Skeptical Science New Research for Week #45 2023

Posted on 9 November 2023 by Doug Bostrom, Marc Kodack

Open access notables

In AGU Advances, David Schimel and Charles Miller suggest that our economic and physical models around dealing with climate change have not kept up with evolving reality, in Do Two Climate Wrongs Make a Right?:

Climate policy has assumed that damage costs are manageable while decarbonization is expensive. Both these assumptions are wrong, potentially leading to a tipping point in human behavior: scientists need to explore options aligned with this emerging reality.

The authors take us through an arc of economic understanding of the economic challenges of global heating, starting at Nordhaus, through Stern and on up to the present, where faulty assumptions of decades ago become more obvious. 

Hannah Lehmann & crew review increasingly obvious year-by-year changing conditions in Germany and go on to assess how this shifting ground may be reflected in appropriately shifting plans and practices, in  Climate change-related health hazards in daycare centers in Munich, Germany: risk perception and adaptation measures The climate test: a tool to evaluate alignment of energy infrastructure decisions with climate goals, published in Regional Environmental Change. The authors find willingness to do what's best for children but even iin this context also find an undercurrent of skepticism about the possibility of climate change and hence its potential threat to youngsters.

Publishing in Climate and Development, Jennie Stephens and Martin Sokoi set the tone of Financial innovation for climate justice: central banks and transformative ‘creative disruption’ with a pithy quote in relation to banks becoming "too political" by addressing climate problems: 

"If you think that this is too political for central bankers, let me strongly oppose this view: what would be too political is to deny all the evidence gathered by natural and social scientists for the past decades."

So says Deputy Director Sylvie Goulard of central bank (guess what country?) Banque de France. The authors go on to elaborate on Goulard's remark, tracing how fossilized central banking philosopy is promoting fossilized energy systems, causing societal harm and thus nakedly failing to live up to mission directives. They conclude with some unapologetically blunt recommendations:

Rather than narrowly focusing on stability of financial markets that are exacerbating other kinds of societal instability including inequality and the climate crisis, central banks can instead re-prioritize their actions with a goal of stability for people and the earth’s systems. If central banks embraced a goal of stability for people and the planet, then they would immediately disrupt any investments in fossil fuels and they would mobilize in a way similar to how they do in the occasion of a war or a pandemic. 

Ice messengers from both hemispheres bearing no good news, noting ice shelves in dire straits: Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland, Millan et al., Nature Communications, and Rebeiro et al. with Oceanic Regime Shift to a Warmer Continental Shelf Adjacent to the Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, JGR Oceans. 

109 articles in 51 journals by 585 contributing authors

Physical science of climate change, effects

A Semi-Analytical Model for Water Vapor, Temperature, and Surface-Albedo Feedbacks in Comprehensive Climate Models, Feldl & Merlis, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl105796

An Explanation for the Metric Dependence of the Midlatitude Jet-Waviness Change in Response to Polar Warming, Geen et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl105132

Committed Global Warming Risks Triggering Multiple Climate Tipping Points, Abrams et al., Earth's Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2022ef003250

Consideration of Whether a Climatic Regime Shift Has Prevented the Occurrence of a Cold Summer in Northeast Eurasia since 2010, Amano et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0191.1

Continental configuration controls the base-state water vapor greenhouse effect: lessons from half-land, half-water planets, Laguë et al., Climate Dynamics Open Access 10.1007/s00382-023-06857-w

Relationships among Arctic warming, sea-ice loss, stability, lapse rate feedback, and Arctic amplification, Dai & Jenkins, Climate Dynamics 10.1007/s00382-023-06848-x

Observations of climate change, effects

Attribution of extreme events to climate change in the Australian region – A review, Lane et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2023.100622

Attribution of the December 2013 extreme rainfall over the Pearl River Delta to anthropogenic influences, Zhao et al., Climate Dynamics 10.1007/s00382-023-06869-6

Characterization of precipitation and temperature equilibrium and its driving forces in the Yangtze river basin under climate change, Yang et al., Climate Dynamics 10.1007/s00382-023-06888-3

Escalating Hot-Dry Extremes Amplify Compound Fire Weather Risk, Fan et al., Earth's Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023ef003976

Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland, Millan et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2

