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Rail Union calls for Free Fares to cut cost of living in response to war on Iran
Rail Union calls for Free Fares to cut cost of living in response to war on Iran
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Transport and travel union TSSA has called on the government to take immediate action to help the public with the cost of living in the face of ongoing economic volatility related to the US/Israel conflict with Iran.This includes making public transport free at the point of use for the next year.
Read the full statement on the TSSA site here.
TSSA’s Earth Day Blog Rails of change: why public transport is our climate lifeline assesses the rising impact of the Transport sector on carbon emissions, the opportunities presented by rail nationalisation to join up transport policy, boost electrification, shift freight and for City Mayors to run with this agenda.
On this Earth Day, as the sun sets through a haze of Saharan dust, let us look not to the sky for salvation, but to the railway tracks. The solution to the climate crisis is not a sci-fi technology; it is a reliable, frequent, electric train. Let’s fight for it.
Read the whole blog here. Online Thursday April 23 – 5.50 – 7.00 We’ll see you there! Join Us
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Shareholder Vote for Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal Won’t Be the Final Word on This Dangerous Mega-Merger
On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders voted to accept Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion bid to acquire the news and entertainment company. The merger of these two companies would create a media colossus with CBS, CNN, HBO, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures — among other major media properties — all under one roof.
The vote follows a week of protests against the deal led by a coalition of First Amendment advocates, unions, democracy defenders and even famous Hollywood actors and directors who say that the deal would give one company the power and incentives to raise prices, lay off thousands of workers and limit consumer options, while giving one family — the Ellisons — the power to shape public discourse to suit their political agenda and that of their allies in the Trump White House.
Free Press Co-CEO Craig Aaron said:
“Today, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted for their short-term financial gains, not for the public good. While shareholders voted against fat pay packages for departing executives — a symbolic rebuke, since the board doesn’t have to listen to them — they’ve opened the door to wholesale layoffs across the news and entertainment industry, more propaganda in news coverage, higher prices for consumers and fewer choices for audiences across the United States and around the world. But shareholders don’t get the final word.
“That’s why we have antitrust enforcers and courts of law. With Trump officials cheering on this deal, state attorneys general must investigate this massive industry consolidation and step in to stop Paramount’s takeover. This mega-merger will diminish creativity and diversity in entertainment, weaken journalists’ ability to expose wrongdoing and hold those in power accountable and further endanger our democracy. It also concentrates far too much media power in the hands of one company and one family, the Ellisons.
“This corrupt merger is far from a done deal. Just because Paramount shareholders won’t take a stand against billionaire and White House control of the media, it doesn’t mean we can’t. While Paramount is flaunting its corruption and fêting Trump officials, we’re standing with the workers and artists at the heart of the news and entertainment industries — and with the American public, which deserves more than an ever-shrinking circle of control over what they see, hear and read.”
Background:
April has seen widespread and growing popular opposition to the Paramount/WBD merger. Last week, nearly 4,000 professionals across the film and television industry signed an open letter declaring their opposition to the pending deal.
On Wednesday, Free Press and the American Economic Liberties Project hosted a press call with former FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, Writers Guild of America West President Michele Mulroney, former CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta and Oscar-winning director David Borenstein to detail the many reasons this deal should not go through and call on state attorneys general to investigate and oppose the merger. Free Press and allied organizations also delivered 171,000 signed petitions to Rob Bonta’s office, urging the California attorney general to investigate.
On Thursday morning, protesters gathered with New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Congressman Dan Goldman outside WBD’s New York City headquarters, where they urged action to stop this dangerous merger from going forward. In addition, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a statement via social media: “Today, as Warner Bros. and Paramount shareholders vote, New York City is on record: this merger should be stopped.”
Industry Insider Seeks to Eviscerate U.S. Forest Service
As the country hurtles toward a potentially record-setting fire season, a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to drastically resize and restructure the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) would effectively eviscerate key research and protections for the nation’s public lands, according to a new report released today by Public Citizen.
“Restructuring the Forest Service in this way will dramatically reduce its ability to conduct scientific research,” said Lois Parshley, research director with Public Citizen’s Climate Program and author of the report. “These relocations will undermine key data collection needed to understand climate change.”
Schultz’s restructuring of the USFS would close two-thirds of the agency’s research stations, disrupting data collection on long-running experiments. The shift will reduce the agency’s ability to collect environmental data, weaken its capacity to track conditions, and hamper research that informs land management decisions.
The agency’s headquarters, which have been located in Washington for more than a century, would be relocated to Salt Lake City, and approximately 260 employees have been informed they must relocate or lose their jobs—a move that echoes the first Trump administration’s relocation of the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction, Colorado.
The two leaders at the center of the evisceration have longstanding conflicts with the USFS. Before Schultz’s appointment to lead the USFS, he worked at the Idaho Forest Group, one of the country’s largest lumber producers. Within months of taking office, Schultz began implementing policies aligned with positions he advocated as a timber industry representative.
Michael Boren, the USDA’s Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment, which oversees the agency, once faced a restraining order for allegedly buzzing a U.S. Forest Service trail crew at low altitude in a helicopter. Boren also ran afoul of the government by building a private airstrip on national recreation land and an unauthorized cabin on national forest land.
“As an industry executive, Schultz advocated to reduce environmental reviews and more recently testified to Congress in support of an industry wish list,” said Parshley. “DOGE cuts and an early retirement program drove nearly a fifth of Forest Service employees to leave the agency last year. Fewer people are being asked to do more, at the same time as fire seasons are growing longer and forests are under mounting stress from climate change.”
Bill that helps transition ADN nurses to employment moves forward
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2026
Every article we list here is eyeball-scanned by a real human but we do lean on bibliographic catalogs (publication databases) to supply article metadata for assembly of each edition of our weekly research surveillance scan. A little in-house software on our end connected via an API to a rich suite of upstream bibliographic information makes regular production possible.
While recently making API changes to improve our background tooling for New Research, we found ourselves unable to resist tapping into a little more information to include in our regular product. There's one key metric to help us all better understand what practicing scientists find most useful (and stimulating) in the torrent of climate-related research reports we sample here each week: "how many investigators cite a work in their own inquiries?" Our knowledge boundaray inexorably expands past any given report, but older results may well be foundational to newer exploration. So, we've added an little retrospective to each domain section in our weekly listing. For each section, we query our data, asking "what paper listed here 2 years ago has been most cited since it appeared?" This new feature appears at the end of each section:
There's a vast wealth in our bibliographic resources of ways to see how fresh information travels and effloresces after publication. For instance, by looking at raw cite statistics one might think that Springer-Nature is the center of mass of the entire academic publishing world. But by other metrics quite likely better describing concentration of thought and new insight, the barycenter of cutting-edge human intellect may well lie elsewhere. Given enough effort it's possible to "see" such things in diagram form— but there are not 36 hours in a day, unfortunately. Hopefully we'll have time to explore more!
After this round of tinkering, we now rely entirely on OpenAlex for bibliographic catalog API services. While this speeds internal production, we continue to recommend Unpaywall, and particularly the Unpaywall browser extension which for readers denied institutional privileges affords much handier access to many research articles.
Open access notablesIncreasing Population and Cropland Exposure to Human-Induced Sequential Heatwave-Downpour Events, Guan et al., Earth s Future
Compound sequential heatwave-downpour (SHD) events, characterized by abrupt shifts from heatwaves to heavy rainfall, pose serious threats to health, infrastructure, and agriculture. However, the anthropogenic influence on the increasing trend of SHD events is poorly understood, and projections also exhibit large uncertainties. Our study revealed that the affected area of SHD events has grown notably across the Northern Hemisphere. The anthropogenic influences account for approximately 82.2% of the increase in affected areas of SHD events, with greenhouse gas emissions contributing the most. The constrained projection found that the exposure of population and cropland will increase nearly 8-fold under a high-emission scenario in the long term (2081–2100), compared to the current climate baseline (1991–2020). Notably, climate change, rather than population or land use change, is identified as the dominant driver of this increased exposure. Our finding highlights that reducing greenhouse gas emissions can mitigate the impacts of SHD on populations and croplands.
Dramatic increase in ecosystem respiration causes record-breaking atmospheric CO2 growth rate in 2024, Dong et al., Nature Communications
2024 is the hottest year on record, accompanied by extreme precipitation, droughts and fires. The global atmospheric CO2 growth rate in 2024 reached a historic high of 3.73 ppm yr-1, significantly surpassing the previous record set during the 2015/16 El Niño event. Here, we investigate the causes and underlying mechanisms of this record-high growth rate by combining satellite-based atmospheric inversions and estimates of gross primary production and fire emissions. We find that the record-high CO2 growth rate is due to large reductions in the land CO2 sink. This is dominated by a dramatic increase in total ecosystem respiration, which occurred primarily in grass and shrub lands, owing to compound hot-wet climatic conditions in 2024. Given the projected increase in the frequency and intensity of compound pluvial-hot extremes under warming, changes in ecosystem respiration will become more drastic and cause positive feedback to climate warming.
Climate futures require politics, Leininger et al., Nature Communications [commentary]
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) seventh assessment cycle (AR7) has begun. Scientists have started to assess the literature on feasible and just climate and sustainability scenarios. The recommendations of the IPCC Workshop on the lessons learnt from the use of scenarios in AR6 point to the need for political science expertise to improve scenarios1. One key aspect highlighted in this report is political development2, including the quality and effectiveness of institutions, rule of law, and maintenance of peace. These factors have not yet been incorporated systematically and quantitatively into the Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) used to generate pathways of climate action that are assessed in the IPCC. Findings of the IPCC have substantially influenced global climate action. If the omission of political development biases the conclusions drawn from scenario analysis, then the real-world merit of the scenario-based findings is called into question. Therefore, the purpose of this commentary is to suggest steps to improve the incorporation of political development in scenarios during the AR7 assessments and beyond.
A weakened diurnal weather constraint leads to longer burning hours in North America, Luo et al., Science Advances
Contemporary North American wildfires exhibit increasingly erratic intraday burning, posing immediate operational and socioeconomic challenges. Here, we show that climate-driven weakening of day-night (diurnal) weather constraints extends and intensifies burning hours, a key mechanism behind broader fire regime transformations. Analyzing hourly geostationary satellite observations for ~9000 fires (>200 hectares; 2017–2023), we found western mountains and boreal forests experienced the longest active burning hours, with approximately one-third of active days exceeding 12 hours. About 60% of fires reached peak intensity within 24 hours of detection, while 14% of active days peaked at night. On the basis of fire weather, annual potential burning hours were estimated to rise 36% over 1975–2024, with pronounced increases in western regions and spring/fall (48 to 57%). Regions with significant changes gained 26 more potential active days annually and 1.2 additional potential burning hours daily, while extreme days (≥12 or 24 potential burning hours) rose 81 to 233% in fire-prone biomes. Future management requires adaptation to wildfires that increasingly defy diurnal norms.
From this week's government/NGO section:Climate Change Concern Near Its High Point in U.S, Jeffery Jones, Gallup
Americans’ concern about global warming or climate change remains elevated compared with what it had been prior to 2017. At least four in 10 U.S. adults have expressed “a great deal” of concern about the matter throughout the past decade except for a 39% reading in 2023. Between 2009 and 2016, worry was typically in the low-to-mid 30% range but dropped to as low as 25% in 2011. Currently, 44% of U.S. adults worry a great deal about global warming or climate change, among the highest in the full trend since 1989, along with 46% measured in 2020 and 45% in 2017.A Global Fleet Under Wind: Scaling Wind Propulsion for Emission Reduction, Energy Demand and Equity, Mason et al., Seas at Risk
The authors present a first-ever study showcasing the benefits of wind propulsion when scaled up to the global fleet. Drawing on 1.74 billion kilometers of real voyage data – the equivalent distance from Earth to Saturn – wind propulsion could, conservatively, reduce modelled wind ship fuel use by 6.3-9.4%, with an even greater potential if paired with other optimization measures such as weather routing, slowing down speeds, and hull cleaning. By 2050, it could deliver up to 762 million tons of cumulative CO2 savings, getting us closer to our climate targets. The technology is here, but is policy willing? 173 articles in 70 journals by 1545 contributing authorsPhysical science of climate change, effects
Can Large-Scale Clustering of Tropical Precipitation Be Used to Constrain Climate Sensitivity?, Blackberg & Singh, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2025jd045282
Global warming intensifies pantropical coupling and its control on northern hemisphere tropical cyclones, Zhao et al., npj Climate and Atmospheric Science Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41612-026-01412-w
Large Overestimation of Projected Western U.S. Wildfire Burned Forest Area With Warming, Cheng et al., AGU Advances Open Access 10.1029/2026av002350
Response of Ocean Mesoscale Coherent Eddies to Global Warming, Yang et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120228
The combined role of sea surface temperature and sea ice in the summer heatwaves over Pakistan, Li et al., Atmospheric Research 10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.108977
The Emergence of a Human Fingerprint in the Boreal Winter Extratropical Zonal Mean Circulation, Blackport & Sigmond, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2026gl121773
The role of upper ocean stratification in resurgent marine heatwaves in the East/Japan Sea, Kim et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-47541-3
Weakening sensitivity of China’s terrestrial evapotranspiration to vegetation greening in a warmer world, Guo et al., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111183
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Hydrologic cycle weakening in hothouse climates, Science Advances, 10.1126/sciadv.ado2515 13 cites.
