Climate change
Site news
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What does behavioral science research show about why people join collective efforts related to clean energy and other climate solutions? Learn what studies suggest about how people weigh personal benefits and connect government policies to tangible outcomes.
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Climate change could make historically rare tropical cyclones more common in Southern California, significantly expanding landslide risk across the region by 2050.
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Future climate damages from past greenhouse gas emissions dwarf the economic harm already inflicted.
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One of the most effective ways to move individuals to act together on climate involves showing them how past collective actions have delivered structural change, a new study finds. What doesn’t work? Inducing guilt, or emphasizing co-benefits for health and economic growth.
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As climate impacts intensify while political progress remains stalled, new Stanford research examines which messages can shift public beliefs across partisan divides and strengthen climate communication.
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New research shows rising hydrogen emissions since 1990 have indirectly intensified climate change and amplified the impact of methane. Limiting leaks from future hydrogen fuel projects and cutting methane emissions will be key to securing benefits from hydrogen as a clean-burning alternative to oil and gas.
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Natural Capital Project scientists offered up holistic development solutions at the 30th UN climate conference, where there was growing recognition of nature’s role.
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Weather patterns that produced five severe heat waves in Europe over the past 30 years could kill thousands more people if repeated in today’s hotter global climate, a new study finds. Rapid acceleration of efforts to adapt to greater extremes could save lives.
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Eleven scholars from across Stanford University will travel to Belém, Brazil in November 2025 for the United Nations climate summit known as COP30. Discover events, attendees, and expert insights.
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Ahead of the global climate summit known as COP30, Stanford experts discuss how global developments, such as investments in natural solutions and renewable energy, could redefine climate progress in the absence of U.S. leadership.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded in 2009 that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare, underpinning rules for cars, power plants, and industry. As the agency weighs reversing the decision, Stanford’s Chris Field distills the peer-reviewed science on risks to people and the economy.
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While rising temperatures in California are causing fewer cold-related deaths, new research shows hotter temperatures significantly increase emergency department visits – a previously overlooked consequence of climate change that could place greater burden on the healthcare system.
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A sweeping new analysis finds that rising global temperatures will dampen the world’s capacity to produce food from most staple crops, even after accounting for economic development and adaptation by farmers.
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A new study finds that while many Americans misjudge the relative climate impact of dozens of behaviors, they readily commit to higher-impact choices when they get more information. Willingness to engage in actions promoting larger-scale change falls off, however, if interventions focus solely on individual behavior.
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Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe joined Woods Institute director Chris Field for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of climate progress and public engagement. Hayhoe argues that most people already care about climate change – they just need help seeing how it impacts their lives directly.
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Stanford researchers found increased meltwater and rain explain 60% of a decades-long mismatch between predicted and observed temperatures in the ocean around Antarctica.
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Stanford researchers find resistance to climate action has become a global movement that strengthens after governments implement climate-related policies.
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Artificial intelligence provides new evidence that rapid decarbonization will not prevent warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. The hottest years of this century are likely to shatter recent records.
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An expert on climate change and its impact on human society says the evidence for it is all around us, but it’s not too late to better understand, adapt to, and mitigate climate change.
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A survey of 211 authors of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds most believe the world may achieve net-zero emissions by 2100 but expect warming will exceed 2 degrees Celsius in the absence of more sustained action.
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Hélène Benveniste investigates how climate change is reshaping global migration patterns, what the future holds, and how countries can work together for solutions.
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Madalina Vlasceanu studies the cognitive, behavioral, and societal barriers to addressing climate change – and how to overcome them.
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Methane concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere increased at record speed over the past five years. At least two-thirds of annual methane emissions now come from human activities, including fossil fuel use, agriculture, and landfills and other waste.
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Researchers at Stanford and Colorado State University used machine learning to determine how much global warming has influenced extreme weather events in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Their approach could change how scientists study and predict the impact of climate change on extreme weather.
