Veille 2.1

Doyne Farmer says a super-simulator of the global economy would accelerate the transition to a green, clean world

Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware

Breathing in air pollution like ozone and PM2.5 harms nearly every major system in the human body

Like living beyond your financial means, using more water than nature can replenish can have catastrophic results.

Flagship report calls for fundamental reset of global water agenda as irreversible damage pushes many basins beyond recovery

A new international analysis published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences on 9 January finds that the Earth's ocean stored more heat in 2025 than in any year since modern measurements began. The finding is the result of a major international collaboration led by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, involving more than 50 scientists from 31 research institutions worldwide. The 2025 heat increase was 23 Zetta Joules (23,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Joules of energy), which is equivalent to ~37 years of global primary energy consumption at the 2023 level (~620 Exa Joules per year). The assessment combines data from major international data centers and independent research groups, including three observational products (Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Copernicus Marine; and NOAA/NCEI) and an ocean reanalysis (CIGAR-RT) from three continents: Asia, Europe, and America. These groups confirm that the 2025 ocean heat content (OHC) reached the h

The Global Environment Outlook, Seventh Edition: A Future We Choose, the product of 287 multi-disciplinary scientists from 82 countries, is the most comprehensive scientific assessment of the global environment ever carried out.

Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications

Logging and mining are destroying swathes of the Congo rainforest, with the result that African forests went from being  a carbon sink to a carbon source in 2010 to 2017

The growth rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) climate forcing increased rapidly in the last 15 years to about 0.5 W/m2 per decade, as shown by the “colorful chart” for GHG climate forcing that we have been publishing for 25 years (Fig. 1).[1] The chart is not in IPCC reports, perhaps because it reveals inconvenient facts. Although growth of GHG climate forcing declined rapidly after the 1987 Montreal Protocol, other opportunities to decrease climate forcing were missed. If policymakers do not appreciate the significance of present data on changing climate forcings, we scientists must share the blame.

Gates recently called for a ‘strategic pivot’ in climate strategy. That appears to have hit a nerve.

We propose a new paradigm, as toxicology currently lacks the proper perspective. From the 1950s to the 1970s, at least one-third of all toxicological testing in the United States, including for chemicals and drugs, was misleading scientists, and this worldwide issue persists today. Moreover, petroleum-based waste and heavy metals have been discovered in pesticide and plasticizer formulations. These contaminations have now reached all forms of life. Widespread exposure to chemical mixtures promotes health and environmental risks. We discovered that pesticides have never undergone long-term testing on mammals in their full commercial formulations by regulatory authorities or the pesticide industry; instead, only their declared active ingredients have been assessed, contrary to environmental law recommendations. The ingredients of these formulations are not fully disclosed, yet the formulations are in general at least 1000 times more toxic at low environmentally relevant doses than the active ingredients alone u

“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” Thus wrote the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1966.

22 of the planet’s 34 vital signs are at record levels, with many of them continuing to trend sharply in the wrong direction. This is the message of the sixth issue of the annual “State of the climate” report. The report was prepared by an international coalition with contribution from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and led by Oregon State University scientists. Published today in BioScience, it cites global data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in proposing “high-impact” strategies.

CO2 in air hit new high last year, with scientists concerned natural land and ocean carbon sinks are weakening

Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns

German scientists warn global warming is accelerating faster than expected, raising the risk of a 3 °C rise by 2050 and forcing Europe to confront unthinkable adaptation plans.

Climate.gov, which went dark this summer, to be revived by volunteers as climate.us with expanded missionEarlier this summer, access to climate.gov – one of the most widely used portals of climate information on the internet – was thwarted by the Trump administration, and its production team was fired in the process.

Some experts tee up public comment on EPA report calling fossil fuel concerns overblown, as others fast-track review

The report, which is being used to justify the rollback of a huge number of climate regulations, is full of misinformation—with many claims based on long-debunked research. The report, which is being used to justify the rollback of a huge number of climate regulations, is full of misinformation—with many claims based on long-debunked research.

blue whale vocalizations dropped by almost 40 percent, according to the study, with populations of krill and anchovy collapsing. "When you really break it down, it’s like trying to sing while you're starving," Ryan explained. "They were spending all their time just trying to find food."

Rising temperatures are causing water to evaporate and driving humans to extract more groundwater, which is moving freshwater from the land to the seas and creating a "continental drying" trend..

