Showing papers in "Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change in 2012"

International tourism and climate change

Abstract: Tourism is a major global economic sector that is undergoing tremendous growth in emerging economies and is often touted as salient for development and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Tourism is recognized as a highly climate-sensitive sector, one that is also strongly influenced by environmental and socioeconomic change influenced by climate change, and is also a growing contributor to anthropogenic climate change. This article outlines the complex interrelationships between climate change and the multiple components of the international tourism system. Five focal themes that have developed within the literature on the consequences of climate change for tourism are then critically reviewed: climatic change and temporal and geographic shifts in tourism demand, climate-induced environmental change and destination competitiveness within three major market segments (winter sports tourism, coastal tourism, and nature-based tourism), and mitigation policy developments and future tourist mobility. The review highlights the differential vulnerability of tourism destinations and that the resultant changes in competitiveness and sustainability will transform some international tourism markets. Feedbacks throughout the tourism system mean that all destinations will need to adapt to the risks and opportunities posed by climate change and climate policy. While notable progress has been made in the last decade, a number of important knowledge gaps in each of the major impact areas, key regional knowledge gaps, and both tourist and tourism operator perceptions of climate change risks and adaptive capacity indicate that the tourism sector is not currently well prepared for the challenges of climate change. WIREs Clim Change 2012. doi: 10.1002/wcc.165 This article is categorized under: Climate and Development > Decoupling Emissions from Development

Modeling the climatic effects of large explosive volcanic eruptions

Abstract: Large volcanic eruptions are an important driving factor of natural climate variability. A sound assessment of the role of volcanoes in the climate system in comparison to other forcing factors is therefore a prerequisite for understanding future and past climate variability. New advances in understanding volcanic climate effects have been achieved by using comprehensive climate and Earth system models. New insights have been gained over the last decade about volcanic impacts on atmospheric composition and dynamics, but most notably also about their impact on ocean dynamics, the hydrological and the carbon cycle and on marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry. An important achievement is the improved understanding of the volcanic imprint on decadal to multidecadal time scales. Climate model simulations of past eruptions are highly dependent not only on the quality of the model and of the volcanologcial input data but also on the treatment of the aerosol size distribution in chemistry and radiation calculations. Further knowledge has to be achieved about the relation between the initial climate state at the time of the eruption and the volcanic climatic impact. A challenging task for climate models is also the simulation of the Northern Hemisphere winter climate response after a large tropical eruption. Model intercomparison studies and cross validations of model simulations with observations are essential to better constrain the radiative forcing of large volcanic eruptions and their climate impact. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:545–564. doi: 10.1002/wcc.192 This article is categorized under: Climate Models and Modeling > Earth System Models

Online communication on climate change and climate politics: a literature review

Abstract: The study of climate change communication has become an important research field. As stakeholders such as scientists, politicians, corporations, or NGOs increasingly turn to the Internet and social media for providing information and mobilizing support, and as an increasing number of people use these media, online communication on climate change and climate politics has become a relevant topic. This article reviews the available scholarly literature on the role of online and social media in climate communication. It analyzes how stakeholders use online communication strategically, showing, for example, that climate scientists and scientific institutions do not seem to be major players in online debates about climate change and climate politics. Furthermore, it highlights the characteristics of online climate communication, outlining, for example, that although (or because) many stakeholders participate online, this does not lead to robust scientific information or better debates. Eventually, the review assesses what is known about the uses and effects of online climate communication, showing that impacts on the broader public seem to be limited so far. Research desiderata are identified in the end, and directions for further studies are shown. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:527–543. doi: 10.1002/wcc.191 This article is categorized under: Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication

Adaptation to climate change by organizations

Abstract: Organizations will be central actors in societal adaptation to climate variability and change. But highly simplified assumptions are often made about the response of organizations to the stimulus of perceived or experienced climate change. This paper reviews recent literature, arguing that three approaches are applied in studies of organizational adaptation: utility-maximizing, behavioral, and institutional approaches. The paper argues that adaptive responses by organizations are conditioned by the processes of perception, evaluation, enactment, and learning by organizations. Organizational adaptation involves adjustments in each of these processes. The extent to which adaptive measures are taken by organizations will be influenced both by endogenous factors, such as the capability to innovate and attitudes to risk, as well as by the external economic and institutional context. Willingness to exercise available adaptation options will vary between organizations. Evidence of organizational adaptation from case studies and meta-analyses is reviewed.  2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Place identity and climate change adaptation: a synthesis and framework for understanding

