Volume 11 Issue 5, May 2021 Forest carbon dynamics Forests take up and store large amounts of carbon but are vulnerable to disturbances, such as this forest in West Virginia that is recovering from major deforestation and livestock grazing. In light of the growing importance of forests in the context…
Policy & Regulatory Algeria plans to tender 1 GW of solar projects in June or July 2021 7 May 2021 Algeria plans to tender 1 GW of solar capacity divided into ten slots of 100 MW each between June and July 2021. The auction will be open to projects planned with foreign…
Volume 5 Issue 5, May 2021 Bioherm biodiversity More than 1,200 animal taxa were recorded on Halimeda bioherms in the Great Barrier Reef. Most (78%) were invertebrates, such as this crinoid (feather star) photographed within a Halimeda algal meadow at 26-m water depth. See McNeil et al. Image: Kent Holmes….
Policy & Regulatory Poland unveils its recovery and resilience plan 5 May 2021 Poland has submitted an official recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission. The country has requested a total of €23.9bn in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and €12.1bn in loans. The plan includes measures…
Policy & Regulatory Denmark allocates €1.1bn for energy transition 3 May 2021 Denmark has submitted its DKK11.6bn (€1.9bn) recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission as part of the Next Generation EU, a €750bn temporary recovery instrument (2021-2027) aimed at addressing the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more…
Actualidad científica: Del 1 al 30 abril, 2021 Infecciones bacterianas Moléculas termosensibles permiten a las bacterias evadir al sistema inmunitario Marta Pulido Salgado En respuesta a la fiebre, los microorganismos activan mecanismos de protección frente a la acción de defensa del organismo. EVOLUCIÓN Los colores de advertencia de los animales…
Policy & Regulatory The United States offers US$8.25bn in loans for power grid upgrades 29 Apr 2021 The US Department of Energy has announced the availability of up to US$8.25bn in loans from its Loan Programs Office (LPO) and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) to expand and improve the US power…
Table of Contents: April 2021 Article | 26 April 2021 Global-scale patterns of observed sea surface salinity intensified since the 1870s W. John Gould & Stuart A. Cunningham Communications Earth & Environment 2 , Article number: 76 | doi: 10.1038/s43247-021-00161-3 Article | 20 April 2021 Closure of the Proterozoic Mozambique Ocean…
Policy & Regulatory Italy allocates €68.6bn for energy transition 27 Apr 2021 The Italian prime minister has presented the €248bn National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) to the Chamber of Deputies. The reform program will be submitted to the European Commission on 30 April 2021 as part of the Next Generation…
Volume 6 Issue 4, April 2021 Making contacts The power conversion efficiency of mainstream silicon photovoltaics is expected to saturate at 24% yet the use of charge-selective contacts that also minimize charge recombination could enable further improvements. Towards that aim, Richter et al. demonstrate a 26.0%-efficient solar cell by redesigning…
Sustainable Solutions for Pollution Control | April 28 Pollution is a threat globally but most of the impacts are local and away from the source making policy solutions hard to implement. Join global researchers for a virtual conference discussing the latest research in pollution control and potential solutions. Register now…
Policy & Regulatory South Korea raises renewables obligation for power companies to 25% 20 Apr 2021 The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has increased the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) from 10% to 25%. The RPS obliges power companies with a capacity higher than 500 MW to produce 25% of…
Volume 2 Issue 4, April 2021 Estimates of global dryland changes are often conflicting. This Review discusses and quantifies observed and projected aridity changes, revealing divergent responses between atmospheric and ecohydrological metrics owing to plant physiological responses to elevated CO2. See Lian et al. Image: Felix Cesare / Getty Images….
