climate, Yang et al., Nature Climate Change Open Access 10.1038/s41558-025-02258-5
Advancement of climate & climate effects modeling, simulation & projection
An improved and extended parameterization of the CO2 15 µm cooling in the middle and upper atmosphere (CO2&cool&fort-1.0), López-Puertas et al., Geoscientific Model Development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-17-4401-2024
High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project phase 2 (HighResMIP2) towards CMIP7, Roberts et al., Geoscientific Model Development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-18-1307-2025
Soil Moisture–Latent Heat Flux Coupling in Climate Modeling: Insights and Implications from the Offline Land Model, Tokuda et al., Journal of Hydrometeorology 10.1175/jhm-d-23-0200.1
The Earth Science Box Modeling Toolkit (ESBMTK 0.14.0.11): a Python library for research and teaching, Wortmann et al., Geoscientific Model Development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-18-1155-2025
Cryosphere & climate change
Assessing the sensitivity of the Vanderford Glacier, East Antarctica, to basal melt and calving, Bird et al., Open Access 10.5194/egusphere-2024-2060
Snow Mass Recharge of the Greenland Ice Sheet Fueled by Intense Atmospheric River, Bailey & Hubbard, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2024gl110121
Paleoclimate & paleogeochemistry
Past hydroclimate extremes in Europe driven by Atlantic jet stream and recurrent weather patterns, Brönnimann et al., Nature Geoscience Open Access 10.1038/s41561-025-01654-y
Poleward displacement of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies in response to Early Holocene warming, Perren et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-025-02129-z
Biology & climate change, related geochemistry
Climate change and tree cover loss affect the habitat suitability of Cedrela angustifolia: evaluating climate vulnerability and conservation in Andean montane forests, Ames-Martínez et al., PeerJ Open Access 10.7717/peerj.18799
Climate-driven connectivity loss impedes species adaptation to warming in the deep ocean, Lin et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-025-02256-7
Conserving seagrass ecosystems to meet global biodiversity and climate goals, Duarte et al., Nature Reviews Biodiversity 10.1038/s44358-025-00028-x
Evaluating the global sea snake diversity and distribution under climate change scenario, Sikdar et al., Marine Environmental Research 10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107055
Global and Regional Marine Ecosystem Models Reveal Key Uncertainties in Climate Change Projections, Eddy et al., Open Access pdf 10.22541/essoar.171535471.19954011/v1
Long-term impacts of global temperature stabilization and overshoot on exploited marine species, Morée et al., Biogeosciences Open Access 10.5194/bg-22-1115-2025
Quantifying disturbance effects on ecosystem services in a changing climate, Dee et al., Nature Ecology & Evolution Open Access 10.1038/s41559-024-02626-y
Unprecedented warming impacts on phytoplankton and special emphasis on diatom-diazotroph associations in the oligotrophic waters of the eastern Arabian Sea, Vishal et al., Marine Environmental Research 10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107038
GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry
Conceptualizing social-ecological practices, Rawluk et al., Sustainability Science 10.1007/s11625-018-0639-1
Greenhouse Gas Budgets of Central and West Asia (2000–2020): A Significant Net Source to the Atmosphere, Qin et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access 10.1029/2024gb008370
Identifying options for additionality tests in the context of scope 2 market-based accounting, Schäfer et al., Carbon Management Open Access 10.1080/17583004.2025.2473910
Natural Soils-Based Oxidation Mitigates Methane Leakage From Integrity Compromised Legacy Wells, Cahill et al., Open Access pdf 10.22541/essoar.173152356.66772501/v1
Rising greenhouse gas emissions embodied in the global bioeconomy supply chain, Cabernard et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-025-02144-0
Spatial and temporal variations of gross primary production simulated by land surface model BCC&AVIM2.0, Li et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2023.02.001
The impact of biodegradable plastics on methane and carbon dioxide emissions in soil ecosystems: a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy approach, Wang et al., Scientific Reports Open Access 10.1038/s41598-025-90322-7
Undervalued CO2 emissions from soil to the atmosphere in seismic areas: A case study in Tangshan, North China, Hu et al., Global and Planetary Change 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.104778
Unveiling Divergent Trends in Soil Erosion and Soil Organic Carbon Displacement in Response to Climate and Land-Use Changes over China, Weng et al., Earth Interactions Open Access 10.1175/ei-d-24-0002.1
CO2 capture, sequestration science & engineering
Governance challenges for domestic cross-border carbon capture and storage, Zhang et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-025-02250-z
Decarbonization
Assessing electricity network capacity requirements for industrial decarbonisation in Great Britain, Gailani & Taylor, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114559
Big-data empowered traffic signal control could reduce urban carbon emission, Wu et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-025-56701-4