Abstract: Most research on climate change adaptation emphasizes the material and objective assets that build the capacity to adapt. Nonmaterial or ‘subjective’ attributes of adaptation (e.g. identity, beliefs, and values) are more difficult to quantify, and research in this area is less developed. Further effort is required to develop and test frameworks that facilitate a systematic examination of the subjective attributes of climate change adaptation. This article outlines the contribution of place identity theory as a lens through which to systematically examine how person–place bonds influence climate change adaptation. We provide a working typology of three interconnected place identity approaches to help elucidate this relationship. Each has strengths and weaknesses, depending on the theoretical and practical contexts within which they are used. The ‘cognitive-behavioral approach’ has important utility in addressing how place identity shapes climate change perceptions and behavior; it can, however, be limited due to cognitive complexity and lack of richness from quantitative methodologies. The ‘health and well-being approach’ addresses the often underemphasized health and well-being impacts from climate change on place and identity, though the subjective nature of health must be considered in such an approach. The ‘collective action approach’ offers important insight into using place identity as a mechanism to foster collective opportunities for climate change adaptation. With such an approach, however, care must be taken to ensure inclusive representation of subgroup identities. We conclude by reflecting on how place identity theory can foster improved understanding in a critically important and emerging area of climate change adaptation research. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Past and recent changes in the North Atlantic oscillation

Abstract: The North Atlantic oscillation (NAO) is under current climate conditions the leading mode of atmospheric circulation variability over the North Atlantic region. While the pattern is present during the entire year, it is most important during winter, explaining a large part of the variability of the large-scale pressure field, being thus largely determinant for the weather conditions over the North Atlantic basin and over Western Europe. In this study, a review of recent literature on the basic understanding of the NAO, its variability on different time scales and driving physical mechanisms is presented. In particular, the observed NAO variations and long-term trends are put into a long term perspective by considering paleo-proxy evidence. A representative number of recently released NAO reconstructions are discussed. While the reconstructions agree reasonably well with observations during the instrumental overlapping period, there is a rather high uncertainty between the different reconstructions for the pre-instrumental period, which leads to partially incoherent results, that is, periods where the NAO reconstructions do not agree even in sign. Finally, we highlight the future need of a broader definition of the NAO, the assessment of the stability of the teleconnection centers over time, the analysis of the relations to other relevant variables like temperature and precipitation, as well as on the relevant processes involved. © 2011 John Wiley &

Forests and trees for social adaptation to climate variability and change

Abstract: Ecosystems provide important services that can help people adapt to climate variability and change. Recognizing this role of ecosystems, several international and nongovernmental organizations have promoted an ecosystem-based approach to adaptation. We review the scientific literature related to ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) with forests and trees, and highlight five cases in which forests and trees can support adaptation: (1) forests and trees providing goods to local communities facing climatic threats; (2) trees in agricultural fields regulating water, soil, and microclimate for more resilient production; (3) forested watersheds regulating water and protecting soils for reduced climate impacts; (4) forests protecting coastal areas from climate-related threats; and (5) urban forests and trees regulating temperature and water for resilient cities. The literature provides evidence that EBA with forests and trees can reduce social vulnerability to climate hazards; however, uncertainties and knowledge gaps remain, particularly for regulating services in watersheds and coastal areas. Few studies have been undertaken on EBA specifically, but the abundant literature on ecosystem services can be used to fill knowledge gaps. Many studies assess the multiple benefits of ecosystems for human adaptation or well-being, but also recognize trade-offs between ecosystem services. Better understanding is needed of the efficiency, costs, and benefits, and trade-offs of EBA with forests and trees. Pilot projects under implementation could serve as learning sites and existing information could be systematized and revisited with a climate change adaptation lens.  2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Changes in climate and weather extremes in the 21st century

