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.
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Hydraulic traits govern opposing range shifts of montane trees under warming
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02726-6
The authors integrate dendrochronological records with range shifts to show that shifts in montane tree species are tightly linked to tree hydraulic properties. While climate-sensitive species track warming to higher elevations, stress-resistant species expand downslope.Persistence of Arctic Ocean acidification under negative emissions
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02715-9
Changes in the Earth system may persist long after atmospheric CO2 levels decline. This study examines ocean acidification and how it will persist in ocean regions globally, with the Arctic identified as the area that experiences relief from acidification the latest under negative emissions.Promoting effective and inclusive communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02729-3
Climate change communication shapes how societies perceive risks and respond to them. In this issue of Nature Climate Change we examine the evolving content and methods of climate communication, the challenges of urgency and injustice, and the strategies for building effective and inclusive communication channels.Challenges and next steps in climate disaster communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02714-w
Communication is essential for keeping communities safe when climate disasters occur. Here, we explore how disaster communication informs protective actions and examine five challenges: false information, exhaustion from repeated disasters, unequal access to information, polarized climate attitudes and mental health.Social media and the changing landscape of climate change communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02680-3
Social media have become an important arena for climate change communication. This Review synthesizes climate-related content on social media, its effects on climate attitudes, knowledge and behaviour, and its role in reshaping the broader communication landscape.Social influence shapes climate attitudes and action
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02711-z
Individuals and groups shape others’ attitudes and actions through social influence. This Perspective articulates a research agenda of social influence for climate action, synthesizes existing evidence and highlights its practical relevance for designing effective behavioural interventions.Local stories in climate change communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02694-x
Climate change communication differs across regions, shaped by unique political, economic, social and environmental conditions. These influence how climate messages are framed, received and acted upon by the local public. To explore this diversity, Nature Climate Change spoke to globally distributed scholars for their perspectives on the communication patterns, challenges and priorities in their regions.Connected cities build mobility resilience
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 28 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02722-w
Traditional resilience planning for extreme weather focuses on reinforcing municipal boundaries and internal infrastructure. Now, a study demonstrates how a city’s socioeconomic and physical ties to external urban networks act as a critical catalyst for intra-city mobility resilience under extreme rainfall.Tree species richness relates to long-term forest photosynthesis increase
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02698-7
The authors integrate tree species richness with satellite-derived photosynthesis proxies to show that richness correlates with greater current levels of photosynthesis and greater increases over time. Projected biodiversity loss by 2050 could lead to cumulative forest photosynthesis loss of 4.4–35.7 PgC.Canopy-mediated climate feedbacks in the boreal continuous permafrost zone
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02692-z
Soil carbon stocks are greater than biomass carbon in boreal forests. This study shows that tree canopies thermally protect more carbon in permafrost from thaw than is stored in biomass, highlighting the need to consider carbon impacts of forest disturbance and conservation on an ecosystem scale.Less than net zero needed to stabilize climate
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02708-8
Global temperature change over long times after cessation of greenhouse gas emissions is not well constrained. Now, research shows a consistent global cooling, especially if negative CO2 emissions compensate for continued CH4 and N2O emissions.Tracking the status of global evidence
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02720-y
Assessing the status of adaptation is important to target support and determine priority gaps. Here I look back on an influential 2021 study that reported a systematic review of evidence of implemented human adaptation and consider how this underscored the imperative for greater policy action and spawned methodological advancements in how to track adaptation progress.Multi-century cooling after net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02700-2
How global temperatures change after net-zero emissions are reached is highly uncertain. Here the authors constrain this response and find that net-zero GHG emissions lead to multi-century cooling of at least 0.6 °C.Global vessel carbon dioxide emission from navigable rivers
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02718-6
The magnitude and distribution of CO2 emissions from river transport are poorly constrained. This study finds that global CO2 emissions from inland vessels were about one-quarter of total vessel emissions, and that emissions were concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere, related to economic activity.Ecological novelty induced by climate change
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 22 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02697-8
The authors review ecological novelty—ecological situations with no precedent—arising from climate change. They discuss ecological novelty due to direct and indirect effects of climate change, and due to adaptation and mitigation measures, and explore management options that are against, for or tolerant of ecological novelty.Temporal horizons in US climate change news
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 21 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02716-8
Whether news presents climate change as something happening now or in the future impacts public risk perceptions and climate action. A recent study shows that, in US news, the timing of anticipated climate impacts has got closer but coordinated climate actions are consistently deferred to the future.Reform preferences of key actors in the UNFCCC process
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 21 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02723-9
COP meetings have faced criticism and calls for reform, yet evidence on reform choices remains limited. Here a survey of COP participants reveals broad support for enhancing transparency and implementation, while proposals to change consensus rules or the COP presidency are less favoured.Win–wins for wind and whales
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02705-x
Offshore wind development presents huge potential for climate change mitigation, but loud underwater noises produced during construction can negatively impact marine species. Recent research shows that careful planning and noise-reduction technologies can effectively reduce impacts on critically endangered North Atlantic right whales at relatively minor additional cost.Tropical forest restoration can offset water flux losses from deforestation but not everywhere
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02710-0
Tropical forest restoration is widely promoted as a nature-based climate solution, but its potential to restore hydrological functions impaired by deforestation remains unclear. Now, satellite observations show that forest gain can increase evapotranspiration and precipitation more than forest loss reduces them, with prominent asymmetry in South America and Africa.Balancing marine species conservation with cost-effective renewable energy development
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02696-9
The authors consider the potential conflict between renewable energy development (offshore wind) and wildlife (North Atlantic right whales, Eubalaena glacialis). They demonstrate a framework to identify trade-offs under different scenarios, maximizing conservation with minimal financial burden.