Arguments
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #13 2026
Posted on 26 March 2026 by Doug Bostrom, Marc Kodack
Open access notables
Indicators of Global Climate Change 2022: annual update of large-scale indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence, Forster et al., Earth System Science Data
We follow methods as close as possible to those used in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group One (WGI) report. We compile monitoring datasets to produce estimates for key climate indicators related to forcing of the climate system: emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate forcers, greenhouse gas concentrations, radiative forcing, surface temperature changes, the Earth's energy imbalance, warming attributed to human activities, the remaining carbon budget, and estimates of global temperature extremes. The purpose of this effort, grounded in an open data, open science approach, is to make annually updated reliable global climate indicators available in the public domain (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8000192, Smith et al., 2023a). As they are traceable to IPCC report methods, they can be trusted by all parties involved in UNFCCC negotiations and help convey wider understanding of the latest knowledge of the climate system and its direction of travel.
The indicators show that human-induced warming reached 1.14 [0.9 to 1.4] ?C averaged over the 2013–2022 decade and 1.26 [1.0 to 1.6] ?C in 2022. Over the 2013–2022 period, human-induced warming has been increasing at an unprecedented rate of over 0.2 ?C per decade. This high rate of warming is caused by a combination of greenhouse gas emissions being at an all-time high of 54 ± 5.3 GtCO2e over the last decade, as well as reductions in the strength of aerosol cooling. Despite this, there is evidence that increases in greenhouse gas emissions have slowed, and depending on societal choices, a continued series of these annual updates over the critical 2020s decade could track a change of direction for human influence on climate.
The political economy of leaving fossil fuels underground: The case of producing countries, Pellegrini, Energy Policy
After 30 years of failed attempts to establish an effective global climate policy regime, world leaders have started to acknowledge that fossil fuels must stay underground to make any conspicuous progress towards greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The fact that most fossil fuel reserves are ‘unburnable’ is the corollary of the relationship between the remaining carbon budget and the emissions embedded in existing fossil fuel reserves. Nevertheless, companies and countries are planning to extract quantities of fossil fuels well above those compatible with the 1.5 °C, and even 2 °C, global warming targets. Changing course will have vast implications for the global economy and require that fossil fuel-producing countries forgo substantial rents – the extranormal profits associated with fossil fuel extraction. In this conceptual and theoretical contribution, we discuss the political economy of fossil fuel supply phase-out. We focus on economic rents and investigate strategies to align phase-out feasibility with justice. These strategies include stripping companies of their entitlements to future rents, the possible use of compensation in favor of producing countries and ensuring long-term commitment from these countries.
Solar radiation modification challenges decarbonization with renewable solar energy, Baur et al., Earth System Dynamics
Solar radiation modification (SRM) is increasingly being discussed as a potential tool to reduce global and regional temperatures to buy time for conventional carbon mitigation measures to take effect. However, most simulations to date assume SRM to be an additive component to the climate change toolbox, without any physical coupling between mitigation and SRM. In this study we analyze one aspect of this coupling: how renewable energy (RE) capacity, and therefore decarbonization rates, may be affected under SRM deployment by modification of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) production potential. Simulated 1 h output from the Earth system model CNRM-ESM2-1 for scenario-based experiments is used for the assessment. The SRM scenario uses stratospheric aerosol injections (SAIs) to approximately lower global mean temperature from the high-emission scenario SSP585 baseline to the moderate-emission scenario SSP245. We find that by the end of the century, most regions experience an increased number of low PV and CSP energy weeks per year under SAI compared to SSP245. Compared to SSP585, while the increase in low energy weeks under SAI is still dominant on a global scale, certain areas may benefit from SAI and see fewer low PV or CSP energy weeks. A substantial part of the decrease in potential with SAI compared to the SSP scenarios is compensated for by optically thinner upper-tropospheric clouds under SAI, which allow more radiation to penetrate towards the surface. The largest relative reductions in PV potential are seen in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes. Our study suggests that using SAI to reduce high-end global warming to moderate global warming could pose increased challenges for meeting energy demand with solar renewable resources.
