REPORTS AND PAPERS
In 1988 NASA scientist James Hansen warned lawmakers in the US Senate of the looming dangers presented by global warming, which humans were accelerating. In the same year the United Nations (UN) and the World Meteorological Organization (WHO) formed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to report to world leaders on the science of climate change.
In 1990, the First IPCC Assessment Report (FAR) was published, underlining the importance of climate change as a challenge with global consequences and requiring international cooperation. It was followed by the 2nd (1995), 3rd (2001), 4th (2007) and 5th (2013-2014) with the 6th due in 2022.
On December 12, 2015 in Paris at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21, the now-infamous Paris Agreement was written with an objective to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. It entered into force on November 4, 2016 by which time it had been ratified by 55 countries (accounting for 55% of global emissions). Within the following two years 197 countries — every nation on earth — signed on, including the U.S.
Unfortunately in the summer of 2017 President Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement. That takes effect on November 4, 2020.
In 2018, U.S. carbon emissions surged even as coal plants closed, rising by 3.4 percent just in that year alone, the biggest increase in eight years.
Also in 2018, came the Fourth National Climate Assessment Report, a U.S. report written for the president every four years. This report focused heavily on climate change’s impact on the American economy.
A stunning timeline, following our extraordinary lack of progress since 1988, was written by Paul Bledsoe and published in the New York Times on December 29, 2018. Many of the reports and papers referenced in this article appear in this CCR section.
That piece was almost immediately followed by Carbon Brief publishing a list of 2018 climate-change related papers most featured in the media. The infographic below shows which ones made it into the Top 10.

2018 REPORTS & PAPERS
Global CO2 emissions hit record high in 2018, as Greenland ice melt goes into ‘overdrive’
Carbon emissions to hit all-time high, says report
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IOP 12/5/18
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Global energy growth is outpacing decarbonization
12/5/18Recent reports have highlighted the challenge of keeping global average temperatures below 2 °C and—even more so—1.5 °C (IPCC 2018). Fossil-fuel burning and cement production release ~90% of all CO2 emissions from human activities. After… -
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Global CO2 emissions hit record high in 2018, as Greenland ice melt goes into ‘overdrive’
By Russell McLendon Photo by Scott Olson/Getty ImagesGlobal carbon dioxide emissions in 2018 are soaring to the highest level on record, according to a new report from the Global Carbon Project, published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters. As…Carbon emissions to hit all-time high, says report
By Mark Tutton Photo by Global Carbon Report 2018A new report projects that annual global carbon emissions will reach an all-time high this year. Carbon emissions from human activity are driving climate change and curbing them is a central aim of the Paris Agreement,…
United Nations COP24
COP24 Reflections
Climate change: Five things we’ve learnt from COP24
What was agreed at COP24 in Poland and why did it take so long?
US teamed up with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to weaken language supporting landmark climate report
Special Coverage of COP24, the UN Climate Change Conference
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YALE 12/2/18
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United Nations COP24
3/1/17The 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference was the 24th Conference of the Parties( COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as the Katowice Climate Change Conference. It was held… -
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COP24 Reflections
By KristyAfter a disappointing conclusion of COP 24 this year from weak policies/ guidelines established in the Paris Rulebook to neglecting critical conversations around carbon markets, hope continues to be a scarce commodity found in the…Climate change: Five things we’ve learnt from COP24
By Matt McGrath Photo by Kiara Worth/IISD/ENBDelegates to the UN climate conference in Poland have reached agreement on how to implement the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which comes into force in 2020. What are the key points to come out of…What was agreed at COP24 in Poland and why did it take so long?