Observations of climate change, effects
A weakened diurnal weather constraint leads to longer burning hours in North America, Luo et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.aed0725
Declines in Autumn Precipitation in Southwestern China and the Yangtze River Basin Linked to the Tropical Pacific and Atlantic Warmings, Deng et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0479.1
Dramatic increase in ecosystem respiration causes record-breaking atmospheric CO2 growth rate in 2024, Dong et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-72189-y
Global glacier mass change in 2025, Network et al., Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 10.1038/s43017-026-00777-z
Heatwave Characteristics and Trends Across Eight Japanese Cities, Mcgregor & Suzuki-Parker, Durham Research Online (Durham University) Open Access pmh:oai:durham-repository.worktribe.com:5179207
Increasing Population and Cropland Exposure to Human-Induced Sequential Heatwave-Downpour Events, Guan et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007442
Large-scale aggregation of humid heatwaves exacerbated by coastal oceanic warming, Cai et al., Nature Geoscience 10.1038/s41561-026-01952-z
Ocean warming weakens the sea–land breeze in coastal megacities, Xiao et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2022ef003341
Tropical precipitation response to anthropogenic climate change in recent decades, Joseph et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-026-71187-4
Warming and snow loss increase reliance on old groundwater in a Colorado River headwater, Siirila-Woodburn et al., Nature Geoscience Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41561-026-01945-y
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Record-breaking fire weather in North America in 2021 was initiated by the Pacific northwest heat dome, Communications Earth & Environment, 10.1038/s43247-024-01346-2 36 cites.
Instrumentation & observational methods of climate change, effects
A harmonized 2000–2024 dataset of daily river ice concentration and annual phenology for major Arctic rivers, Qiu et al., Earth system science data Open Access 10.5194/essd-18-2703-2026
ALTICAP: a new global satellite altimetry product for coastal applications, Cancet et al., Earth system science data Open Access pdf 10.5194/essd-18-2319-2026
Annually resolved atmospheric CO2 growth rate over the past nine centuries, Zhang et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-72220-2
From Extreme Days to Event-Scale Persistence: Characterizing for Persistent Extreme Precipitation Across Multisource Datasets, Zhao et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100905
Improvements and limitations of the new Climate Hazards Center Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPSv3) dataset: Insights from multiple spatio-temporal scales in Colombia, Valencia et al., Atmospheric Research 10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.108971
Precipitation observing network gaps limit climate change impact assessment, Su et al., Nature Open Access 10.1038/s41586-026-10300-5
Sampling Biases in Daily Average Temperatures From Greenland Climate Records, Rapp et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70317
Warming-induced positive age trends challenge MXD detrending, Esper et al., Dendrochronologia Open Access 10.1016/j.dendro.2026.126529
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Data Drought in the Humid Tropics: How to Overcome the Cloud Barrier in Greenhouse Gas Remote Sensing, Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1029/2024gl108791 22 cites.
Modeling, simulation & projection of climate change, effects
Air Quality Penalty in Southeast Asia Driven by AMOC Slowdown, Vella et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl121309
Amplified European Future Warming Under Mesoscale-Resolving Sea Surface Temperature Forcing, Moreno?Chamarro & Ortega, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120578
Climate change affects future sea-bed mobility via storms and sea level rise, Rulent et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03500-4
Emerging Importance of Compound Flooding in Future Tropical Cyclone Hazard Profiles, Gori et al., Open MIND pmh:10.17615/ggmz-8m83
Enhanced Decadal Variance in Nordic Seas With AMOC Weakening in CESM, Patrizio et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl118635
Impact attribution of the March 2022 Antarctic heatwave reveals amplification by cloud feedbacks and increased future meltwater, González et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03485-0
Mediterranean and Global Sea Surface Temperature Trends to 2100: An ARIMAX Time-Series Forecasting Approach, Yildirim et al., Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 10.1016/j.jastp.2026.106810
Multi-Model Evaluation and Future Projections of Radio Refractivity over West Africa Using CMIP6, Israel et al., Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 10.1016/j.jastp.2026.106811
Multidecadal Oscillation Masks Ocean Wave Climate Trends in 75-Year Global Wave Hindcast, Shimura et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans Open Access 10.1029/2025jc022340
The Hydroclimate Paradox of the Indian Summer Monsoon Projections: Dual Amplification of Deficit and Excess Rainfall in CMIP6 Models, Kulkarni et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70401
Twenty-First Century Projections and Trends of JJAS Rainfall Over the Greater Horn of Africa Under CMIP6 Shared Socioeconomic Pathways Scenarios, Jima et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70390
Widespread shift toward extreme dominated precipitation with pronounced trends in arid and mediterranean regions, Zaerpour et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-47708-y
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Characteristic changes in compound drought and heatwave events under climate change, Atmospheric Research, 10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107440 49 cites.
Advancement of climate & climate effects modeling, simulation & projection
Advancing Weather and Climate Science in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean: A Novel Regional Multiweek Convection-Permitting Simulation, Ocasio et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 10.1175/bams-d-25-0023.1
CMIP7 Data Request: atmosphere priorities and opportunities, Dingley et al., Geoscientific model development Open Access pdf 10.5194/gmd-19-2945-2026
Evaluating model uncertainty in critical threshold estimations from time series data: application to the Atlantic meridional Overturning Circulation, Cotronei et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access 10.3389/fclim.2026.1761461
Modeling snowpack dynamics and surface energy budget in boreal and subarctic peatlands and forests, Nousu et al., cryosphere Open Access 10.5194/tc-18-231-2024
Three decades of simulating global temperature patterns with coupled global climate models, Brunner et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03497-w
Towards improved Euro-Mediterranean discharge simulations in regional coupled climate models: a comparative assessment of hydrologic performance, Hamitouche et al., Geoscientific model development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-19-2881-2026
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Projected changes in compound hot-dry events depend on the dry indicator considered, Communications Earth & Environment, 10.1038/s43247-024-01352-4 29 cites.
Cryosphere & climate change
A harmonized 2000–2024 dataset of daily river ice concentration and annual phenology for major Arctic rivers, Qiu et al., Earth system science data Open Access 10.5194/essd-18-2703-2026
Antarctic Meltwater-Stratification Feedback Is Less Pronounced Under High Climate Forcing, Kreuzer et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl118643
Atmospheric Teleconnections as Potential Drivers of Ross Ice Shelf Basal Melt, Xiahou, Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans Open Access 10.1029/2026jc024241
Giant iceberg behaviour impacts regional biogeochemical cycling in the Southern Ocean, Taylor et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03440-z
Glacier mass balance and its response to 2022 heatwaves for Kangxiwa Glacier in the eastern Pamir: insights from time-lapse photography, Xie et al., cryosphere Open Access pdf 10.5194/tc-20-2279-2026
Global glacier mass change in 2025, Network et al., Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 10.1038/s43017-026-00777-z
Ice front positions for Greenland glaciers (2002–2021): a spatially extensive seasonal record and benchmark dataset for algorithm validation, Lu et al., Earth system science data Open Access 10.5194/essd-18-2635-2026
Permafrost tipping point triggered by warming-driven loss of old carbon, Wei et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-026-72122-3
Recent extremes in Antarctic sea ice extent modulated by ocean heat ventilation, Wilson et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1073/pnas.2530832123
Regional extreme Antarctic sea-ice retreat linked to tropical forcing, Liang et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03488-x
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Geometric amplification and suppression of ice-shelf basal melt in West Antarctica, , 10.5194/egusphere-2023-1587 8 cites.
Sea level & climate change
Rapid Intensification and Relative Sea-Level Rise Amplify Compound Flooding From Hurricanes Harvey and Beryl, Lee et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007678
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Sustained increase in suspended sediments near global river deltas over the past two decades, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-47598-6 61 cites.
Paleoclimate & paleogeochemistry
Climate and ocean circulation changes toward a modern snowball Earth, Obase et al., arXiv (Cornell University) Open Access pdf pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2603.26700
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Ocean cavity regime shift reversed West Antarctic grounding line retreat in the late Holocene, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-47369-3 9 cites.
Biology & climate change, related geochemistry
Biogeochemistry of climate driven shifts in Southern Ocean primary producers, Fisher et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-22-975-2025
Bumble bee species display contrasting phenological responses to climate variation, Elshoff et al., Ecology 10.1002/ecy.70385
Climate change and non-climatic drivers jointly enhanced the NDVI of alpine grassland in the Source Region of the Yellow River (2000–2022), An et al., Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.3389/fevo.2026.1748078
Climate change dominates blue-green water shifts in China’s Arid Northwest: Evidence from the Heihe River Basin, Ma et al., Environmental Earth Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1007/s12665-026-12940-2
Climate modes can be leveraged to forecast coral bleaching months in advance, Galochkina et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03438-7
Climate warming and drought modify galling effects on tall goldenrod, Parker et al., Oecologia Open Access pdf 10.1007/s00442-026-05889-3
Dramatic increase in ecosystem respiration causes record-breaking atmospheric CO2 growth rate in 2024, Dong et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-72189-y
Drivers of Thermal Habitat Use in Turtles Studied Under Semi-Natural Conditions, White et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.1002/ece3.73325
Ecological Divergence Governs Plant Resilience to Compound Salinity–Waterlogging Stress Under Global Change, Qiu et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70875
Fire and Snow: Effects of Snowpack Variation and Wildfire on Small Mammal Dynamics in Sub-Alpine Habitats, Green et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.1002/ece3.73525
Fish and Zooplankton Co-Responses to Environmental Gradients Under Different Climate Change Scenarios, Paquette et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70845
Frequent Dry–Hot Extremes Slow the Loss of Semi-Arid Ecosystem Resilience, Shi et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70835
Gene-to-Population Level Responses to Multiple Stressors on the Rocky Shore, Wilson et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.1002/ece3.73368
Giant iceberg behaviour impacts regional biogeochemical cycling in the Southern Ocean, Taylor et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03440-z
Global Warming Amplifies Nitrogen Over Phosphorus Limitation in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Multi-Trophic Meta-Analysis, Zhong et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70832
Hyperdominant Trees Reveal Savanna Vulnerability Under Climate Change, Alvarez et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70859
Mesothermic fishes face high fuel demands and overheating risk in warming oceans, Payne et al., Science Open Access 10.1126/science.adt2981
Monitoring Coral Reef Metabolism Under Changing Oceans–Novel Insights From Seawater Stable Carbon Isotopes, Bolden et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences Open Access 10.1029/2025jg009416
Permanence Risks to Biodiversity and Nature-Based Carbon Offsets, Dhond et al., Conservation Letters Open Access 10.1111/con4.70044
Predicted Range Shifts of Non-Native Grasses in Response to Climate Change Are Influenced by Photosynthetic Pathway: A Case Study in the Hawaiian Islands, Daehler et al., Diversity and Distributions Open Access 10.1111/ddi.70190
Projected heatwave-related excess mortality under climate change scenarios across 2288 communities in Australia: a nationwide ecological projection modelling study, Chen et al., The Lancet Planetary Health Open Access 10.1016/j.lanplh.2026.101446
Quantifying Under-Ice Phytoplankton Blooms in the Changing Arctic and Southern Oceans, Payne et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2026gl121750
Reconsidering the role of introduced species in the climate-affected and highly invaded eastern Mediterranean, Katsanevakis et al., Conservation Biology Open Access 10.1111/cobi.70288
Temperature-Related Changes in Avian Nestling Provisioning: A Global Analysis, Molenaar et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70871
Temporal shifts in kelp forest structure and distribution largely reflect recent ocean warming trends, Salland et al., Ecography Open Access 10.1002/ecog.08280
The effect of trait choice on hybrid species distribution model projections under climate change, Delva et al., Ecography Open Access 10.1002/ecog.08355
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Mechanisms, detection and impacts of species redistributions under climate change, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 10.1038/s43017-024-00527-z 165 cites.
GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry
2019–2024 trends in African livestock and wetland emissions as contributors to the global methane rise, Balasus et al., Atmospheric chemistry and physics Open Access 10.5194/acp-26-4601-2026
Annually resolved atmospheric CO2 growth rate over the past nine centuries, Zhang et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-72220-2
Deadwood carbon pool and uncertainty estimates: effects of decay status and vegetation types, Masanja et al., Frontiers in Forests and Global Change Open Access pdf 10.3389/ffgc.2026.1706865
Diurnal versus spatial variability of greenhouse gas emissions from an anthropogenic modified German lowland river, Koschorreck et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-21-1613-2024
Drivers and implications of declining fossil fuel CO2 concentrations in Chinese cities revealed by radiocarbon measurements, Li et al., Atmospheric chemistry and physics Open Access 10.5194/acp-26-5085-2026
Hydrological Control on Soil Redox Condition and Carbon Loss of Coastal Wetland Under Sea-Level Rise, Chen et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007528
Permafrost tipping point triggered by warming-driven loss of old carbon, Wei et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-026-72122-3
Quantifying urban and landfill methane emissions in the United States using TROPOMI satellite data, Wang et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.adz9308
Soil texture prevails over vegetation change in determining soil organic carbon storage in an African savanna, Zhou et al., Journal of Ecology Open Access 10.1111/1365-2745.70307
Space-based observation of global increase in urban methane emissions from 2019–2023, Whiting et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1073/pnas.2504211123
Tidal Wetland Soil Carbon Accumulation Rates for Coastal California, Holmquist et al., Scientific Data Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41597-026-06935-8
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
An Assessment of CO2 Storage and Sea?Air Fluxes for the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea Between 1985 and 2018, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 10.1029/2023gb007862 23 cites.