Instrumentation & observational methods of climate change, effects

Attribution of Seasonal Wildfire Risk to Changes in Climate: A Statistical Extremes Approach, Wixson & Cooley, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 10.1175/jamc-d-23-0072.1

Good Practices and Common Pitfalls in Climate Time Series Changepoint Techniques: A Review, Lund et al., Journal of Climate Open Access pdf 10.1175/jcli-d-22-0954.1

The Modern Ocean Sediment Archive and Inventory of Carbon (MOSAIC): version 2.0, Paradis et al., Earth System Science Data Open Access pdf 10.5194/essd-15-4105-2023

Modeling, simulation & projection of climate change, effects

Climate Change Signal in Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Today and Near Future, Lee et al., Earth's Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023ef003539

Enhanced Upper Ocean Warming Projected by the Eddy-Resolving Community Earth System Model, Xu et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl106100

Future Projections of the El Niño—Southern Oscillation and Tropical Pacific Mean State in CMIP6, Erickson & Patricola, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Open Access pdf 10.1029/2022jd037563

Marine heatwaves intensification, expansion and departure into the permanent state over the Tropical Indian Ocean: a Regional Earth System Model assessment, Kumar et al., Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans 10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2023.101408

Multilevel factorial analysis for effects of SSPs and GCMs on regional climate change: a case study for the Yangtze River Basin, Kuang et al., Climate Dynamics 10.1007/s00382-023-06996-0

Rapid Acceleration of Dangerous Compound Heatwaves and Their Impacts in a Warmer China, Dong et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl104850

Summer compound heatwaves over China: projected changes at different global warming levels and related physical processes, Zhang et al., Climate Dynamics Open Access pdf 10.1007/s00382-023-07001-4

Surface Air Temperature Trend Over the Tibetan Plateau in CMIP6 and Its Constraint in Future Projection, Zhang et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023jd039527

The Weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Diminishes Recent Arctic Sea Ice Loss, Lee & Liu, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl105929

Advancement of climate & climate effects modeling, simulation & projection

Forced response and internal variability in ensembles of climate simulations: identification and analysis using linear dynamical mode decomposition, Gavrilov et al., Climate Dynamics Open Access 10.1007/s00382-023-06995-1

RECCAP2 Future Component: Consistency and Potential for Regional Assessment to Constrain Global Projections, Jones et al., AGU Advances Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023av001024

Revisiting the Global Energy Budget Dynamics with a Multivariate Earth Energy Balance Model to Account for the Warming Pattern Effect, Meyssignac et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-22-0765.1

Cryosphere & climate change

An Increase in the Antarctic Surface Mass Balance during the Past Three Centuries, Dampening Global Sea Level Rise, Wang & Xiao, Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-22-0747.1

Assessing the Robustness of Arctic Sea Ice Bi-Stability in the Presence of Atmospheric Feedbacks, Hankel & Tziperman, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2023jd039337

An Increase in the Antarctic Surface Mass Balance during the Past Three Centuries, Dampening Global Sea Level Rise, Wang & Xiao, Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-22-0747.1

Assessing the Robustness of Arctic Sea Ice Bi-Stability in the Presence of Atmospheric Feedbacks, Hankel & Tziperman, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2023jd039337

Divergent glacier area and elevation changes across the Tibetan Plateau in the early 21st century, Zhang et al., Anthropocene 10.1016/j.ancene.2023.100419

Oceanic Regime Shift to a Warmer Continental Shelf Adjacent to the Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, Ribeiro et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023jc019882

Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland, Millan et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-023-42198-2

Sea level & climate change

Long-term sea level rise modeling of a basin-tidal inlet system reveals sediment sinks, Hanegan et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-023-42895-y

Biology & climate change, related geochemistry

A fiddler crab reduces plant growth in its expanded range, Martínez?Soto & Johnson, Ecology 10.1002/ecy.4203

Above-treeline ecosystems facing drought: lessons from the European 2022 summer heatwave, Choler, Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-2023-74

Climate warming could free cold-adapted trees from C-conservative allocation strategy of storage over growth, Zhou et al., Global Change Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/gcb.17016

Forest reorganisation effects on fuel moisture content can exceed changes due to climate warming in wet temperate forests, Brown et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.17023

