The Paris Agreement cleared the final hurdle to enter into force today after the European Union submitted its instrument of ratification to the United Nations and the two thresholds of 55 countries and over 55 percent of global emissions were reached.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for "bold action and much greater ambition" in fighting climate change. Latin American and Caribbean nations can heed the call by strengthening their national climate plans by 2020 and setting net-zero emissions targets for 2050.
This Month in Climate Science summarizes significant new research and provides a clearer picture of the threats posed by climate change. Studies published in July 2019, the world's hottest month on record, show that U.S. residents will see double or triple the number of days exceeding 100 degrees F.
Most communities overlook a critical tool in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions: trees. One of the reasons is that they don’t know how to account for forests and trees in their emissions inventories.
The latest IPCC report confirms a lot we already knew about the relationship between tropical forests and climate change, as well as reveals some relatively new science about how forests interact with the atmosphere. The bottom line? Protecting forests—especially tropical forests—is one of the most important strategies for both climate mitigation and adaptation.
Indigenous peoples and other local communities have long argued that they play a central role in safeguarding more than half the world’s land, including much of its forests. The world’s leading climate scientists now agree.
A new IPCC report found there could be significant benefits to land-based carbon removal, such as through afforestation and restoration. But if deployed incorrectly, these strategies could create greater pressures on land and compromise food security and ecosystem health.
The latest IPCC report finds that while land sequesters almost a third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, it will be impossible to limit temperature rise to safe levels without fundamentally changing the way the world produces food and manages land.
In the EU, Spain, Mexico, Peru and Uganda, positive examples of how inequality and climate change can be tackled together, with inclusive planning, nature-based solutions, and a focus on a just transition.
When it comes to climate change, producing more oil seems counterproductive. But a technology called "direct air capture," by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, can lower emissions from oil until the day we get off fossil fuels.