Abstract: Climate and weather extremes are sporadically recurring events that may have major local or regional impacts on the society and the environment. These events are typically related to unusually high or low temperature, prolonged dry or wet conditions, heavy precipitation, or extreme winds. Extreme events are part of the overall climate and weather alongside average conditions and variability, and thus are not unexpected as such. Climate change is expected to affect not only means but also variability and extremes. Some inferences can be based on past and present observations, but analyses of especially rare events are hampered by the availability of long time series. Over time, depending on how far the on-going global warming takes us from the present and the past climate conditions, the weather and climate statistics may well come to shift in ways that are well outside observational data. This may lead to shifts in frequency, intensity and geographical distribution of different extremes. Indeed, projected changes in some extremes over the 21st century are quite robust, such as generally increasing warm and decreasing cold extremes. Possible changes in some other aspects, for example storms, remain much more uncertain. Science-based information both on robust findings and on relevant uncertainties on changing extremes can provide useful information for sectorial planning, disaster risk prevention and overall reduction of societal vulnerability related to climate and weather. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:115129. doi: 10.1002/wcc.160 (Less)

Climate models as a test bed for climate reconstruction methods: pseudoproxy experiments

Abstract: Millennium-length, forced transient simulations with fully coupled general circulation models have become important new tools for addressing uncertainties in global and hemispheric temperature reconstructions targeting the Common Era (the last two millennia). These model simulations are used as test beds on which to evaluate the performance of paleoclimate reconstruction methods using controlled and systematic investigations known as pseudoproxy experiments (PPEs). Such experiments are motivated by the fact that any given real-world reconstruction is the product of multiple uncontrolled factors, making it difficult to isolate the impact of one factor in reconstruction assessments and comparisons. PPEs have established a common experimental framework that can be systematically altered and evaluated, and thus test reconstruction methods and their dependencies. Although the translation of PPE results into real-world implications must be done cautiously, their experimental design attributes allow researchers to test reconstruction techniques beyond what was previously possible with real-world data alone. This review summarizes the development of PPEs and their findings over the last decade. The state of the science and its implications for global and hemispheric temperature reconstructions is also reviewed, as well as near-term design improvements that will expand the utility of PPEs. ! 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of spatial planning in adapting to climate change

Abstract: Spatial planning has been identified as a critical mechanism through which climate change adaptation can be facilitated. We review the role of spatial planning as a tool for adaptation to climate change. In doing so, we describe common planning processes and tools. Six capacities of spatial planning that have the potential ability to facilitate climate change adaptation are identified and discussed. These principally relate to spatial planning's ability to: act on matters of collective concern; manage competing interests; cut across scales; reduce and act on uncertainty; act as a knowledge repository; and be oriented to the future while integrating a range of diverse systems. Methods (tools) for planning which have the capacity to address climate change adaptation are presented and discussed. In light of these capacities and acknowledged limitations in planning practice, we identify three key challenges to spatial planning for adaptation: (1) developing conviction; (2) facilitating equitable processes and outcomes; and (3) transforming planning systems from passive to proactive. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi: 10.1002/wcc.183 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Is snow in the Alps receding or disappearing

Abstract: Snow in a populated and economically diverse region such as the Alps plays an important role in both natural environmental systems, (e.g., hydrology and vegetation), and a range of socio-economic sectors (e.g., tourism or hydropower). Changes in snow amount and duration may impact upon these systems in various ways. The objective of this text is to assess whether the public perception that snow has been receding in recent decades in the European Alps is indeed upheld by observations of the behavior of the mountain snow-pack in the last few decades. This article will show that, depending on location—and in particular according to altitude—the quantity of snow and the length of the snow season have indeed changed over the past century.While a major driving factor for this is clearly to be found in recent warming trends, other processes also contribute to the reduction in snow, such as the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the variability of the mountain snow-pack. This article ends with a short glimpse to the future, based on recent model studies that suggest that snow at low to medium elevations will indeed have all but disappeared by 2100.

Perceptions of geoengineering: Public attitudes, stakeholder perspectives & the challenge of 'upstream' engagement

Abstract: Geoengineering—the deliberate large‐scale manipulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change—is receiving an increasing amount of attention from academics, policy and civil society stakeholders, and members of the general public. This article reviews the available literature on perceptions of geoengineering, including public attitudes and stakeholder perspectives. We describe some of the challenges of engaging with these audiences at such an ‘upstream’ phase in the development of geoengineering technologies. We conclude with reflections on the importance of eliciting public and stakeholder views, despite the challenges associated with upstream engagement, and identify a number of key research priorities for those involved in upstream engagement on geoengineering.