Can a Future-Self Letter Exchange Motivate Climate Action Intentions and Support for Environmental Advocacy Groups?, Pittaway et al., Journal of Environmental Psycholog
Perceptions of continuity between present and future selves are associated with a range of future-oriented outcomes, including behaviours which are necessary to avert catastrophic future climate change. Past research has established that future self-continuity can be increased through experimental tasks which connect people to, and increase the perceived vividness of, the future self, but few studies have tested whether these interventions could mobilise pro-environmental behaviour change. Across two pre-registered studies, we tested whether exchanging letters with the future self over the near versus distant future influenced Australians’ intentions to take climate action, endorsement of environmental advocacy groups, and monetary support for these groups. We additionally explored whether the effect of the future-self letter exchange was strengthened by a collective future focus in Study 1 (N = 303), and by the salience of environmental issues in Study 2 (N = 319). In both studies, exchanging letters with the distant future self resulted in higher future self-vividness, but did not impact future self-connectedness. The future-self task also had very limited effects on the dependent variables in Study 1, and no effects in Study 2. Our results contradict the findings of past environmental future self-continuity interventions and raise questions about the true mechanism of the effects in these studies.
From this week's government/NGO section:
State of the Global Climate 2025, Kennedy et al., World Meteorological Organization
The authors confirm that 2015-2025 are the hottest 11-years on record, and that 2025 was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 °C above the 1850-1900 average. Extreme events around the world, including intense heat, heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones, caused disruption and devastation and highlighted the vulnerability of the existing inter-connected economies and societies. The ocean continues to warm and absorb carbon dioxide. It has been absorbing the equivalent of about 18 times the annual human energy use each year for the past two decades. Annual sea ice extent in the Arctic was at or near a record low, Antarctic sea ice extent was the third lowest on record, and glacier melt continued unabated, according to the report. For the first time, the report includes the Earth’s energy imbalance as one of the key climate indicators.
Record-shattering March temperatures in Western North America virtually impossible without climate change, World Weather Attribution
Heatwaves as observed in March 2026 in western North America are still rare events, even in today’s climate which has warmed by 1.3°C due to the burning of fossil fuels, with a return period of about 500 years. As this assessment partly includes forecast data, to prevent an overestimation of the extremeness of the event the authors use a return period of 100 years throughout the analysis. Without climate change it is virtually impossible for this event to occur.
92 articles in 48 journals by 652 contributing authors
Physical science of climate change, effects
Surface Temperature Reversibility and the Roles of Clouds on the Decadal Time Scale, Ge et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0488.1
Stronger ENSO-induced global SST variability in a warming climate, Hong et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70140-9
Physical understanding of the extreme global temperature jump in 2023, Mex et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03382-6
Drivers and Mechanisms of the 2015–16 Record-High Sea Level and Ocean Heat Content in the Southeast Pacific, Feng et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-24-0729.1
Observations of climate change, effects
Rapid ice-marginal lake growth in Alaska driven by glacier retreat through bed overdeepenings, McGrath et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2513289123
Opposing Trends in Wintertime Convective Initiation Environments of East China Driven by Anthropogenic Aerosols and Greenhouse Gases, Li et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2025jd045691
Marine heatwaves variability and trends in the Patagonian Shelf, Delgado et al., Ocean Science Open Access 10.5194/os-22-961-2026
Land-atmosphere feedbacks and anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing intensify subseasonal drought-to-pluvial abrupt transitions, Fu et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03371-9
Indicators of Global Climate Change 2022: annual update of large-scale indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence, Forster et al., Earth System Science Data Open Access pdf 10.5194/essd-15-2295-2023
Anthropogenic Exacerbation of Global High-Risk Compound Hot–Dry Events Over the Past Century, Dong et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef006937
Instrumentation & observational methods of climate change, effects
The Critical Need for Hindcast Infrastructure in Climate Science and Sectoral Applications, Anderson et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 10.1175/bams-d-24-0311.1
Digitizing historical daily weather bulletins through citizen scientists: The ReData project, Ceppi et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000865
