Nature Climate Change
Nature Climate Change is a monthly journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research papers that describe the most significant and cutting-edge research on the causes, impacts and wider implications of global climate change. The journal publishes climate research across the physical, biological and social sciences and strives to integrate and communicate interdisciplinary research. The journal aims to play a leading role in: providing accessibility to a broad audience to research published both within and outside the journal; raising the visibility of climate change research in related research communities as well as the mainstream media; and offering a forum for discussion of the challenges faced by researchers and policy makers (and other interested parties) in understanding the complex mechanisms and impacts associated with the Earth’s changing climate.
Updated: 1 hour 17 min ago
Governments must reconcile dissonant climate assessment approaches
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 29 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02736-4
Security analysts and government economists increasingly present policymakers with different pictures of the same climate and nature risk. We argue that governments need a shared way to weigh these assessments, particularly given that under-preparing for a severe, irreversible outcome costs far more than over-preparing.Generative artifical intelligence for climate dialogue justice
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 25 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02759-x
Climate action requires inclusive dialogue among diverse stakeholders to help inform decision-making for governance and planning. We examine how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) could broaden participation and support synthesis across regions, disciplines and participants, while underscoring the importance of human authority to safeguard AI.Carbon removal projects need to get justice right
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02739-1
Public support for carbon removal grows when people get a say and a share in the benefits, across diverse sociopolitical contexts. No amount of carbon removed can substitute for fair process and fair outcomes. Fairness must be designed into carbon removal governance from the start.Public support for novel carbon removal hinges on procedural and distributive fairness
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02741-7
Public support is crucial for carbon removal deployment, yet the role of fairness remains unclear. Using surveys from six countries (N = 10,852), this study shows that procedural and distributive fairness are key determinants of support for carbon removal projects across diverse contexts.The impact of financing cost differences on global energy and industry decarbonization
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02756-0
Financing costs vary widely across countries and sectors, influencing the feasibility of global decarbonization. This research shows that accounting for these differences increases mitigation costs and shifts investment patterns, highlighting the need for broader climate finance.Earlier and faster heatwave onset on land under a warming climate
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 23 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02762-2
Heatwaves are expected to become more frequent and intense with global warming. Here the authors assess changes in their timing, finding that the heatwave season expands and that many regions see a faster onset of heatwaves.Increasing LGBTQIA+ inclusion in climate science
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 21 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02748-0
LGBTQIA+ climate scientists have long encountered oppression and discrimination across society and in the workplace. We suggest specific actions, which need to be supported by more data, to make climate science more inclusive.Flash energy droughts strain grids
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 21 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02760-4
Rapid declines in wind or solar generation may leave electricity systems little time to respond. Now a study maps these events globally and projects that their duration may increase under climate change.Flash energy droughts in solar and wind resources under climate change
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 21 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02753-3
Flash energy droughts, rapid drops followed by sustained low wind and solar production, could pose potential challenges to power system operations. Here researchers find that climate change may intensify such events across wind, solar and compound forms.Simple logic warnings improve climate argument evaluation across beliefs and partisanship
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 21 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02754-2
Climate discourse is often misjudged, yet the mechanisms remain unclear. Using orthogonally manipulated experiments, this study isolates the effects of prior beliefs, partisanship and argument quality, showing that evaluations of climate arguments are context sensitive and can be improved by minimal logic warnings.Genetically engineered crops increase climate resilience of US fields
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 18 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02750-6
Analyses of four decades of data show that genetically engineered varieties of corn, soybean and cotton raised average yields, reduced year-on-year yield variability and blunted the climate-driven northward drift of crop production. These findings indicate that biotechnology is an under-recognized instrument of climate adaptation.New labour and agricultural damages improve climate cost estimates
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 16 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02749-z
Heat stress reduces labour productivity, but economy-wide assessments are mostly missing. Using high-resolution projections and global economic modelling, the authors provide new cost estimates, and updated agricultural damages improve confidence in the social cost of carbon.Marine carbon removal at a crossroads
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 14 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02740-8
Marine carbon dioxide removal must advance through rigorous, transparent science, but caution cannot become paralysis. With billions of tonnes of carbon removal likely to be needed each year, we need to test promising approaches responsibly while uncertainty remains.Compound and heterogeneous relationships between climate extremes and global net migration
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02752-4
Climate extremes influence migration, but their long-term and compounding impacts are understudied. The authors show that associations between climate extremes and migration vary by hazard type, timing, the occurrence of consecutive events and local socioeconomic conditions.Divergence between physical and emotional heat resilience in Chinese cities
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02732-8
Heatwaves threaten both physical and mental health, yet physical heat exposure and emotional responses often diverge. The study shows that 84.9% of Chinese cities experienced severe emotional shocks, compared with 52.1% facing severe heat exposure, driven by socioeconomic and environmental factors.Where global warming meets urban development
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02743-5
Global warming and urban development combine to shape the temperatures people experience in cities. Here I revisit a 2016 attribution study of urban warming in China and consider what its legacy reveals about urban climate knowledge, responsibility and action.Greening masks stability loss in drylands
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02733-7
The authors consider greening trends and interannual variability, linked to ecosystem stability, in dryland ecosystems across 40 years (1982–2020). They show persistent greening yet increased interannual variability, with the latter driven by increasing rainfall sensitivity.Physiological flexibility in changing climates
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 09 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02738-2
How much ectothermic animals can rely on plastic adjustments in their physiology remains a central challenge when forecasting climate change impacts. Here, I look back on a 2015 paper that examined the role of physiological plasticity in thermal performance and discuss subsequent research and broader conservation implications.Genetically engineered crop adoption support yields and cultivation under climate change
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02737-3
The authors analyse the impacts of the adoption of genetically engineered crops in the USA over 40 years. They show that genetically engineered crop adoption has led to some increases in yield and reduced yield volatility, while also acting as an adaptation against climate change-driven northward shifts.Author Correction: Tree species richness relates to long-term forest photosynthesis increase
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02761-3
Author Correction: Tree species richness relates to long-term forest photosynthesis increase