A new peer-reviewed paper published today in One Earth highlights ten major climate science developments during 2023 that carry urgent implications for global policy. 

From rising methane emissions to the growing risk of regions becoming uninhabitable, the paper distills recent advances in various fields of climate change research. These insights help deepen cross-disciplinary understanding, a key ingredient for delivering strong, evidence-based advice to policymakers.

The synthesis, developed by over 80 researchers from different disciplines and regions, builds on inputs from an expert survey and literature review covering the past year of climate science. 

The insights highlighted include warning signs from a key ocean circulation system (AMOC) and real economic impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), mounting pressure and growing risks of cascading failure of critical infrastructure, and emerging evidence of climate impacts on maternal and reproductive health.

The paper forms the scientific foundation of the 10 New Insights in Climate Science report, an annual science-policy initiative led by Future Earth, The Earth League, and the World Climate Research Programme. Released ahead of each UN conference on climate change (COP), the report helps bridge the gap between complex, evolving research and real-world policy decisions.

“There’s important climate science being published all the time. The ‘10 New Insights’ is a collective effort to sift through that and prioritize key advancements to then say, ‘Here’s what matters most right now,’” said Daniel Ospina of Future Earth, a co-author of the paper and coordinator of the annual policy report. “We want to make it easier for decision-makers to cut through the noise and stay abreast of the most recent science on climate change.”

As the pace and volume of peer-reviewed literature on climate science accelerate, this synthesis offers a clear-eyed look at the most urgent and policy-relevant insights, helping leaders and decision-makers access essential knowledge needed to navigate the compounding consequences of human-driven climate change.