Decarbonising heating and cooling: Barriers and opportunities facing aquifer thermal energy storage in the United Kingdom, Liu et al., Energy Research & Social Science Open Access 10.1016/j.erss.2025.104006
Effect of hydrogen leakage on the life cycle climate impacts of hydrogen supply chains, Goita et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-025-02141-3
Global spatiotemporal optimization of photovoltaic and wind power to achieve the Paris Agreement targets, Wang et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-025-57292-w
Modelling of rooftop photovoltaic systems for electrification of public schools in developing countries, Baruah et al., Energy for Sustainable Development 10.1016/j.esd.2025.101670
The synergy between electric vehicle and electricity generation mix: A path to sustainable transportation, Singh & Namrata, Energy Policy 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114558
Towards sustainable maritime transport: Focus on the early phase of technology development related to alternative fuels, Wagner, Energy for Sustainable Development 10.1016/j.esd.2025.101686
Climate change communications & cognition
The effect of residential solar on energy insecurity among low- to moderate-income households, Yozwiak et al., Nature Energy 10.1038/s41560-025-01730-y
The People against the Sun? Ideology and Strategy in Far-Right Parties' Climate Obstruction of Solar Energy, Weisskircher & Volk, Environmental Politics Open Access 10.1080/09644016.2025.2458380
The Presence and Portrayal of Climate Change and Other Environmental Problems in Popular Films: A Quantitative Content Analysis, Schneider-Mayerson et al., Environmental Communication 10.1080/17524032.2025.2467427
Agronomy, animal husbundry, food production & climate change
Causes for the Changes in Reference Crop Evapotranspiration Over Ethiopia During 1980–2021, Workneh et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.8805
Domesticated rice alters the rhizosphere microbiome, reducing nitrogen fixation and increasing nitrous oxide emissions, Chang et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-025-57213-x
Modeling biochar effects on soil organic carbon on croplands in a microbial decomposition model (MIMICS-BC&v1.0), Han et al., Geoscientific Model Development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-17-4871-2024
Plant Species Better Adapted to Climate Change Need Agricultural Extensification to Persist, Poinas et al., Ecology Letters Open Access 10.1111/ele.70030
Practical paths towards quantifying and mitigating agricultural methane emissions, Nisbet et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences Open Access 10.1098/rspa.2024.0390
Study on the incremental carbon sink of tea plantations under spatio-temporal variation characteristics, Pan et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1561698
Swapping rice for alternative cereals can reduce climate-induced production losses and increase farmer incomes in India, Wei et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-025-57420-6
Using climate vulnerability assessments to implement and mainstream adaptation by the forest industry into forest management in Canada, Andrews-Key & Nelson, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change Open Access 10.3389/ffgc.2025.1434585
Hydrology, hydrometeorology & climate change
An Observational Constraint for Future Greenland Rain in a Warmer Atmosphere, Thompson?Munson et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl114710
Changes in Flood Magnitude and Frequency Projected for Vulnerable Regions and Major Wetlands of South America, Petry et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2024gl112436
Climate change economics
Climate change and the global distribution of wealth, Chancel et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-025-02268-3
Climate change and wealth: understanding and improving the carbon capability of the wealthiest people in the UK, Moorcroft et al., SSRN Electronic Journal 10.2139/ssrn.4723179
Does climate aid reduce perceived climate risks to foreign direct investors?, Gamso, Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2025.2471791
How central banks manage climate and energy transition risks, Shears et al., Nature Energy 10.1038/s41560-025-01724-w
How does trade freedom affect the development of clean energy? based on the moderating effect of carbon emissions, Wu, Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1552231
Climate change mitigation public policy research
Are Poland and Hungary pushed toward or pulled by energy transition? A narrative analysis of experts' views, M?czka et al., Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114557
Catalysts for progress? Mapping policy insights from energy research, Boyle et al., Energy Research & Social Science Open Access 10.1016/j.erss.2025.103955
Deciphering the drivers of CO2 emissions in Haryana: a comprehensive analysis from 2005 to 2023, Kumar et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1391418
Impact of renewable energy expansion and access policy on sustainable development performance in Ethiopia: A policy evaluation study, Debel & Wang, Energy Policy 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114529
Opportunities and challenges to community-level adoption of natural climate solutions in Washington State, Roy Chowdhury et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000580