Energy & Climate Markets The 1.4 GW NordLink interconnector (Norway-Germany) is commissioned 14 Apr 2021 The German and Norwegian power transmission system operators (TSOs) TenneT and Statnett have fully commissioned the 1.4 GW NordLink interconnector between Germany and Norway. The €1.5-2bn interconnection project comprises a bipolar high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea interconnector, which…
Volume 5 Issue 4, April 2021 Tundra traits Diapensia lapponica on an exposed, windy ridge at Ammalortup Nunaa, Greenland. Microclimate and soil chemistry shape plant communities across Arctic and Antarctic tundra. Variation in local environmental conditions heavily influences both structural and leaf economic traits. These trait–environment relationships are generalizable across…
Volume 5 Issue 4, April 2021 Tundra traits Diapensia lapponica on an exposed, windy ridge at Ammalortup Nunaa, Greenland. Microclimate and soil chemistry shape plant communities across Arctic and Antarctic tundra. Variation in local environmental conditions heavily influences both structural and leaf economic traits. These trait–environment relationships are generalizable across…
Volume 11 Issue 4, April 2021 Celebrating our tenth anniversary To celebrate a decade of Nature Climate Change, experts highlight the exciting developments in their fields over the past 10 years, and past and present editors talk about some of the remarkable papers published in the journal. See Editorial, Viewpoint…
Public webinar – Decarbonisation of the European transport sector – 13/04/2021 10AM CET Enerdata experts will be presenting a selection of key indicators related to the four levers of the decarbonisation of transport (energy efficiency, fuel substitution, modal shift, transport demand) and identify best practices among European countries in these…
Table of Contents: March 2021 Article | 26 March 2021 Environmentally persistent free radicals are ubiquitous in wildfire charcoals and remain stable for years Gabriel Sigmund, Cristina Santín, Marc Pignitter, Nathalie Tepe, Stefan H. Doerr et al. Communications Earth & Environment 2 , Article number: 68 | doi: 10.1038/s43247-021-00138-2 Article |…
Policy & Regulatory Pakistan plans to privatise 10 power distribution companies 29 Mar 2021 The Privatisation Commission (PC) of Pakistan plans to privatise 10 power distribution companies, including electricity supply companies of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkur and tribal areas. The PC expects the private sector to…
Actualidad científica: Del 1 al 29 de marzo, 2021 Matemáticas El producto de matrices, en pos de una meta mítica Kevin Hartnett Un reciente artículo ha establecido un récord de velocidad a la hora de multiplicar dos matrices. Pero también marca el final del método que se ha usado durante…
Policy & Regulatory Ireland targets 51% GHG emissions cut by 2030 25 Mar 2021 The Irish government has approved the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill, which sets a binding target of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 51% by 2030 compared to 2018, with the aim of reaching carbon…
Policy & Regulatory The UAE aims to raise energy efficiency by 40% by 2050 24 Mar 2021 The United Arab Emirates has launched its national water and energy demand management programme, which aims at raising energy efficiency by 40% by 2050 and at increasing the renewable energy’s contribution to the…
Volume 6 Issue 3, March 2021 Standing in the wind Climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events putting energy infrastructure at risk. Bennett et al. develop a methodology to incorporate increasing extreme event risk into energy systems modelling and planning, and estimate the impact of…
Policy & Regulatory Vietnam plans to cut feed-in tariff for rooftop solar by a third 19 Mar 2021 Vietnam intends to reduce the feed-in tariff for rooftop solar by 31-38% as of April 2021, from US$8.38c/kWh to US$5.2-5.8c/kWh. The country seeks to limit pressure on the national power grid and…
Volume 4 Issue 3, March 2021 Shaping sustainable cooling Cooling demand is expected to increase. A new framework of socio-economic, technological, environmental and geopolitical factors allows researchers to identify sustainable cooling solutions, which go beyond improving technology. See Khosla et al. Image: ballyscanlon / Photodisc / Getty. Cover design: Valentina…
Policy & Regulatory Turkey’s 1 GW mini solar tender oversubscribed nearly 10 times 18 Mar 2021 The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey has received 709 applications totalling 9,440 MW for 74 upcoming mini solar Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) tenders with a quota of 1 GW in 36 provinces throughout…
Policy & Regulatory Lebanon unveils its updated Nationally Determined Contribution 17 Mar 2021 Lebanon has updated its 2015 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The country intends to unconditionally increase its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target relative to the Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenario from 15% to 20%, and conditionally increase its GHG emission reduction…
Policy & Regulatory European Parliament endorses plan to price carbon at EU’s border 16 Mar 2021 The European Parliament has approved a resolution on a WTO-compatible EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to create a global level playing field as well as an incentive for both EU and non-EU industries to…
Volume 2 Issue 3, March 2021 The urban heat island effect poses increasing morbidity and mortality challenges in a warming world. This Review discusses how urban vegetation — specifically, green parks, green roofs and green walls — can be used as a strategy to mitigate heat. See Wong et al….