With the annual intersessional UN climate talk taking place online, and mired with technical difficulties, delegates are eager to get back to in person meetings. However, in three weeks of virtual discussions, little headway was made leaving all decision making to the COP26 in Glasgow.
Policy is the key to contrasting the worst effects of climate change. Analysing the impact of climate laws implemented by the G7 nations on their overall emissions gives a clear indication of how important policy measures are in the fight against climate change.
Climate change is exacerbating problems such as habitat loss and extreme temperature fluctuations. With one in four species currently under threat of extinction, understanding which ones are better equipped to adapt, and hence survive, can provide valuable information for conservation efforts and policy choices.
More data and knowledge to the service of decision makers can help make Europe a fully climate resilient continent by mid-century. The new European Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change aims to lead the world by example and calls for more consideration of the transboundary effects of climate impacts and for a ‘smarter, more systemic and swifter’ adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
Talking about the European Topic Centre on Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation (ETC/CCA) means unfolding the evolution of knowledge, policy processes, actions and awareness on adaptation in Europe, from their first steps to the implementation of the new EU Climate Adaptation Strategy. We explore the story of this long collaboration between the ETC/CCA and the European Environment Agency in a journey at the interface between science and policy.
Glaciers account for approximately 70% of all freshwater stored on the planet. From Latin America to the Himalayas, New Zealand and the European Alps, climate change is causing most glaciers to retreat at unprecedented rates with many experts sounding the alarm on water security.
Natural resources are neither free nor boundless. The time has come to challenge our conception of the relationship between the economy, society, and the environment and how we measure well-being and social progress. A new system takes the contributions of nature into account when analyzing economic development. It can be a game-changer for decision making processes.
The €750 billion plan will help member states address the COVID-19 pandemic whilst ensuring that their economies undertake green and digital transitions. Climate goals, research and innovation, Horizon Europe, fair climate and digital transitions: all you need to know about the largest stimulus package ever to be advanced through the EU budget.
Women are more exposed to the effects of climate change and at the same time less represented in climate negotiations and national environmental ministries. Working towards gender equality can also lead to more effective environmental decision making and action, accelerating global efforts to achieve development goals.
Urban centres hold the majority of the world’s population, yet these man-made environments are often devoid of green spaces. Adequately planned urban greening can not only improve living conditions for city dwellers but also help countries meet their broader climate goals.
Improvements in climate science have a transformational effect on our understanding of environmental criticalities and what it will take to address them. The annual report on new insights in climate science reveals that although climate change indicators are accelerating there is also increasing popular and political momentum for change. 2021 will be a shed water moment if we are to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.
An anthology of essays, poems and illustrations. Against the backdrop of the UN reminding us that women continue to be excluded from participating fully in science, we celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science with “All We Can Save”, a collection of voices of women across generations, races, geography, and backgrounds.