CO2 capture, sequestration science & engineering
Achieving carbon neutrality in China via carbon capture and storage with onshore-offshore geological storage, Wen et al., Global Environmental Change 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2026.103158
Current and potential carbon storage in soils of Chilean Patagonia, Figueroa et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1789707
Decades of increased emissions from forest-fuelled BECCS, Searchinger et al., Nature Sustainability 10.1038/s41893-026-01817-8
Hydrological Mismatch in Arid Planted Shrublands: Non-Responsiveness to Precipitation Changes and Unsustainable Water Use, You et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences 10.1029/2026jg009715
Machine learning reveals insufficient carbon capture storage deployment to meet climate goals, Li et al., Global Environmental Change 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2026.103157
Rethinking carbon dioxide removal: a justice-centred analysis of CDR perspectives research, Pues et al., Figshare Open Access 10.6084/m9.figshare.31864323
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Public perceptions on carbon removal from focus groups in 22 countries, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-47853-w 56 cites.
Decarbonization
Aligning offshore wind deployment with local priorities to accelerate power system decarbonization, Peng et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03533-9
Does rail transportation matter for climate outcomes? evidence from public transport systems in Asia, Choudhary et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1807635
Exponential AI growth and the physical limits of renewable energy systems, Henni & Mohammed, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115314
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Artificial intelligence-aided wind plant optimization for nationwide evaluation of land use and economic benefits of wake steering, Nature Energy, 10.1038/s41560-024-01516-8 39 cites.
Geoengineering climate
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
The Potential of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection to Reduce the Climatic Risks of Explosive Volcanic Eruptions, Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1029/2023gl107702 8 cites.
Aerosols
Contrail Formation Within Cirrus: Contrail Induced Perturbations and Cirrus Adjustments, Verma & Burkhardt, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2025jd045269
Isotopic apportionment of sulfate aerosols between natural and anthropogenic sources in the outflow of South Asia, Clarke et al., Atmospheric chemistry and physics Open Access 10.5194/acp-26-5333-2026
Significant Radiative Absorption of Brown Carbon Aerosols From Residential Fuel Combustion in Developing Regions, Gao et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2026gl121829
Substantial aircraft contrail formation at low soot emission levels, Voigt et al., Nature Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41586-026-10286-0
Climate change communications & cognition
Apocalyptic Climate Change Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation in White-Nationalist Communities Online: An Analysis of 25 Years of Discourse on Stormfront, Ophir et al., Environmental Communication 10.6084/m9.figshare.31832763.v1
Heatwaves and online climate sentiment: evidence from Chinese social media, Feng et al., Figshare Open Access 10.6084/m9.figshare.32032693
How Communication of Scientific Uncertainty Affects Trust in Science—A Systematic Review, Schuster & Scheu, Risk Analysis 10.1111/risa.70233
Questioning Net Zero: a case study of the UK’s national press coverage, Painter et al., Climate Policy 10.1080/14693062.2026.2649378
The convergence of barriers: why people resist personal carbon account?, Wu et al., Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 10.1007/s11027-026-10308-2
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
“This community will grow” — little concern for future wildfires in a dry and increasingly hotter Swedish rural community, Regional Environmental Change, 10.1007/s10113-024-02227-2 10 cites.
Agronomy, animal husbundry, food production & climate change
A land-based pathway to carbon neutrality in rural districts, Pizzileo et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1792209
Adaptive Sowing Helps Mitigate Future Wheat Losses Globally, Qiao et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef006554
Asymmetric Shifts in Precipitation Alter Nitrogen Use Strategies in Global Croplands, Cui et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70863
Enhanced weathering leads to substantial C accrual on crop macrocosms, François, Open Science Framework Open Access 10.17605/osf.io/ah75t
Food sovereignty and climate resilience through regional development assistance programs: insights from the Pacific region, Platts & Yoon, Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2026.2654672
From heterogeneity factors to targeted policy: an application of econometrics and machine learning to Climate-Smart Agriculture adoption in maize production, Zhao et al., Figshare Open Access 10.6084/m9.figshare.32016933
Hydrological Mismatch in Arid Planted Shrublands: Non-Responsiveness to Precipitation Changes and Unsustainable Water Use, You et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences 10.1029/2026jg009715
Increasing Population and Cropland Exposure to Human-Induced Sequential Heatwave-Downpour Events, Guan et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007442
Interactive effects of heat and drought on wheat yield change from synergistic to antagonistic as their severity increases, Chisaka et al., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Open Access 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111189
Mapping current and future coffee suitability in Peru under climate change: implications for restoration and deforestation-free development, Zabaleta-Santisteban et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1777634
Measuring carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation potential of croplands under different climatic scenarios using RothC model, Adeel et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access 10.3389/fclim.2026.1801916
Peak carbon sequestration rate reached on the Loess Plateau plantations, Jia et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03419-w
Phosphorus enrichment does not enlarge the predicted CO2 fertilization effect on forest carbon sequestration, Wang et al., Open Access CRIS of the University of Bern Open Access 10.48620/97012
Polish Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change: Better or Worse?, Szwed & Holka, International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70387
Positive effects of species mixing on soil carbon sequestration and water retention in global forest plantations, Huang et al., Journal of Ecology 10.1111/1365-2745.70321
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Rethinking the social license to operate? A theoretical exploration of its synergies with social acceptance and energy justice for a just transition, Energy Research & Social Science, 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103552 26 cites.
Hydrology, hydrometeorology & climate change
Declines in Autumn Precipitation in Southwestern China and the Yangtze River Basin Linked to the Tropical Pacific and Atlantic Warmings, Deng et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0479.1
From Extreme Days to Event-Scale Persistence: Characterizing for Persistent Extreme Precipitation Across Multisource Datasets, Zhao et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100905
Green water will deviate the planetary boundary twice by the end of the 21st Century, Yang et al., Global and Planetary Change 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105482
Precipitation observing network gaps limit climate change impact assessment, Su et al., Nature Open Access 10.1038/s41586-026-10300-5
Rapid Intensification and Relative Sea-Level Rise Amplify Compound Flooding From Hurricanes Harvey and Beryl, Lee et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007678
Regional drying over the Western U.S. driven by enhanced atmospheric subsidence amid global moistening from 1980 to 2020, Ding et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-71818-w
Towards improved Euro-Mediterranean discharge simulations in regional coupled climate models: a comparative assessment of hydrologic performance, Hamitouche et al., Geoscientific model development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-19-2881-2026
Transpiration Changes With Soil Warming: Insights From a Mechanistic Model, Luo et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120046
Tropical precipitation response to anthropogenic climate change in recent decades, Joseph et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-026-71187-4
Twenty-First Century Projections and Trends of JJAS Rainfall Over the Greater Horn of Africa Under CMIP6 Shared Socioeconomic Pathways Scenarios, Jima et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70390
Warming and snow loss increase reliance on old groundwater in a Colorado River headwater, Siirila-Woodburn et al., Nature Geoscience Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41561-026-01945-y
Widespread shift toward extreme dominated precipitation with pronounced trends in arid and mediterranean regions, Zaerpour et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-47708-y
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Dynamic pathway linking Pakistan flooding to East Asian heatwaves, Science Advances, 10.1126/sciadv.adk9250 62 cites.
Climate change economics
Achieving climate justice: climate finance and income inequality in developing countries, Li et al., Open MIND Open Access pmh:10.6084/m9.figshare.31389871
Digital economy-driven decarbonization pathways: analyzing how digital economy and globalization impact climate change in the top-10 digital economies, Bashir et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1784967
Fixed climate feedback assumptions systematically underestimate policy-relevant economic risks: Implications for climate resilience, SHEN et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.04.004
Loss and damage fund and countries’ incentives to compensate for climate-related damages, Silipo et al., Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115300
Making expertise in international environmental governance: establishing loss and damage expert groups in the UNFCCC, Johansson, Environmental Sociology Open Access 10.1080/23251042.2026.2657318
Public support for climate finance to developing countries: a contingent valuation study in South Korea, Shin & Huh, Figshare Open Access 10.6084/m9.figshare.32054467.v1
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
The relationship between CO2 emissions and macroeconomics indicators in low and high-income countries: using artificial intelligence, Environment Development and Sustainability, 10.1007/s10668-024-04880-3 18 cites.
Climate change and the circular economy
Water–energy–food nexus in the circular economy: implications for climate mitigation, Papadas et al., Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability Open Access 10.1016/j.cosust.2026.101649
,Climate change mitigation public policy research
Aligning climate change mitigation strategies with policy objectives beyond cost savings, [authors did not process], Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02617-w
Humanitarian blind spots in Western climate change policy and discourse, Qamar & Baig, Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02613-0
Regional priorities in implementing forestation and wind energy as climate solutions in facing their trade-offs, Zhang et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-71674-8
Sector-specific climate policies for a green industrial transition with public support, Hansen & Koslowski, Figshare Open Access 10.6084/m9.figshare.31939110.v1
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Modeling V2G spot market trading: The impact of charging tariffs on economic viability, Energy Policy, 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114109 44 cites.
Climate change adaptation & adaptation public policy research
Adapting to what? Regional climate policy in Russia, Andreeva, Climate Policy 10.1080/14693062.2026.2643215
Assessing walkability and climate adaptive capacity in relation to urban morphology and historical development, Shartova & Mironova, GeoJournal 10.1007/s10708-026-11635-2
Centring Power in Climate Adaptation Politics Through Cross-Scale Governmentalities: A Systematic Review of High-Income Countries, Garland et al., Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change Open Access 10.1002/wcc.70057
Gender and climate change: differential risks and resilience among internal migrants at their urban destination in coastal Bangladesh, Brisebois & Hoffmann, Climate and Development Open Access 10.1080/17565529.2026.2651955
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Challenges for climate change adaptation in Latin America and the Caribbean region, Frontiers in Climate, 10.3389/fclim.2024.1392033 27 cites.
Climate change impacts on human health
A global research and evaluation agenda for centering health and equity in city Climate Action Plans, Adlakha et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000891
Association Between Observed Climate Change and Cardiovascular Disease in the United States, Yeager et al., GeoHealth Open Access 10.1029/2025gh001588
Climate and health at a critical juncture, Lokmic-Tomkins et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000895
Global hotspots of compound extreme heat-pollution linked to local surface and atmospheric conditions, Huang et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03460-9
Projected heatwave-related excess mortality under climate change scenarios across 2288 communities in Australia: a nationwide ecological projection modelling study, Chen et al., The Lancet Planetary Health Open Access 10.1016/j.lanplh.2026.101446
Weather forecasts become more important for reducing mortality as the climate warms, Shrader et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2523372123
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Mapping urban heatwaves and islands: the reverse effect of Salento’s “white cities”, Frontiers in Earth Science, 10.3389/feart.2024.1375827 4 cites.
Climate change & geopolitics
Global climate cooperation under the 2 °C goal: Mechanisms and pathways via a coupled CGE–ABM framework, Chen et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.04.002
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Transparency is what states make of it: whose climate priorities are reflected in the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework?, Climate Policy, 10.1080/14693062.2024.2341945 10 cites.
buffer/CCGPClimate change impacts on human culture
Climate Influences on Intangible Cultural Heritage in China over Two Millennia and its SDG Implications, Zhang et al., Anthropocene 10.1016/j.ancene.2026.100543
Extreme heat and humidity reduce the recreational value of urban green spaces, WANG et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03389-z
Do scientometric studies serve climate research?, Dyachenko et al., Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2026.2652538
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Diversity in global environmental scenario sets, Global Environmental Change, 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102839 6 cites.
Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives
Climate futures require politics, Leininger et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-71711-6
Editorial: Assessing greenhouse gas emissions at city and regional levels: challenges and methods, Hu et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1839415
Why more fossil fuels won’t fix the Iran energy crisis, Wagner, Nature 10.1038/d41586-026-01197-1
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Human influence can explain the widespread exceptional warmth in 2023, Communications Earth & Environment, 10.1038/s43247-024-01391-x 19 cites.
