ALBERT

Description: We summarize some of the past year’s most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding about the remaining options to achieve the Paris Agreement goals, through overcoming political barriers to carbon pricing, taking into account non-CO2 factors, a well-designed implementation of demand-side and nature-based solutions, resilience building of ecosystems and the recognition that climate change mitigation costs can be justified by benefits to the health of humans and nature alone. We consider new insights about what to expect if we fail to include a new dimension of fire extremes and the prospect of cascading climate tipping elements. Technical summary. A synthesis is made of 10 topics within cli- mate research, where there have been significant advances since January 2020. The insights are based on input from an inter- national open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) the options to still keep global warming below 1.5 °C; (2) the impact of non-CO2 factors in global warming; (3) a new dimension of fire extremes forced by climate change; (4) the increasing pressure on interconnected climate tipping elements; (5) the dimensions of climate justice; (6) political chal- lenges impeding the effectiveness of carbon pricing; (7) demand- side solutions as vehicles of climate mitigation; (8) the potentials and caveats of nature-based solutions; (9) how building resili- ence of marine ecosystems is possible; and (10) that the costs of climate change mitigation policies can be more than justified by the benefits to the health of humans and nature. Social media summary. How do we limit global warming to 1.5 °C and why is it crucial? See highlights of latest climate science.

Description: The ocean has recently taken centre stage in the global geopolitical landscape. Despite rising challenges to the effectiveness of multilateralism, attention to ocean issues appears as an opportunity to co-create pathways to ocean sustainability at multiple levels. The ocean science community, however, is not sufficiently well organised to advance these pathways and provide policy input. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services demonstrate how knowledge consensus and integration have been instrumental in charting global pathways and eliciting commitments to address, respectively, climate change and biodiversity loss. An equally impactful global platform with a thematic focus on ocean sustainability is needed. Here we introduce the International Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS) as a coordinating mechanism to integrate knowledge systems to forge a bridge across ocean science-policy divides collectively. The IPOS will enrich the global policy debate in the Ocean Decade and support a shift toward ocean sustainability.