A review of climate geoengineering appraisals

Abstract: Deliberate large-scale interventions in the Earth's climate system—known collectively as ‘geoengineering’—have been proposed in order to moderate anthropogenic climate change. Amidst a backdrop of many ways of framing the supposed normative rationales for or against their use, geoengineering proposals are undergoing serious consideration. To support decision makers in the multitude of governance considerations a growing number of appraisals are being conducted to evaluate their pros and cons. Appraisals of geoengineering are critically reviewed here for the first time using a systematic literature search and screen strategy. Substantial variability between different appraisals' outputs originates from usually hidden framing effects relating to contextual and methodological choices. Geoengineering has largely been appraised in contextual isolation, ignoring the wider portfolio of options for tackling climate change—spanning mitigation and adaptation—and creating an artificial choice between geoengineering proposals. Most existing appraisal methods do not adequately respond to the post-normal scientific context in which geoengineering resides and show a strong emphasis on closed and exclusive ‘expert-analytic’ techniques. These and other framing effects invariably focus—or close down—upon particular sets of problem definition, values, assumptions, and courses of action. This produces a limited range of decision options which seem preferable given those framing effects that are privileged, and could ultimately contribute to the closing down of governance commitments. Emergent closure around particular geoengineering proposals is identified and argued to be premature given the need for more anticipatory, responsible, and reflexive forms of governing what is an ‘upstream’ domain of scientific and technological development.

Climate and history: a critical review of historical climatology and climate change historiography

Abstract: This paper provides a critical analysis of recent climate history (or historical climatology) scholarship. It identifies four key subfields in this historiography of climate change. First, it examines scholarship on climate reconstructions that use a variety of innovative historical sources to document past climatic conditions. Second, it analyzes scholarship on social impacts and responses to climate change. This literature is prolific with significant attention given to climatic variability and climatic or weather-related disasters. Third, the paper discusses research on the uses and abuses of climate knowledge, such as innovations in meteorology and climatology as well as ways that Western climate knowledge helped justify colonialism and perpetuate racism. Fourth, the paper examines research on cultural constructions and perceptions of climate. This includes analysis of diverse climatic understandings and climate narratives that have varied across time and space. While the climate historiography is steadily expanding and constantly probing new areas, this paper contends that the field overall would benefit from a stronger emphasis on social history to examine race, class, and gender in climate history while also focusing on how social relations and power dynamics affect human–climate interactions. Additionally, it argues that the uncovering of more diverse climate meanings and narratives, partly through better social history, could both enrich the historiography and contribute to today's broader discussions about global climate change in the past and future. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi: 10.1002/wcc.171 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Climate policy processes, local institutions, and adaptation actions: mechanisms of translation and influence

Abstract: This paper focuses on the experience of the national level adaptation planning efforts and the lessons that can be derived for more effective adaptation from an examination of local governance of development and natural resources. After examining national level adaptation plans, particularly the National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs), the paper analyzes the range of institutional instruments and relationships visible in contemporary decentralization reforms. The analysis derives four important lessons for adaptation planning, with special attention to the articulation between local and national level adaptation processes. The paper underlines: a) the diversity of local institutions; b) adaptation strategies, and identifies factors that promote; and c) greater accountability and d) greater equity in national/local relationships.

Communicating probabilistic information from climate model ensembles-lessons from numerical weather prediction

Abstract: Climate model ensembles are widely heralded for their potential to quantify uncertainties and generate probabilistic climate projections. However, such technical improvements to modeling science will do little to deliver on their ultimate promise of improving climate policymaking and adaptation unless the insights they generate can be effectively communicated to decision makers. While some of these communicative challenges are unique to climate ensembles, others are common to hydrometeorological modeling more generally, and to the tensions arising between the imperatives for saliency, robustness, and richness in risk communication. The paper reviews emerging approaches to visualizing and communicating climate ensembles and compares them to the more established and thoroughly evaluated communication methods used in the numerical weather prediction domains of day-to-day weather forecasting (in particular probabilities of precipitation), hurricane and flood warning, and seasonal forecasting. This comparative analysis informs recommendations on best practice for climate modelers, as well as prompting some further thoughts on key research challenges to improve the future communication of climate change uncertainties.

