|
Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought. D. Carrington, The Guardian, April 16, 2026.
North Atlantic currents act as a vital heat conveyor, shaping regional and global climate. Global warming is weakening them, pushing toward a tipping point whose collapse could bring extreme European weather, severe North American sea-level rise, and poorly understood impacts elsewhere.
Neo-academic Cold War is closing the door to global science. John Aubrey Douglass, University World News, April 10, 2026.
Outlines how rising nationalism and a new Cold War are fragmenting global science, reversing post–Cold War gains in international collaboration, restricting student mobility, and weakening science diplomacy at precisely the moment it is most needed for global risk governance.
IMF, World Bank and UN food agency say war is increasing food prices, insecurity. Reuters (Andrea Shalal), Open Access, April 8, 2026
A joint statement by the heads of the IMF, World Bank, and World Food Programme warns that the Middle East war has triggered one of the largest disruptions to global energy markets in modern history, with sharp rises in oil, gas, and fertilizer prices set to drive food insecurity — hitting low-income, import-dependent economies hardest and threatening to push 45 million additional people into acute hunger by mid-2026.
Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First. OpenAI, April 7, 2026.
This open letter contains important, thoughtful, and timely proposals to regulate AI and mitigate potentially harmful impacts on employment and social justice. Readers need to consider that the statement comes from a stakeholder with vested interests, as OpenAI is a leading company in the field of AI. Notably, while regulations are urgently needed, they may make it more difficult for new companies to compete.
'Yes, we can': a blueprint for a clean economy and healthy planet. Nature, (Paywall), April 5, 2026.
A review of Nicholas Stern's new book outlining how rapid decarbonization can drive economic prosperity, framing climate action not as a cost but as the defining growth opportunity of the twenty-first century.
World reaches milestone for nature: 10% of ocean now officially protected. UNEP/WCMC, April 2, 2026.
In this time of incessant bad news, the international community achieved an important breakthrough in ocean protection, covering more than 5 million km2. This achievement comes 6 years after the original 2020 schedule set in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets agreement.
AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying. K.T. Baker, The Guardian, 26 March 2026.
This news item should be read in conjunction with the feature article by Kiriti Choudury. It explores similar issues in relation to a specific case study, involving the deflection of blame onto AI for a recent war crime in the Iran conflict.
Which climate policies actually make a difference? Our new analysis has the answer. The Conversation, Open Access, March 9, 2026.
A study of 1,737 climate policies in 40 countries over 32 years identifies 28 measures — led by carbon pricing, energy-efficiency standards, renewable-energy R&D, and emissions reporting — that reliably cut emissions across diverse contexts, offering policymakers a robust, evidence-based toolkit.
Carbon emissions now more than double the planetary boundary, analysis finds. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Phys.org, 6 March 2026.
Finds that current carbon emissions are more than twice the level Earth's natural systems can safely absorb, widening the gap between human activity and planetary capacity. This growing imbalance is accelerating the destabilization of natural systems and reinforces the urgency of deep, rapid emissions reductions.
Ten Things to Know About Nuclear Risk. X-Lab, University of Chicago, 2026.
Highlights core issues in assessing nuclear war risk. Amid renewed nuclear threats in the Ukraine and Iran conflicts and doubts about some leaders’ judgment, it stresses the need to address vulnerabilities in nuclear-weapons decision-making processes.
|