A Daily Soil Moisture–Temperature Compound Index for Characterising Dry–Hot Extremes, Aftab et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70306
A Bayesian statistical method to estimate the climatology of extreme temperature under multiple scenarios: the ANKIALE package, Robin et al., Geoscientific Model Development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-19-2349-2026
Modeling, simulation & projection of climate change, effects
Negative CO2 emissions for long-term mitigation of extremes in land hydrological cycle, Shin et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70945-8
Investigating the representation of heatwaves from an ensemble of km-scale regional climate simulations within CORDEX-FPS convection, Sangelantoni et al., Climate Dynamics Open Access pdf 10.1007/s00382-023-06769-9
Global warming increases ammonia emissions and reduces the efficacy of mitigation actions, Jiang et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03404-3
Constructing Worst-Scenario typhoon storm surge in a changing climate by 2040s: The typhoon Mangkhut (2018) simulations in Hong Kong, Li et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100889
Climate-driven susceptibility of natural wildfires using Random Forest under future climate scenarios in Mediterranean forests of Türkiye, Bozali, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change Open Access pdf 10.3389/ffgc.2026.1771857
Advancement of climate & climate effects modeling, simulation & projection
The relative role of direct orbital forcing versus CO2 and ice feedbacks on Quaternary climate, Williams et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70750-3
How do CMIP6 Models Represent the Vertical Structure and Chemical Properties of Biomass-Burning Aerosols Emitted in Central Africa?, Mallet et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl121595
Evaluation of CMIP6 models in simulating the trend slowdown of the summer Southern Annular Mode, WANG et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.03.005
Data-Driven Probabilistic Air-Sea Flux Parameterization, Wu et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120472
CMIP6 Models under the Lens: Evaluating the Representation of the Tropical South American Summer Precipitation, Badarunnisa Sainudeen et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0341.1
Climate Impacts in Scenarios: Time to Close the Loop?, Tebaldi et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007622
A Deep Learning Framework for Extreme Storm Surge Modeling Under Future Climate Scenarios, Longo et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007072
Cryosphere & climate change
Retreating glaciers: Monitoring and emerging risks in Colombia’s high mountains, Avila-Diaz et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000872
Rapid ice-marginal lake growth in Alaska driven by glacier retreat through bed overdeepenings, McGrath et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2513289123
Measurement of Gas Fraction and Gas Permeability of Thawing Permafrost Caused by Climate Change, Glover et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007232
Marked acceleration in glacier mass loss across High Mountain Asia since 2000, Wang et al., Global and Planetary Change 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105436
Drivers of Changing Interannual Variability in Autumn-Early Winter Arctic Sea Ice (1950–2024), Yu et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl121260
A remote sensing approach for measuring climatic change effects on snow cover dynamics, Parizia et al., The Cryosphere Open Access pdf 10.5194/tc-20-1715-2026
Sea level & climate change
The acceleration of sea-level rise along the coast of the Netherlands started in the 1960s, Keizer et al., Ocean Science Open Access pdf 10.5194/os-19-991-2023
Hydrostatic sea-level rise inundation impacts on ahu and harbors of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Paoa et al., Scientific Reports Open Access 10.1038/s41598-026-45195-9
Evidence of Increased Deep Ocean Warming From a Sea Level Budget Approach, Cazenave et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007403
Paleoclimate & paleogeochemistry
Variations in Arctic Ocean Dynamics and Hydrography Under 127 ka Last Interglacial Conditions and Future Warming, Sicard et al., Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology Open Access 10.1029/2025pa005247
Biology & climate change, related geochemistry
Unresponsive to change: Ectotherms fail to adjust physiology to daily temperature variation, Gomez Isaza & Rodgers, Philosophical Transactions B Open Access pdf 10.1098/rstb.2025.0055
Unique microbes released by retreating glaciers are rarely propagated to coastal ecosystems, Liu et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03399-x
Thermal Risks and Opportunities for a Tropical Invasive Sea Urchin in a Fast-Warming Sea, Preiss et al., Marine Environmental Research 10.1016/j.marenvres.2026.108021
Shifts in the Upper Limit of Alpine Grasslands Lag Behind Climate Warming Across the Tibetan Plateau, Liu et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70820
Retracing the Response of Rangifer to Postglacial Climate Change in Arctic Islands, Dance et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.1002/ece3.73125
Persistent Legacy Effects of Marine Heatwaves on Coral Symbioses, Buzzoni et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70818
