Climate change risk is complex: here is a way to assess it

May 09, 2021 08:59 am UTC| Nature

A key feature of climate change is that it doesnt pose one single risk. Rather, it presents multiple, interacting risks that can compound and cascade. Importantly, responses to climate change can also affect risk. In...

The government has pledged over $800m to fight natural disasters. It could be revolutionary — if done right

May 09, 2021 08:51 am UTC| Nature

To help Australia adapt to climate change and manage the disasters that come with it, the federal government this week pledged A$600 million towards establishing the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, and $210...

The 1.5℃ global warming limit is not impossible – but without political action it soon will be

May 03, 2021 05:47 am UTC| Nature

Limiting global warming to 1.5℃ this century is a central goal of the Paris Agreement. In recent months, climate experts and others, including in Australia, have suggested the target is now impossible. Whether Earth can...

Nuclear power: how might radioactive waste water affect the environment?

May 02, 2021 08:03 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Its been just over a decade since the fourth most powerful earthquake of the modern era triggered a tsunami that struck Fukushima on the eastern coastline of Japan, causing thousands of deaths and leaving hundreds of...

Climate Change Series

UK target to cut emissions 78% by 2035 is world-leading – but to hit it, policies must be rolled out now

Apr 23, 2021 11:51 am UTC| Nature

Everyday Im inundated with fresh news of businesses and governments declaring new deadlines for when theyll reach net zero emissions. The announcement of one climate target in particular caught my attention recently, for...

Climate Change Series

New US climate pledge: Cut emissions 50% this decade, but can Biden make it happen?

Apr 23, 2021 11:45 am UTC| Nature

President Joe Biden announced an ambitious new national climate target at a livestreamed summit of world leaders on April 22, 2021: He pledged to cut U.S. carbon emissions in half by the end of this decade and aim for net...

Climate Change Series

Satellites reveal ocean currents are getting stronger, with potentially significant implications for climate change

Apr 23, 2021 11:29 am UTC| Nature

Scientists already know the oceans are rapidly warming and sea levels are rising. But thats not all. Now, thanks to satellite observations, we have three decades worth of data on how the speeds of ocean surface currents...