Heat-evolved algal symbionts enhance bleaching tolerance of adult corals without trade-off against growth, Chan et al., Global Change Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/gcb.16987

Impact of Holocene environmental change on the evolutionary ecology of an Arctic top predator, Westbury et al., Open Access pdf 10.1101/2022.10.06.511126

Increasing ambient temperatures trigger shifts in activity patterns and temporal partitioning in a large carnivore guild, Rafiq et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 10.1098/rspb.2023.1938

Is the Climate of the Congo basin Becoming Less Able to Support a Tropical Forest Ecosystem?, Vizy et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0275.1

Multiple dimensions of extreme weather events and their impacts on biodiversity, González-Trujillo et al., Climatic Change Open Access pdf 10.1007/s10584-023-03622-0

Ocean deoxygenation caused non-linear responses in the structure and functioning of benthic ecosystems, Pascal et al., Global Change Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/gcb.16994

Response to concerns raised about the likelihood of protected areas serving as steppingstones for species responding to climate change, Parks et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.16940

Seasonal lipid dynamics of four Arctic bivalves: Implications for their physiological capacities to cope with future changes in coastal ecosystems, Bridier et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access pdf 10.1002/ece3.10691

Spatial replication can best advance our understanding of population responses to climate, Compagnoni et al., Open Access pdf 10.1101/2022.06.24.497542

The Role of a Faunal Engineer, Geukensia demissa, in Modifying Carbon and Nitrogen Regulation Services in Salt Marshes, Williams et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 10.1029/2023jg007535

GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry

A high-precision retrieval method for methane vertical profiles based on dual-band spectral data from the GOSAT satellite, Li et al., Atmospheric Environment 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.120183

Carbon Outgassing in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current Is Supported by Ekman Transport From the Sea Ice Zone in an Observation-Based Seasonal Mixed-Layer Budget, Sauvé et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023jc019815

Climate-Driven Fluctuations in Anthropogenic CO2 Uptake by the East Sea in the North Pacific Ocean, Kim et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl105819

Contrasting impacts of short- and long-term large herbivore exclusion on understory net CO2 exchange in a boreal forest, Kantola et al., Ecography Open Access pdf 10.1111/ecog.06724

Flexible Foliar Stoichiometry Reduces the Magnitude of the Global Land Carbon Sink, Hauser et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl105493

Global carbon uptake of cement carbonation accounts 1930–2021, Huang et al., Earth System Science Data Open Access pdf 10.5194/essd-15-4947-2023

Peatland pools are tightly coupled to the contemporary carbon cycle, Dean et al., Global Change Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/gcb.16999

Rethinking the deployment of static chambers for CO2 flux measurement in dry desert soils, Bekin & Agam Agam, Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-20-3791-2023

Spatial and temporal variations of gross primary production simulated by land surface model BCC&AVIM2.0, Li et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2023.02.001

Temperature Thresholds for Carbon Flux Variation and Warming-Induced Changes, Fu et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2023jd039747

The Role of Glacier Erosion in Riverine Particulate Organic Carbon Export, Behnke et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles 10.1029/2023gb007721

CO2 capture, sequestration science & engineering

Assessing carbon sequestration in a high-diversity restoration plantation in the Atlantic Forest of southwestern Brazil, Trentin et al., Regional Environmental Change 10.1007/s10113-023-02141-z

Blue carbon sink capacity of mangroves determined by leaves and their associated microbiome, Lu et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.17007

Lost in the scenarios of negative emissions: The role of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), Lefvert & Grönkvist, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113882

Seaweed as climate mitigation solution: Categorizing and reflecting on four climate mitigation pathways, van den Burg et al., WIREs Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1002/wcc.868

Decarbonization

Decarbonization potential of electrifying 50% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales by 2030, Woody et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-023-42893-0

Geoengineering climate

Injection strategy – a driver of atmospheric circulation and ozone response to stratospheric aerosol geoengineering, Bednarz et al., Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Open Access pdf 10.5194/acp-23-13665-2023

Climate change communications & cognition

Calling attention to opponents of climate action in climate and health messaging, Kotcher et al., The Lancet Planetary Health Open Access 10.1016/s2542-5196(23)00217-6

Insights into eco-anxiety in Italy: Preliminary psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale, age and gender distribution, Rocchi et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102180