Impacts of local anthropogenic stressors outpace those of climate on coral reef collapse in the northern South China Sea, Xu et al., Nature Communications Open Access 10.1038/s41467-026-70760-1
Herbivores in hot water: thermal limits and avoidance of marine heatwave conditions by Acanthurus triostegus, Souza et al., Coral Reefs 10.1007/s00338-026-02853-8
Climate-induced shifts in cod spawning phenology across the North Atlantic, Pollet-Calderini et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-44116-0
Climate change reduces pelagic biomass in a coastal upwelling ecosystem, Nunes et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03395-1
Asymmetric response of Northern Hemisphere vegetation to climate change from 2000 to 2018: Phenology leads GPP, GUO et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.03.004
GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry
Seasonal variation in particulate organic carbon sequestration in subarctic and subtropical gyres of the western North Pacific, Mino et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-43514-8
Reviews and syntheses: Greenhouse gas emissions from drained organic forest soils – synthesizing data for site-specific emission factors for boreal and cool temperate regions, Jauhiainen et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-20-4819-2023
Redox-Active Organic Matter in a Boreal Peatland Demonstrates Resistance to Global Climate Change, Rush et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70816
Nine years of warming and nitrogen addition in the Tibetan grassland promoted loss of soil organic carbon but did not alter the bulk change in chemical structure, Sun et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-21-575-2024
Mixed Forestation Outperforms Pure Stands in Soil Carbon Sequestration and Stability, Shu et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70812
Integrated Global Estimation of Terrestrial Carbon Efflux, Uwiragiye et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70806
Increased root-derived carbon buffers soil carbon loss under simultaneous warming and nitrogen addition, Muratore et al., Ecology 10.1002/ecy.70351
Higher carbon storage in primary than secondary boreal forests in Sweden, Pascual et al., Science 10.1126/science.adz8554
Functional Diversity in Land Surface Modeling: Where and When Does It Matter for the Terrestrial Carbon Cycle?, Margiotta et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70785
Earthworms Enhance Global Soil Carbon Storage Through Microbial–Mineral Stabilization, Li et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70815
Carbon soil stock change in an intensive crop field near Paris reveals significant carbon losses over a decade, Loubet et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-2059-2026
CO2 capture, sequestration science & engineering
Negative CO2 emissions for long-term mitigation of extremes in land hydrological cycle, Shin et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70945-8
Is your state regulation ready? a review of geologic carbon sequestration regulations in the United States, Gallin et al., Carbon Management Open Access 10.1080/17583004.2026.2645787
Decarbonization
Site wind right? Public acceptance and the social negotiation of renewable energy in Spanish landscapes, López-Mejuto et al., Environmental Sociology 10.1080/23251042.2026.2648031
Geoengineering climate
Solar radiation modification challenges decarbonization with renewable solar energy, Baur et al., Earth System Dynamics Open Access pdf 10.5194/esd-15-307-2024
Impact of Solar Geoengineering on Wildfires in the 21st Century in CESM2/WACCM6, Tang et al., Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Open Access 10.5194/acp-23-5467-2023
Distinguishing Between the Short-Term Climate Responses to Different Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Latitudes With Explainable Artificial Intelligence, Dong et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2025jd045560
Aerosols
Forecasting contrail climate forcing for flight planning and air traffic management applications: the CocipGrid model in pycontrails 0.51.0, Engberg et al., Geoscientific Model Development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-18-253-2025
Climate change communications & cognition
Environmental identity of Global South women climate leaders: an autoethnographic exploration, Wang, Environmental Sociology 10.1080/23251042.2026.2649850
Can a Future-Self Letter Exchange Motivate Climate Action Intentions and Support for Environmental Advocacy Groups?, Pittaway et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology Open Access 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.103011
Agronomy, animal husbundry, food production & climate change
Misbehaviour dominates GHG emissions from food loss and waste, Yin et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02596-y
Mapping climate smart agricultural interventions in rice cultivation: a lexicometric and systematic review of methane emissions and yield outcomes, Divyasri & Mansingh, Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1779948
Climate change impacts and adaptation strategies in coconut plantations: integrating remote sensing and real-time monitoring, Nuwarapaksha et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1762364
Boosting crops’ natural capabilities could help feed a warming world, Sidik, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1073/pnas.2607080123
Hydrology, hydrometeorology & climate change
