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The Albertine Rift region faces rapid human population growth, while being a biodiversity hotspot. Using satellite-derived continuous forest cover change data, we examined national socioeconomic, demographic, and agricultural production…
A transition to a low-carbon electricity supply is crucial to limit the impacts of climate change. Reducing carbon emissions could help prevent the world from reaching a tipping point, where runaway emissions are likely. Runaway emissions…
An increasing amount of companies and cities plan to become CO2-neutral, which requires them to invest in renewable energies and carbon emission offsetting solutions. One of the cheapest carbon offsetting solutions is preventing…
Ecosystems around the world are at risk of critical transitions due to increasing anthropogenic pressures and climate change. Yet it is unclear where the risks are higher or where in the world ecosystems are more vulnerable. Here I measure…
Accumulating observational evidence suggests an intimate connection between rapidly expanding insect populations, deforestation, and global climate change. We review the evidence, emphasizing the vulnerability of key planetary carbon pools,…
Changes in the frequency, duration, and severity of climate extremes are forecast to occur under global climate change. The impacts of climate extremes on forest productivity and health are complicated by potential interactions with…
Increasing greenhouse gases will change many aspects of the Earth's climate, from its annual mean to the frequency of extremes such as heat waves and droughts. Here we report that the current generation of climate models predicts a delay in…
Cattle farming is responsible for 8.8\% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. In addition to the methane emitted due to their digestive process, the growing need for grazing areas is an important driver of deforestation. While some…
Tipping points are abrupt, drastic, and often irreversible changes in the evolution of non-stationary and chaotic dynamical systems. For instance, increased greenhouse gas concentrations are predicted to lead to drastic decreases in low…
Understanding the environmental drivers of forest transpiration is critical for improving global predictions of water availability and ecosystem health. Due to many competing controls on plant water stress and ecosystem transpiration,…
Despite major advances in climate science over the last 30 years, persistent uncertainties in projections of future climate change remain. Climate projections are produced with increasingly complex models which attempt to represent key…
Decisions related to electric power systems planning and operations rely on assumptions and insights informed by historic weather data and records of past performance. Evolving climate trends are, however, changing the energy use patterns…
The conservation of tropical forests is a topic of significant social and ecological relevance due to their crucial role in the global ecosystem. Unfortunately, deforestation and degradation impact millions of hectares annually,…
Forests are vital for the wellbeing of our planet. Large and small scale deforestation across the globe is threatening the stability of our climate, forest biodiversity, and therefore the preservation of fragile ecosystems and our natural…
Due to climatic changes, excessive grazing, and deforestation, semi-arid and arid ecosystems are vulnerable to desertification and land degradation. As aridity increases, vegetation cover often self-organizes into spatial patterns before…
The financial sector is increasingly concerned with the physical risks of climate change, but economic and financial impact representations are still developing, particularly for chronic risks. Mexico's Central Bank conducted a…
One way to warn of forthcoming critical transitions in Earth system components is using observations to detect declining system stability. It has also been suggested to extrapolate such stability changes into the future and predict tipping…
Alpine permafrost environments are highly vulnerable and sensitive to changes in regional and global climate trends. Thawing and degradation of permafrost has numerous adverse environmental, economic, and societal impacts. Mathematical…
It is well-established that human activity is driving extreme weather patterns, and that these extreme events influence human behaviour. However, few models allow for human behaviours and the climate to dynamically interact. The models…
Variations in zonal surface temperature gradients and zonally asymmetric tropical overturning circulations (Walker circulations) are examined over a wide range of climates simulated with an idealized atmospheric general circulation model…