The politics of phasing out fossil fuels: party positions and voter reactions in Norway, Egli et al., Climate Policy Open Access pdf 10.1080/14693062.2023.2276207

Agronomy, animal husbundry, food production & climate change

Adaptation to Climate Change in the UK Wine Sector, Elizabeth Gannon et al., Climate Risk Management Open Access 10.1016/j.crm.2023.100572

Implications of large-scale agricultural investment for adaptation to climate change by smallholders in the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia, Deche et al., Theoretical and Applied Climatology 10.1007/s00704-023-04716-6

Substantial increase of heat requirement for maturity of early rice due to extension of reproductive rather vegetative growth period in China, Zhang et al., Theoretical and Applied Climatology Open Access 10.1007/s00704-023-04722-8

Hydrology, hydrometeorology & climate change

Comparing SPI and SPEI to detect different precipitation and temperature regimes in Chile throughout the last four decades, Meseguer-Ruiz et al., Atmospheric Research 10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.107085

Drought variability, changes and hot spots across the African continent during the historical period (1928–2017), Tall et al., International Journal of Climatology Open Access pdf 10.1002/joc.8293

How Exceptional Was the 2015–2019 Central American Drought?, Anderson et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023gl105391

MOPREDAS&century database and precipitation trends in mainland Spain, 1916–2020, Gonzalez?Hidalgo et al., International Journal of Climatology Open Access pdf 10.1002/joc.8060

Partitioning model uncertainty in multi-model ensemble river flow projections, Aitken et al., Climatic Change Open Access pdf 10.1007/s10584-023-03621-1

Projection of snowfall extremes in the French Alps as a function of elevation and global warming level, Le Roux et al., Open Access 10.5194/egusphere-2023-335

Climate change economics

Financial innovation for climate justice: central banks and transformative ‘creative disruption’, Stephens & Sokol, Climate and Development Open Access pdf 10.1080/17565529.2023.2268589

Fossil fuels, stranded assets, and the energy transition in the Global South: A systematic literature review, Heras & Gupta, WIREs Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1002/wcc.866

Putting human rights in the centre, Parsons, Nature Climate Change Open Access 10.1038/s41558-023-01850-x

The asymmetric effects of climate risk on higher-moment connectedness among carbon, energy and metals markets, Zhou et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-023-42925-9

Turning climate justice into practice? Channeling loss and damage funding through national social protection systems in climate-vulnerable countries, Huber & Murray, WIREs Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1002/wcc.867

Climate change mitigation public policy research

A perspective on tools for assessing the building sector's greenhouse gas emissions and beyond, Greer et al., Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability Open Access pdf 10.1088/2634-4505/ad064d

Allocation of policy resources for energy storage development considering the Inflation Reduction Act, Shan & Kittner, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113861

Brazilian Biofuels Policy (RenovaBio): Overview and generation of decarbonization credits by biodiesel production facilities, Tiburcio et al., Energy for Sustainable Development 10.1016/j.esd.2023.101334

Building and carbon emissions: Evidence from real estate purchase restriction policy, Song et al., Urban Climate 10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101726

Fossil fuel communities support climate policy coupled with just transition assistance, Gazmararian, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113880

Government regulation, horizontal coopetition, and low-carbon technology innovation: A tripartite evolutionary game analysis of government and homogeneous energy enterprises, Zhou et al., Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113844

How does green finance achieve urban carbon unlocking? Evidence from China, Liu et al., Urban Climate 10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101742

Identifying energy model fingerprints in mitigation scenarios, Dekker et al., Nature Energy Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41560-023-01399-1

Identifying the influence factors on low-carbon behavior of employees from petrochemical enterprise under “Carbon Neutrality”, Zhao et al., Environment, Development and Sustainability 10.1007/s10668-022-02675-y

Offshore wind power in the Asia-Pacific: Expert elicitation on costs and policies, Hughes & Longden, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113842

Projecting Future Energy Production from Operating Wind Farms in North America. Part III: Variability, Coburn & Pryor, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 10.1175/jamc-d-23-0104.1

Revealing the spatio-temporal characteristics and impact mechanism of carbon emission in China's urban agglomerations, Wang et al., Urban Climate 10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101733

