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Comment, news and reviews on the climate crisis

Climate Commentary is a collection of links, articles, news and opinions concerned with climate change, global warming and the climate crisis. It is a digital “commonplace book”: a collection of items found elsewhere in the media.

Recent articles:

Four possible consequences of El Niño returning in 2023
Extreme storms and flood events cause damage worth billions to ports – and they are most disruptive to small island developing states
Desalination could give the Middle East water without damaging marine life – but it must be managed carefully
Green hydrogen: why low-carbon fuels are not benefiting from high fossil fuel prices
Wind turbines are already skyscraper-sized – is there any limit to how big they will get?
Skiing in the Alps faces a bleak future thanks to climate change
1.5°C: where the target came from – and why we’re losing sight of its importance
The days of the hydrogen car are already over
Our US$10 trillion global energy bill dwarfs what’s needed to limit global heating
Pakistan floods: ancient grains like millet could be key to rebuilding food systems
Global carbon emissions at record levels with no signs of shrinking, new data shows. Humanity has a monumental task ahead
Climate change: carbon offsetting isn’t working – here’s how to fix it
COP27: a year on from the Glasgow climate pact, the world is burning more fossil fuels than ever
These air conditioner alternatives are cheaper – and better for the planet
The Horn of Africa has had years of drought, yet groundwater supplies are increasing – why?
Glaciers in the Alps are melting faster than ever – and 2022 was their worst summer yet
To address climate change, lifestyles must change – but the government’s reluctance to help is holding us back
Coastal erosion is unstoppable – so how do we live with it?
Climate tipping points could lock in unstoppable changes to the planet – how close are they?
Climate change: the fairest way to tax carbon is to make air travel more expensive
Hurricane Ian: how climate change is making North Atlantic tropical storms worse
‘Dark data’ is killing the planet – we need digital decarbonisation
‘Decarbonisation is too expensive’ – how to sell climate change action to bean counters
Direct air capture: how advanced is technology to suck up carbon dioxide – and could it slow climate change?
‘Too afraid to have kids’ – how BirthStrike for Climate lost control of its political message
Fracking: if Liz Truss wants a major shale gas industry, she is 280 million years late
Net zero: Copenhagen’s failure to meet its 2025 target casts doubt on other major climate plans
Why the aviation industry must look beyond carbon to get serious about climate change
Desalination may be key to averting global water shortage, but it will take time
A climate scientist on the planet’s simultaneous disasters, from Pakistan’s horror floods to Europe’s record drought
Why we should abandon the concept of the ‘climate refugee’
What could we do to cool the Arctic, specifically?
The world’s biggest ice sheet is more vulnerable to global warming than scientists previously thought
Britain’s notoriously wet and cold climate is changing – you won’t like what replaces it
Fast fashion: why your online returns may end up in landfill – and what can be done about it
Heatwave-proofing your home could save your life – and shrink your carbon footprint
Three reasons concrete doesn’t live up to its environmental claims
Heatwaves: why ethnic minorities in the UK are more vulnerable, and what to do about it
How likely would Britain’s 40°C heatwave have been without climate change?
Why UK railways can’t deal with heatwaves – and what might help
If we want to build truly sustainable cities, we need to think about how women use energy and space
Energy charter treaty makes climate action nearly illegal in 52 countries – so how can we leave it?
The UK urgently needs to cut its methane emissions by 2030: cows and sheep hold the key to success
Methane emissions reach new highs despite pandemic – they are four times more sensitive to climate change than first thought
Here are the most effective things you can do to fight climate change
Climate change: wildfire risk has grown nearly everywhere – but we can still influence where and how fires strike
Insulate Britain or miss net zero
Human disruption to Earth’s freshwater cycle has exceeded the safe limit, our research shows
Eco-friendly tech comes with its own environmental costs: that’s why it’s vital to cut energy demand now
Sustainable investment: want a green place to start putting your money away? Here’s what you need to know
Gas prices: as cooking fuels become more expensive, people are turning to dirtier alternatives
The ‘carbon footprint’ was co-opted by fossil fuel companies to shift climate blame – here’s how it can serve us again
Climate change: efficiency labels really do encourage less energy use – but there’s a better way of using them
Climate change: UK’s net zero target is under threat because there’s no plan to pay for it
Cryptocurrency price collapse offers hope for slowing climate change – here’s how
Climate change isn’t just making cyclones worse, it’s making the floods they cause worse too – new research
Climate breakdown: even if we miss the 1.5°C target we must still fight to prevent every single increment of warming
Climate change: carbon labels and clever menu design can cut the impact of dining – new study
Electric car supplies are running out – and could drastically slow down the journey to net-zero
India heatwave: why the region should prepare for even more extreme heat in the near future
Relying on carbon capture to solve the climate crisis risks pushing our problems into the next generation’s path
How to survive a heatwave
Here’s one way to burn less fossil fuel – use human energy to heat buildings instead
Climate change triggering global collapse in insect numbers: stressed farmland shows 63% decline – new research
Here’s why UK tides are soon going to play a much bigger part in powering your home
12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research
Slow fashion: saving the planet with style
Why UK’s ‘treasured free-market economy’ will not achieve net zero
No space for a heat pump? Here’s how your whole street could get off gas heating
Oceans and their largest inhabitants could be the key to storing our carbon emissions
Any plans to dim the Sun and cool the Earth must be led by those most affected by climate change
IPCC finds the world has its best chance yet to slash emissions – if it seizes the opportunity
Climate change: greener lifestyles linked to greater happiness – in both rich and poor countries
Can nuclear power secure a path to net zero?
Planting trees can help the climate, but only if we also stop burning fossil fuels
How a deluge of lockdown volunteers rescued UK’s hidden weather history
Will war in Ukraine hasten the end of fossil fuels?
Record-smashing heatwaves are hitting Antarctica and the Arctic simultaneously. Here’s what’s driving them, and how they’ll impact wildlife
In a rush to replace Russian gas, the EU has damaged its own climate change strategy
Individual climate action – the free and instant way to help Ukraine
As sea levels rise, coastal megacities will need more than flood barriers
What your T-shirt reveals about ‘carbon colonialism’ and the global economy’s vast hidden emissions
How to keep buildings cool without air conditioning – according to an expert in sustainable design
Tyre Extinguishers: activists are deflating SUV tyres in the latest pop-up climate movement
The original climate crisis – how the little ice age devastated early modern Europe
Is the Amazon rainforest on the verge of collapse?
IPCC report: how politics – not climate change – is responsible for disasters and conflict
Mass starvation, extinctions, disasters: the new IPCC report’s grim predictions, and why adaptation efforts are falling behind
Climate change is warping our fresh water cycle – and much faster than we thought
Climate change: effect on forests could last millennia, ancient ruins suggest
Low-technology: why sustainability doesn’t have to depend on high-tech solutions
Climate crisis and the dangers of tech-obsessed ‘long-termism’
Ferns: the houseplants that reveal how tropical rainforests are responding to climate change
We’re all radioactive – so let’s stop being afraid of it
We reconstructed Britain of millions of years ago to see what climate breakdown will involve
Trying to cool the Earth by dimming sunlight could be worse than global warming
Natural gas is a fossil fuel, but the EU will count it as a green investment – here’s why
How climate change is washing away precious evidence of our distant past
Three reasons why climate change models are our best hope for understanding the future
Coffee may become more scarce and expensive thanks to climate change – new research