Changing household consumption to address climate change: social scientific insights and challenges

Abstract: Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)-intensive consumption can be an important route to reducing the GHG emissions that cause climate change. To effectively mitigate climate change by reforming human consumption patterns we must have a comprehensive understanding of the linkages between consumption and climate change and how consumption may be altered. This article begins by reviewing the empirical research that links consumption and GHG emissions and identifies GHG-intensive actions and systems. We then identify four social science understandings of consumption: the consumer as homo economicus, the predictably irrational consumer, the locked-in consumer, and the socially organized consumer. These understandings of consumption that emerge from economics, psychology, anthropology,andsociologyleadustodifferentconclusionsonwhatcanbedoneto change consumption patterns to mitigate climate change. To effectively transform consumption, we advocate the implementation of a range of policy solutions and explore several levers for managing change. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Indigenous climate knowledges

Abstract: This article describes, assesses, and explains the growing status of indigenous knowledges (IKs) in climate science and politics. Informed by a critical environmental perspective we review the literature on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), explore the contested nature of this concept, and identify the numerous epistemological obstacles to the appropriate and respectful inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge. While we believe that TEK and Western science are complementary, the inclusion of TEK in climate science and politics has been uneven. In support of our argument, we present a framework for assessment of degrees of inclusion of TEK and apply the framework to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), and the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA). We find that the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol do not account for either indigenous peoples or indigenous people's knowledges. The AR4 includes some references to indigenous peoples but they are often buried in regional chapters. The ACIA is the most inclusive of all the documents examined and represents an important starting point for the inclusion of IKs. Based on the findings of our assessment, we conclude with recommendations for moving forward with greater inclusion of IKs. WIREs Clim Change 2011 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.185 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. The word knowledges is used specifically to recognize the variation and diversity of types of knowledges held by indigenous peoples the world over. This is to convey that there is no one overriding ‘knowledge system’ found among all indigenous peoples; that their knowledges are a reflection of each unique ecosystem and individual experiences within those ecosystems. This word usage is also not uncommon within the Indigenous Studies or Women's Studies literature.

Stochastic weather generators for climate‐change downscaling, part II: multivariable and spatially coherent multisite downscaling

Abstract: This paper continues Part I (Wilks DS. Use of stochastic weather generators for precipitation downscaling. WIRES Clim Change 2010, 1(6):898–907) of a two-part review on statistical downscaling of climate changes using parametric ‘weather generators’, which treated only precipitation downscaling at individual locations. Here the review is extended to include also downscaling of nonprecipitation variables at individual locations, and spatially coherent precipitation and nonprecipitation downscaling. Parametric weather generators are explicitly stochastic models that usually operate on the daily timescale. The use of stochastic methods for climate downscaling is natural and logically consistent because of the inherent indeterminacy of the problem: any number of small-scale weather sequences may be associated with a given set of larger-scale values. Downscaled climate changes are simulated by adjusting or varying the parameters of the weather generators, in a manner consistent with dynamically simulated or otherwise assumed larger-scale climate changes. Two main approaches for such parametric adjustments have been developed, namely changes in the daily weather generator parameters based on imposed or assumed changes in the corresponding monthly statistics, and day-by-day changes to the generator parameters that are controlled by daily variations in simulated atmospheric circulation. These methods are reviewed here, and perspectives on their relative merits are offered. WIREs Clim Change 2012 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.167 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Views of the frontiers in climate change adaptation economics

Abstract: The shift from framing climate change adaptation as vulnerability–impacts to adaptation pathways is also a shift from a predict-and-provide approaches to understanding dynamic processes. Studies of the economics of adaptation relying only on the comparative statics of reference and climate impacts scenarios ignore the more challenging frontier of representing decision processes and uncertainty. The logic of the shift to dynamic-pathway approaches is widely accepted in principal. Effective analytical tools are only beginning to appear. Further case studies are required to explore the matrix of uncertainty in future climate conditions against the range of metrics for valuing impacts in decision processes. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:161–170. doi: 10.1002/wcc.157 This article is categorized under: Climate Economics > Aggregation Techniques for Impacts and Mitigation Costs

Climate change regional review: Poland

Abstract: Poland is a country where a climate change warming signal can be detected in temperature, but observed changes in other variables, and especially in precipitation, are complex. Temperature projections indicate further warming, but models do not agree as to seasonal distribution of changes in precipitation. This article reviews evidence for climate change and its impacts in Poland, in the context of observations and projections. It also reviews various aspects of climate change mitigation policy in the country whose energy supply is more coal-dominated than any other country. This is one reason why climate change mitigation efforts are modest and climate policy largely passive. The dramatic decline of industrial production involving a rapid decline in CO2 emissions during 1989–1992 was the crucial element of the Poland's position in the negotiations of international agreements. The European Union (EU) accession in 2004 tied Poland to EU climate policy. This cautious approach is largely in harmony with public attitudes. Poles are aware of climate change, but it is not considered as a priority issue and public opinion is divided about the issues of mitigation. Adaptation to climate change impacts in Poland is driven by the fact that observed impacts are not very large and there is no persuasive attribution of these impacts to greenhouse gas emissions. Reactive adaptation to climate change is preferred over anticipatory adaptation. There are several ‘special care’ areas in Poland in terms of adaptation: the mountains; the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea; and the river valleys. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi: 10.1002/wcc.175 This article is categorized under: Trans-Disciplinary Perspectives > National Reviews

The legacy of climategate: undermining or revitalizing climate science and policy?