Observation-Constrained Projections Reveal Robust Streamflow Increases in Indian Rivers, Chuphal & Mishra, Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007928
Evaluation of Projected Changes in Daily Precipitation Frequency Estimates from CMIP6 Climate Models across Three U.S. Gulf States, Nasser et al., Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 10.1175/jamc-d-25-0142.1
Climate change economics
The political economy of leaving fossil fuels underground: The case of producing countries, Pellegrini, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115244
Multidimensional economic complexity and inclusive green growth, Stojkoski et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-023-00770-0
Climate finance commitments in practice: additionality and the adaptation gap, Becker & Sieberichs, Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2026.2645144
Climate change mitigation public policy research
High-ambition climate action in all sectors can achieve a 59% greenhouse gas emissions reduction in Korea by 2035, Choi et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-44130-2
Coal's long farewell: Assessing the political economy challenges of coal plant retirements in India, Busby et al., Energy Research & Social Science 10.1016/j.erss.2026.104562
Climate change adaptation & adaptation public policy research
Policy impact pathways of the IPCC: Two cases of urban adaptation action, Jahns et al., Environmental Science & Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104363
Pioneering Spanish experience in climate shelters practice, Royé et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02587-z
Effectiveness of estuarine adaptation strategies under future climate conditions, Pein & Staneva, Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-43040-7
Do Multilateral Climate-Related Agreements Mitigate the Vulnerability to Climate Change in Developing Countries?, Tsomb Tsomb et al., Journal of the Knowledge Economy 10.1007/s13132-026-03214-0
Best Practice in Climate Change Adaptation, Alemaw, Sustainable Development Goals Series 10.1007/978-3-030-31543-6_7
Asymmetric global urban cooling potential demands accelerated and context-specific actions, Ding et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70662-2
Climate change impacts on human health
Practical and accessible cooling strategies for mitigating exertional hyperthermia in low-resource workplaces, O’Connor et al., Temperature Open Access 10.1080/23328940.2026.2623743
Anthropogenic Climate Change Amplifies Autumn Heatwave Risks for Children During School Reopening, Ye et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100892
Climate change & geopolitics
Networking for the climate: international climate actors in Beijing, Lu & Lewis, Environmental Politics 10.1080/09644016.2026.2644015
Climate change impacts on human culture
Underwater cultural heritage and extreme events: Storm impacts under climate change, Germinario et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2523844123
Hydrostatic sea-level rise inundation impacts on ahu and harbors of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Paoa et al., Scientific Reports Open Access 10.1038/s41598-026-45195-9
Other
Pacific contributions to global and regional climate change frameworks: lessons from the civil society sector, Chowdhury et al., Climate and Development Open Access 10.1080/17565529.2026.2637796
Climate change litigation and intersectionality in climate justice, Schill et al., Global Environmental Change Open Access 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2026.103131
Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives
The world just lived through the 11 hottest years on record — what now?, Fieldhouse & Basu, Nature 10.1038/d41586-026-00946-6
Early Achieving Carbon Neutrality Will Greatly Reduce Unequal Risk to Humid Heatwave in a Warming World, Yu et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef008013
Best Practice in Climate Change Adaptation, Alemaw, Sustainable Development Goals Series 10.1007/978-3-030-31543-6_7
AI set to map risks of future climate disasters, Raupp Musse, Nature 10.1038/d41586-026-00835-y
Book reviews
Self-serving “tweaks” hurt science, Venkataraman, Science 10.1126/science.aef2215
Articles/Reports from Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations Addressing Aspects of Climate Change
Unpacking the Cost of 202(c) Orders: Facility-Specific Cost Estimates and Methodological Approach, Wannier et al., Sierra Club
As of today, six facilities across the U.S. which had previously planned to retire have received 202(c) orders—forcing the facilities to stay online. Conservative estimates from the best available data sources put the cost of keeping these facilities online past their approved retirement dates in the hundreds of millions of dollars, with cost impacts increasing daily. The authors document provide an in-depth explanation of the facility-level financial impacts caused by these 202(c) orders to date.
Strengthening Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) Protocols, Herbstritt et al., Clean Air Task Force
Biomass carbon removal, or biomass CDR, can deliver gigaton-scale climate mitigation by pairing the power of photosynthesis with engineered technologies to store carbon for centuries or longer. The authors collaborated with eight leading experts to evaluate biomass CDR protocols. Six priorities were recommended to improve the protocols and the carbon market system.