The climate test: a tool to evaluate alignment of energy infrastructure decisions with climate goals, Bustamante et al., Climate Policy Open Access pdf 10.1080/14693062.2023.2239754

The EU carbon border adjustment mechanism: implications on Brazilian energy intensive industries, Perdana et al., Climate Policy Open Access pdf 10.1080/14693062.2023.2277405

The impact of carbon policy on carbon emissions in various industrial sectors based on a hybrid approach, Qu & Ma, Environment, Development and Sustainability 10.1007/s10668-022-02673-0

The land sector in the low carbon emission strategies in the European Union: role and future expectations, Di Lallo et al., Climate Policy Open Access pdf 10.1080/14693062.2023.2273948

Using historical institutionalism as a guidepost to understanding policy change in Rust Belt cities, Bick, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 10.1007/s11027-023-10091-4

Climate change adaptation & adaptation public policy research

Contribution of perceptions to the acceptability of adaptation tools to sea level rise, Bazart et al., Climate Policy Open Access 10.1080/14693062.2023.2273944

The application of collaborative governance in local level climate and disaster resilient development – A global review, McNaught, Environmental Science & Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103627

Climate change impacts on human health

Climate change and human health: estimating district-level health vulnerabilities in the Indian context, Chaudhry & Mukhopadhyay Mukhopadhyay, Climatic Change Open Access 10.1007/s10584-023-03630-0

Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways, Ikonomova & MacAskill, Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability Open Access pdf 10.1088/2634-4505/acfabd

Climate change-related health hazards in daycare centers in Munich, Germany: risk perception and adaptation measures, Lehmann et al., Regional Environmental Change Open Access pdf 10.1007/s10113-023-02136-w

Discovery of spatial climate parameters and bioclimatic comfort change simulation in Türkiye under socioeconomic pathway scenarios: A basin-scale case study for urban environments, Isinkaralar, Natural Hazards 10.1007/s11069-023-06237-x

Other

A negative carbon footprint natural biological system water solution: evidence from Delhi, India, Cohen & Cohen, Environment Systems and Decisions 10.1007/s10669-023-09948-5

Increasing compound hazard of landfalling tropical cyclones in China during 1980–2020, Tan et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.8296

Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives

Accounting for forest fire risks: global insights for climate change mitigation, Chu et al., Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Open Access pdf 10.1007/s11027-023-10087-0

Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways, Ikonomova & MacAskill, Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability Open Access pdf 10.1088/2634-4505/acfabd

Do Two Climate Wrongs Make a Right?, Schimel & Miller Miller, AGU Advances Open Access pdf 10.1029/2023av001020

In Africa, “climate-smart” conservation must be coupled with poverty alleviation, Ali et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2309279120

‘Oceans are hugely complex’: modelling marine microbes is key to climate forecasts, Tagliabue, Nature 10.1038/d41586-023-03425-4

Book reviews

Mike Hulme. Climate change isn’t everything: liberating climate politics from alarmism, Bernstein, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 10.1007/s13412-023-00870-5

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Articles/Reports from Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations Addressing Aspects of Climate Change

Adaptation Gap Report 2023: Underfinanced. Underprepared – Inadequate investment and planning on climate adaptation leaves world exposed, United Nations Environment Programme

The authors found that progress on climate adaptation is slowing when it should be accelerating to catch up with these rising climate change impacts. The authors examined progress in planning, financing, and implementing adaptation actions. They found that the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10-18 times as big as international public finance flows. This is over 50 percent higher than the previous range estimate. The modeled costs of adaptation in developing countries are estimated at US $215 billion per year this decade. The adaptation finance needed to implement domestic adaptation priorities is estimated at US $387 billion per year. Despite these needs, public multilateral and bilateral adaptation finance flows to developing countries declined by 15 percent to US $21 billion in 2021. As a result of the growing adaptation finance needs and faltering flows, the current adaptation finance gap is estimated at US $194-366 billion annually. At the same time, adaptation planning and implementation appear to be plateauing. This failure to adapt has massive implications for losses and damages, particularly for the most vulnerable. The authors recommend seven ways to increase financing, including through domestic expenditure and international and private sector finance. Additional avenues include remittances, increasing and tailoring finance to small and medium enterprises, and a reform of the global financial architecture. The new Loss and Damage fund will also need to move towards more innovative financing mechanisms to reach the necessary scale of investment.