By Fiona Harvey Photo by Kacper Pempel/ReutersFractious UN climate change talks ended with a deal on putting the Paris agreement into practice – but much else left unresolved.US teamed up with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to weaken language supporting landmark climate report
By Kate SullivanThe United States sided with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait over the weekend at a global climate summit to contest language supporting a landmark climate report on limiting global warming.Special Coverage of COP24, the UN Climate Change Conference
As world leaders and change-makers gather this December in Katowice, Poland, for the 24th Conference of the Parties of the Climate Change Convention, or COP24, UN News will provide you with a front row seat…
Climate Change in the American Mind: December 2018
The Energy 202: ‘Year from hell’ means more Americans are taking climate change personally, new polling shows
More Americans Than Ever Believe in Climate Change, No Matter What Trump Says
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YALE 12/1/18
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Climate Change in the American Mind: December 2018
3/1/17“Things like depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, domestic abuse, all these things tend to go up in the aftermath of a natural disasters,” says psychologist Susan Clayton of the College of Wooster,… -
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The Energy 202: ‘Year from hell’ means more Americans are taking climate change personally, new polling shows
By Dino Grandoni Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP PhotoA pair of polls published Tuesday found broad recognition among Americans that the world is getting warmer after they endured a year of intense wildfires and devastating hurricanes.More Americans Than Ever Believe in Climate Change, No Matter What Trump Says
By Andy Kroll Photo by David Goldman/AP/REX/ShutterstockNew rates of melting ice underscore the results of an encouraging survey about environmental attitudes
Politics & Global Warming
Public Opinion: Is there an economy-environment tradeoff?
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YALE 12/1/18
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Politics & Global Warming
Drawing on a nationally representative survey (N = 1,114; including 966 registered voters), this report describes how American registered voters — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — view global warming, personal and collective action, and climate… -
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Public Opinion: Is there an economy-environment tradeoff?
By Matto Mildenberger and Anthony Leiserowitz Photo by David Goldman/AP/REX/ShutterstockBetween 2008 and 2012, multiple surveys found that US public beliefs and attitudes about global warming declined by over 10 percentage points. For example, our…
Climate Concerns Increase; Most Republicans Now Acknowledge Change
More Americans and most Republicans now believe in climate change
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MU 11/29/18
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Climate Concerns Increase; Most Republicans Now Acknowledge Change
11/29/18An increasing number of Americans believe climate change is occurring, including a majority who now see this issue as a very serious problem, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll. Most Americans are optimistic that… -
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More Americans and most Republicans now believe in climate change
By Veronica Stracqualursi Photo by Philippe Wojazer/ReutersA growing number of Americans, including most Republicans, believe that climate change is happening, a shift in public opinion from three years ago.
The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change
New Lancet report: The Global Syndemic: Uniting Actions to Address Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change
Weekend reading: The Lancet / EAT Forum report on healthy and sustainable diets
Eating meat has “dire” consequences for the planet, says report
Major Health Study Shows Benefits of Combating Climate Change
8 ways the climate apocalypse could affect your health
Study Warns of Cascading Health Risks From the Changing Climate
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LANCET 11/28/18
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The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change
11/28/18The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change was established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the health dimensions of the impacts of, and the response to, climate change. The… -
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New Lancet report: The Global Syndemic: Uniting Actions to Address Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change
By Marion NestleThe Lancet has been busy. Last week, it published a blockbuster report on the need for worldwide dietary changes to improve human health and that of the environment. And here is another post about this…Weekend reading: The Lancet / EAT Forum report on healthy and sustainable diets
By Marion NestleI’ve saved this for Weekend Reading because it will take a weekend to get through it. The report is a blockbuster: 37 authors, 47 pages, 357 references.Eating meat has “dire” consequences for the planet, says report
By Sarah Gibbens Photo by Robin Hammond, Nat Geo Image CollectionTo feed a growing global population and curtail climate change, scientists say we need to radically change our food systems.Major Health Study Shows Benefits of Combating Climate Change
By David SuzukiThe Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change, by 150 experts from 27 academic institutions and intergovernmental organizations, including the World Health Organization and the World Bank, is blunt: “A rapidly changing climate…8 ways the climate apocalypse could affect your health
By Peter Kotecki Photo by Mohammed/APPublic health journal The Lancet released a report Wednesday warning that climate change is causing a long list of health risks.Study Warns of Cascading Health Risks From the Changing Climate
By Somini Sengupta and Kendra Pierre-Louis Photo by Saumya Khandelwal for NYTCrop yields are declining. Tropical diseases like dengue fever are showing up in unfamiliar places, including in the United States. Tens of millions of people are exposed to extreme heat. These are the stark findings of…
2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment Report
The White House Plan to Change Climate Science
Investors Sound Alarm Bells on Climate. Are You Listening?