Abstract: In mid-November 2009, emails were removed without authorization from a University of East Anglia server and posted to the internet; within 24 h an international scandal was born—alleging fraud by leading climate scientists—which almost immediately became known as climategate. Multiple investigations concluded that no fraud or scientific misconduct had occurred. Despite the exonerations, however, the email controversy has had impacts, both negative and positive. On the negative side, a small minority of the American public and a somewhat larger minority of American TV news professionals—mostly political conservatives—indicated that the controversy made them more certain that climate change is not happening, and undermined their trust in climate scientists. Conservative organizations and politicians continue to cite the controversy in justifying their opposition to government action on climate change. On the positive side, the controversy impressed upon the climate science community the need for improved communication and public engagement efforts, and many individuals and organizations have begun to address these needs. It also reminded the climate science community of the importance of transparency, data availability, and strong quality assurance procedures, stimulating many organizations to review their data management practices. Although it is too soon to gauge the lasting legacy of the controversy, if the climate science community takes it as an opportunity to improve its already high standards of scientific conduct—as well as improve its less well-developed approach to public engagement—the long-term prognosis is good. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi: 10.1002/wcc.168 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Prospects and challenges for an archaeology of global climate change

Abstract: Archaeology has a long history of research in reconstructing past environments and in attempting to understand the interactions between climate and human societies. So far, however, there has been little attempt by archaeologists to employ this knowledge in the debate over current global climate change. This paper provides a broad overview of the relevance of archaeology to the problem of global climate change, yet also attempts to consider some of the challenges that require further debate. We propose five areas where archaeology may be able to make significant contributions to global climate change discourse: (1) the study not just of past social ‘collapse’ but of how ancient societies attempted to manage decline and recovery in the face of long-term environmental change; (2) the ability to rethink the nature/culture divide; (3) the use of public archaeology to further education and awareness on environmental links and impacts; (4) the study of social injustice and how it may affect societal responses to the environment; and (5) the building of common ‘intercultural’ responses to climate change. Challenges identified are (1) making clearer in public debate the relevance of archaeology to present and future climate change; (2) the contexts in which people really learn from the past; (3) how different (national) traditions of archaeological research may affect our ability to relate archaeology to global climate change; and (4) how human-induced climate change on a global scale alters traditional historical approaches to human agency. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi: 10.1002/wcc.174 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Climate change and global justice

Abstract: In this article, I examine matters concerning justice and climate change in light of current work in global justice. I briefly discuss some of the most important contemporary work by political philosophers and theorist on global justice and relate it to various considerations regarding justice and climate change. After briefly surveying the international treaty context, I critically discuss several issues, including climate change and human rights, responsibility for historical emissions and the polluter-pays principle, the ability to pay principle, grandfathering entitlements to emit greenhouse gasses, equal per capita emissions entitlements, the right to sustainable development, and responsibility for financing adaptation to climate change. This set of issues does not exhaust the list of considerations of global justice and climate change, but it includes some of the most important of those considerations. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:131–143. doi: 10.1002/wcc.158 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Climate ethics and population policy

Abstract: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, human population growth is one of the two primary causes of increased greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating global climate change. Slowing or ending population growth could be a cost effective, environmentally advantageous means to mitigate climate change, providing important benefits to both human and natural communities. Yet population policy has attracted relatively little attention from ethicists, policy analysts, or policy makers dealing with this issue. In part, this is because addressing population matters means wading into a host of contentious ethical issues, including family planning, abortion, and immigration. This article reviews the scientific literature regarding voluntary population control's potential contribution to climate change mitigation. It considers possible reasons for the failure of climate ethicists, analysts, and policy makers to adequately assess that contribution or implement policies that take advantage of it, with particular reference to the resistance to accepting limits to growth. It explores some of the ethical issues at stake, considering arguments for and against noncoercive population control and asking whether coercive population policies are ever morally justified. It also argues that three consensus positions in the climate ethics literature regarding acceptable levels of risk, unacceptable harms, and a putative right to economic development, necessarily imply support for voluntary population control. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:45–61. doi: 10.1002/wcc.153 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Challenges in simulating sea ice in Earth System Models

