Topics tagged with 'Science'
World has its best chance yet to slash emissions – if it seizes the opportunity: IPCC
5 Apr 2022
The world has its best chance yet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly, but hard and fast cuts are needed across all sectors and nations to hold warming to safe levels, the global authority on climate change says.
The UN's 10,000-page red alert on climate change
5 Apr 2022
Accelerating global warming is driving a rising tide of impacts that could cause profound human misery and ecological disaster, and there is only one way to avoid catastrophe: drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists race to finish key IPCC report
4 Apr 2022
UN scientists have worked through the weekend to complete a key report on how to restrict the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet.
Scientists risk arrest to sound climate alarm
4 Apr 2022
A loosely federated network of scientists in more than two dozen countries plan acts of civil disobedience starting this week to highlight the climate crisis, members of Scientist Rebellion told AFP.
Cut methane emissions with less beef and dairy: report
4 Apr 2022
A focus on healthier diets that contain less consumption of meat and dairy is needed to tackle methane emissions, according to a report released this week.
Baker’s yeast may be the unexpected solution to beer’s sustainability problem
31 Mar 2022
Researchers have managed to recreate beer’s signature hoppy flavor through baker’s yeast, circumventing the resource-intensive process of growing aroma hops in a field. This could save gallons of water and carbon dioxide emissions involved in growing the crops for beer—making this favorite beverage much more sustainable, they say.
Extreme storm surges likely to increase
30 Mar 2022
Extreme storm surges in Europe have increased since 1960, suggests a paper published in Nature.
Scientists alarmed as east Antarctic ice shelf collapses
29 Mar 2022
A New-York-City-sized ice shelf has collapsed in East Antarctica, much to the alarm of scientists who thought the region was substantially protected from the impacts of climate change, unlike the more vulnerable western reaches of the continent.
Glaciers continue to shrink: NIWA
29 Mar 2022
Media Release - The annual end-of-summer snowline survey of more than 50 South Island glaciers has revealed continued loss of snow and ice.
A bold idea to stall climate crisis - build better trees
29 Mar 2022
Changing the genetic makeup of trees could supercharge their ability to suck up carbon dioxide. But are forests of frankentrees really a good idea?
Baby boomers are the new climate change villains: study claims
28 Mar 2022
Are baby boomers driving climate change? A new study says older adults are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other age group now. In fact, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that people over 60 accounted for 25% of these emissions in 2005. However, that number jumped to 33% in 2015.
The impact of deforestation goes beyond carbon emissions: new study
28 Mar 2022
The deforestation of tropical areas is even more impactful on the climate cycle than previously thought, according to a March 2022 study published in
Shifts in El Niño may be driving climates extremes in both hemisphere
25 Mar 2022
Global warming is shifting cyclical temperature swings in the Pacific Ocean, and that affects floods in Australia, fires in South America and even temperature in the polar regions.
Climate smart’ policies could increase southern Africa’s crops by up to 500%
25 Mar 2022
The climate crisis is threatening food stocks in sub-Saharan Africa, but a comprehensive approach to food, farming and resources could increase crop production by more than 500% in some countries in the region, according to new research by more than 200 experts.
Indian forest loss ‘worse than feared’ due to climate change
25 Mar 2022
Forest loss in India could become an even bigger problem than anticipated in the coming years, with new research revealing climate change has caused significant recent losses.
19 oil and gas producing countries must cut oil and gas 76% by 2030 to keep 1.5° alive
24 Mar 2022
Nineteen oil and gas-producing countries must reduce production by three-quarters this decade and phase it out completely by 2034 to keep a 1.5°C climate future within sight, according to a new analysis released this week by the United Kingdom’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
Arctic sea ice winter peak in 2022 is 10th lowest on record
24 Mar 2022
Arctic sea ice has reached its maximum extent for the year, peaking at 14.88m square kilometres (km2) on 25 February. It is the 10th smallest winter peak in the 44-year satellite record.
UN weather agency to spearhead 5 year early warning plan, boosting climate action
24 Mar 2022
The UN set an ambitious five year deadline on Wednesday for countries to ensure that citizens worldwide are protected by early warning systems against extreme weather and climate change, the UN chief announced, marking World Meteorological Day.
Protecting the beasts of the land and sea could help fight climate change
24 Mar 2022
Large animals could be big allies in the fight against climate change, according to a new analysis.
Astronomy's contribution to climate change rivals the emissions from some countries
22 Mar 2022
Astronomers spend their careers looking up at the sky, away from Earth, but now some stargazers say their field has to grapple with the fact that observing the cosmos is contributing to their home planet's climate emergency.
Antarctica and Arctic experiencing more than 30 to 40 degree temperature increases
21 Mar 2022
Antarctica and Arctic temperatures have dramatically increased by at least 30 to 40 degrees Celsius, according to multiple reports.
Permafrost peatlands ‘on a precipice’
21 Mar 2022
Global warming is pushing the carbon-storing peatlands in Northern Europe and Siberia closer to a climate tipping point than previously believed, researchers warn, but policies to reduce emissions can still save the lands in northernmost Western Siberia.
Methane-eating bacteria convert greenhouse gas to fuel
18 Mar 2022
Methanotrophic bacteria consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year and have captivated researchers for their natural ability to convert the potent greenhouse gas into usable fuel. Yet we know very little about how the complex reaction occurs, limiting our ability to use the double benefit to our advantage.
Coal Mines emit more methane than oil and gas wells
17 Mar 2022
Coal mines already emit more methane than venting and flaring at all the world’s oil and gas wells, and that impact could increase by more than 20% if all the new mines now on the drawing boards are built, warns a new report this week by Global Energy Monitor (GEM).
