Ten new insights in climate science 2020 – a horizon scan

Abstract

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- and 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.

Editorial: Is There a New Climate Politics?

“…Questions have roundly focused on how to respond and who will suffer the most (Mann, 2021). Climate change affects human health and wellbeing-with increasing evidence of mental health problems like solastalgia directly linked to climate change (Albrecht et al, 2007;Pihl et al, 2021). While the youth climate movement is increasing awareness of climate change in the public consciousness and re-centering climate debates around intergenerational ethics and justice, the landscape of climate action seems plagued by unintended impacts, as empirical evidence emerges of greening projects' negative impacts, for example, causing people's displacement (UN-Habitat, 2020).…”

Planned Relocation and Health: A Case Study from Fiji

“…For residents of Vunidogoloa, there is a double-layered sadness associated with both the perceived environmental changes (e.g., coastal erosion, flooding, loss of coastal trees) as well as loss of place attachment engendered through their relocation (e.g., reduced proximity and connection to the ocean, to burial grounds, to the sea breeze, and to place). Climate change impacts mental health through complex pathways, including grief as people experience climate-related losses to ecosystems and landscapes [12,43,45]. Disruptions to place attachment are critical challenges of planned relocation and mobility, with potentially adverse consequences for health and well-being [8,46].…”

Mountain futures: pursuing innovative adaptations in coupled social–ecological systems

“…Finally, mountains were featured as one of ten foci of climate science in a publication released at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) 25 in Madrid, Spain, in December of that year (Pihl et al . 2019).…”