Book reviews
What does the future hold for the thawing Arctic?, Gehrke, Nature 10.1038/d41586-026-01258-5
Articles/Reports from Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations Addressing Aspects of Climate ChangeClimate Change Concern Near Its High Point in U.S, Jeffery Jones, Gallup
Americans’ concern about global warming or climate change remains elevated compared with what it had been prior to 2017. At least four in 10 U.S. adults have expressed “a great deal” of concern about the matter throughout the past decade except for a 39% reading in 2023. Between 2009 and 2016, worry was typically in the low-to-mid 30% range but dropped to as low as 25% in 2011. Currently, 44% of U.S. adults worry a great deal about global warming or climate change, among the highest in the full trend since 1989, along with 46% measured in 2020 and 45% in 2017.Utility Spending is Rising: A Review of Utility Capital Expenditure Plans, Powerlines
PowerLines found that investor-owned utilities are planning to spend at least $1.4 trillion over the next five years through 2030 on capital expenditures (CapEx)—a more than 21 percent increase over the $1.1 trillion over a five-year period outlined last year. Capital expenditures include expenses on physical assets such as power plants, transmission lines, and distribution poles and wires. This planned spending comes at a time when utility bills are rapidly rising. PowerLines analysis has shown that utility bills have increased approximately 40 percent since 2021, with no signs of slowing down. In 2025 alone, utilities requested $31 billion in rate increases, while electricity and gas became the fastest drivers of inflation. Most utilities expect high levels of capital spending to continue through 2030, a trend that promises to intensify growing affordability pressures. While these proposed spending amounts do not necessarily equate on a one-to-one basis to rate increases, utility CapEx plans are often a leading indicator of incoming rate increase requests. These growing costs could become the key driver behind utility rate increase requests over the next five years.Delivering on Adaptation: An Assessment of International Adaptation Finance Flows, INKA Consult, DanChurchAid
The authors map and analyze international public adaptation finance, providing a better understanding for how progress toward the goal of tripling adaptation finance by 2035 can be achieved. The authors used publicly available data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Climate-Related Development Finance (CRDF) database. There have been some estimates to enable the analysis.Measure twice, cut once: A state-level framework for effective wildfire risk mitigation, Wara et al., Milliman
The authors present a risk-based framework guiding states to focus their efforts where they are more likely to see results: the built environment, particularly existing structures and surrounding vegetation, and electricity infrastructure. The framework consists of six steps including inventory the universe at risk; establish metrics for quantifying risks and damages; determine the key physical risks to mitigate and the appropriate actions needed to address each of them; assess the cost of mitigations and potential funding source; secure stakeholder buy-in; and create an action plan prioritizing mitigation methods and targets.2026 Heat Safety Awareness Toolkit, Shivank Jhanji, The Alliance for Heat Resilience and Health
The author developed a new toolkit to help organizations and individuals take meaningful action around the national Heat Safety Week. It is designed for anyone who wants to raise awareness about extreme heat and support policies that protect the people most at risk. The toolkit is structured around three levels of engagement: Level 1: Social Media Amplify heat safety messages during NIHHIS Heat Safety Week (May 18–22). Share content, use #HeatSafety, and help spread the word. Level 2: Proclamation Request an official proclamation from your mayor or governor recognizing Heat Safety Week, using our step-by-step guide and templates. Level 3: Legislation Explore local and state policy options to protect your community from extreme heat, with real-world examples.Stop Greed, Build Green: A Working Class Climate Strategy, Bigger et al., Climate and Community Institute
The US is staring down deepening cost-of-living and climate crises. A framework that focuses on immediate relief, robust regulation, state capacity, and massive investment can move us towards a stable, green economy that works for everyone. Enter Green Economic Populism (GEP), an intellectual framework and political strategy for a new era of climate and economic urgency. GEP recognizes that the affordability crisis is not a temporary setback but a structural challenge that will be intensified by the climate crisis. Therefore, any attempt to solve or even to alleviate the affordability crisis must, in tandem, address the climate crisis. The Green Economic Populism has four key planks including provide immediate economic relief to the cost-of-living crisis; regulate the industries and corporations driving economic and climate catastrophe; build a public sector that works for everyone; and mobilize massive green investments in communities, infrastructure, and industry.A Global Fleet Under Wind: Scaling Wind Propulsion for Emission Reduction, Energy Demand and Equity, Mason et al., Seas at Risk
The authors present a first-ever study showcasing the benefits of wind propulsion when scaled up to the global fleet. Drawing on 1.74 billion kilometers of real voyage data – the equivalent distance from Earth to Saturn – wind propulsion could, conservatively, reduce modelled wind ship fuel use by 6.3-9.4%, with an even greater potential if paired with other optimization measures such as weather routing, slowing down speeds, and hull cleaning. By 2050, it could deliver up to 762 million tons of cumulative CO2 savings, getting us closer to our climate targets. The technology is here, but is policy willing?The State(s) of Distributed Solar — 2025 Update, Ingrid Behrsin, The Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Distributed solar, which can be owned by individuals, small businesses, and public entities, is turning the electricity industry upside down as individuals choose to generate their own solar power on their rooftop or through participation in community solar. In 2025, of the 36 new gigawatts of solar capacity installed, 19% (6.8 GW) was distributed throughout communities. Many individuals who cannot go solar themselves can subscribe to a community solar garden. These solar arrays offer the same electric bill stability and savings as rooftop solar, but operate remotely under a subscription model. In 25 states and the District of Columbia, there’s sufficient distributed solar to serve one in every 25 households (a state distributed solar saturation of more than 100 watts per capita). This is the same as last year, although the average watts per capita among these leading states has risen from 273 to 329, suggesting that leading states continue to progress.Mayor Bass' Climate Action Plan for Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles is working to address the growing impacts of climate change and build a safer and more sustainable city. Developed in partnership with City departments, the roadmap outlines the actions, investments, and measurable targets needed to reduce emissions, strengthen infrastructure, and protect communities. Taking action now is critical to improving public health, reducing climate risks, and ensuring a more resilient and equitable future for all Angelenos. About New ResearchClick here for the why and how of Skeptical Science New Research.
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Thousands Urge DNC to Release Autopsy on 2024 Defeat
The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, publicly committed to releasing an autopsy on the 2024 defeat but has refused to do so. Supporters of the activist organization RootsAction, which released its own autopsy more than four months ago, are now flooding top DNC officials' email accounts with requests to keep Martin's promise.
Martin and four other DNC officers have received more than 9,000 emails from nearly 2,000 individuals in the last few days urging them to make public the entire autopsy. Those emailed include DNC Vice Chair Artie Blanco, DNC Vice Chair Shasti Conrad, DNC Vice Chair and Association of State Democratic Committees President Jane Kleeb, and DNC Secretary Jason Rae. They have not replied.
RootsAction brought attention to this issue during the recent DNC meeting in New Orleans, with a mobile billboard out front, flyers handed out by allies, and RootsAction senior strategist and former Democratic nominee for mayor of Buffalo India Walton speaking up and being forcibly removed from the meeting.
A recent NBC News story, “Democrats Want the Full 2024 Election Autopsy Released – No Matter the Findings,” quotes RootsAction national director Norman Solomon about Martin's decision to renege on his promise to release the autopsy report. “There’s a real elitism that is inherent in Martin’s backtrack on releasing the autopsy,” Solomon said.
As the DNC continues to ignore popular demand, Walton comments: “It has been said that those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. We who are prudent would like to know what mistakes were made that thrust us into this nightmare we are living. Now is not a time for saving face. Releasing the autopsy will help us understand what voters really want heading into midterms and the next presidential election. That’s the least we deserve.”
Solomon summed up the DNC leadership’s approach this way: “We learned a lot, we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at least doing interviews in 50 states, and now we know a lot more about what went wrong and how to fix it, but we’re not going to tell the thousands and thousands of Democratic candidates around the country what we found out. We’re not going to tell the millions of people who donated money to the Democratic Party candidates in the last few years what we learned.”
While the emails pouring into DNC officials’ inboxes can be edited and augmented by each person sending them, they usually begin like this:
"You conducted a comprehensive autopsy of the last election. It reportedly reached conclusions that many of us had long been warning you about before the election, such as that it would be hard to win while supporting an unpopular genocide.
"The truth is not just embarrassing but also inconvenient to those who want to persist in making the same mistake, in arming Israel, in shifting more and more of our resources into wars that devastate millions of lives.
"But the truth is better than continuing to lose. It would be hard not to blame future defeats on your refusal to allow examination of past defeats.
"Release the full and unedited autopsy right away. Then we can all get to work on doing a much better job in future elections."
RootsAction might be viewed as having a particular credibility to make this demand. On Nov. 14, 2022, long before it became mainstream to urge that President Biden not run for reelection – when there was still time to hold an open primary process to pick a stronger candidate rather than a last-minute fill-in – RootsAction began a campaign it called "Don't Run Joe."
RootsAction was founded in 2011 by two longtime progressive advocates and journalists, Norman Solomon and Jeff Cohen, and quickly grew, pursuing a fresh approach to defending the public interest and expanding social justice. RootsAction is dedicated to galvanizing people who are committed to economic fairness, equal rights for all, civil liberties, environmental protection – and defunding endless wars.
USDA’s new Regenerative Agriculture Initiative: A step forward or greenwashing?
The guest blog by Michael Happ of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) below provides an overview of what...
The post USDA’s new Regenerative Agriculture Initiative: A step forward or greenwashing? appeared first on CalCAN - California Climate & Agriculture Network.
Prospects for global green shipping deal boosted by US tariff ruling, analysts say
A recent US court ruling restricting President Trump’s ability to impose sweeping tariffs has improved the chances of an international deal to cut emissions from shipping, observers of UN maritime talks have said.
Government officials meeting at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London this week and next are resuming negotiations on a proposed set of measures known as the Net-Zero Framework (NZF), aimed at tackling the sector’s roughly 3% share of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Last October, Trump and his officials threatened any government voting to adopt provisionally agreed green shipping measures, known as the Net-Zero Framework (NZF), with tariffs that would make it harder for their businesses to export to the USA.
The intervention helped derail talks, with governments narrowly voting to postpone for a year the adoption of the NZF.
The framework, provisionally agreed in April 2025 after years of negotiations, would penalise the owners of particularly polluting ships and use the revenues to fund cleaner fuels, support affected workers and help developing countries manage the transition.
The delay plunged the future of the NZF into doubt. Vanuatu’s climate minister said the delay was “unacceptable” given the urgency of tackling climate change. A final decision on the NZF is not expected until November.
Tariff threat neuteredSince the last round of negotiations, the political landscape has shifted. In February 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump had no legal authority to impose sweeping tariffs without approval from Congress.
Rockford Weitz, professor of maritime studies at Tufts University, said that his officials would have “a more challenging time” using tariffs as threats at this month’s shipping talks than they did in October.
University College London professor Tristan Smith, a close observer of IMO talks, agreed that the tariff threat is “not quite as potent as it was last year”. He noted that the US also no longer benefits from the element of surprise. In October, Washington began lobbying governments only shortly before the talks, leaving little time for countries supporting the NZF to coordinate a response.
This time, Smith said supporters of the framework – which include most European countries, Pacific Islands and some African and Latin American states – are “working very closely together” to resist the US’s pressure.
He added that the US’s attempt to promote liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a transition shipping fuel, rather than renewable-electricity-based solutions like ammonia or methanol, by weakening the NZF has been undermined by the spike in the cost of gas triggered by the Iran war.
Attempts to re-negotiateBut divisions remain in the talks scheduled to run until Friday next week. Ahead of this round of negotiations, some governments have proposed re-negotiating the core tenets of the NZF, while others insist it should be adopted in November largely as provisionally agreed in April 2025.
This debate played out last week on a webinar hosted by the African Futures Policies Hub. Liberian diplomat Grace Nuhn said the emissions-reduction requirements included in the NZF are “over-zealous” and “over-ambitious” and do not reflect the limited availability of clean fuels, while penalising “transitional fuels” such as LNG and biofuels.
In a formal submission, Liberia – alongside US ally Argentina and Panama – has proposed weakening emission targets and ditching any funding mechanism for the framework involving “direct revenue collection and disbursement”.
Liberia and Panama host the world’s two biggest ship registries, meaning their governments earn revenue from allowing shipowners from around the world to register vessels in their countries.
The NZF would penalise owners of ships that emit more than certain agreed amounts and use that revenue to clean up the maritime sector, help workers through the green transition and compensate for any negative impacts of the transition on developing economies.
Shipping’s climate deal sets up battle over pollution calculations for gas and biofuels
Japan has also proposed that, in order to reach a compromise with the NZF’s opponents, emissions reduction targets and requirements to pay into the IMO’s Net-Zero Fund are weakened.
Yuki Inoue, a diplomat from Japan’s transport ministry, told the webinar that this would reduce the perception that the NZF is a “carbon tax”. Japan wants to get all governments “back to the discussion table”, he said.
NZF a “fragile compromise”But Tuvalu’s IMO negotiator Pierre-Jean Bordahandy said that the NZF itself is a “fragile compromise” reached after lengthy discussions and is the “only viable path forward” to meet the sector’s climate targets agreed in 2023.
Tuvalu and six other Pacific nations have vowed to try to make the NZF more ambitious if it is reopened for negotiation. With rising sea levels threatening their survival, “time is not on our side”, Bordahandy told the webinar.
Brazil has also pushed back against attempts to renegotiate. Diplomat Adriana de Medeiros Gabinio warned that it would be unrealistic to expect countries to rewrite a deal in a matter of months after more than two years of negotiations involving over 100 nations culminated in the April 2025 vote in favour of the NZF.
She added that proposed changes to the NZF would not address climate change and food insecurity and “seem aimed at addressing diplomatic pressure imposed by a small group of countries rather than the issue itself”.
The IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez speaks to US, Saudi, Brazilian, European and other delegates at talks on 17 October 2025 (Photo: Joe Lo)Mexico has defended the framework’s funding mechanism. Raul Zepeda Gil, an advisor to the country’s IMO mission, said the net-zero fund is essential to ensure developing countries can access financing for cleaner ships and infrastructure. Without the fund, “then just a few countries will be available to participate in the transition”, he warned
Some countries that previously supported delaying the NZF now appear more aligned with its backers. Kenya was among 16 African nations that voted for postponement last October.
But this month Michael Mbaru, maritime lead for the Kenyan government’s climate envoy office, told journalists that Kenya supports the NZF and hinted that other African and developing countries would follow.
“From the Global South perspective, as you’ve seen from the submissions from Africa, we are moving forward in terms of the framework as is”, he said, adding “we feel like we have compromised enough and we feel like the framework provides the best package.”
“If we are to reopen these discussions, we need to reopen them to strengthen the revenue, not to weaken the revenue”, he said.
Tacit or explicit approval?Brazil’s Adriana de Medeiros Gabinio warned that even if the NZF is officially adopted in November, its opponents are trying to change the rules by which it comes into force as a “safety net to block” it.
The US and its allies want to shift away from a system of tacit approval where, after the NZF is approved at the IMO talks, its rules are automatically applied unless a certain number of countries object.
