Planting trees and preventing deforestation can store carbon in nature, but the effect may only be temporary. If we also eliminate emissions from fossil fuels, even this temporary effect is important.
If fossil fuel burning stopped, emerging research suggests air temperatures could level off sooner than expected. But that doesn’t mean the damage stops.
Paul Hardisty, Australian Institute of Marine Science; David Mead, Australian Institute of Marine Science, and Rob Vertessy, The University of Melbourne
Coral in the Great Barrier Reef is once again bleaching, with water temperatures up to 3°C higher than normal in some places.
Mark Howden, Australian National University; Joy Pereira, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia), and Roberto Sánchez, Colegio de la Frontera Norte
The IPCC is the global authority on climate change. Their new report paints a worrying picture of climate impacts already affecting billions of people, economies and the environment.
As temperatures warm, ski and snowboard resorts are investing more in snowmaking and seeing their seasons shrink. Those costs roll down to customers in an already expensive sport.
Such a dramatic rise in extreme heat days is not inevitable. If global warming is limited to 1.5°C this century, Western Sydney will have fewer than 17 days of 35°C per year.
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