The world’s marine ecosystems are at risk of sudden and damaging changes. The authors of a recent study say that co-ordinated management of the many drivers of marine changes, such as overfishing and pollution, is needed across international, national and local scales to help avoid the ‘regime shifts’ that affect ecosystem services and human wellbeing.

A new framework to help decide whether to translocate species that are threatened by climate change has been developed. The framework provides a simple method of assessing different strategies and ensuring that limited budgets are used effectively.

Effective ‘knowledge exchange’ - the process of producing, sharing, understanding and using knowledge - is vital to good environmental management. New research has uncovered five principles for this process which could help researchers, decision makers and other parties work together to better manage environmental change.

The reduction in summer storms in the western Mediterranean could be partly caused by land use change on coasts and mountain slopes, a new study reports. This lack of storms causes water vapour to build up above the region and may lead to heavy rainfall and flooding in central Europe.

Adverse effects of climate change on agriculture will counteract any improvements in reducing levels of child malnutrition in the developing world, according to a new report, which calculates that twenty-five million more children will face malnutrition by 2050.

A new combination of three models has explored the future dynamics of European livestock distribution. The results indicate that, without environmental policy, livestock density will increase both inside and outside current livestock hotspots. This will also occur to a certain degree with regulation, but the risk of negative impacts will be less likely.

Reindeer herding has a long history in the Arctic, but climate change and industrial activity are bringing this important economic and cultural tradition to breaking point. In a unique initiative, reindeer herders across the Arctic are leading an international team of scientists in using modern technology to adapt to global change and empower indigenous communities.

UN researchers highlight the need to develop better ways to measure the impacts of climate change on children's health. They suggest more attention be given to impact analysis of different social groups and ages, as well as nutrition.

Health experts have called for a proactive, joined-up approach to public health in Europe under a changing climate. A recent study has examined the evidence for the influence of the climate on infectious disease and proposes a new integrated network for environmental and health data.

Children are thought to be at greater risk from exposure to environmental pollutants than adults because their bodies are still developing and their lower body weight means that relative exposure is higher. A new study reports background exposure levels in German children aged 3-14.

Continued reductions in air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are essential, as they pose serious threats to both people's health and the environment across the world. Air quality and climate policies can provide mutual benefits and there can also be trade-offs. This thematic issue reports on research which helps us understand the relationship between air pollution and climate change and how the two policy areas can be integrated to produce the greatest results.

A new analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Swiss household consumption reveals a large difference between the best and worst households – which range between the equivalent of 5 to 17 tons of CO2 per capita per year. It suggests GHG reductions are possible if more households adopt similar consumption patterns to those with the lowest emissions.

A research update on climate change has indicated that many global risks are now assessed as stronger than predicted by the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). The risk of large sea-level rise, extreme weather events and ocean acidification are all thought to be underestimated by the AR4.

A set of indicators has been devised to assess the vulnerability of energy systems to climate change and suggest possible adaptation measures that could be taken in response.

Successful communication of climate change needs to be tangible, relevant and tailored to its audience, according to new research. The study established 10 key principles for effective communication using a brainstorming exercise between scientists and local government.

Species will have to shift their range much faster in some areas of the world than others to keep pace with climate change, according to new research. Those that live in certain areas, such as mangroves, tropical basins and deserts, may not be able to move fast enough over the next 100 years to survive.

Maintaining and restoring the world's drylands or arid zones could provide a win-win option for addressing climate change, according to new research. Drylands not only store large amounts of carbon, but improving how they are managed could reduce the vulnerability of ecosystems and humans.

Phrases that combine 'carbon' with other words, such as 'carbon finance' or 'carbon footprint', can provide insight into how climate change issues are communicated. A new study explored online use of these so-called 'carbon compounds' and indicated that they form three clusters focused on finance, lifestyle and attitudes.

Climate change could cause increasing but unpredictable hazard risks in mountainous regions, according to a new study. The study analyses the effects of two extreme weather events - the 2003 heatwave and the 2005 flood - on the Eastern European Alps to demonstrate how similar events, predicted to become more frequent under a changing climate, could have an impact on Alpine regions.

Continuing economic development and public health measures are likely to outweigh the impact of climate change on malaria prevalence, according to new research. The research found that the prevalence of malaria has declined over the past century despite rising temperatures.

Communication about climate change could benefit from reframing it as a public health issue, according to new research. A health perspective could make climate change more relevant and understandable to the public, whilst information about the health benefits of mitigation policy could provide a positive vision for the future.

A review of the European Climate Change Programme has concluded that the initiative has successfully identified cost-efficient policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, allowed consensus-building among key stakeholders, and positioned the European Union as a leader in climate change actions.

A Belgian public survey on greener energy consumption has found that positive messages about environmental issues may be more effective than negative messages in encouraging behavioural change for large sections of the public. The researchers suggest this can help policy planners devise targeted communications strategies.

The impact of climate change on electricity consumption is important to both adaptation and mitigation policies. New research has estimated that over the next 100 years climate change could cause up to a 20 per cent decrease in demand for electricity for heating in Northern Europe and up to a 20 per cent increase in demand for electricity for cooling in Southern Europe.

Land cleared in the tropics loses nearly twice as much carbon and produces less than half the annual crop yield as land in temperate zones, according to researchers. Their analysis of the trade-off between crop production and the loss of carbon stored in vegetation highlights the need to target reforestation in the tropics.

