Many countries are relying on land-based strategies to meet the climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement, putting pressure on land resources. Here the authors show a global reduction in cropland area under current climate pledges, with implications for trade and food security.

This study quantifies and values the carbon stored in the ocean due to biological processes. With uptake in the order of 2.8 Gt per year, valued at around US$1 trillion annually (at a carbon price of US$90 per ton of CO₂), this service should be included in the global stocktake and climate actions.

Oceans are on the front line of new planned climate actions, but understanding of novel marine-climate intervention development and deployment remains low. Here a survey among intervention practitioners allows identification of science and governance gaps for marine-climate interventions.

Rising wealth inequality is a major challenge for this century, and climate change could further exacerbate it. Based on an overview of existing studies, this Perspective proposes a framework to advance understanding of wealth inequality in relation to climate change and climate policies.

Using satellite and carbon-flux data, the authors show that enhanced gross primary productivity in recent decades is driven primarily by increases in the rate, rather than the duration, of carbon uptake. They highlight asymmetric changes in productivity across seasons, which may worsen under climate change.

Heatwaves in lakes are increasing with climate change, but are typically studied at the surface; little is known about heatwave dynamics with depth. This study finds subsurface heatwaves last longer, but are less intense than surface heatwaves and have increased in frequency over the past 40 years.

Melting from below is crucial for the future evolution of Antarctic ice shelves. Here the authors use an Earth system model with explicit simulations of ice-shelf cavities to show how regional hydrography and topography determine when an ice shelf will undergo rapid melting.

Trade risks associated with fossil fuels and critical materials matter for energy security, and will evolve with the low-carbon transition. Here the researchers find that overall trade risks decrease for most countries in net-zero scenarios, although risks to electricity or transportation sectors may increase.

Oceans are on the front line of new planned climate actions, but understanding of novel marine-climate intervention development and deployment remains low. Here a survey among intervention practitioners allows identification of science and governance gaps for marine-climate interventions.

The terrestrial carbon flux—sources and sinks—under land-use change (LUC) is difficult to quantify. Here, using a LUC dataset drawing on remote sensing and forest inventory data, the authors show that in China the carbon sink from LUC (such as afforestation) may be underestimated.

Climate change and climate action are socially and politically divisive topics in many countries. In addition to contributing to political disparity, climate research is also affected by political context, with consequences not only for scientists but for society as well.