A new global study shows that hotter and drier conditions are making food production more volatile, with crop yields of corn, soybean and sorghum swinging more sharply from year to year. For some, it may mean pricier burgers; for others, it can bring financial strain and hunger.

A new IIASA-led study for the first time maps safe areas that can practically be used for underground carbon storage, and estimates that using them all would only cut warming by 0.7°C. The result is almost ten times lower than previous estimates of around 6°C, which considered the total global potential for geological storage, including in risky zones, where storing carbon could trigger earthquakes and contaminate drinking water supplies. The researchers say the study shows geological storage is a scarce, finite resource and warn countries must use it in a highly targeted way.

Are basaltic rocks along continental margins suitable for the permanent and safe storage of carbon dioxide? This is the question a team of German and Norwegian researchers will be pursuing on board the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN. Expedition MSM140 led by Dr. Ingo Klaucke from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel will investigate geological structures on the Vøring Plateau off the Norwegian coast until 9 October. The aim is to determine whether basalt formations below the seabed are suitable for the long-term geological storage of CO₂. The expedition is part of the multinational PERBAS project.

Asia and the developing Pacific region are emerging as the largest contributors to global methane emissions, driven by rapid industrialisation and population growth.