They prefer explicit approval instead, meaning it would not come into force unless enough governments – representing a certain percentage of the world’s shipping fleet – actively indicate support for it.
Critics say this change would give a small number of countries with large shipping registries the power to block implementation. Liberia has the world’s biggest shipping registry, which is run by a US-based company, followed by Panama and the Marshall Islands.
The Marshall Islands has long been one of the most vocal supporters of the NZF but, with its officials and its shipping registry income vulnerable to US retaliation, did not sign on to the recent Pacific proposal vowing to strengthen the NZF if it is re-opened.
Commenting on the chances of the NZF being approved, Smith said “there are lots of things which I think generally are much better and stronger than they were last year.”
“I can’t tell you now that that means we’re not going to have a difficult conversation and I can’t put odds on what the outcome is but I think things have improved on the energy transition question,” he said.
The post Prospects for global green shipping deal boosted by US tariff ruling, analysts say appeared first on Climate Home News.
Join Food Tank at London Climate Action Week
On June 25, Food Tank, Google Cloud, and the U.N. Environment Programme are hosting the 3rd annual Food Tank London Climate Action Week Summit at Google London.
Building on the success of our 2024 and 2025 programming, the event will bring together more than 180 CEOs, CSOs, Founders, and Impact Officers from leading food and agriculture brands during London Climate Action Week to discuss the solutions they can advance to shape the future of sustainable food systems. Check back here for more details about the program as they become available!
To request an invitation, suggest a speaker, or explore partnership opportunities, please reach out to Food Tank’s Events Director Kenzie Wade at kenzie@foodtank.com.
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A new liquid battery stores solar heat for weeks
There are several technologies out there that harvest the sun’s boundless energy. Solar panels soak up solar energy and convert it to electricity, while solar thermal systems use mirror-like contraptions to collect sunshine to heat water or living spaces. But there aren’t any efficient ways to store solar heat for days or weeks.
Now, researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara have come up with a way to do that. They have created a new engineered molecule that traps sunlight, stores the energy in its chemical bonds, and then releases it on demand. The team reported this rechargeable solar heat battery in a paper published in the journal Science.
“Think of photochromic sunglasses,” said Han Nguyen, a PhD student and the paper’s lead author in a press release. “When you’re inside, they’re just clear lenses. You walk out into the sun, and they darken on their own. Come back inside, and the lenses become clear again. That kind of reversible change is what we’re interested in. Only instead of changing color, we want to use the same idea to store energy, release it when we need it, and then reuse the material over and over.”
The new material, called a pyrimidone, can store more than 1.6 megajoules per kilogram. That is almost double the energy density of a conventional lithium-ion battery, which is about 0.9 MJ/kg. Just like a lithium-ion battery can store electricity for days, the new liquid battery could store sunshine for days to provide hot water or heat when needed.
.IRPP_ruby , .IRPP_ruby .postImageUrl , .IRPP_ruby .centered-text-area {height: auto;position: relative;}.IRPP_ruby , .IRPP_ruby:hover , .IRPP_ruby:visited , .IRPP_ruby:active {border:0!important;}.IRPP_ruby .clearfix:after {content: "";display: table;clear: both;}.IRPP_ruby {display: block;transition: background-color 250ms;webkit-transition: background-color 250ms;width: 100%;opacity: 1;transition: opacity 250ms;webkit-transition: opacity 250ms;background-color: #eaeaea;}.IRPP_ruby:active , .IRPP_ruby:hover {opacity: 1;transition: opacity 250ms;webkit-transition: opacity 250ms;background-color: inherit;}.IRPP_ruby .postImageUrl {background-position: center;background-size: cover;float: left;margin: 0;padding: 0;width: 31.59%;position: absolute;top: 0;bottom: 0;}.IRPP_ruby .centered-text-area {float: right;width: 65.65%;padding:0;margin:0;}.IRPP_ruby .centered-text {display: table;height: 130px;left: 0;top: 0;padding:0;margin:0;padding-top: 20px;padding-bottom: 20px;}.IRPP_ruby .IRPP_ruby-content {display: table-cell;margin: 0;padding: 0 74px 0 0px;position: relative;vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;}.IRPP_ruby .ctaText {border-bottom: 0 solid #fff;color: #0099cc;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;letter-spacing: normal;margin: 0;padding: 0;font-family:'Arial';}.IRPP_ruby .postTitle {color: #000000;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;letter-spacing: normal;margin: 0;padding: 0;font-family:'Arial';}.IRPP_ruby .ctaButton {background: url(https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts-pro/assets/images/next-arrow.png)no-repeat;background-color: #afb4b6;background-position: center;display: inline-block;height: 100%;width: 54px;margin-left: 10px;position: absolute;bottom:0;right: 0;top: 0;}.IRPP_ruby:after {content: "";display: block;clear: both;}Recommended Reading:Bottling Sunshine without Batteries
Scientists have tried to make such molecular solar thermal (MOST) energy storage systems before. But the materials designed so far either don’t store enough energy, degrade much too quickly, or need complex designs or solvents that made them impractical.
To make their MOST molecule, the California team turned to DNA for inspiration. The pyrimidone structure they have made resembles a component found in DNA that can reversibly change its form when exposed to UV light.
The new engineered pyrimidone molecule acts like a spring. When sunlight falls on it, it twists into a strained, high-energy state. It stays locked in that shape until a small amount of heat or a catalyst triggers it to release its stored energy as heat and revert to its relaxed state.
The molecule, which is soluble in water, releases enough heat to boil water in just a few minutes. The researchers suggest that it could find use in residential water heating: charge in rooftop tanks during the day and provide hot water at night, even days and weeks later.
Source: Han P. Q. Nguyen. Molecular solar thermal energy storage in Dewar pyrimidone beyond 1.6 MJ/kg. Science, 2026.
Image: ©Anthropocene Magazine
Fighting Corporate Control of Fisheries: NAMA’s Vision for Blue Food Systems
The North American Marine Alliance (NAMA) is pushing back against corporate control of fisheries to build vibrant, community-driven blue food systems.
There is a tendency to separate aquatic and terrestrial food systems, but Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director for NAMA, sees the same trends shaping the two.
“What has affected the world’s ability to feed itself and communities in a sovereign way to feed themselves, is we’ve taken land away and commodified it,” Dorry says. “We’ve taken fishing rights away and commodified it. We’ve taken seeds away and commodified it. We’ve now taken the water column away and commodified it.”
Increasing consolidation is posing additional challenges, affecting both farmed and wild fisheries. “Our food is being dominated by these industrial operations,” says Dorry, who worries about the companies like Cargill and ConAgra that are moving into the aquaculture sector.
This results in seafood and land-based agriculture systems that are designed for those “who can produce the most at the lowest cost of production to feed global economies of scale,” Dorry says. And that doesn’t bode well for the health and wellness of communities. “Thos are two completely different priorities,” she states.
But NAMA believes it doesn’t have to stay this way. “The world was fully capable and is fully capable of feeding itself…Let’s give people their seeds back. Let’s give people their land back, their fishing rights back,” Dorry tells Food Tank. “Let’s recreate that regional food system in order to feed ourselves and not make anything other than feeding ourselves good food inevitable.”
The organization is a steering committee member of the Don’t Cage Our Oceans campaign, which is fighting against the threat of offshore industrial fish farming in the United States.
They also convene the Catch Share Reform Coalition, which advocates for policies that center the priorities of small fishers. Through the Community-Supported Fisheries model that NAMA helped develop, they are working to empower local fishers to help them receive more for their catch while increasing local and regional access to seafood.
“We need to really, truly have a democratic system that is creating policies that are…for the people, by the people.”
Listen to the full conversation with Niaz Dorry on Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg to hear more how NAMA is pushing back against corporate control of the world’s fisheries, why diversifying the seafood we eat offers a way to honor the gifts of the ocean, and what is needed to best support the next generation of fishers.
Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.
Photo courtesy of NOAA, Unsplash
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This week’s IMO green shipping talks are a test for multilateralism
Em Fenton is Senior Director of Climate Diplomacy at Opportunity Green, supporting climate-vulnerable countries in multilateral negotiations, such as the International Maritime Organization.
Governments are gathering in London this week and next to advance the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework (NZF) in a global effort to reduce emissions from international shipping. The meeting may not make headlines outside climate circles, but what happens there matters far beyond shipping.
The international shipping sector underpins around 80% of global trade and contributes roughly 3% of global annual emissions.
The NZF represents the best, most equitable solution currently viable to address this issue and, last April, a large majority of countries voted to put it forward for formal adoption through the IMO’s process.
The framework is a compromise from the most ambitious possible design, but it still represents a hard-fought victory for multilateralism, with countries coming together to create a solution aimed at the global best interest and providing a solid foundation for a just and equitable transition.
It combines a technical fuel standard (setting emissions limits on the fuels used in ships) and an economic element that puts a price on emissions from international shipping.
A system under attackWith a global swing towards nationalism in recent years, some countries are increasingly placing domestic priorities over global climate action, despite legal obligations to act. And in doing so, they are overlooking the reality that abandoning multilateral decarbonisation efforts will ultimately exacerbate domestic challenges.
This trend is most notable the US’s withdrawal or removal of support from the Paris Agreement, the WHO and the UN Human Rights Council, but is also playing out in other areas, such as India’s decision to withdraw its bid to host COP33. All this begs the question: just how resilient is multilateralism in a period of intense geopolitical tension?
The system was built on two assumptions that now appear increasingly fragile: that countries would act through multilateral efforts in the collective interest; and that agreed action would be implemented at a scale and pace commensurate with need.
Coupled with this drift from its central purpose is an observable decline in its effectiveness across all five domains in which it operates – but most notably in climate action.
Because international shipping is inherently global and cannot be meaningfully regulated through unilateral or regional action, the IMO is one of the few institutions capable of delivering effective decarbonisation at scale. Failure to make progress at the IMO therefore sends a powerful signal about the limits of international cooperation more broadly, particularly on climate action.
IEA slashes pre-war oil demand forecast by nearly a million barrels per day
Within this context, progress has faced three distinct forms of resistance: rejection of the need for action, procedural delay or obstruction, and efforts to weaken outcomes to the point where ‘success is effectively meaningless.
At recent IMO meetings, these dynamics have become more pronounced, culminating in a successful move by the US and Saudi Arabia last October to delay the formal decision to adopt the NZF by a year.
The matter now sits in procedural limbo. This was further complicated by abstentions from two European Union countries (Greece and Cyprus), despite the broader EU’s support for adoption. Greece has subsequently affirmed their support for the US and Saudi position.
These procedural delays were accompanied by threats from the US administration of retaliatory measures, including tariffs, withdrawal of visa rights, or imposing fees on nationals visiting US ports.
Making the case for multilateralismThe stakes here extend well beyond shipping.
For multilateralism to remain meaningful, it must be able to produce binding outcomes – even when powerful states object. The IMO process is one of the few remaining forums where every country’s voice carries equal weight and no single state can exercise a veto.
If that process can be undermined through procedural delay and coercive pressure, it sets a precedent for other multilateral negotiations, particularly in climate governance.
This week in London, countries have a concrete opportunity to demonstrate that multilateralism still works – by being present in the room and actively supporting climate ambition.
This remains the most effective way to achieve climate goals, create the economic conditions for investment in the maritime transition, move away from an overreliance on fossil fuels, and protect the very foundations of multilateralism.
The alternative is not just a failure for shipping; it is a signal to every difficult negotiation that follows that obstruction works.
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Sixty countries head to Santa Marta to cement coalition for fossil fuel transition
Almost 60 governments are due to gather in the Colombian city of Santa Marta this week for what is being billed as the first global summit on phasing out coal, oil and gas, where experts say new coalitions could help speed up the energy transition beyond the slower pace of UN climate talks.
At last year’s COP30 UN conference, a group of some 80 countries backed the idea of a global roadmap away from fossil fuels, but it was blocked by fossil fuel-producing nations. To move past these obstructions, Colombia and the Netherlands decided to convene the fossil fuel phase-out summit, which will host ministers for high-level discussions on April 28 and 29.
The 57 countries headed to Santa Marta includes COP31 hosts Australia and Türkiye, as well as European, Latin American, Asian, African and Pacific nations. Some large fossil-fuel producers are on the list, including Canada, Norway, Brazil and Nigeria, but the US, China, India and Russia will not attend.
At this week’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told governments that “when multilateral processes move slowly, concrete alliances of the willing can take us a long way”, in a hint at the voluntary initiatives expected to emerge from the Santa Marta discussions.
Brazil’s COP30 CEO Ana Toni told journalists this week that UN negotiations can “take a long time”, adding that the Santa Marta summit can start a complementary process to “keep the debate about transitioning away at the highest political level”. Brazil is working on a separate roadmap for a global fossil fuel transition due to be presented ahead of COP31, which will draw on the Santa Marta conclusions as well as submissions from countries and other interested parties.
At a webinar hosted by Climate Home News, Colombia’s environment minister Irene Vélez Torres said the Santa Marta summit is winning “global attention” in part because countries have reached a “breaking point” at UN climate talks, which have been gridlocked by fossil fuel-producing countries.
“There is a natural blockade of those themes in the multilateral agendas,” the Colombian minister said. The recent conflict in the Middle East has added renewed importance to the debate by “showing us that we cannot be dependent on fossil fuels anymore”, she emphasised.
Toni also noted that, in the context of the war in Iran, “if anybody had a doubt, I think now it’s absolutely clear we need to take those very hard steps.”
Several climate ministers at the Petersberg Dialogue – including Türkiye’s COP31 president Murat Kurum – urged countries to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels by boosting renewable energy deployment not only for climate reasons but also for energy security.
