A synthesis of six assessments of first generation of carbon credit projects designed to reduce deforestation has found that although their climate benefits were often oversold tenfold, many played an important role in reducing forest loss.

Researchers suggest improved valuation methods, that better reflect real reductions in deforestation over time, would increase confidence in the critically important market for these credits.

English farmers shrank their environmental footprint between 2010 and 2021, with decreases in several key areas, including greenhouse gas emissions, fertilizer overuse and cattle populations, reports a new study by Yusheng Zhang and Adrian Collins of Rothamsted Research in the United Kingdom, published April 29, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One.

A new study led by the University of Oxford and ETH Zurich reveals that a key part of the climate system - the large-scale wind patterns that determine where rain falls – can be underestimated by current climate models, helping explain why forecasts of regional rainfall remain uncertain. Ultimately, this insight could enable more confident projections of future rainfall patterns, supporting better preparation for floods and droughts.

A new study by researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso has identified a significant rise in Valley fever cases in El Paso over the past decade and found strong connections between the disease and extreme weather, wind and airborne dust.

The Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to develop a new tool for funding wetland conservation and restoration projects through verifiable “Coastal Resilience Assets.”  The value of these assets are based on the storm and flood protection benefits that the wetlands provide. 

This study reveals that geographic isolation and Quaternary climatic fluctuations jointly drove genetic differentiation and multiple glacial refugia of the fully mycoheterotrophic herb Burmannia nepalensis, with recent human activity causing population decline.

Climate extremes are adversely affecting cacao production. A recent study by Hasanuddin University highlights the potential of multistrata shade structures in addressing these challenges. Researchers show how a mix of shade trees—such as coconut, banana, and Gliricidia sepium—can help cacao plants grow better and become more resilient. These trees can improve soil fertility and help cacao plants cope with environmental variability—offering a pathway toward more resilient and sustainable smallholder agriculture.

Tropical forests are one of the planet's most important carbon sinks – often also called "the lungs of our Earth". But their future in a high-CO₂ world remains uncertain. New research from the Central Amazon with researchers from the University of Vienna, the Technical University of Munich, and the National Institute for Amazon Research, Manaus, suggests even small understory trees may initially buffer climate change more strongly. But their long-term capacity to store carbon could be restricted by nutrient availability – highlighting the vulnerability of these ecosystems under future climate conditions. The results have been published in Nature Communications.