Melville House Published the Climate Report Because Trump Didn’t Want To
How to Understand the U.S. Climate Report
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerate Like a ‘Speeding Freight Train’ in 2018
Where Will Climate Change Impact The US? Everywhere.
We broke down what climate change will do, region by region
Climate change report: bad news for agriculture
How to Understand the U.S. Climate Report
The White House Talking Points About the National Climate Assessment Are Demonstrably False
President Trump Overlooks an Investment Opportunity in Climate Change
3 charts: What Trump doesn’t want you to know about the climate emergency
Climate Change Will Cost Taxpayers Billions In Near Future, Federal Report Shows
U.S. Climate Report Warns of Damaged Environment and Shrinking Economy
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NCA 11/23/18
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2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment Report
The Global Change Research Act of 1990 mandates that the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) deliver a report to Congress and the President no less than every four years that “1) integrates, evaluates, and… -
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The White House Plan to Change Climate Science
By Michael Barbaro Photo: Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York TimesAfter two years spent unraveling the policies of his predecessors, President Trump and his appointees are going after influential government reports.Investors Sound Alarm Bells on Climate. Are You Listening?
By Mindy Lubber and Veena RamaniLet’s add the World Economic Forum to the list of organizations sounding a clarion call on climate change. Their recent risks report identifies climate change as one…Melville House Published the Climate Report Because Trump Didn’t Want To
By Carrie V Mullins Photo by ColinOn November 23, 2018, the U.S. government released the Fourth National Climate Assessment, a federally mandated study compiled by thirteen agencies and over 300 scientists…How to Understand the U.S. Climate Report
By Lisa Friedman, Julia Rosen and Brad PlumerAs my colleague Coral Davenport reported, the timing of the release was no accident. The Trump administration hoped to bury the assessment’s grim findings in…Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerate Like a ‘Speeding Freight Train’ in 2018
By Kendra Pierre-Louis Wu Hong/EPA, via ShutterstockGreenhouse gas emissions worldwide are growing at an accelerating pace this year, researchers said Wednesday, putting the world on track to face some of the…Where Will Climate Change Impact The US? Everywhere.
By Ira Flatow Photo credit National Park ServiceFind out what the Fourth National Climate Assessment Report says about your region’s climate future.We broke down what climate change will do, region by region
By Grist staff Grist / Smith Collection / Gado / Getty ImagesA brilliant breakdown on what this report, mandated by Congress to occur in the US every 4 years, says.Climate change report: bad news for agriculture
By Marion Nestle Photo by Borgen MagazineThe US Global Change Research Program released its 4th report on climate change: U.S. agriculture and the communities it supports are threatened by increases in…How to Understand the U.S. Climate Report
By Lisa Friedman, Julia Rosen and Brad Plumer Photo by Janie Osborne, The New York TimesAs my colleague Coral Davenport reported, the timing of the release was no accident. The Trump administration hoped to bury the assessment’s grim findings in…The White House Talking Points About the National Climate Assessment Are Demonstrably False
By Brian Kahn Photo by APThe White House tried to hide the National Climate Assessment by releasing it on Black Friday. That plan failed. Stories continue to surface and reporters…President Trump Overlooks an Investment Opportunity in Climate Change
By Antony Currie Photo by Tom Brenner, The New York TimesFighting climate change could be America’s new New Deal. The effects of global warming on virtually all aspects of American society could be devastating, according…3 charts: What Trump doesn’t want you to know about the climate emergency
By Juan Cole Photo by Garry Knight, FlickrTrump and his cronies are deeply invested in or beholden to ExxonMobil and other Big Carbon firms who stand to lose billions if the public…Climate Change Will Cost Taxpayers Billions In Near Future, Federal Report Shows
By Meilan Solly Photo by Wikimedia CommonsBy 2100, the country’s GDP could shrink by 10 percent, triggering an economic crisis twice as damaging as the Great Recession.U.S. Climate Report Warns of Damaged Environment and Shrinking Economy
By Coral Davenport and Kendra Pierre-Louis By Justin Sullivan, Getty ImagesA major scientific report issued by 13 federal agencies on Friday presents the starkest warnings to date of the consequences of climate change for the…
Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web
Our vanishing world: Insects
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PNAS 10/30/18
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Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web
By Bradford C. Lister and Andres Garcia 10/30/18Arthropods, invertebrates including insects that have external skeletons, are declining at an alarming rate. While the tropics harbor the majority of arthropod species, little is known about trends in their abundance. We compared arthropod biomass… -
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Our vanishing world: Insects
By Robert J. BurrowesJust one critical and largely ignored variable in this rush to extinction is our decimation of the world insect population denying us an ever-expanding range of ecological services.