Heat caused 2,300 deaths across 12 cities, of which 1,500 were down to climate crisis, scientists say

For more than three decades, Brazilian climate scientist Carlos Nobre has warned that deforestation of the Amazon could push this globally important ecosystem past the point of no return. Working first at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research and more recently at the University of São Paulo, he is a global authority on tropical forests and how they could be restored.

Despite working on polar science for the British Antarctic Survey for 20 years, Louise Sime finds the magnitude of potential sea-level rise hard to comprehend

The human fingerprint on global warming was likely evident in Earth’s atmosphere far earlier than previously thought—even before the invention of modern cars, a new study says. Using a combination of scientific theory, modern observations and multiple, sophisticated computer models, researchers found a clear signal of human-caused climate change was likely discernible with high confidence as early as 1885, just before the advent of gas-powered cars but after the dawn of the industrial revolution.

Breaching threshold would ramp up catastrophic weather events, further increasing human suffering

Even if agricultural practices adapt in response to higher temperatures, five of the world's six main staple crops will suffer severe losses due to climate change. Global corn yields are projected to fall by about 12 or 28 per cent by the end of the century

Major study finds world's most productive farming regions are especially vulnerable to rising temperatures, and face steep declines in agricultural output this century.

– how climate scientists and the IPCC still won’t tell the truth about accelerating climate change.

There’s frustration among researchers that falling pH levels in seas around the globe are not being taken seriously enough, and that until the buildup of CO2 is addressed, the consequences for marine life will be devastating

2024 was the first single year to surpass the 1.5°C global warming threshold – now scientists predict that a year above 2°C is possible in the near future

Societies increasingly rely on scientists to guide decisions in times of uncertainty, from pandemic outbreaks to the rise of artificial intelligence. Addressing climate change is no different. For governments wanting to introduce ambitious climate policies, public trust in climate scientists is pivotal, because it can determine whether voters support or resist those efforts.

Methane emissions spiked starting in 2020. Scientists say they have found the culprit.

A new groundbreaking German study proves that pesticides spread much further from the field than previously believed. A team of scientists led by Professor Dr. Carsten Brühl tested topsoil, vegetation, streams and puddles from 78 locations over a 180 km stretch, from remote areas in the UNESCO forests on the mountain ranges to the farmland in the Upper Rhine area. The research team detected a total of 63 pesticides. Almost all measurement sites were contaminated. Residues were found in 97% of the soil and vegetation samples, often in complex mixtures of several active ingredients. This cocktail of pesticides is especially problematic because interactions can occur and effects can be amplified. The worrying results are consistent with previous smaller-scale studies in the South Tirol area in Italy. Large scale and prolonged pesticide use is a major factor in the sharp decline in populations of insects and other organisms essential for farming, as highlighted in our biodiversity campaign. The researchers see pe

Do civilizations have tipping points that determine their rise and fall? Untangling how and why civilizations fall could, in theory, help humanity avoid a future calamitous collapse. “The reason why complex societies disintegrate is of vital importance to every member of one, and today that includes nearly the entire world population,” Tainter wrote. “Whether or not collapse was the most outstanding event of ancient history, few would care for it to become the most significant event of the present era.”

Lenton, the founding director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, was the lead author of the 2008 paper that formally introduced the idea of tipping points in the Earth’s climate system.

As of February 22, over twenty Stand Up for Science protests are scheduled for March 7 throughout the United States. The protests are being organized by fellow scientists who are concerned about the Trump administration’s feelings and actions towards science (see Robles-Gil, 2025 in Science), includ

Climate change will set the parameters of our post-Princeton lives. The fires that devastated the Palisades earlier this month were, as our nation’s exasperated and exhausted climate scientists continue to remind us, only harbingers of the floods, tornados, and heatwaves to come. Global warming is surpassing the climate models that scientists built in the 2010s and early 2020s that already forecasted a borderline-apocalyptic future. Undoubtedly, by the time current Princeton students reach middle age, they will have witnessed a slew of societal structures sag — or collapse entirely — under the weight of extreme weather events and ever-worsening ecological decline.

