User-recommended papers allows you to suggest a paper you would like to see on Climate Change. When these papers appear on our site, users may comment and vote on them. To recommend a paper please use this form. Please note that you cannot recommend a paper you have authored. The editors will reject any self-recommendations. All comments and recommendation are checked by the editors and may be edited prior to publication on the site.

  • Policy

    • Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system

      • T. M. Lenton, H. Held, E. Kriegler, J. W. Hall, W. Lucht, S. Rahmstorf, H. J. Schellnhuber
        Original article citation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences doi:10.1073/pnas.0705414105 (2008)

      • Categories: Climate Impacts, Policy, and Extreme Events
      • Recommended by the Editor: Anna Barnett on 02/11/2008 01:33PM GMT

        Lenton et al. review the dangers posed by nine climate 'tipping elements' - large-scale components in the earth's climate system that may pass a tipping point where small perturbations lead to qualitative changes. They've tried to capture cutting-edge thinking by supplementing the published literature with expert opinions elicited at a recent meeting on tipping points.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

    • The 2°C scenario—A sustainable world energy perspective

      • W KREWITT, S SIMON, W GRAUS, S TESKE, A ZERVOS, O SCHAFER
        Original article citation: Energy Policy 35," (2007).

      • Categories: Policy, Technology, Society, and Energy
      • Recommended by : Hal Levin on 09/20/2007 04:03AM GMT

        Uses backcasting from a process involving stakeholders including academics, NGOs, and the renewable energy industry. Uses carbon emission targets as starting point. Provides a perspective on current energy policy discussions that contrasts the IEA World Energy Outlook projections with more "realistic" projections without being overly optimistic. Uses conservative assumptions to modify projections based on business-as-usual scenarios. Focuses on regional and global scale and on all forms of energy production.
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

    • Carbon-cycle feedbacks increase the likelihood of a warmer future

      • H. Damon Matthews, David W. Keith
        Original article citation: Geophys. Res. Lett. 34," (2007).

      • Categories: Climate Prediction, Policy, and Extreme Events
      • Recommended by the Editor: Olive Heffernan on 06/06/2007 09:21PM GMT

        In this paper published last month in GRL, Matthews and Keith use coupled climate-carbon models to assess the likely impacts of carbon-cycle feedbacks on future warming scenarios. By incorporating carbon-cycle feedbacks into the models, they show that feedback mechanisms can lead to dramatic increases in extreme warming probabilities. For example, for CO2 stabilization at 550 ppm, the probability of exceeding 2°C warming by end of century increases by a factor of between 1.7 and 3 when feedbacks are included. The authors suggest that the effects of positive carbon-cycle feedbacks on the likelihood of extreme future warming should be accounted for in climate policy-related decision making
      • Comment on this subject: 0 comments made

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