Planting trees is widely recognised as an important form of climate mitigation, but it comes with major challenges, including competition for land use and high risks of reversal. Yet even conservative analyses of its potential place reforestation at the top of the list of climate solutions needed to achieve global net zero.
Wars have a significant and often overlooked impact on climate change, with recent studies showing that military operations and related activities do account for around 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the annual emissions of many countries. Under the Paris Agreement, nations are not required to report on their emissions from military activities which means that national inventories vastly underestimate real emissions.As conflicts like those in Gaza and Ukraine demonstrate, the carbon footprint of war, including from direct combat, from the destruction of infrastructure, and the process of rebuilding, can reach tens or even hundreds of millions of tons of CO2. This underscores the urgent need for mandatory military emissions reporting and military mitigation strategies.
ENSO is a pattern of climate variability that observes sea surface temperature and atmospheric consisting of El Niño (warm) and La Niña (cold) phasesENSO is observed over the tropical Pacific Ocean but affects the weather across the entire globeClimate change is likely to increase ENSO which could cause more extreme weather events
Blue carbon ecosystems such as seagrass, mangroves and salt marshes store carbon and are crucial to climate change mitigation and adaptation. They also provide other economic and social benefits for people. These ecosystems are very vulnerable to and threatened by human activities.Governments and other actors should place focus on the conservation and restoration of these ecosystems.
SIDS are highly vulnerable to climate change due to rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and dependence on climate-sensitive sectors like tourism and fisheries. SIDS face significant economic and environmental challenges, including high debt, weak financial resilience, inadequate infrastructure, and limited capacity to adapt to the changing climate. Despite their minimal contribution to global emissions, SIDS lead climate negotiations through alliances and advocacy.
Floods are causing widespread economic and non-economic Loss and Damage all around the globe with impacts ranging from loss of lives and damage of infrastructure to health and food security related concerns Floods are hydro-metorological hazards that occur caused due to a variety of both hydrological and anthropogenic factors Challenges such as lack of data and complex nature of interplay between hydrological and anthropogenic factors make it difficult for scientists to attribute floods to climate change
Desertification is land degradation in arid and semi-arid regions, a change caused by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification reduces water availability, agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and introduces social issues such as poverty and migration. Combating desertification requires sustainable land management practices, reforestation efforts, and international cooperation to restore degraded lands and support affected communities, such as the semi-arid Sahel region in Africa.
Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity due to rising global temperatures, posing a significant threat to climate, biodiversity, and society. Wildfires not only contribute to climate change but also disrupt ecosystems, leading to biodiversity loss and detrimental effects on human health and economies. Effective policy interventions are needed to manage wildfires, mitigate their causes, and reduce their impact on communities and ecosystems.
Nature-based solutions (NbS) are an umbrella term that involves using nature to address societal problems as well as create benefits for biodiversity and climate action. NbS have gained traction in international policy in recent years as a form of climate action being mentioned in various COPs. There is potential for NbS to combat the biodiversity and climate crises, however, the site-specific nature of NbS, makes it difficult to generalise and compare with other alternatives.
Maladaptation is failed adaptation that increases vulnerability instead of reducing it. Seawalls and urban greening are examples of adaptive measures that have a risk of being maladaptive. Maladaptation can be prevented by focusing on holistic and inclusive long-term solutions