Towards Fossil Fuel-Free Food, The Global Alliance for the Future of Food

The authors provide a better understanding of the interconnectedness between food and energy systems, with a specific emphasis on the role of fossil fuels. They aim to unveil the trade-offs, synergies, gaps, and opportunities that arise within this nexus to identify and recommend near-term opportunities for enhanced coordination and collaboration among food and energy systems policymakers, funders, and advocates. Their focus is on finding ways to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels in food systems.

Power Shift, The Global Alliance for the Future of Food

The authors call for action among all stakeholders in the food and energy sectors — as well as advocates, funders, and policymakers — to work together in the transition away from fossil fuels and toward a sustainable future, in which global warming is limited to 1.5°C (2.7°F). They also underscore the importance of collaboration in order to phase out fossil fuels, aligning everyone's efforts with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Californians support state policies aimed at transitioning to renewable energy sources, Mark DiCamill, Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley

A large majority of California voters (60%) support the state’s climate change policies aimed at increasing its use of renewable energy sources and reducing its reliance on oil and carbon-based sources. The latest poll finds that most voters either say the current pace at which California is implementing its climate change policies is about right (23%) or feel it is not moving fast enough (37%). In addition, an early two-to-one majority (52% to 27%) also gives thumbs up to the construction of offshore wind turbines visible from the shore along the California coast. However, views about the state’s climate policies are highly partisan. Most Democrats (53%) believe the state is not moving fast enough in implementing these policies while another 27% say it is moving at about the right pace. By contrast, two in three Republicans (67%) maintain that state policies on climate change are moving too fast. In addition, by a four-to-one margin (63% to 16%) Democrats back the construction of offshore wind turbines along the California coast, while Republicans stand opposed by 53% to 31%. Younger voters are more supportive of increasing the pace at which the state is transitioning to renewable energy sources than older voters, whose views about this are more divided.

National Transmission Needs Study, US. Department of Energy

The authors present information to identify high-priority national electric transmission needs and to identify geographic areas where the bulk power grid would benefit from new, updated, or upgraded transmission facilities. The author's work will inform DOE as it coordinates the use of its authorities that relate to electric transmission. For example, the results of this study implement various provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act relating to transmission expansion, grid resilience, and grid technology. The study will also support the implementation of existing Department of Energy programs, including the Department’s numerous funding programs, technical assistance, and broader transmission planning activities, and the potential designation of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. DOE expects that this study will also help inform existing industry-led transmission planning processes, including the regional transmission planning processes conducted in accordance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's regulations and policies.

Chemical Recycling: A Dangerous Deception, Bell et al., Beyond Plastics and IPEN

Chemical recycling — or what the industry likes to call “advanced recycling” — is increasingly touted as a solution to the plastic waste problem. However, the authors show this technology has not worked for decades, it is still failing, and it threatens the environment, the climate, human health, and environmental justice. The authors investigate all 11 constructed chemical recycling facilities in the United States, their output, their financial backing, and their contribution to environmental pollution.

Clean Economy Works, Environmental Entrepreneurs

The authors use the original $86 billion in estimated capital expenditures that companies announced in investments for new developments after the signing of the Inflation Reduction in 2022. The authors extrapolate another $20 billion in additional capital expenditures for project announcements that did not include a dollar amount or required an updated estimate based on available information. In addition to the direct benefits of these expenditures, new modeling measures the broader economic benefits and the multiplier effect of the investments and jobs expected if the 210 announced projects were completed over the next five years.

Less War, Less Warming: A Reparative Approach to US and UK Military Ecological Damages, Bigger et al., Common-Wealth

Among all government institutions worldwide, the U.S. and UK militaries bear some of the greatest responsibility for climate crisis. Despite this, emissions from military sources are not addressed in international climate agreements: as a result of U.S. lobbying, overseas military emissions were made exempt from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and military emissions reporting remained optional in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Even if using opaque official data, the UK and U.S. militaries have jointly emitted at least 430 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent since the year of the Paris Climate Agreement — more than the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in the UK in 2022. While several other militaries are also leading institutional emitters, the authors focus on the joint climate impact of the U.S. and UK militaries for three reasons: first, their historic role in the development of the global fossil fuel economy; second, their current consumption of fossil fuels, associated greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental damage produced by their military infrastructure; third, the U.S. and UK governments’ allocation of public investment towards carbon-intensive industrial sectors to supply their militaries when they could better prioritize green industrial policy.