The effects of the oil and gas crisis driven by the Iran war, which has cut off exports from the Middle East, are already showing in the real economy. Countries in Africa and Asia are importing record amounts of solar power components from China, in an effort to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
Opportunity for “inflection point”While the Santa Marta conference will not deliver a major negotiated agreement, observers said it could spur new coalitions and contribute to speeding up the energy transition by exploring the concrete policies and finance needed to drive an equitable shift away from fossil fuels. A summary report of the proceedings is due to be published by June.
WWF’s global climate lead, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, who served as COP president for Peru in 2014, said in a statement that reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels requires “a rapid, global shift to renewable power, smarter grids and efficiency”.
“We need a ‘coalition of the willing’ to show us the way. Santa Marta is an inflection point and an opportunity that we should not miss,” he said.
Natalie Jones, senior policy advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), said countries have the opportunity to form a “coalition of doers” that sends the message that “the transition is happening, and the countries that are here are the ones making it happen”.
To phase out fossil fuels, developing countries need exit route from “debt trap”
In the lead-up to the conference, a group of Pacific island nations – which have historically championed a 1.5C limit to global warming and a phase-out of fossil fuels – launched a declaration for a “fossil fuel-free Pacific” and urged countries to “support the ongoing development of a comprehensive, robust, actionable global roadmap” away from fossil fuels. Many island economies are still highly dependent on expensive fossil fuel imports, though most are already adding solar, geothermal and other renewables.
Toni noted that several coalitions on fossil fuels already exist – such as the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) in which members commit to phasing out oil and gas domestically or a Dutch-led coalition to phase out fossil fuel subsidies – but these must be strengthened.
Beginning of a processAside from governments, the Santa Marta conference will also host Indigenous people and local communities, scientists, cities, unions, green groups and the private sector to share research and recommendations on how to best phase out fossil fuels.
These civil society actors will meet from April 24 to 27 for preliminary discussions that will inform the debate among ministers.
On Friday, scientists are expected to launch a new high-level panel that will provide advice for policy-makers to support the international transition away from fossil fuels, as well as a scientific report laying out key recommendations for governments. According to a draft seen by Carbon Brief, these range from halting fossil fuel expansion to cutting methane emissions from the energy sector and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.
Another barrier to the clean energy transition that will be on the agenda in Santa Marta is an international system formally known as “investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS), which enables companies to use trade agreements to sue governments that block private-sector projects like coal mines or oil exploration.
Ahead of the conference, more than 340 civil society organisations signed an open statement saying that ISDS “threatens a just transition from fossil fuels and the urgent need for a social and ecological transformation for people and the planet”. They called on governments to start building a coalition of countries committed to freeing themselves from ISDS, after Colombia announced recently it would withdraw from the system. Doing so will be complicated in practice and require coordinated action among states, experts told Climate Home News.
Colombia pledges to exit investment protection system after fossil fuel lawsuits
Colombian minister Vélez explained that one of the key outcomes from Santa Marta will be to kickstart a longer process that continues next year with a second fossil fuel phase-out conference in the Pacific island state of Tuvalu. Jones of IISD said “this is only the start of a process” in which more nations can decide to participate later.
“Other countries that wish to join this space in good faith would be welcome, so it’s a question of whether fossil fuel producers are ready to have these conversations in all their complexity,” she added.
This article was updated after publication to reflect the total number of countries whose attendance was confirmed by the Colombian government.
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Militarism will not bring prosperity
Not only will Mark Carney's attempt to bolster the military to "fight Trump" not provide the protection that Canadians pine for, but it will also fail to buoy the Canadian economy.
The post Militarism will not bring prosperity first appeared on Spring.
The Indian Act, Exit 150: The Coming and Going of Colonization’s Foundational Legislation
THIS SPRING marks 150 years since the Indian Act became law.
Passed in 1876, the Act consolidated years of previous colonial policies and aimed to coerce Nations into bands, dismantling First Nation laws and governance, culture, language and social organization. It attacked women and children, identity, and restricted freedom to move, trade, and even socialize. It was (and is) racist and deeply paternalistic.
Perversely, the model of assimilation the Act aimed to achieve ended up insulating First Nations from Canadian nation-building and society generally. Over time, this particular model of assimilation faltered, and insulation became useful. Re-organized Chief and Council systems and their laws and politics would come to exist in a liminal space, a borderland where provincial or territorial regulations had limited effect, no tax regime to speak of, and — paired with an evolving set of Aboriginal and treaty rights — a de facto local authority.
Harold Cardinal captured the Act’s contradictions well when he said the Indian Act “is discriminatory from start to finish. But it is a lever in our hands.”
Cardinal, like many other First Nation leaders, acknowledged the harms and challenges of the Indian Act but refused to scrap the legislation without an alternative that affirmed treaties and sovereignty.So, despite many attempts by numerous Federal Governments to dissolve the legislation (St. Laurent, 1951; Pierre Trudeau, 1969; Mulroney, 1992; Chrétien, 2002, Stephen Harper, 2014; Justin Trudeau, 2018), it endures to the present. Sort of.
Life is a Highway: One Day Here and the Next Day GoneAfter First Nations leaders rejected the 1969 White Paper on Indian Policy, the Federal Government began exploring alternatives to advance its agenda. This coincided with First Nations’ desire to control education after the cataclysm of residential schools.
It would begin the era of “devolution.”
After Canada transferred administrative control of education, it realized bits and pieces of the Indian Act could be isolated, new statutory frameworks created, and First Nations offered an exit from the Act into alternative processes. The new approach would be incentivized with funding, limited capacity development and a sales pitch for more authority. Tellingly, the long-time Indian fighter, Tom Flanagan, lauded the shift as a useful “off-ramp,” given First Nations leadership’s rejection of the wholesale removal of the Act.
By 1999, this model had emerged more clearly with the development of the First Nations Land Management Act, a law that allows communities to withdraw lands from the Indian Act‘s land management provisions and to pass their own local regulations. The First Nations Fiscal Management Act, paired with new finance policies, removes elements of finance from the Indian Act. There are also the First Nation Election Act and sectoral education self-government agreements. More recently, the Child and Family Well-being Act offered First Nations control over child welfare service delivery (adjacent to the Indian Act but with the same thrust). Today, conversations are accelerating around status and membership. While it is hard to imagine the Federal Government devolving control over status, they are required by the courts to address ongoing gender discrimination regarding status and have been encouraging communities to move toward citizenship or membership laws outside the Indian Act.
According to the Crown-Indigenous Relations’ 2024–25 Departmental Plans, First Nations are getting off the highway at increasing speeds. In 2020–21, “the percentage of First Nations that have opted into an Indian Act alternative” was 55 percent. By 2022–23, it had risen to 68 percent. The department had set a target of 71.5 percent by March 2025. More than two-thirds of First Nations have now moved at least one area of governance — land, fiscal management, elections, etc. — out of the Indian Act.
So while First Nations leaders have rejected every comprehensive attempt to repeal the Indian Act, they seem to have accepted the incremental approach.Whether these are the right directions is an ongoing debate.
The UnbundlingIn 2018, Yellowhead published a report exposing this strategy as ideological, not simply an administrative shift but a map for First Nations “towards a narrow model of self-government outside of the Indian Act, premised on devolution of program and service delivery” — without addressing land rights, treaty obligations, or meaningful jurisdiction.
On the other hand, there are Indigenous-led initiatives like the Transitional Governance Project, which supports First Nations in the conversion, alongside numerous organizations trying to operationalize the various off-ramps out of the Act. Many First Nations themselves believe there are opportunities, in the inches being offered by Canada, to take miles.
Can these transitional processes actually be expanded, matriated, Indigenized, or decolonized?The Indian Act wasn’t created as a coherent piece of legislation 150 years ago. It was cobbled together from previous colonial laws and policies, and then, over the next few decades, dozens of amendments were added. Its modular creation mirrors its piece-by-piece demise. As it unfolds into something new and different, we ought to ask ourselves: who is at the wheel?
Citation:King, Hayden. “The Indian Act, Exit 150: The Coming and Going of Colonization’s Foundational Legislation.” Yellowhead Institute. April 23, 2026. https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2026/the-indian-act-exit-150/
Artwork: Video still from the NDN Kars music video, Keith Secola
The post The Indian Act, Exit 150: The Coming and Going of Colonization’s Foundational Legislation appeared first on Yellowhead Institute.
Polanski, Mamdani, and the Others: Time for Left Economic Populism?
Recent polls and elections in the UK, New York City and Germany tell a story of polarisation: disappointed with the centrist consensus, voters are looking for alternatives to politics as usual. A focus on affordability could channel this discontent towards progressive options.
For years now, the radical right has appeared to be the sole beneficiary of a strong anti-institutional, anti-political sentiment. For voters who felt betrayed by the status quo and ignored by the political class, the far right seemed to offer a visible avenue for protest. Or, in many circumstances, a lit match to take to the political consensus.
However, the winds may be changing. Under the leadership of Zack Polanski, the Green Party of England and Wales has surged in popularity to more than double its 2024 election vote share. The Greens are mounting a formidable assault on the country’s political consensus on an unashamedly left-wing platform. At the time of writing, the party is polling at 16 per cent, a dead heat with Labour and one point below the Conservatives. Its campaign touts it as the strategic choice for those wanting to keep the far-right Reform UK out of power in the upcoming May local elections. Until recently, the UK was thought of as a two-party system.
The 2025 German federal election also told a story of growing polarisation. The centre-right CDU/CSU (and, to a lesser extent, the outgoing coalition of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals) expected to lose voters to the far-right AfD, which recorded its best result to date with a 21 per cent vote share. What was surprising was the late surge of Die Linke (“The Left”), reportedly as a result of a viral TikTok campaign featuring its co-leader, Heidi Reichinnek. From polling at just 3 per cent one month before the election, the party more than doubled its 2021 result, winning 9 per cent of the vote. Since the election, Die Linke has continued to gain in popularity, and at the time of writing, is polling just 2 per cent below the Social Democrats.
In the US, the New York City mayoral election provided another blueprint for the shift towards a more “fringe” left politics: Zohran Mamdani’s win over the Democratic old guard demonstrated the potent electoral appeal of a “services for all” platform.
The insurgent left is finally a player in the polarisation game. Regardless of whether one laments the deterioration of legacy parties and institutional politics, that must be a better outcome than the far right holding an unchallenged monopoly on protest politics.
Economic justice firstSomething powerful and, crucially, replicable that these campaigns have in common is a focus on left economic populism. They refuse to centre “culture war” issues and instead have adopted an unrelenting focus on affordability, trying to awaken class consciousness. They have each outlined a clear narrative of deprivation where the victim/hero is embodied by the working people, characterising large corporations and the mega-wealthy as the enemy. They propose “radical” economic reforms to expand the welfare state and transfer wealth, including rent reductions, a higher minimum wage, free public transportation, and heavier taxes on the wealthy.
This platform proves effective for a few simple reasons. First, affordability remains on average the number one thing on European voters’ minds. Second, people (at least in Western European democracies) more or less agree on what’s to blame: elite collusion and government mismanagement. This story is easier to tell from the left than from the right.
According to research carried out by Mandate, the organisation I work for, in August 2025,1 left-wing economic populism has the potential to be a consensus platform.
Figure 1.The cost of living “crisis” has hardly followed the temporality of a typical short-term shock. It’s been around for a while. The cost of living overtook health as the public’s number one concern in Europe in the wake of the pandemic sometime in 2021. This was first picked up by the Winter 2021 Eurobarometer survey, where it was one of the top two concerns for 41 per cent of respondents. The “crisis” had already been listed as the top concern for the EU overall since the spring of that year.
In 2025, the inability to afford basic necessities remained the most pressing concern for both men and women (though slightly more so for women), and across all age groups except those aged 75 or older 2. This was hardly a surprising result. We’d seen the cost of living top the most important issue tables in every country we surveyed for years; it did again in our most recent cross-country survey in March 2026. Nor were we surprised by voters’ growing pessimism about their country’s trajectory. The 2025 survey showed that half of all voters thought their country was moving in the wrong direction. In some cases, this number had increased substantially since we last asked this question three months earlier (by as much as 8 per cent in France).
The hardship was palpable, and the resentment directed. When we asked respondents what was “most to blame for high inflation in recent years”, a majority in six out of eight countries pointed the finger at the political class and their mismanagement of the economy 3.
Figure 2. What the numbers tellWhen Europeans are asked to define a successful economy, their vision is strikingly left-wing. Far from the early 21st-century neoliberal consensus, their priorities suggest that the hallmarks of a flourishing society are in communal stability and the strength of the state.
A significant 34 per cent of voters define success as an economy that can fund quality public services for all, while 33 per cent prioritise secure employment. These features of the European post-war social democratic movement are consistently prioritised over neoliberal totems; only 16 per cent of voters view global leadership in technology as an economic priority, and 14 per cent believe rewarding entrepreneurship is a top-tier goal.
The data also suggests that the public does not instinctively view low migration as a good economic indicator, with only 18 per cent ranking it as a feature of a successful economy. This indicates that the far right isn’t as successful at linking high migration to high inflation.
Figure 3.Another clear finding from the survey concerns attitudes towards progressive taxation. Higher taxes on the wealthy are often resisted by free market logic, which states that, if faced with a wealth tax, billionaires will take their business elsewhere. Most Europeans don’t buy this theory. When asked which statement comes closest to their views, the majority of the public believes that higher taxes on the wealthy will give them exactly what they want – better-funded public services – rather than triggering capital flight.