The energy security fallout: from fossil fuel fragility to electric independence, Walter et al., Ember
The authors present key data on how the conflict in the Middle East exposes insecurities for economies dependent on imported fossil fuels, and how electrotech – like EVs, solar, wind, batteries and heat pumps – can help to mitigate these risks.
The Terms of Power: Inside the New Utility Rates For Data Centers, Latitude Intelligence
Data centers now account for 94% of projected peak load growth in PJM, the nation’s largest grid operator, and utilities across the country are facing interconnection queues that have tripled in two years. How to meet this demand — and who bears the cost when things go wrong — has produced an entirely new category of utility regulation. Beginning in 2018 and accelerating dramatically through 2024–2025, 25 utilities across 19 states have now filed data-center-specific tariffs, with 18 of them filed in the last two years alone. These rate structures introduced mechanisms that have never applied to any customer class: multi-year demand ratchets, decade-long contract commitments, collateral requirements of up to $1.5 million per MW, and, in some cases, explicit clean energy mandates. The authors analyze what those tariffs reveal across three dimensions (affordability, flexibility, and clean energy) and finds that regulators have made significant progress on the first while largely ignoring the other two.
The Firm Frontier: Geothermal and the Expansion of the Western Grid, Smith et al., Center for Public Enterprise
The western United States is entering a period of unprecedented electricity demand growth driven by data center expansion, electrification, and new manufacturing activity. Utilities preparing integrated resource plans (IRPs) face a fundamental question: what new sources of clean, firm, dispatchable power can come online fast enough to meet this demand and help keep the United States at the forefront of innovation? The authors present evidence that a commercial-scale enhanced geothermal systems project of 100 – 500 megawatts (MW) can achieve a commercial operation date within 36–52 months of active development, with a conservative planning horizon of three to six years from project initiation to in-service, assuming project developers can secure access to permits and transmission in a reasonable time frame. Furthermore, it presents evidence that the timeline can be compressed even further, to less than three years, if a sufficient number of drill rigs and crews are available. That timeline is fast enough to appear in near-term IRP planning windows.
Planning in a Polycrisis. Equitable Urban Strategies for a Changing Climate, Oscilowicz et al., Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
The authors outline strategies for integrating equity into climate and housing planning in five North American cities: Boston, Denver, Portland, Vancouver, and Washington, DC. Drawing on interviews with planners, the authors address how local governments navigate the intersecting crises of climate change, housing affordability, and economic inequality. The authors propose a framework to guide equitable climate urbanism, emphasizing cross-sector collaboration, resilient housing, place-based adaptation, and inclusive community engagement. They offer actionable insights to help cities move from fragmented efforts toward long-term, justice-centered urban transformation.
Spotlight on the Top 25 Methane Plumes in 2025: Oil & Gas, UCLA Law
The list shows the 25 sites in the oil and gas sector with the largest detected and quantified emissions rates worldwide, as seen by key satellite instruments in 2025.
Record-shattering March temperatures in Western North America virtually impossible without climate change, World Weather Attribution
Heatwaves as observed in March 2026 in western North America are still rare events, even in today’s climate which has warmed by 1.3°C due to the burning of fossil fuels, with a return period of about 500 years. As this assessment partly includes forecast data, to prevent an overestimation of the extremeness of the event the authors use a return period of 100 years throughout the analysis. Without climate change it is virtually impossible for this event to occur.
Apathy and Opposition. Understanding the Real Threats to New Zero, Massey-Chase et al., Institute for Public Policy Research
Climate action is under siege from populist and far-right actors. Delivering under that pressure demands fresh confidence and commitment from government. Watering down ambition offers no electoral advantage; a strong, progressive agenda on climate action remains broadly popular with the public. Elite opinion on net zero is highly polarized, with a precipitous drop in support on the political right since the general election in 2024. This is not mirrored in public opinion, where support has remained steady and is much higher than politicians credit. The notion of a wide-spread public backlash against net zero in the UK is a largely exaggerated one, amplified by right-leaning media.