Funding trends 2023: Climate change mitigation philanthropy, Desanlis et al., Climateworks

The authors estimate that total philanthropic giving by foundations and individuals reached an estimated $811 billion in 2022, of which $7.8 billion to $12.8 billion was focused on climate change mitigation. In 2022, overall philanthropic giving remained essentially unchanged compared with 2021 amounts, as did philanthropic giving to climate change mitigation. Factors that contributed to the lack of funding increases include challenging global economic conditions in 2022 and the fact that 2021 was a particularly remarkable year in terms of giving levels. Overall, total giving to climate change mitigation from individuals and foundations represented less than 2% of global philanthropic giving in 2022. In this decisive moment for the planet, philanthropy must rapidly raise its ambition for advancing transformative climate solutions — in partnership with a wider range of communities, movements, and organizations — and move more funds faster to the places that need them most.

Complicit. Bank of America's Role in Fossil Fuel Expansion and the Violation of Human Rights, Rainforest Action Network

Bank of America is the 5th largest global bank by assets and has provided $279.7 billion in financing (lending and underwriting) to fossil fuel companies since 2016, the year the Paris Climate Agreement went into effect. This represents approximately 4% of its overall financing across the global economy. Bank of America committed to net zero emissions across its operations by 2050 in 2021, but to date has made inadequate progress towards its stated goals, leaving a long way to go to achieve that ambition. The authors highlight Bank of America’s financing for some of the worst companies developing fossil fuel expansion projects that by definition infringe on human rights. Bank of America’s current policies and financing practices enable it to profit from climate chaos by leveraging the hard-earned dollars of the individual customers it claims to care about, despite its stated commitment to respecting human rights and mitigating climate change.

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Obtaining articles without journal subscriptions

We know it's frustrating that many articles we cite here are not free to read. One-off paid access fees are generally astronomically priced, suitable for such as "On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light"  but not as a gamble on unknowns. With a median world income of US$ 9,373, for most of us US$ 42 is significant money to wager on an article's relevance and importance. 

• Here's an excellent collection of tips and techniques for obtaining articles, legally.

• Unpaywall offers a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that automatically indicates when an article is freely accessible and provides immediate access without further trouble. Unpaywall is also unscammy, works well, is itself offered free to use. The organizers (a legitimate nonprofit) report about a 50% success rate

• The weekly New Research catch is checked against the Unpaywall database with accessible items being flagged. Especially for just-published articles this mechansim may fail. If you're interested in an article title and it is not listed here as "open access," be sure to check the link anyway. 

How is New Research assembled?

Most articles appearing here are found via  RSS feeds from journal publishers, filtered by search terms to produce raw output for assessment of relevance. 

Relevant articles are then queried against the Unpaywall database, to identify open access articles and expose useful metadata for articles appearing in the database. 

The objective of New Research isn't to cast a tinge on scientific results, to color readers' impressions. Hence candidate articles are assessed via two metrics only:

• Was an article deemed of sufficient merit by a team of journal editors and peer reviewers? The fact of journal RSS output assigns a "yes" to this automatically. 
• Is an article relevant to the topic of anthropogenic climate change? Due to filter overlap with other publication topics of inquiry, of a typical week's 550 or so input articles about 1/4 of RSS output makes the cut.

A few journals offer public access to "preprint" versions of articles for which the review process is not yet complete. For some key journals this all the mention we'll see in RSS feeds, so we include such items in New Research. These are flagged as "preprint."

The section "Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives" includes some items that are not scientific research per se but fall instead into the category of "perspectives," observations of implications of research findings, areas needing attention, etc.

Suggestions

Please let us know if you're aware of an article you think may be of interest for Skeptical Science research news, or if we've missed something that may be important. Send your input to Skeptical Science via our contact form.

Journals covered

A list of journals we cover may be found here. We welcome pointers to omissions, new journals etc.

Previous edition

The previous edition of Skeptical Science New Research may be found here.