Figure 4.We also evaluated the diverse narrative frameworks Western governments currently use to address the cost of living and housing crisis. Messaging ranged from far-right, anti-immigrant framing to technocratic and centrist positions (“We just need to build more homes!”), right capitalist small-state arguments, through to overtly left-populist framings.
The overall winner, with a net approval of over 50 per cent in all countries, was the left economic populist message. This message frames the cost of living as a conflict between “working people” and “billionaires”. Its policy imperatives to cut grocery prices and bring down rents speak directly to real, material changes for working people and the instant transfer of wealth from property owners and large megacorporations to the working class. These policies mirror the Mamdani playbook, and are popular even when not delivered by the dimpled man himself.
There’s room on the board for the Left to define a political enemy on their own terms. And there’s a clear candidate for the role: the uber-wealthy.
A more traditional market-liberal message about investing in businesses and reducing barriers to trade is also highly competitive. While voters want systemic change, they are not necessarily “anti-business”. On the other end of the spectrum, centrist triangulation touting legacy politicians as the “grown-ups” in the room delivering systemic change receives far less universal support. As does linking green energy to long-term economic growth targets. Voters want to see real change in the price of their everyday lives, and they want to see it yesterday.
Interestingly, not every statement that punches up towards “elites” cleans the board. In fact, explicitly populist messaging bookends the spectrum of best and worst performers. While the left-populist proposition that explicitly offers billionaires as the enemy of the working class is favoured by consensus, a similar statement message framed in far-right populist terms – where the “elite” conspiracy is to prioritise immigrants over native-born people – is the least universally popular message in all surveyed countries (except Romania, by 1 percentage point).
When talking about the cost of living, immigrants aren’t an effective scapegoat. While voters care about immigration deeply – it’s their second most important issue on average (see Figure 1) – they aren’t forming a knee-jerk association between high immigration and the cost of living despite elite messaging. This remains true even when messaging frames immigration as aligned with elite interests. Voters simply aren’t buying that there’s a link between immigration and inflation. There’s room on the board for the Left to define a political enemy on their own terms. And there’s a clear candidate for the role: the uber-wealthy.
The opening for an insurgent Left Figure 5.The data further suggests that the economy is unclaimed territory in the current party landscape. We asked voters to pick, from a list of issues, what they think the main “progressive” party and far right party in their country “cares about” the most. The coordination and message discipline of the far right, and the disorganisation of the institutional left, are laid bare in the results. While the far right has a clear and dominant issue profile – they care about immigration above all, but are also the party of security and crime reduction – progressives are floundering. The most chosen response is either that the respondent doesn’t know what the progressive party in their country stands for, or that they stand for “none” of the salient issues. “Social security” and the “cost of living”, once the bread and butter of the social-democratic movement, come in a weak third and fourth.
Figure 6.According to respondents, high inflation is primarily a consequence of political incapacity, where leaders want to help but are unable to, and political indifference, where they possess the means to act but choose not to. In each country, we see that politicians suffer from a perception of indifference rather than impotence on the cost of living.
A belief that parties are trying but failing to make things more affordable is tricky to overcome, but not terminal: they can blame technical limitations or pass the buck to the private sector. But indifference is a death sentence. When voters believe you have the ability to help them but are choosing not to, frustration turns to anger, and, as we have seen in the recent waves of anti-incumbency, they take their vote elsewhere.
In this climate, credibility on the cost of living would have to come from outside the system. And the ultimate outsiders – the far right – are also stumbling in this important issue space. There is a huge hole in the issue space begging to be filled, and a clear mandate from voters as to what they want to see fill the gap.
Facing the far rightThe era of radical-right dominance over anti-establishment sentiment may be reaching a structural limit. Cost of living remains a persistent priority for the European electorate. And, while legacy parties are paralysed by a perception of institutional indifference and the far right remains laser-focused on immigration, a significant opening has emerged for an insurgent left.
Voters are clear on the type of economy they desire. They want quality public services and secure employment prioritised. They’re seeking bold messaging framing redistribution as a necessary transfer of wealth to fund the social contract. They’re rejecting centrist rhetoric that serves as a veil for inaction, and aren’t willing to lay the blame at the feet of migrants.
There is a rare opportunity here to (re)define and (re)own an issue that actually matters to voters. Left economic populism does appear to be a consensus platform, allowing challenger left and green parties to grow their base. Here may be an opportunity to challenge the far right’s grip on voter frustration, and channel anti-institutional sentiment leftwards.
You Got This: Amidst the Carnage, A Beautiful Moment
Needing a break, we honor the rare sweet sliver of comity during Monday's Boston Marathon when two runners, both on course to achieve their personal best, instead stopped to help Ajay Haridasse, collapsed on the ground and unable to stand back up, over the finish line just ahead - because, they explained, "This is what it's all about...Two is better than one." Hallelujah: For now, still human after all these years.
The "beautiful moment" of compassion and sportsmanship came almost at the end of the grueling, 26.2-mile marathon known as "the runner's Holy Grail" for its tough qualifying standards and steep terrain, including Newton's iconic "Heartbreak Hill." The world's oldest marathon was inspired by the inaugural 1896 Olympics and begun the next year; widely considered one of the most difficult races anywhere, it attracts 500,000 spectators and over 20,000 dogged participants from 96 countries. "It’s a slog. It’s a grind. It’s brilliant," said one aspirant. Another: "Nothing is like it. Runners train and train and train for this race."
So did Ajay Haridasse, a 21-year-old senior at Northeastern running his first Boston Marathon having grown up nearby and faithfully watched it for years. Haridasse had passed the 26-mile mark when, he later said, "the wheels kinda fell off." After running almost three hours and struggling against cramps, his legs abruptly gave out 1,000 feet from the finish line, when he wobbled and fell to the ground. As runners streamed by, he painfully tried to stand up again, fell, tried to stand up, fell. "You got this!" a woman yelled from the sidelines, as others joined in. "You were made for this! You can do it! You got it!"
"After falling down the fourth time, I was getting ready to crawl," Haridasse later recalled. That's when Aaron Beggs, a 40-year-old runner from Northern Ireland, suddenly appeared at his left. Beggs stopped, pulled Haridasse to his feet and tried to hold him upright; Haridasse began collapsing again, only to be caught from behind on his right by Robson De Oliveira, a 36-year-old runner from Brazil who swooped in. Beggs and De Oliveira quickly lifted Haridasse’s arms around their shoulders and put their arms around his waist; then the three men jogged and stumbled toward and over the finish line as the crowd roared.
"No marathon is easy - there's no fooling this distance," says one runner of a two, three, four hour challenge run on grit and blisters, and those who embrace it often cite the importance of "athletes taking care of each other." "It's not always about crossing the finish line first, but lifting others when they fall," said one. "We do it together." When Beggs, a member of North Down Athletic Club, paused to help Haridasse, sacrificing his own time and standing, he "embodied everything our club stands for - integrity, compassion and true sportsmanship," said Club chair Jamie Stevenson, who hailed him as "a superstar (who) couldn't pass an athlete in distress. What a gentleman!"
Beggs later said he saw Haridasse fall a couple of times out of the corner of his eye, and "my instinct was just to go over (and) do the right thing." He doesn't blame those who ran past: "It’s a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. You have to put yourself in front of others. This time, I just happened to put somebody else in front of me...It's one of those things in life - you've got an option at any moment in time. It could be me on my next marathon." As they crossed the finish line, a wheelchair "flew past." He thought it was for Haridasse, but it was for De Oliveira, who'd passed out: "He used everything in him to get Ajay across the line."
"It was a split-second decision," De Oliveira later wrote of stopping when he saw Haridasse collapse. “I knew I wouldn’t have the strength to help him on my own. In that moment, I thought, ‘God, if someone stops, I’ll stop too and help him. And God was so generous...because two are stronger than one." In the end, De Oliveira's time was 2hr 44min 26sec, followed by Haridasse at 2:44:32 and Beggs at 2:44:36. All three qualified for next year's race, and all plan to run again - "God willing," said De Oliveira. Haridasse later thanked his two rescuers; despite his own near-obliteration, he called the race "the greatest experience ever."
In a searing piece about the 2013 Boston Marathon terrorist bombing that killed five and wounded almost 300 - "All My Tears, All My Love" - Dave Zirin contrasted that tragedy with the historic joy of the Marathon. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run it, registering as K.V. Switzer and dressing in loose sweats. Five miles in, when a rabid official noticed her and tried to force her out, male runners fought him off: "For them, Kathrine Switzer had every right to be there." The moment, Zirin wrote, "gave us all a glimpse of the possible...of the world we'd aspire to live in." This week, Beggs and De Oliveira gave us another.
"If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon." - Kathrine Switzer
Older and Wiser: How Elder Animals Help Species to Survive
A growing body of research is pointing to the critical, but unappreciated, role that older animals play in ensuring the survival of wildlife populations. Conservationists say the new findings should lead to policies that protect these elders and the essential knowledge they impart.
A Conversation with Terry Tempest Williams
Terry Tempest Williams is one of the most celebrated and revered American nature writers. She integrates the musicality of a poet with the passion and purpose of an activist. Terry is also an award-winning conservationist, a fierce defender of her beloved Southwestern desert landscapes.
She has authored over 20 books that are translated worldwide. Her most recent book is The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary.
Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons, author of Nature, Culture and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership, engaged with Terry at a Bioneers conference in a wide ranging conversation between two old friends.
FeaturingTerry Tempest Williams, a writer, educator, and environmental activist known for her lyrical and impassioned prose, is the author of over twenty creative nonfiction books. Her work has appeared widely, including in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Progressive, and Orion, and has been translated worldwide. Her most recent book is the The Glorians – Visitations from the Holy Ordinary (spring ’26).
Credits- Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel
- Written by: Kenny Ausubel
- Producer: Teo Grossman
- Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch
- Associate Producer and Show Engineer: Emily Harris
- Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey
- Production Assistance: Mika Anami
The Glorians – Visitations from the Holy Ordinary
Terry Tempest Williams: Noticing the Glorians in a Fractured World
Erosion and Evolution: Our Undoing is Our Becoming | Bioneers Podcast
This is an episode of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature series. Visit the radio and podcast homepage to find out how to hear the program on your local station and how to subscribe to the podcast.
Subscribe to the Bioneers: Revolution from The Heart of Nature podcast TranscriptNeil Harvey (Host): Standing in the lineage of the greatest nature writers, the acclaimed author, naturalist and activist Terry Tempest Williams links her deepest inner experiences with the state of the web of life. She plumbs connections: art and ecology – women and politics – democracy and social healing – wild lands and First Peoples – family and faith.
I’m Neil Harvey. This is “A Conversation with Terry Tempest Williams”
Terry Tempest Williams is one of the most celebrated and revered American nature writers. She integrates the musicality of a poet with the passion and purpose of an activist. Her tender personal reflections and intimate insights as a naturalist braid together with her keen political and spiritual insight in a voice that feels most at home in the liminal – in the space between words.
Her work and her life encompass many dimensions beyond writing. As a socially and politically engaged artist, Terry is also an award-winning conservationist, a fierce defender of her beloved Southwestern desert landscapes. She’s done everything from civil disobedience to testifying before Congress on women’s health issues, to buying gas leases to prevent the desecration of pristine and sacred lands.
She has authored over 20 books that are translated worldwide, including the masterwork Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Her most recent book is The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary.
Terry has received numerous prestigious literary awards, and her long academic career recently included serving as writer- in-residence at Harvard Divinity School.
Terry Tempest Williams spoke at a recent Bioneers conference, where Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons, author of Nature, Culture and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership, engaged with her in a free-range conversation between two old friends.
Nina began by asking Terry to describe the story from her book Finding Beauty in a Broken World chronicling her experience making social healing mosaics in Rwanda with the artist Lily Yeh.
Nina Simons (NS): In Finding Beauty in a Broken World, you share the story of Lily Yeh’s work with barefoot artists, helping create healing places in Rwanda and globally through engaged community art creation. And in both her work and your own, my sense is that you each elevate art to a place where its healing capacity for people, society and culture is amplified in community. You wrote that finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world you find. So now, when the need to transform our culture and society is at an all-time high, and since artists often foresee the future, I wonder if you have any thoughts about the role of artists in times like this, and what you might suggest to artists whose catalytic capacity is so vital, though so often undervalued in this society.
Terry Tempest Williams (TTW): How many of you know the work of Lily Yeh? She’s a phenomenal artist. She’s now 85, almost to be 86 years old, Asian, born in Taiwan, in China, her family. I met her in 2001, after I realized September 11th, my rhetoric had become as brittle as the opposition. And I had forgotten my poetry.
And I remember being in Maine. We were at a family place. And it was high tide. I went out to a rocky point and I said prayers. And basically said to the sea: Give me one wild word and I promise I will follow. And the word that came back to me after listening was mosaic. And I thought, oh no, my life is now going to be relegated to breaking my mother’s dishes and making bad picture frames. You know? I was—I did not understand mosaic.
And I did some research, and Lily Yeh, her name came up. She started the Village of Arts and Humanities just outside Philly, in a very tough neighborhood. And I went on a pilgrimage to meet her. And she really changed my life and showed me the aisle of angels made of mosaics, the safehouses of mosaics, how…her colleague who was—had been a former drug dealer, became a master mosaicist. And they made these beautiful murals, and it—her work has been one of placemaking around the world.
