2011, Lass, W., Haas, A., Hinkel, J., Jaeger, C.

The death toll of recent heat waves in developed countries has been remarkably high, contradicting the common assumption that high levels of economic and technological development automatically lead to lower vulnerability to weather extremes. Future climate change may further increase this vulnerability. In this article we examine some recent evidence of heat wave-related mortality and we conclude that while economic wealth and technological capacity might be a necessary condition for adequately coping with adverse climate change effects, they are not sufficient. Questions of awareness, preparedness, organizational issues, and actor networks have to be addressed in a proactive and focused manner in order to avoid future heat wave damages. We propose some practical consequences for heat wave adaptation measures by adopting a risk governance framework that can be universally applied, as it is sufficiently flexible to deal with the multi-level and often fragmented reality of existing coping measures.

2021, Pihl, Erik, Alfredsson, Eva, Bengtsson, Magnus, Bowen, Kathryn J., Cástan Broto, Vanesa, Chou, Kuei Tien, Cleugh, Helen, Ebi, Kristie, Edwards, Clea M., Fisher, Eleanor, Friedlingstein, Pierre, Godoy-Faúndez, Alex, Gupta, Mukesh, Harrington, Alexandra R., Hayes, Katie, Hayward, Bronwyn M., Hebden, Sophie R., Hickmann, Thomas, Hugelius, Gustaf, Ilyina, Tatiana, Jackson, Robert B., Keenan, Trevor F., Lambino, Ria A., Leuzinger, Sebastian, Malmaeus, Mikael, McDonald, Robert I., McMichael, Celia, Miller, Clark A., Muratori, Matteo, Nagabhatla, Nidhi, Nagendra, Harini, Passarello, Cristian, Penuelas, Josep, Pongratz, Julia, Rockström, Johan, Romero-Lankao, Patricia, Roy, Joyashree, Scaife, Adam A., Schlosser, Peter, Schuur, Edward, Scobie, Michelle, Sherwood, Steven C., Sioen, Giles B., Skovgaard, Jakob, Sobenes Obregon, Edgardo A., Sonntag, Sebastian, Spangenberg, Joachim H., Spijkers, Otto, Srivastava, Leena, Stammer, Detlef B., Torres, Pedro H. C., Turetsky, Merritt R., Ukkola, Anna M., van Vuuren, Detlef P., Voigt, Christina, Wannous, Chadia, Zelinka, Mark D.

Non-technical summary: We summarize some of the past year's most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding of Earth's sensitivity to carbon dioxide, finds that permafrost thaw could release more carbon emissions than expected and that the uptake of carbon in tropical ecosystems is weakening. Adverse impacts on human society include increasing water shortages and impacts on mental health. Options for solutions emerge from rethinking economic models, rights-based litigation, strengthened governance systems and a new social contract. The disruption caused by COVID-19 could be seized as an opportunity for positive change, directing economic stimulus towards sustainable investments. Technical summary: A synthesis is made of ten fields within climate science where there have been significant advances since mid-2019, through an expert elicitation process with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) a better understanding of equilibrium climate sensitivity; (2) abrupt thaw as an accelerator of carbon release from permafrost; (3) changes to global and regional land carbon sinks; (4) impacts of climate change on water crises, including equity perspectives; (5) adverse effects on mental health from climate change; (6) immediate effects on climate of the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements for recovery packages to deliver on the Paris Agreement; (7) suggested long-term changes to governance and a social contract to address climate change, learning from the current pandemic, (8) updated positive cost-benefit ratio and new perspectives on the potential for green growth in the short- A nd long-term perspective; (9) urban electrification as a strategy to move towards low-carbon energy systems and (10) rights-based litigation as an increasingly important method to address climate change, with recent clarifications on the legal standing and representation of future generations. Social media summary: Stronger permafrost thaw, COVID-19 effects and growing mental health impacts among highlights of latest climate science. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.