Abstract: Sea ice is a key element of the Earth's climate system, and also of significant ecological, geo-political, and economic importance. Understanding the ongoing changes of the Earth's sea-ice cover is therefore not only scientifically interesting in itself, but also crucial for a large number of different stakeholders. Without such understanding, a reliable projection of possible future changes will be impossible. A main focus of ongoing sea-ice research is therefore aimed at identifying the factors that modulate the ice's variability on seasonal and longer time scales. For such efforts, coupled Climate Models or Earth System Models are used. To give trustworthy results, these models must be able to realistically simulate the mechanical and thermodynamic interaction of sea ice with the atmosphere and the ocean, which determine the resulting sea-ice thickness distribution. While the representation of such air–ice–sea interaction has seen some major advances in the most complex sea-ice models during the past decade, a number of fundamental processes of air–ice–sea interaction are still only crudely understood and currently not realistically represented in models. This article provides a succinct description of these processes and discusses necessary research directions for their improved representation in models. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:509–526. doi: 10.1002/wcc.189 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

The challenges of building cosmopolitan climate expertise: the case of Germany

Abstract: By generating intense public scrutiny of international climate science, the ‘climategate’ controversy has paradoxically underlined the authoritative status accorded to scientific knowledge in policy decision making on climate change. In contrast to the universalizing discourse of international climate science (as presented by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC)), notable differences exist between countries with regard to the degree of public trust in its expertise. Focusing on the German case, this article explores how and why countries vary when it comes to interpreting and validating ‘universally valid’ expertise. It argues that differences in the way climate change are addressed in national research and decision making cannot be explained solely by the quality of scientific knowledge available, because it is the same body of knowledge (produced by the IPCC) that provides the common point of reference. The reception of scientific evidence for climate change by publics and policy makers depends additionally on the ways in which scientific claims are validated and rendered authoritative for public use and on prior criteria of what counts as scientifically valid and policy-relevant knowledge. This article then discusses the implications entailed by these national differences in terms of interpreting expertise on matters of global relevance. It shows why the task of producing policy-relevant knowledge ‘under the public microscope’ requires new forms of interdisciplinary scientific judgment and justification toward wider publics. It reviews recent initiatives set up to respond to ‘climategate’ and discusses the alternatives offered by a wide range of efforts to promote a differentiated, reflexive, and culturally sensitive ‘cosmopolitan’ approach.  2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Climate model simulation visualization from a visual studies perspective

Abstract: The article gives an overview on the visualization of climate model data simulation from a visual studies perspective. On one hand the question is raised of what it means culturally when global images are used to communicate scenarios of a changing climate future beyond the field of climate research itself. The product of this process is one of the most widespread ‘icons’ of climate change, the image of the blue planet that has turned red. On the other hand insights into how these visualizations are designed in the studio of a computer designer are given. The focus here is on the way in which specific visualization software shapes images of a changing global climate. The article takes as its starting point the perspective of visual and media studies, because images have become so crucial in communicating research results of climate science and convincing policy agents and the public. What is special about scientific images depicting climate change is that they have implicitly also become political images. As today various actors and recipient groups are making use of pictures depicting climate change, the article concerns climate science, media studies, computer visualization, cultural studies, and politics alike. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:185–193. doi: 10.1002/wcc.162 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

The legacy of climategate: revitalizing or undermining climate science and policy?

Abstract: The release of emails from a server at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU) in November 2009 and the following climategate controversy have become a topic for interpretation in the social sciences. This article picks out some of the most visible social science comments on the affair for discussion. These comments are compared to an account of what can be seen as problematic practices by climate scientists. There is general agreement in these comments that climate science needs more openness and transparency. But when evaluating climategate a variety of responses is seen, ranging from the apologetic to the highly critical, even condemning the practices in question. It is argued that reluctance to critically examine the climategate affair, including suspect practices of scientists, has to do with the nature of the debate which is highly politicized. A call is made for more reflection on this case which should not be closed off because of political expediency. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi: 10.1002/wcc.166 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.