The interaction of energy diversification policy and geopolitical uncertainty in sustaining the environment: International evidence, Hoang et al., Energy Policy 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114560
The role of networked governance for local climate policy output. Evidence from Europe, Abel, Environmental Politics Open Access 10.1080/09644016.2025.2463861
Towards sustainable energy access: Investigating the relationship between renewable energy consumption and energy poverty, P & R, Energy Policy 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114553
Climate change adaptation & adaptation public policy research
Barriers and limits to adaptation in the Arctic, Malik & Ford, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability Open Access 10.1016/j.cosust.2025.101519
Perspectives on climate change adaptation – A cluster analysis of young Germans to develop tailored educational approaches, Wankmüller et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102560
Urban Heat Load in a Small Mediterranean City in Recent, Extreme and Future Climate Conditions—A Case Study for the City of Dubrovnik, Boras et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.8728
Climate change impacts on human health
Cascading impacts of climate change on child survival and health in Africa, Diep et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-024-02197-7
The multidimensional impacts of heatwaves on human ecosystems: A systematic literature review and future research direction, Abunyewah et al., Environmental Science & Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104024
Climate change & geopolitics
China’s readiness for transitioning to a low-carbon economy: mitigant and catalyst factors for a geopolitical conflict, Chen et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1524329
Other
Multi-model assessment of the atmospheric and radiative effects of supersonic transport aircraft, van 't Hoff et al., Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Open Access 10.5194/acp-25-2515-2025
Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives
Anticipating the Challenges of AI in Climate Governance: An Urgent Dilemma for Democracies, Machen & Pearce, WIREs Climate Change Open Access 10.1002/wcc.70002
Enhancing sustainable development through implementation of climate goals in Pacific Island Nations: A call for unified action, Prasad & Raturi, Energy for Sustainable Development 10.1016/j.esd.2025.101677
Gathering Users and Developers to Shape Together the Next-Generation Ocean Reanalyses, Yang et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Open Access pdf 10.1175/bams-d-24-0034.1
Marine heatwaves are in the eye of the beholder, Farchadi et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-025-02257-6
Ocean extremes as a stress test for marine ecosystems and society, Smith et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-025-02269-2
Book reviews
Climate change, education, and technology, Greenwald, Carbon Management Technology Conference Open Access 10.7122/151083-ms
Articles/Reports from Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations Addressing Aspects of Climate Change
Electricity Demand Growth and Data Centers: A Guide for the Perplexed, Koomey et al., Koomey Analytics and the Bipartisan Policy Center
Recent reports of unprecedented growth in electricity demand from data centers have appeared in many major news outlets. These headlines encapsulate two widely expressed concerns. First, the rising energy demand from data centers could further overburden aging power infrastructure. Second, this new source of demand could jeopardize efforts to mitigate climate change. The authors explore the accuracy of such narratives and explain the key drivers of load growth for data centers.
The 2025 Community Power Scorecard, The Institute for Local Self-Reliance
The annual scorecard focuses on laws that let communities capture the largest local benefits, shifting from the status quo to an equitable, democratically accountable energy system. The states that score the highest support locally owned clean energy and competitive access to the grid, empower communities to be more self-reliant and ensure that everyone benefits from clean energy. High-scoring states also hold utilities accountable, protecting consumers and competitors from inflated costs and other abuses of monopoly power.
Decarb Debrief, Energy Lab, EnergyLab
In 2024, EnergyLab supported 85 startups and 25 aspiring founders across nine programs, providing essential mentorship, funding, and industry connections. These programs, spanning from early-stage ideation to international expansion, continue to play a crucial role in advancing climate tech solutions. EnergyLab’s Australian alumni achieved significant milestones, collectively raising $147 million in venture capital funding, a $20 million increase from 2023. This represents 25% of the $609 million in climate tech funding secured by Australian climate tech startups according to the Cut Through Ventures 2024 State of Australian Funding Report. Additionally, Australian EnergyLab alumni secured $27 million in grant funding, highlighting the importance of non-dilutive capital in scaling climate tech innovations. Securing funding remains a major challenge for climate tech startups, necessitating a mix of venture capital, grants, and angel investment to scale their solutions.