Decreases in global beer supply due to extreme drought and heat
Heat and Drought Could Threaten World Beer Supply
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NATURE 10/15/18
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Decreases in global beer supply due to extreme drought and heat
10/15/18Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world by volume consumed, and yields of its main ingredient, barley, decline sharply in periods of extreme drought and heat. Although the frequency and severity of… -
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Heat and Drought Could Threaten World Beer Supply
By James Gorman Photo by Agence France-PresseIf horrific hurricanes and a new, scarier-than-ever United Nations report don’t change attitudes on climate change, perhaps a new report on barley will. A small international team of scientists considered what the effect of climate…
2018 IPCC: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report
For the first time, NOAA’s annual report on the devastating effects of climate change in the Arctic is highlighting the unsettling changes to the lives of the people who live there.
Saving the Paris Agreement
IPCC Frequently Asked Questions PDF
6 Things Children Born This Year Will Experience In Their 20s
The IPCC says we need to buy less meat, milk, cheese and butter
The Latest U.N. Gap Report Shows Which Countries Are Falling Behind on Climate
The IPCC Climate Change Report: Why It Matters to Everyone on the Planet
Will We Survive Climate Change?
What Is Donald Trump’s Response to the U.N.’s Dire Climate Report?
Can Civilization Survive What’s Coming?
New UN Report Predicts Climate Crisis by 2040. Now What?
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IPCC 10/8/18
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2018 IPCC: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report
10/8/18An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of… -
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For the first time, NOAA’s annual report on the devastating effects of climate change in the Arctic is highlighting the unsettling changes to the lives of the people who live there.
By Maddie Stone Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGESFor the first time, NOAA’s annual report on the devastating effects of climate change in the Arctic is highlighting the unsettling changes to the lives…Saving the Paris Agreement
By Jeff Goodell Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesResponse at COP23 after release of IPCC: How a team of U.S. diplomats helped salvage the global pact on climate change in the face of…IPCC Frequently Asked Questions PDF
In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change included these FAQs in an effort to make the basics of climate science more accessible to non-scientists.…6 Things Children Born This Year Will Experience In Their 20s
By Chris D’Angelo and Alexander C. Kaufman Photo by Akhtar Soomro, ReutersThe latest U.N. climate report includes some dire forecasts.The IPCC says we need to buy less meat, milk, cheese and butter
By BBC News USFor example, beef cattle raised on deforested land produces 12 times more greenhouse gas emissions than those reared on natural pastures. Scroll down for a…The Latest U.N. Gap Report Shows Which Countries Are Falling Behind on Climate
By Kate Wheeling Photo by Ho/AFP/Getty ImagesMajor countries are still whiffing on their Paris Agreement pledges.The IPCC Climate Change Report: Why It Matters to Everyone on the Planet
By Courtney LindwallThe U.N. report warns that dire impacts from climate change will arrive sooner than many expected. Here’s why we need to follow the report’s advice,…Will We Survive Climate Change?
By John Schwartz Photo by Jens Mortensen, The New York TimesReports of the threats from a warming planet have been coming fast and furiously. The latest: a startling analysis from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate…What Is Donald Trump’s Response to the U.N.’s Dire Climate Report?
By Elizabeth Kolbert Illustration by João FazendaThe U.N.’s scientific advisory board sounds a piercing alarm on climate change, but the President doesn’t seem to hear it.Can Civilization Survive What’s Coming?
By Jeff GoodellThe new IPCC report on climate change will fill you with existential dread — rightfully so.New UN Report Predicts Climate Crisis by 2040. Now What?
By Tanzina Vega Photo: AP PhotoA new UN climate report says it will take unprecedented efforts to avert massive and deadly increases in drought, food shortages, wildfires, and more by…