Could EV trucks be an alternative to Lake Onslow?
17 Mar 2022
Hydroelectric dams are the world’s largest source of renewable electricity. But they are not necessarily green. They can upend ecosystems, displace wildlife and people, cause local droughts, and even emit greenhouse gases. Besides, they are expensive to build and can only be built in locations with the right geology.
Carbon dioxide will have to be removed from air to achieve 1.5C: report
10 Mar 2022
Removing carbon dioxide from the air will now be essential if there is to be any chance of meeting global climate targets, a thinktank has warned.
Carbon removal factory
10 Mar 2022
In September, Climeworks flipped the switch on Orca, the largest plant to date that is designed to remove carbon dioxide from the air.
Amazon rainforest nears tipping point that may see it become savannah
8 Mar 2022
The Amazon rainforest is nearing a tipping point that will see it transform into savannah, according to researchers who have found that the biodiversity hotspot has lost resilience in the past two decades.
Marine heatwaves getting longer and hotter: NIWA
7 Mar 2022
A new report by NIWA scientists is warning New Zealand could experience very long and "very severe" marine heatwaves by the end of the century.
‘Atlas of Human Suffering’ only matters if countries take action
3 Mar 2022
After two days of absorbing, parsing, and reading analyses of this week’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on climate impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, one conclusion shines through: the compendium that UN Secretary General António Guterres calls an “atlas of human suffering” will only matter if countries take action.
Climate stories don’t have to be depressing to be effective
3 Mar 2022
Stories in which characters take action with an intent to protect the climate make readers more likely to support climate policies and more likely to say they’ll take pro-environmental actions themselves, according to a new study.
Reaching peak carbon early could save hundreds of thousands of lives in China
3 Mar 2022
Reaching peak carbon emissions before its 2030 target could help China to avoid more 600,000 deaths from exposure to the most deadly small particles over the following two decades, a study has found.
‘One of the most extreme disasters in colonial Australian history’: climate scientist
3 Mar 2022
The deluge dumped on southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales this week has been catastrophic. Floodwaters peaked at around 14.4 metres high in Lismore – two metres higher than the city’s previous record.
Kiwi climate scientist's call for strike makes New York Times
2 Mar 2022
Massey University's Bruce Glavovic was in the news yesterday as one of the authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest assessment. Today's he's in the New York Times making the case for a climate scientists strike.
Need to focus on coastal cities: Bruce Glavovic
2 Mar 2022
Dr Bruce Glavovic may be calling for climate scientist strike but he's still doing his utmost to alert the public to the dire consequences of climate change. In his latest piece for The Conversation he argues that coastal cities are where transformative climate-resilient development can happen.
The UN’s climate report highlights the dangers of natural solutions
2 Mar 2022
A variety of researchers have highlighted the potential to leverage nature to combat climate change, by planting trees or growing crops to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Tonga volcano eruptions have smaller cooling impact on climate change: study
2 Mar 2022
An analysis has revealed that the cooling effect of Tonga's volcano eruptions would be much smaller than initially thought and not strong enough to overwhelm longer-term global warming tendency.
These solar panels pull in water vapor to grow crops in the desert
2 Mar 2022
Using a unique hydrogel, scientists in Saudi Arabia created a solar-driven system that successfully grows spinach by using water drawn from the air while producing electricity.
An "atlas of human suffering": Guterres
1 Mar 2022
"An atlas human of suffering" was UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pithy summary of the latest climate report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change yesterday.
Cyclone risks are intensifying for India due to climate change
1 Mar 2022
Increasing temperatures in the north Indian Ocean is spurring more intense cyclones that spell trouble for India's densely-populated coastal regions. And climate change is to blame, according to a new study.
Deforestation emissions far higher than previously thought: study
1 Mar 2022
Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation this century are far higher than previously thought, doubling in just two decades and continuing to accelerate, according to a study.
California's carbon markets getting in the way of climate targets: report
1 Mar 2022
CALIFORNIA'S carbon market could be hurting the state’s chances of meeting its ambitious climate goals, while at the same time exacerbating pollution in already overburdened communities, two new reports warn.
New UN report set to paint stark picture of impacts of climate change
28 Feb 2022
A NEW UN science report [being released at midnight tonight NZ time] is set to send what may be the starkest warning yet about the impacts of climate change on people and the planet.
Russian official apologizes to Ukraine at climate science meeting
28 Feb 2022
A Russian government representative apologized to Ukraine and said there was no justification for his country's invasion during a meeting of climate scientists and governments on Sunday morning
Using land to tackle climate change could have ‘adverse impacts’ on global hunger
28 Feb 2022
Relying heavily on land use to tackle climate change could slow the decline in global hunger, according to new research published in Nature Food.
UN report warns climate change could spur 50% more wildfires by 2100
25 Feb 2022
A UN report has found governments are spending too much money on fire suppression and not enough on prevention.
Fossils emit 70% more methane than governments report: IEA Tracker
24 Feb 2022
Emissions of climate-busting methane from fossil fuel operations are 70% higher than national governments are reporting, according to the 2022 edition of the Global Methane Tracker released this morning by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Antarctica will likely set an alarming new record this year: new data
23 Feb 2022
As surging global temperatures alter the landscape of the Arctic, scientists are observing what's shaping up to be a new record at the other end of the globe.
Climate change is sickening, literally!
23 Feb 2022
Climate change has a major role in the shifting of range and seasonality of several diseases, the most prominent of which includes Lyme disease.
Covid shutdown linked to record rainfall in China
22 Feb 2022
Scientists say that a rapid drop in emissions because of Covid played a key role in record rainfall in China in 2020. The decline in greenhouse gases and small particles called aerosols caused atmospheric changes that intensified the downpours.