Lily Yeh. Photo: Daniel Traub / Wikimedia CommonsShe later came to Salt Lake to do a mural in one of the poorer neighborhoods that had been invisible to the community. It became highly visible with the Latina and Latino communities. And then she said, “I need to talk to you.” And she said, “Will you come with me as a barefoot artist to Rwanda?” And I said no. My brother had just died a month earlier, and I said I cannot. I did not want to be in any more death. I cannot go. And Nina, she just stared at me. And then I heard myself, and I realized if I said no, I would be saying no to my spiritual life and growth, and I heard myself say yes. And another life-changing moment.
And, I have to tell you, here’s another lesson I learned from her. Very conscientious, you know, if I’ve got a job, I will take it seriously. So knowing we were going to go to Rwanda, I got a map, looked where it was, what it was next to. I read over 60 books, everything I could get my hands on – novels, non-fiction, government reports – went to the Library of Congress, looked at all the maps – fire maps, water maps, war maps – just to get it in my mind. And she called me and she said, “I just want to know how you’re preparing.” And so I gave her this whole list, told her what I just told you. And I said but I just don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere, but I’ve got more books to read. And I said, ‘How are you preparing?’ And there’s this long silence, and she said, “I’m meditating.” And I quit reading. And just sat with that. So she’s a real teacher.
And I think that’s what art does for us, it bypasses rhetoric and pierces the heart, and the heart is really, I think, where all change resides.
And I saw…the power of art, to go into communities…numb with grief, dead with grief, the bones of these women’s children were buried under trees that were still there, that they were carrying in the folds of their skirts. But when Lily got the paint out and the children took over and painted their houses – turquoise, yellow, red, animals – something lifted. And what it led to was the creation of a genocide memorial, where these women – and most of them were women – could bury their beloveds in a place of dignity. And that was Lily.
NS: You know that conversation about Rwanda leads me to ask you, as we are both women who are childless by choice, about your decision to adopt a son, and how that’s changing you.
TTW: My hair’s white. [LAUGHTER] Louis Gakumba is our son. He was our translator in Rwanda. And so, again, Lily. You know?
I think being a mother at 50, as you say, childless by choice… it has brought me to my knees, and I mean in the most beautiful ways, for both Brooke and me. And Louis has been our teacher. It’s been hard. I knew nothing. I still know nothing. I am a grandmother. I have two grandchildren – we do – Malka who is 8, and Shayja who is 7. Shayja loves birds. I love him. He’s constantly calling about what he sees.
Malka, I will share this with you, since you asked how’s it changing me… When she was 5, she said to me, “Do you think I’m too black?” And I said, ‘Malka, you are beautiful.’ And I said, ‘Why do you think that?’ And she gave me her reasons. And I said, ‘Let’s look at all the beautiful Black women.’ And we looked online, and she said, “She’s black like me. She’s black like me. She’s black like me.” And then she said, “Will you show me your body?” And I have to tell you, it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life, was take off my clothes in front of a 5-year old. And turn around. And then, as I am standing before my granddaughter, she says, “What color is your heart?” And I said, ‘The same color as yours.’ And we’ve never had that discussion again.
And the other day, three years later, she said, “Te Te Terry, don’t you think I’m beautiful? And I just said, ‘You are so beautiful.’ And so I think it’s what we learn together.
Terry Tempest Williams at Bioneers 2026. Photo: Boris ZharkovShayja, the other day, we were up in Shenandoah, and he’s staring at me. You know? And I think, okay, this’ll come out. And he goes, “If only you were a little tanner.” And I just—you know, so we are learning about interracial family together, and it’s a beautiful thing. And Louis just wrote his memoir. It’s tough, it’s beautiful, and he said I want my children to know where they come from. And I want them to know who my ancestors are and—so we’re learning.
And my father, who would tell you in this audience, was a true racist. And he is now 92, and he and Louis are closer than I can ever tell you. And it was on a plane from Denver to Salt Lake, and Dad and Louis were sitting together on the exit row, and a flight attendant said, “Yes, yes, yes.” And when Louis said yes, she said, “Get out, you don’t speak English.” And my father stood up and said, “Apologize. He speaks six languages. He’s smarter than anyone on this plane.” And she said, “Get out.” And my father stood up and said, “This plane will not fly until you apologize.”
And when dad came home, I called him to see if they’d gotten home, and the flight attendant let things go, apologized. When I called my father, he was crying. And he said Terry, “I knew racism from the inside out. I never knew racism from the outside in.” And that night, he had a stroke. And I think it was such a shock that he literally was rewired. And it was Louis who took him to the emergency room, sat with him all night, and held his hand. No one holds my father’s hand. So it’s those kinds of changes, Nina. Aside from love and joy and… I’m grateful.
Host: When we return, Terry Tempest Williams and Nina Simons explore how to marry contradictions, being species-fluid, and feeding a spider.
I’m Neil Harvey. You’re listening to the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature.
Host: If you’d like to see and hear more from Terry Tempest Williams, you can visit bioneers.org
Let’s drop back into the kitchen table conversation with Terry Tempest Williams and Nina Simons.
NS: Well, years ago, we had a conversation where you spoke of feeling drawn to marrying apparent contradictions. And it landed in me in a big way. And—
TTW: In what way?
NS: Well, in that every time I found myself encountering an apparent contradiction, I thought of you, and I thought, Huh, what does it mean to try to marry these things that seem so polarized. And…it was long before there was so much interest in non-binary gendered identities, and I found it a useful practice, to see how I could imagine them dancing together. Do you still find that resonant for you?
TTW: Every day.
NS: Yeah. [LAUGHS]
TTW: You know, living around Great Salt Lake, and living long enough to have seen her in her historic high, and now at her historic low, in retreat – and I don’t see it as retreat in the military retreat. I see it as a retreat as one goes on retreat or retreat in meditation or retreat in reflection. And I feel she’s inviting us to do the same.
So here is a saline lake that theoretically is dying, and alongside her death will be the death of the Wasatch Front – 2.5 million people if we do nothing. Not to mention the livelihood of 12 million birds. Right now, I have never seen Great Salt Lake so vibrant. I have never seen the Salt Lake area more alive with concern, with creative thinking, with young people, with artists, the Mormon Church. Great Salt Lake now has a new ally – Donald Trump. I don’t know how to deal with that, the paradox, because if I’m saying all hands on deck, that means Donald Trump’s hands too. And then I think, are we losing the lake even as we’re trying to save the lake?
I watch people who are saying it’s not called Great Salt Lake anymore, it’s the Lake. There are those that are saying this is America’s lake… I see them neutering her. And the Native people have said our Sacred Mother Lake. This is how we know her, this is how we want her dressed. I see the tribes not being brought to the table as sovereign nations, as sovereign governments. So it’s this, that and all of it.
And the Wilson’s phalarope, which is now an endangered species, we’ve filed a petition for that species protection. The scientists on one hand say we have five years, seven years. The percentage of a saline lake ever being saved is zero.
Great Salt Lake. Photo: Patrick Hendry / UnsplashBut now, the governor, who’s on board, saying the deadline is 2034, which is the Winter Olympics. So that’s not the lake’s deadline. That’s not the phalarope’s deadline. So how do we juggle all of these things? It’s a paradox that feels like a hologram. And, yet, Great Salt Lake is directing us.
And I think, again, what we were talking about today. If we are present, we’ll know what to do. If we’re listening to the lake, we will hear what she has to say. And, again, the elders, the different tribes, are leading the way, in my mind, and with integrity and a spiritual depth that I’m not seeing elsewhere.
NS: I feel a tremendous connection with you and your writing through the way that you speak to and embody a quality of the feminine in your work. And the “feminine” I want to say, with quotes, because it’s such a weird word, and it’s been so malformed in our culture. And I think of When Women Were Birds. And I’ve recently begun studying the Tao Te Ching, and especially Ursula Le Guin’s version of it.
TTW: I love that.
NS: Which is so wonderful. And it’s reminding me of a long fascination that I’ve had with this quality that’s beyond binary genderism that’s about how one way of seeing how we’ve gone so wrong is the imbalance of the yin and the yang in all of us – in our culture, in our—you know, economy, in our education, in everything. I find myself reaching to expand the gender dialogue to encompass everyone and everything, and the archetypal necessity of rebalancing our inner framework. I wonder if you have any thoughts about that.
TTW: Just for the record, I’m thinking do I dare say this. You know? [LAUGHTER] I won’t have the right language, and I’m sure I will say it wrong and offend someone. But there was a moment in one of my classes, and we were—you know, the students write essays and braided essays, and gender pronouns, all of that comes up, and it’s important, and we’re all learning. And we’ve had some really powerful conversations in terms of what stories do we tell, what’s private, what’s personal, what about families, all of those. And we had an incredible conversation about queerness. And I said, ‘I think I’m queer.’ And you could have heard a pin drop. You know? And they go, “What do you mean?” And I said, ‘Well, we’ve been talking about being gender fluid. I feel I’m species fluid.’ And they got so excited. [LAUGHTER] You know? But I feel that. You know?
And I remember in An Unspoken Hunger, I talked about pansexuality in The Yellowstone: An Erotics of Place, and mentioned bison. And, you know, I think we’re so limited in terms of what we are capable of, in terms of our understanding different genders, in terms of understanding different species, and yet, if we can open ourselves and really be present with whomever we’re with, I think there is a depth of reciprocity and responsibility and empathy that is transferred. And I feel that again and again and again in the natural world. Call it serendipitous, call it the erotics of place, call it species—being species fluid.
Talking to a person on the phone about the Say’s phoebes, that they were so beautiful. And I said, ‘I just love them.’ And then one jumped on my head. You know? And you just think, they know, you know? We’ve all had this experience.
Say’s Phoebe. Photo: Chuck Abbe / Wikimedia CommonsAnd it seems to me that the ultimate act of anthropomorphism is to assume that other species don’t feel, don’t communicate, don’t live and love and grieve. The exceptionalism that we have, I think, is so limiting, whether it’s our own view of gender, whether it’s our own view of the natural world, whether it’s our own view of ourselves.
So how do we keep expanding? How do we live and love with our hearts wide open, even in brokenness?
Host: The deeper story where the sacred dwells, where anything is possible.
As one of our generation’s greatest storytellers, Terry Tempest Williams engages with the world around her by building bridges between the human and other-than-human worlds.
In an excerpt from her recent book, The Glorians, she returns to the landscape she calls home, the Red Rock desert of Utah. She writes about what she calls “visitations from the holy ordinary,” moments and experiences that draw her deeper into relationship with the pulsing, thriving life that surrounds us all.
TTW: This is from The Glorians.
“‘I came from a family of repairers,’ the artist Louise Bourgeois once said, ‘The spider is a repairer. If you bash into the web of a spider, she doesn’t get mad. She weaves and repairs it.’
When I think of black widows in the desert, I wonder if this is true. Their webs are messy and hidden, not at all elegant like the orb weavers’ circular webs that spiral outward in summer fields of goldenrod. Black widows offer a warning. When their web is touched, it crackles like a witch, inspiring panic. The chaotic nest is a morgue of tightly wrapped victims that have had their blood sucked out of them, heightening the red hourglass on the female’s shiny black body.
Here in the Red Rock desert, they are everywhere – in between rocks, nestled in cliffs, and inhabiting our homes. Best to check coat pockets, behind pillows, and inside shoes. We have learned to live with them.
One summer, we had a large female, her abdomen the size of a Costco blueberry.” I wish I’d used a different metaphor. [LAUGHTER] “The size of a Costco blueberry, who lived behind our armoire in our bedroom. Brooke was out of town and I was about to leave for a longer period of time, so I left him a yellow sticky note attached to the wall close to where she would often come out to feed, and wrote: Please take care of her. X X X, T.
When Brooke returned home, he saw the note, and instead of understanding my message to mean please take her outside, he took it to mean please feed her. Which is exactly what he did for weeks. When I returned home, her abdomen was the size of a grape. [LAUGHTER]
The summer progressed, and one night, I was home alone again. It was hot and I couldn’t sleep. Rather than fight it, I decided I would listen to a group of soundscapes a friend had recently sent me as a stay against loneliness and heat-induced insomnia. One recording was from the Arctic in Alaska, one was from the rainforest in Costa Rica, and one was from Arizona Sonoran Desert. I listened to the Arctic. I didn’t think there was anything on it. I turned on the bedroom light and listened more closely. If one can hear cold, it was a faint growl. I changed CDs.
This time, I sat up with a low-wattage lamp. The rain intensified, and without thought, I started having an anxiety attack thinking there might be another flash flood, until I realized that it sounded, to my desert ear, like exactly that, a flash flood. I was two for two with no relief for loneliness or hope of a lullaby.
The final recording was of the Sonoran Desert, with giant saguaros on the cover. I placed the CD in the machine and returned to my chair. It was perfect. The familiar sounds of crickets, bat wings, and the pinpoint peeps, a band of coyotes and some insects I did not recognize. Just then, a shadow appeared on the wall. [LAUGHTER] I turned to see the black widow drawn from her hiding place by sounds of the desert night she inhabits. I was not startled, but welcomed her presence.
I sat in my chair. She was poised on the edge of her web. Together in soft light, we listened to night sounds from the Sonoran, a woman and a spider, comfortable with each other’s company.”
Thank you. Thank you so much. And let’s thank Nina for everything. [APPLAUSE]
NS: Thank you, all. Thank you, Terry, so very much. [APPLAUSE]
Host: “A Conversation with Terry Tempest Williams.”
The post A Conversation with Terry Tempest Williams appeared first on Bioneers.
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The Fine Print I:
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The Fine Print II:
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