Climate
Site news
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A new study finds old-growth forests in Sweden store far more carbon than the industrial tree plantations that are rapidly replacing them, with soil accounting for most of the difference. Protecting undisturbed areas could do more to mitigate climate change than previously thought.
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Stanford researchers partnered with neighborhoods hit hard by flooding to understand their experiences and explore potential solutions. When given resources to plan infrastructure, residents consistently chose configurations that would benefit neighbors and shared spaces over maximizing protection for their own properties.
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New research traces a direct line from warmer, wetter weather to a mosquito-bornedisease epidemic. The findings could help inform policy and interventions to blunt such outbreaks.
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A Stanford report and preprint study reveals that uncertainty about risk and liability is stopping reforestation carbon credits from scaling up. Its findings point to possible solutions, such as clear risk allocation frameworks, expanded insurance options, and enhanced transparency.
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By 2050, up to half the world’s urban population will face water scarcity. A new model of water supply, demand, and policies in a drought-prone city of 7 million in India shows how policies could prevent the poor from bearing the heaviest burden.
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How vulnerable are school meal programs to price volatility and regional shocks tied to climate change? Learn four key facts about school meals and climate, and ideas for making this increasingly important nutritional backstop more resilient.
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Learn about opportunities related to alternative proteins, reducing food waste, wildfire mitigation, vehicle electrification, and more in a video series from Stanford Ecopreneurship and the Climate Tech Map.
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Environmental law expert Deborah Sivas discusses what the repeal could mean for the future of federal climate regulation, how it may fare in the courts, and why it could signal a broader unraveling of environmental protections.
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Ripples of air known as atmospheric gravity waves can influence the polar vortex, severe winter weather, and long-term climate patterns. Using AI and machine learning, researchers have developed a way to realistically represent their effects in global climate models.
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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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Companies undercount emissions from their supply chains by billions of tons, a new study reveals. A new model could help them find and shrink the biggest contributors to their carbon footprints.
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Our list includes a mix of favorites, high-impact stories, and some of our most-read research coverage from the past year.
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What drives atmospheric rivers? Da Yang explains how these "rivers in the sky" gain and lose momentum, and how researchers are studying their physical properties to improve forecasts and reduce risks.
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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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Adam Pellegrini engages in collaborations and field experiments across the globe to examine how ecosystems respond to global change and predict their resilience to major disturbances, such as wildfires, droughts, and disease outbreaks.
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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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Stanford researchers are studying how changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, and ecological shifts affect the global food system, while developing ways to improve food security for all.
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As climate threats outgrow city-by-city responses, partnerships highlight how counties can unify efforts and deliver tangible benefits for vulnerable communities.
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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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New research finds damage to rice crops has accelerated in recent decades due to rainstorms that increasingly submerge young plants for a week or more. Adoption of flood-resistant rice varieties in vulnerable regions could help avert future losses.
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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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Throughout roles in the White House, U.S. State Department, and academia, Maxine Burkett has focused on the relationship between environmental change and inequity, its impact on communities, and how law and policy can help build a better world for all.
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Testing and comparing AI models can verify and build trust in their ability to measure and map carbon stored in forests, according to new research. The breakthrough could transform how companies and countries track and pay for nature’s help with combatting climate change.