Half the public has been personally affected by extreme cold spells or heat waves within the past five years, AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
Roughly half of the public report being personally affected by extreme heat waves or extreme cold spells over the past five years. Of those who have faced these and other types of extreme weather or natural disaster events, 72% consider climate change to be a contributing factor. Relatively few feel that climate change has already had a major impact on their lives, but many think it will impact them in the future. Less than half think that climate change will not impact them personally, their health, or air quality or availability of water in their area at some point in their lifetime. There is broad support for federal government action for the people who live in areas more susceptible to extreme weather and natural disasters, but less support for limiting new construction in these communities.
Reimaginig European Energy Security, Caspar Hobhouse, European Institute for Security Studies
The European Union (EU) needs to look at energy security in terms of the whole system rather than focusing solely on energy supply security. The old understandings around a fossil fuel-based system do not work for Europe’s security. They make the region reliant on expensive imports and highly vulnerable to external actors who exert a stranglehold over its energy system. A shift towards a renewables-based energy system would not only restore energy supply security within the EU but offer the added advantage of a cheaper and more resilient energy system. Building this system however requires a more holistic approach, one that incorporates interconnection and demand-side management into the broader conceptualization of energy security.
Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Perceptions of the Health Harms of Global Warming, Fall 2024, Fine et al., Yale University and George Mason University
The authors present their findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – from interviews with 1,013 adults (18+), conducted between December 11 – 22, 2024. The authors focused on public perceptions of the health harms of climate change and various sources of energy. The survey results reported here assess Americans’ awareness and understanding of the health harms of global warming; their beliefs about who should take action to protect people from these harms; and their trust in various sources of information about these harms. The authors compare many of the results with prior surveys conducted in 2014, 2018, and 2020. Many Americans have thought (32%) or worried (28%) a “great deal” or “moderate amount” about the health harms of global warming, similar to the percentages in 2014. 39% of Americans think Americans’ health is being harmed by global warming “a great deal” or “a moderate amount,” an 8 percentage point increase from 2014. However, only 16% think their own health is being harmed by global warming a “great deal” or a “moderate amount.” When asked to name health problems related to global warming, about four in ten Americans (37%) identify at least one health problem (+5 points since 2014).
Vermont Climate Council, Report to the General Assembly, Vermont Climate Council
The Vermont Climate Council (VCC) annually reports on its activities and Vermont's progress toward meeting its' greenhouse gas reduction requirements. As of this report, 2021 is the most recent year for which statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been published by the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), via the Vermont Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Forecast: 1990-2021. All modeling and analysis done to date by or for ANR/the Climate Council has found that Vermont is not on track to meet the Jan. 1, 2030, GHG emissions reduction obligation without additional policy and regulatory action.
Industrial Removals’ Resource Use in the 2040 Climate Target Impact Assessment, Velten et al., Ecologic Institute
The authors examine the assumptions for industrial carbon removals in the European Commission's 2040 Climate Target Impact Assessment (Impact Assessment). They focus on the deployment of industrial carbon removal technologies and their resource demands. For example, the authors examine the assumptions and outcomes related to industrial removals, specifically Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS). They then assess the IA's assumptions for biomass, electricity, and water requirements in 2040 across various scenarios.
Obtaining articles without journal subscriptions
We know it's frustrating that many articles we cite here are not free to read. One-off paid access fees are generally astronomically priced, suitable for such as "On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light" but not as a gamble on unknowns. With a median world income of US$ 9,373, for most of us US$ 42 is significant money to wager on an article's relevance and importance.
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- The weekly New Research catch is checked against the Unpaywall database with accessible items being flagged. Especially for just-published articles this mechansim may fail. If you're interested in an article title and it is not listed here as "open access," be sure to check the link anyway.
How is New Research assembled?
Most articles appearing here are found via RSS feeds from journal publishers, filtered by search terms to produce raw output for assessment of relevance.
Relevant articles are then queried against the Unpaywall database, to identify open access articles and expose useful metadata for articles appearing in the database.
The objective of New Research isn't to cast a tinge on scientific results, to color readers' impressions. Hence candidate articles are assessed via two metrics only:
- Was an article deemed of sufficient merit by a team of journal editors and peer reviewers? The fact of journal RSS output assigns a "yes" to this automatically.
- Is an article relevant to the topic of anthropogenic climate change? Due to filter overlap with other publication topics of inquiry, of a typical week's 550 or so input articles about 1/4 of RSS output makes the cut.
A few journals offer public access to "preprint" versions of articles for which the review process is not yet complete. For some key journals this all the mention we'll see in RSS feeds, so we include such items in New Research. These are flagged as "preprint."
The section "Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives" includes some items that are not scientific research per se but fall instead into the category of "perspectives," observations of implications of research findings, areas needing attention, etc.
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