10 New Insights in Climate Science 2020 - a Horizon Scan

• Published in: Global sustainability 2021-01, Vol.4, p.1
• Main Authors: Pihl, Erik, Alfredsson, Eva, Bengtsson, Magnus, Bowen, Kathryn J., Broto, Vanesa Castan, Chou, Kuei Tien, Cleugh, Helen, Ebi, Kristie, Edwards, Clea M., Fisher, Eleanor, Friedlingstein, Pierre, Godoy-Faúndez, Alex, Gupta, Mukesh, Harrington, Alexandra R., Hayes, Katie, Hayward, Bronwyn M., Hebden, Sophie R., Hickmann, Thomas, Hugelius, Gustaf, Ilyina, Tatiana, Jackson, Robert B., Keenan, Trevor F., Lambino, Ria A., Leuzinger, Sebastian, Malmaeus, Mikael, McDonald, Robert I., McMichael, Celia, Miller, Clark A., Muratori, Matteo, Nagabhatla, Nidhi, Nagendra, Harini, Passarello, Cristian, Penuelas, Josep, Pongratz, Julia, Rockström, Johan, Romero-Lankao, Patricia, Roy, Joyashree, Scaife, Adam A., Schlosser, Peter, Schuur, Edward, Scobie, Michelle, Sherwood, Steven C., Sioen, Giles B., Skovgaard, Jakob, Sobenes Obregon, Edgardo A., Sonntag, Sebastian, Spangenberg, Joachim H., Spijkers, Otto, Srivastava, Leena, Stammer, Detlef B., Torres, Pedro HC, Turetsky, Merritt R., Ukkola, Anna M., van Vuuren, Detlef P., Voigt, Christina, Wannous, Chadia, Zelinka, Mark D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: climate; climate anxiety; climate change impacts; climate feedbacks; climate impacts; climate litigation; climate mitigation; climate models; climate policy; ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; environmental economics; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; future earth; GEOSCIENCES; governance; mental health; new social contract; permafrost thaw; rethinking economic models; rights-based litigation; risk governance; strengthened governance systems; thermokarst; tropical ecosystems; uptake of carbon; urban electrification; urban transformations; water shortages; water stress
• ISSN: 2059-4798; 2059-4798
• DOI: 10.1017/sus.2021.2

A synthesis is made of ten fields within climate science where there have been significant advances since mid-2019, through an expert elicitation process with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) a better understanding of equilibrium climate sensitivity; (2) abrupt thaw as an accelerator of carbon release from permafrost; (3) changes to global and regional land carbon sinks; (4) impacts of climate change on water crises, including equity perspectives; (5) adverse effects on mental health from climate change; (6) immediate effects on climate of the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements for recovery packages to deliver on the Paris Agreement; (7) suggested long-term changes to governance and a social contract to address climate change, learning from the current pandemic, (8) updated positive cost–benefit ratio and new perspectives on the potential for green growth in the short- and long-term perspective; (9) urban electrification as a strategy to move towards low-carbon energy systems and (10) rights-based litigation as an increasingly important method to address climate change, with recent clarifications on the legal standing and representation of future generations.