As he reaches the end of his five-year term, Australia’s Chief Scientist Alan Finkel reflects on his proudest achievements in the role - and why the biggest projects have been the most unexpected.
There were so many tropical storms in 2020, forecasters exhausted the list of names and started using Greek letters. And that’s only one reason 2020 was extreme.
Choosing former Secretary of State John Kerry as climate envoy is the first step. To regain trust, the U.S. will also have to take concrete actions to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions.
Over US$12 trillion of COVID-19 relief has been promised. If a small portion was put toward economy-boosting green investments, the world could get on track to avoid the worst of climate change.
It’s high time the international shipping industry radically curbed its emissions. The industry must set a net-zero target and adopt a realistic plan to meet it.
Olivier Dangles, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
The parable of the dragons underlines the need to apprehend glacier disappearance in a transdisciplinary way, to create a dialogue between the physical, ecological and philosophical sciences.
After four years of the US government undoing climate change policies and partnerships, a Biden administration has a chance to rebuild that leadership. But success will require more than quick wins.
Shakespeare understood that our fate depends on fostering the humility and empathy that dethrones money and transforms it into something we use to advance the common good.
John MacArthur’s long-held view that climate change is fiction is just part of a wider Christian movement coalescing around this important election issue.
Greenland’s glaciers have retreated so far that they can no longer support the ice sheet that feeds them. The ice sheet system has reached a new normal of consistent annual ice loss.
Few white evangelicals in the U.S. say they believe in human-made climate change. This strand of science denial seems to have as much to do with conservative politics as the Bible’s teachings.
The report by the World Meteorological Organisation shows that with large and rapid emissions cuts, we can still avoid the most severe climate change. But worryingly, we also have time to make it far worse.
Chief Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Deputy Director for the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science; Deputy Director for the Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, Australian National University