The threat of possible death from climate change may paradoxically reduce our motivation to protect the environment, according to a new psychology study conducted in Germany. However, this negative impact on the environment could be reduced if people’s environmental motivations stemmed from a desire to benefit humans rather than a desire to protect nature itself.

Higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and temperatures under climate change are likely to increase the rate of corrosive damage in reinforced concrete structures, according to a recent study. This could result in costly repairs in the future, unless structures are suitably adapted.

Policy efforts have focused on modifying individual behaviour as one strategy to address climate change. However, this has been met with limited success and a new UK study suggests that policies to encourage behaviour change need to operate on multiple levels and that there is a need for greater co-ordination between individuals, governments, businesses and communities.

Satellite data from the Torres Islands in the southwest Pacific suggest that rising sea-levels in the region widely attributed to climate change is also partly caused by sinking of the islands following earthquakes in the 1990s, according to recent research.

Extreme events, such as droughts and prolonged dry spells, under climate change could increase the water repellency of soils, according to a recent study. In the long-term, this could reduce the capacity of soils to sequester carbon.

A recent study has projected changes in the spread of malaria caused by climate change and climate variability in Africa by including the effect of variations in land use on local climate. It concludes that the risk of malaria epidemics is likely to shift from the north to the south of the Sahel, and to highland areas previously free of the disease.

Reindeer herding has a long history in the Arctic, but climate change and industrial activity are bringing this important economic and cultural tradition to breaking point. In a unique initiative, reindeer herders across the Arctic are leading an international team of scientists in using modern technology to adapt to global change and empower indigenous communities.

Climate change will affect the spread and risk of many infectious diseases in Europe, according to a recent survey of leading health experts. The results suggest that more needs to be done to prepare for the expected changes in infectious disease levels, such as improved monitoring of disease.

Adapting to climate change is essential to protecting populations against extreme weather events, but is it adequately integrated into civil protection policy? A new study has analysed the level of integration in Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands and provided broad recommendations for improvement.

Long-term urban planning is needed to adapt the urban environment and make it more resilient to climate change, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report that aims to support urban policy development and decision making.

A recent study has explored how national regulations and culture, company size and experience with weather incidents have influenced adaptation to climate change in electricity distribution companies in Norway and Sweden. Smaller companies in a strongly regulated environment, with less experience of extreme weather events, find it more difficult to pursue climate change adaption results,

How does climate change cause extinction? An extensive analysis of the available evidence has explored this question and concluded that climate change’s effects on the interactions between species is likely to be the main reason for local extinctions. For example, climate change may lead to the loss of prey for predators.

Shifts in species’ ranges are expected under climate change, as organisms move to find suitable conditions. New research in the Mediterranean Sea has found that the way species interact could also have a significant effect on their resilience in a changing climate.

A new study assesses the potential impacts of climate change on human health in the Netherlands. The researchers conducted a survey, asking health experts to rate the level of uncertainty attached to different health impacts of climate change, which highlighted heat-related deaths and vector-borne diseases as particularly relevant to climate change adaptation.

The impact of climate change on the distribution of tree species is likely to have economic implications for the timber industry. A new study has estimated that climate-induced shifts in range could reduce the value of European forest land for the timber industry by between 14 and 50% by 2100. At the higher end of this estimate, this could equate to a potential loss of several hundred billions of euros.

The social, political, technological and geophysical factors that affect the control of climate change have been assessed in a recent study. The results suggest that political factors, in terms of delaying the implementation of mitigation strategies, have the biggest effect on limiting global warming to below 2C.

New ecosystem-based solutions which provide flexible resilience to coastal flooding, rather than rigid defences, are needed in the face of global environmental change. A recent study examines a new coastal protection scheme in the Netherlands which reduces ecosystem damage whilst offering resilient defence against flooding. Using this case study, the researchers present a framework for evaluating climate change adaptation measures called ‘Building with Nature’.

Climate change may increase the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as salmonella or tick-borne encephalitis. A new study has outlined five main steps in assessing policies to ensure that they can respond effectively to this challenge and highlights the importance of involving stakeholders at every stage of policy assessment.

Warming of coastal areas due to climate change is already having an important impact on fishing catches in the North Atlantic, according to a new study. The study also suggests that rising levels of nitrogen pollution, due to run-off from farming and sewage disposal, will pose a serious threat to fisheries in the near future if left unchecked.

Concrete and asphalt's environmental impact could be reduced by over a third through changes to manufacturing processes and the use of alternative raw materials, according to research. A scenario study based on life cycle analysis has indicated that using alternative types of cement in concrete and producing asphalt at lower temperatures could substantially improve the green credentials of these two common building materials.

Harmful algal blooms may become more common in north western European waters as a result of climate change, according to a new study. The researchers predicted that by the end of this century blooms of two groups of algal species will occur over larger areas and for longer periods every year.

New areas of land suitable for agriculture will open up under climate change’s effects, new research predicts, particularly in far northern regions of the world. However, the overall quality of land for farming will decline and many regions, including Europe, could lose large areas of suitable land.

Marine biodiversity conservation in the north-east Atlantic needs a combination of more adaptable management strategies and international co-operation, a new study says. This is required to deal with a potential increase in marine conservation hotspots under climate change.