An international group of scientists, led by King's College London, has revealed how continued global warming will lead to more parts of the planet becoming too hot for the human body over the coming decades. the amount of landmass on our planet that would be too hot for even healthy young humans (18 to 60-year-olds) to keep a safe core body temperature will approximately triple (to 6%)—an area almost the size of the US—if global warming reaches 2°C above the preindustrial average.

An engaging discussion on groundbreaking research that reveals the unexpected drivers behind the recent unprecedented rise in global temperatures. Moderated by SDSN President Professor Jeffrey Sachs, this virtual event explored Dr. James Hansen and colleagues' findings in the latest publication, “Global Warming Has Accelerated,” their implications for climate sensitivity, and the urgent need for alternative approaches to mitigate the looming "point of no return."

Prof James Hansen says pace of global heating has been significantly underestimated, though other scientists disagree

Last month was the hottest January on record, blitzing the previous high and stunning climate scientists who expected cooler La Niña conditions to finally start quelling a long-running heat streak. The Copernicus Climate Change Service said January was 1.75C hotter than pre-industrial times, extending a persistent run of historic highs over 2023 and 2024, as human-caused greenhouse gas emissions heat the planet.

While some progress has been made in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, we are still on the path for high levels of global warming

Clouds play an important role in how much the Earth warms when greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide increase. However, scientists have struggled to determine whether low-level clouds in the tropics slow down or speed up global warming, creating uncertainty in climate predictions. A new study published in Nature adds to the growing evidence that cloud feedback is very likely to amplify warming in the climate system, rather than reduce it.

A new report from U.K. actuaries and climate scientists "shows a 50% GDP contraction between 2070 and 2090 unless an alternative course is chartered," said the lead author.​

Inondations meurtrières, incendies en plein hiver, augmentation de 1,5 °C de la température terrestre moyenne… Cette série d’événements survenus ces derniers mois signale que nous sommes entrés dans une nouvelle ère.

Experts believe H5N1 bird flu belongs in a growing category of infectious diseases that can cause pandemics across many species. But there are ways to reduce the risks..

The year 2024 wasn’t just another chapter in the unfolding climate saga; it felt like the plot twist no one wanted to believe. For decades, climate scientists warned of ifs — if we pass this tipping…

As the world’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists swarmed a Washington venue last week, the packed halls have been permeated by an air of anxiety and even dread over a new Donald Trump presidency that might worsen what has been a bruising few years for science.

The climate and ecological crisis poses an unprecedented challenge, with scientists playing a critical role in how society understands and responds. This study examined how 27 environmentally concerned scientists from 11 countries construct the future in the context of climate change, applying a critical discursive psychology analysis. The degree to which the future is constructed as predetermined or transformable impacts both the urgency and scope of proposed actions. ...

Experts warn that mirror bacteria, constructed from mirror images of molecules found in nature, could put humans, animals and plants at risk of lethal infections

Science et conscience. Dans un vigoureux manifeste publié au Seuil, les Scientifiques en rébellion détaillent les raisons de leur passage à l’action et enjoignent leurs pairs à sortir d’une prétendue «neutralité» et désobéir avant qu’il ne soit trop tard.

The 2024 ‘State of the climate’ report says climate scientists are more worried than ever and calls for ‘transformative science-based solutions across all aspects of society.’

AMOC collapse would bring severe global climate repercussions, with Europe bearing the brunt of the consequences.

We, the undersigned, are scientists working in the field of climate research and feel it is urgent to draw the attention of the Nordic Council of Ministers to the serious risk of a major ocean circulation change in the Atlantic. A string of scientific studies in the past few years suggests that this risk has so far been greatly underestimated. Such an ocean circulation change would have devastating and irreversible impacts especially for Nordic countries, but also for other parts of the world.

As a six-year investigation into the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica wraps up, the scientists involved are pessimistic for the future of this glacier and the consequences for sea level rise

L’hebdomadaire britannique “New Scientist” fait sa une sur une promesse enthousiasmante concernant une maladie terrifiante : il s’agit aujourd’hui de vaincre la maladie d’Alzheimer grâce à la vaccination. Des essais sont en cours.

The net zero approach of the Paris agreement has become detached from reality as it increasingly relies on science fiction levels of speculative technology.

Unprecedented wildfires in Canada and parts of Amazonia last year were at least three times more likely due to climate change and contributed to high levels of CO2 emissions from burning globally, according to the first edition of a new systematic annual review.