Climate researchers at ETH Zurich show where planting trees makes the most sense with a view to achieving the greatest possible cooling effect on the climate. Reforestation in tropical regions has the greatest cooling effect. Tree planting in the northern hemisphere, on the other hand, reduces the reflection of sunlight and has no effect or even contributes to global warming. The cooling effect on the climate will be a maximum of 0.25°C by 2100. This contribution is important, but it cannot replace the urgently required reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

A clean energy future hinges on minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements. But the race to secure them puts pressure on the places where they are mined, often affecting communities contributing the least to climate change. To secure CRM sources, the United States and European Union are moving supply chains to aligned regions. But simply shuffling where minerals are mined does not automatically make extraction more ethical or sustainable. In a commentary published in Nature Energy, researchers propose a new framework of “just-shoring” to shift focus from competition and security to the rights and interests of those whose lands are most at risk.

According to the results, without the exceptionally high sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic and in the Mediterranean, rainfall on the most extreme day of the episode could have been up to 40% lower. The study highlights the importance of high-resolution global simulations to better understand the impacts of climate change and improve preparedness for its social and economic effects.

Roadmap shows how to achieve good lives for all and a safe climate by reorienting production and distribution toward well-being and ecological transformation instead of capital accumulation and elite consumption.