The Untapped Grid: How Better Utilization of the Power System Can Improve Energy Affordability, Hledik et al., GridLab and Utilize Coalition
Energy affordability has become a headline issue. Electricity rates are rising for several reasons, particularly due to the growing cost of maintaining and expanding an aging power grid. At the same time, electricity demand is increasing, driven by data center development, electrification, and renewed growth in manufacturing. The authors examine an emerging opportunity to harness that load growth to improve power system utilization and, in turn, put downward pressure on electricity rates.
Landscape of U.S. Domestic Advanced Nuclear Energy Supply Chain, Solestiss
The United States does not face a nuclear energy technology constraint. It faces an industrial capacity constraint. Advanced reactor designs are progressing, electricity demand is rising, and federal policy support has expanded. If capital is to flow at scale, the domestic supply chain must be able to deliver qualified components, skilled labor, and manufacturing throughput sufficient to support order book deployment. The authors found that a concentrated set of structural bottlenecks—particularly in downstream fabrication, machining, welding, inspection, and workforce qualification—is limiting that capacity today. Unless these constraints are addressed deliberately and in sequence, renewed nuclear ambition risks reverting to bespoke projects rather than sustained, multi-unit delivery.
Maine Clean Energy Industry Report, BW Research Partnership, Maine Department of Energy Resources
The authors found Maine’s clean energy sector contributed $3 billion to the state’s economy in 2024 and grew the fastest in New England from 2020-2024. The authors used data from the U.S. Department of Energy, and found there were 16,171 clean energy workers in Maine. Clean energy jobs grew three times faster than Maine’s overall workforce and outpaced national clean energy employment growth since 2020. The authors analyzed employment in energy efficiency, power generation, transportation, grid and storage, and fuels. Of those sectors, the largest was energy efficiency, which accounted for nearly 9,500 jobs or about two thirds of Maine's clean energy workforce. Energy efficiency jobs include heat pump installation and maintenance, weatherization services, and traditional HVAC, among other related professions. Jobs in transmission, distribution, and power generation have also grown in recent years.
State of the Global Climate 2025, Kennedy et al., World Meteorological Organization
The authors confirm that 2015-2025 are the hottest 11-years on record, and that 2025 was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 °C above the 1850-1900 average. Extreme events around the world, including intense heat, heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones, caused disruption and devastation and highlighted the vulnerability of the existing inter-connected economies and societies. The ocean continues to warm and absorb carbon dioxide. It has been absorbing the equivalent of about 18 times the annual human energy use each year for the past two decades. Annual sea ice extent in the Arctic was at or near a record low, Antarctic sea ice extent was the third lowest on record, and glacier melt continued unabated, according to the report. For the first time, the report includes the Earth’s energy imbalance as one of the key climate indicators.
Food security in a warming world: who is at risk, why and what comes next?, Bharadwaj et al., International Institute for Environment and Development
Climate change is steadily weakening the foundations of food security: reducing food availability, making food less accessible, worsening malnutrition and diminishing the effectiveness of food use. And as shocks repeat, it turns short-term stress into long-term fragility. These pressures are felt most severely in countries and communities with the least capacity to cope. Yet, most measures used in food security analysis capture only part of the picture and some indices do not cover the countries most at risk. To address this gap, the authors constructed a new Food Security Index for 162 countries, which assesses performance across four distinct pillars: availability, access, utilization and sustainability. This approach not only identifies which countries are food insecure, but also why, allowing the development of policy and programmatic responses to address them.
The Climate Disinformation War: How to fight back for Australia's democracy and security, Kapetas et al., Australian Security Leaders Climate Group
Climate disinformation is evolving from a communications issue into a national security challenge, with implications for Australia’s sovereignty, economic resilience, disaster readiness, institutional trust, and strategic autonomy in shaping its energy transition amid intensifying geopolitical competition. The response requires coordination not only across civil society and industry, but across security, economic, and governance institutions. Government efforts so far are not commensurate with the sheer scale, resourcing and coordination of disinformation networks. While the not-for profit and renewable-energy-industry sectors are becoming much more aware of the climate disinformation problem, they are struggling to respond in the face of the dominance and legacy resources of the fossil-fuel industry in the information space.
Solar Geoengineering, Hanks et al., Government Accountability Office
Solar geoengineering methods might mitigate Earth’s rising temperatures, but effects are highly uncertain. More research and field testing of solar geoengineering methods would improve understanding of effects. Limited understanding of outcomes may heighten geopolitical risks and complicate governance.
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